How AL Teams Have Addressed Their Weakest Positions Of 2024
We’re still over a month away from pitchers and catchers reporting to Spring Training, and the 2025 season won’t begin until the Dodgers and Cubs play in Tokyo on March 18 (and the rest of baseball gets underway on March 27). So, while there is still tons of time for clubs to keep shoring up their rosters, let’s take a look at how all 30 teams have thus far tried to fix their biggest weak points from last season. Baseball Reference’s position-by-position bWAR ranking identifies each how each team fared at every position in 2024, so let’s start by focusing on the American League’s 15 clubs…
Angels (Second base, -0.9 bWAR): This was the least production any team received from the second base position in 2024, as nine different players saw action at the Los Angeles keystone with little success. The Angels made a push to sign Gleyber Torres before he joined the Tigers, and the club added to its infield mix by acquiring Kevin Newman and Scott Kingery. This additional depth might allow the Halos to just install super-utilityman Luis Rengifo as the regular starter at second base, but they might want to keep bouncing Rengifo around the infield to fill other holes. Shortstop Zach Neto‘s shoulder surgery might keep him from making the Opening Day lineup, while Anthony Rendon‘s lack of results has left the Halos looking for third base help.
Astros (First base, -1.0 bWAR): Jose Abreu’s continued struggles led the Astros to release him before even the midway point of the three-year, $58.5MM deal he signed in the 2022-23 offseason, and while Jon Singleton had a 105 wRC+ in 405 plate appearances, Singleton also finished the year with replacement-level production. Houston responded to its glaring first base problem in a big way, inking Christian Walker to a three-year, $60MM contract. Walker and Isaac Paredes now look to be the Astros’ new corner infield combination, with Paredes stepping in at third base in the likely event that Alex Bregman signs elsewhere.
Athletics (Third base, -0.6 bWAR): The issues at the hot corner narrowly edged out first base (-0.5 bWAR) as the Athletics’ biggest problem position, and the A’s are hoping Tyler Soderstrom‘s continued development can help shore things up at first base. As for the other corner infield slot, Gio Urshela was signed to a one-year, $2.15MM to add at least a bit of veteran stability at third base. Darell Hernaiz also figures to get some at-bats at third base if and when Urshela spells Soderstrom against some left-handed pitchers.
Blue Jays (Bullpen, -3.9 bWAR): This was far and away the lowest bWAR for any team at any single position, which isn’t too surprising given how injuries and ineffectiveness torpedoed the Blue Jays’ bullpen last year. Toronto started the overhaul from the top down, non-tendering former closer Jordan Romano after he missed most of the 2024 season due to elbow problems. Old friend Yimi Garcia was re-signed to a two-year, $15MM contract, and Nick Sandlin was acquired from the Guardians as perhaps the overlooked part of the Andres Gimenez trade, but the Jays figure to add at least a couple more relievers before Opening Day rolls around.
Guardians (Catcher, 0.2 bWAR): Bo Naylor hit only .201/.264/.350 in 389 plate appearances during his first full Major League season, though his glovework was excellent. Defensive specialist Austin Hedges was re-signed to again act as Naylor’s backup, so if nothing else, Cleveland might well have the best defensive catching tandem in baseball. The Guardians are surely hoping for Naylor to contribute a lot more at the plate now that he has more experience against big league pitchers, and they’ll need the younger Naylor brother to pick up some of the overall offensive slack now that big brother Josh Naylor has been traded.
Mariners (First base, 1.1 bWAR): Luke Raley and trade deadline pickup Justin Turner helped stabilize the first base position later in the season, and the left-handed hitting Raley in particular did enough to have earned himself at least a platoon role on the 2025 team. Re-signing Turner is still a possibility if the Mariners wanted to simply run it back, and some other first basemen linked to Seattle this winter — Carlos Santana, Paul Goldschmidt, Christian Walker, Josh Naylor — landed elsewhere. Rumors persist that Triston Casas might end up in Seattle if the Mariners and Red Sox can finally line up on a pitching-for-hitting trade, but for now, Raley appears to be the top option. If another first baseman is indeed brought in, Raley could also get some at-bats at the DH spot, as the M’s only got 1.3 bWAR from their designated hitter group in 2025.
Orioles (Bullpen, 1.8 bWAR): Losing Felix Bautista to Tommy John rehab for the season understandably took a bite out of the Orioles’ relief corps, and Bautista’s expected return will alone help bolster the pen. Apart from signing Matt Bowman to a minors deal, the O’s haven’t done much else to address their bullpen, and in fact subtracted from last year’s group when Jacob Webb was non-tendered and Baltimore declined its $4MM club option on Danny Coulombe. However, it looks like Albert Suarez could be returning to the relief ranks now that Charlie Morton and Tomoyuki Sugano have been signed to join the rotation. (We’re cheating the post’s premise a bit with this entry, as the Orioles’ 1.4 bWAR for pinch-hitters is technically their lowest of the positions listed by Baseball Reference. However, since that 1.4 number is one of the better totals of any pinch-hitting group in baseball, the bullpen can more accurately be described as the weakest of the two positions.)
Rangers (Catcher, -0.1 bWAR): Jonah Heim was a big part of Texas’ 2023 championship team, but he had a rough season in 2024. The Rangers are primarily counting on Heim to bounce back, but since he played in 279 regular-season and postseason games over the last two seasons, the addition of Kyle Higashioka should allow Heim to get more rest. Higashioka signed a two-year deal worth $13.5MM in guaranteed money, which indicates that he and Heim will probably split the playing time in something closer to a timeshare rather than Higashioka acting strictly as a backup. To add even more depth behind the plate, Texas also signed former two-time Gold Glover Tucker Barnhart to a minor league contract.
Rays (Catcher, 0.2 bWAR): Death, taxes, and the Rays trying to find an everyday catcher….some things never change. Tampa Bay was aggressive in trying to obtain a one-year fix by signing Danny Jansen to a deal worth $8.5MM in guaranteed money, in the hopes that Jansen can rebound from a rough 2024 campaign. Jansen generally posted strong numbers for the Blue Jays when he was able to avoid the injured list, but it seemed like the injuries caught up to him last year, particularly after he suffered a fracture in his wrist during Spring Training. The Rays will happily welcome Jansen getting back to anything close to his old form, and Ben Rortvedt (last year’s most regular backstop) remains on the roster as the backup.
Red Sox (First base, -0.1 bWAR): The aforementioned Triston Casas played in only 63 games last season due to torn cartilage in his ribcage, and while he hit well over his 236 PA as a first baseman, it wasn’t enough to drag Boston’s first base corps over the replacement-level threshold. Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has been insistent that the Sox aren’t looking to move Casas, and that Rafael Devers will remain at third base rather than shifted over to first base (perhaps to make room for a third base upgrade like Alex Bregman). For the moment, the first base spot looks solid enough just by dint of Casas having a healthy and productive 2025 campaign, but things could be shaken up quickly if a trade does indeed happen.
Royals (Left field, -0.7 bWAR): The Royals also received -0.1 bWAR from the right field position, and only three teams got less from their outfielders than Kansas City’s collective 1.0 outfield bWAR in 2024. Former top prospect and incumbent left fielder MJ Melendez has yet to break out after three MLB seasons, plus veteran Hunter Renfroe is back in right field after exercising his $7.5MM player option for the 2025 season. It wouldn’t be a surprise if either is moved to bench duty now since the corner outfield is a natural spot for the Royals to add a big hitter. Some left field help might come from an unusual source, as both new acquisition Jonathan India and Michael Massey are apparently willing to move from second base to left field if it’ll help the team (and garner them more regular playing time). Stay tuned to this situation, as now that K.C. is firmly back in playoff contention, the Royals should be more aggressive in shoring up the lineup to try and make a deeper October run.
Tigers (Shortstop, -0.3 bWAR): No team got less from the shortstop position than the Tigers, as Javier Baez endured a brutal season before undergoing a hip surgery in August. With three years and $73MM still remaining on Baez’s contract, Detroit can only hope that improved health for Baez can salvage that has been a bust of a signing over the first three seasons of that deal, but the Tigers have already eyed ways to reduce Baez’s playing time. Trey Sweeney might well end up getting the majority of shortstop time in 2025, but Ha-Seong Kim is also on Detroit’s radar as a possible shortstop candidate.
Twins (Second base, -0.1 bWAR): There’s plenty of fluidity around Minnesota’s infield, as any of Royce Lewis, Brooks Lee, Edouard Julien, or utilityman Willi Castro could be slotted in at second base next season, depending on how the Twins might address first base now that Carlos Santana has signed with Cleveland. A healthy breakout year from Lewis or Lee at any position would be a massive help for a Twins club in a payroll crunch, as it doesn’t look like Minnesota will have much of anything to spend on new upgrades.
White Sox (Catcher, -1.8 bWAR): Korey Lee, Martin Maldonado, and Chuckie Robinson combined to give Chicago the least production of any catching corps in baseball. Matt Thaiss was acquired from the Cubs to pair with Lee as the catching tandem for now, but highly-touted prospects Edgar Quero and Kyle Teel should both make their big league debuts at some point in 2025. It will not surprise you to learn that a 121-loss team had plenty of weak links, as the White Sox got negative bWAR totals from the DH, left field, right field, second base, and third base positions. To give you an idea of how little the Sox got from their position players in 2024, consider that the Marlins’ 2.1 bWAR from non-pitchers ranked Miami 29th of 30 teams. The Sox were 30th, with a stunning -6.7 bWAR.
Yankees (First base, -0.1 bWAR): After Anthony Rizzo‘s club option was declined, the Yankees checked in several first base candidates and technically came away with two, as Cody Bellinger was first acquired in a trade with the Cubs. Signing Goldschmidt to a one-year, $12.5MM deal will now push Bellinger into outfield duty, and the Yankees are hoping that a change of scenery allows both former NL MVPs to rediscover some of their old form. Focusing on Goldschmidt, the 37-year-old was hampered by a very rough first half that resulted in the worst overall season of his 14-year career, but his stronger second half and overall impressive hard-contact numbers hint that Goldschmidt has more to offer. New York doesn’t even need prime Goldschmidt, as even getting a repeat of his solid 2023 numbers (122 wRC+ over 687 PA with the Cardinals) would be a substantial upgrade.
Giants Declined To Include Bryce Eldridge In Tucker/Crochet Trade Offers
The Giants were known to have had interest in Kyle Tucker before the Astros traded the outfielder to the Cubs, and The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly shared some details on that pursuit plus the new information that the Giants were one of the many teams who talked to the White Sox about Garrett Crochet. San Francisco “made legitimate offers” for both Tucker and Crochet, Baggarly writes, “to the point that [the Giants] were said to feel a bit uncomfortable with the players they were willing to sacrifice.” However, neither offer included top prospect Bryce Eldridge, and thus no trades materialized since the Astros and Sox each viewed Eldridge’s inclusion as “a prerequisite.”
Eldridge was the 16th overall pick of the 2023 draft, and he has already hit .292/.379/.514 with 29 home runs over 649 plate appearances in the minors even before he turned 20 years old last October. This hot hitting saw Eldridge moved up the ladder to four different affiliates during the 2024 season, though it is worth noting that his numbers dropped off (in small sample sizes) as he played higher levels of minor league ball. Eldridge had a more modest .785 OPS in 40 PA with Double-A Richmond and then a .601 OPS in 35 PA with Triple-A Sacramento.
Since he has already reached Triple-A, it isn’t out of the question that Eldridge’s MLB debut could come during the 2025 season, especially given how San Francisco was already aggressive with his early promotions. LaMonte Wade Jr. is a free agent next winter and has been the subject of trade speculation even this offseason, so the path should soon be clear for Eldridge as the Bay Area’s first baseman of the future. While the Giants will naturally want to see him post better numbers in the upper minors before calling him to the Show, it is easy to see the potential in the 6’7″, 223-pound first baseman.
Eldridge fits the mold of a classic left-handed slugger, and scouting reports from both MLB Pipeline and Baseball America praise his huge power and his mature approach at the plate. Pipeline and BA each place Eldridge 35th in the most recent editions of their league-wide top-100 prospects rankings. He is the only Giants minor leaguer in Baseball America’s rankings, while Pipeline also has James Tibbs III (the 13th overall pick of the 2024 draft) 88th on their list.
In either case, Eldridge is certainly the top prospect in a San Francisco farm system that is considered to be relatively thin, so it isn’t surprising that the Giants aren’t eager to move him in any trades. Obviously this is a big roadblock in negotiations, since as Baggarly notes, “any team dangling a solid-average everyday player or better is going to start by asking for Eldridge — and not likely to move off that position.”
The White Sox were known to be focusing on young position players in exchange for Crochet, and indeed three of the four prospects Chicago received from the Red Sox in the trade package were position players. As per Pipeline’s rankings of San Francisco’s farm system, the Giants are slightly deeper in position players than pitchers, though not to the level of Boston’s depth. Likewise, the Cubs still have a wealth of position players in their minor league system even after moving Cam Smith as part of the Tucker trade.
Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey and GM Zack Minasian have yet to complete a trade in their limited time leading the San Francisco front office, though in the view of rival executives, Baggarly hears the Giants have been “hyperactive in attempting to generate trade dialogue.” Since questions remain about how much ownership is willing to commit to the payroll this season, the trade market could therefore be the Giants’ best method of adding talent to the roster, though that creates another layer of complication if other teams are chiefly focused on Eldridge among the minor league prospects. As Baggarly frames the situation, some other front offices have been trying to see if they can get Posey or Minasian to bite on an unfavorable trade out of sheer inexperience, which has “led to a few opening offers…that have amounted to non-starters and time wasters.”
In terms of other trade candidates, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle details some of the players the Giants could still look to pry away from rival teams, and reports that the Giants “had some interest” in Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner earlier this winter. The past-tense phrasing, however, indicates that San Francisco moved on after signing Willy Adames as the new everyday shortstop, so Tyler Fitzgerald now looks to move from shortstop to second base.
Justin Verlander Drawing Interest From “Multiple Teams”
There hasn’t been much public buzz about Justin Verlander‘s market as the three-time Cy Young Award winner prepares for his 20th Major League season, yet business may be starting to pick up. MLB Network’s Jon Morosi (video link) reports that “multiple teams [are] interested in” the right-hander, and that Verlander and former teammate Max Scherzer are in pretty similar situations as veteran stars looking for one-year contracts as they look to rebound from injury-shortened 2024 seasons.
Verlander tossed only 90 1/3 innings last season, and he didn’t make his 2024 debut until April 19 after a shoulder problem limited him during Spring Training. That relatively minor issue was overshadowed by a neck injury in June that ended up sidelining him for over two and a half months, and Verlander then struggled to an 8.10 ERA in 33 1/3 frames after being activated from the injured list in August. Discussing his health situation with reporters in late September, Verlander said “I think I came back from the neck injury a little fast….I want to be an asset for this team. And to do that, I needed to be able to pitch and find out where I’m at. Obviously, the results have not been good. But there’s nothing you can do besides trying to pitch.”
The good news is that Verlander is now “in great shape,” according to Morosi, as the future Hall-of-Famer heads into his age-42 season. Verlander has a well-earned reputation as a workhorse over his outstanding career, yet inevitably, more health issues have developed as he has gotten older. Verlander missed virtually all of the 2020-21 seasons recovering from Tommy John surgery, he missed a couple of weeks during the 2022 season due to a calf injury, and a teres major strain kept him on the shelf for over the first month of the 2023 season.
The latter two of those injuries, to be fair, didn’t keep Verlander from tossing 337 1/3 total innings in 2022-23, plus 38 1/3 more frames in the playoffs. His 2022 season in particular saw the righty deliver one of his best seasons, as he posted a 1.75 ERA while leading Houston to a World Series championship. Verlander took a slight step backwards in 2023 but still had a 3.22 ERA in 162 1/3 combined innings with the Mets and Astros.
Even at age 42, Verlander has plenty of upside, as he has shown that he can still be an effective arm as long as he is healthy. Obviously his health status is more of a question mark considering what happened in 2024, yet on paper, even serious neck soreness probably isn’t as big of a red flag to teams as something like an elbow or shoulder injury. It probably isn’t a surprise that Verlander’s market has started to heat up as we get later into the offseason, and teams have had more time to both evaluate his medicals and to monitor the pitching market as a whole after several other free agents and trade targets have come off the board.
Morosi didn’t cite any specific teams that were considering Verlander, though any number of clubs could be a fit due to the ever-present need for pitching. It can be assumed that Verlander is prioritizing joining contending teams, and Morosi’s suggestion that Baltimore could be a fit might no longer apply, as Morosi’s report was filed before the Orioles announced their one-year deal with Charlie Morton. The Astros are the only team known to have interest in Verlander’s services, as GM Dana Brown said in November that he’d “had conversations” with Verlander’s agent.
Blue Jays Make Contract Offer To Anthony Santander
The Blue Jays’ interest in Anthony Santander is well-known, with Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press even listing the Jays and Angels “as the frontrunners” to sign the All-Star outfielder in a report last week. Toronto has formalized its pursuit of Santander by making an official contract offer, according to KPRC’s Ari Alexander, though the size and length of the offer isn’t known.
MLB Trade Rumors ranked Santander ninth on our list of the offseason’s top 50 free agents, and projected the longtime Orioles outfielder for a four-year, $80MM deal. Santander and his reps at the Beverly Hills Sports Council have been looking to top that number, as Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported last month that Santander is looking for a five-year contract worth at least $100MM.
Given how many other notable free agents have landed bigger deals than expected this winter, it isn’t surprising that Santander is aiming high, and he might have some leverage since so many other big bats have already signed elsewhere. Beyond the Blue Jays and Angels, the Tigers, Red Sox, and Yankees have also been publicly linked to Santander, and it is possible another club or two might be lurking to see how his market develops.
One team that doesn’t appear to be in the running for Santander is Houston, as Alexander notes that the Astros are “very unlikely” to dole out the type of contract that would basically ensure that the team stays over the luxury tax threshold. RosterResource’s current estimate of a $244MM tax number for the Astros already puts them over the $241MM threshold, and there has been speculation that Houston might look to move a contract in order to duck under the line and reset its tax status. Because the Astros were tax payors in 2024, they also have to give up two 2025 draft picks and $1MM in international bonus pool money for signing any free agent that rejects a qualifying offer, and Houston already paid those extra penalties to sign Christian Walker.
Adding a powerful switch-hitter like Santander would cover multiple needs for the Jays, whose largely right-handed hitting lineup finished 26th in the majors last year in home runs. Putting Santander behind Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (who contributed 30 of the Jays’ 156 homers in 2024) in the lineup would give Guerrero some valuable protection, and there’s a ready-made defensive position for Santander in left field. Since the Blue Jays don’t have a set designated hitter, Santander could get a good chunk of at-bats from the DH spot, which also works since Santander’s outfield defense is average at best.
It has been a pretty quiet offseason for the Blue Jays, though not for lack of effort, as the team has been linked to almost every major free agent on the market. Toronto made aggressive bids for both the top hitter (Juan Soto) and pitcher (Corbin Burnes) available, and reports indicated that the Jays may have outbid the Diamondbacks’ $210MM contract with Burnes, but the right-hander took less money in order to pitch closer to his home in Arizona. For all of the Jays’ free agent dealings, their only noteworthy deal has been a two-year pact with old friend Yimi Garcia. Toronto’s other big offseason move to date was a trade with the Guardians that brought second baseman Andres Gimenez and reliever Nick Sandlin into the fold, but Gimenez’s subpar hitting numbers over the last two seasons offers no promise that he’ll help the Blue Jays’ lackluster offense.
Signing Santander would at least quiet the narrative that the Jays are unable to land top free agents, even if the heat on GM Ross Atkins and team president Mark Shapiro won’t really let up unless the Blue Jays turn things around on the field in 2025. Arguably no team in baseball faces as much short-term pressure as the Jays, since Guerrero and Bo Bichette are both free agents next winter and there isn’t any indication that the club is making any headway in extension talks. Bringing in Santander on a long-term deal could be viewed as a move to lock a big bat into the lineup even if Guerrero does leave, similar to how the Gimenez trade could be interpreted as a move to shore up the shortstop position if Bichette departs.
Orioles Sign Charlie Morton
The Orioles announced they’ve signed Charlie Morton to a one-year deal. It’s reportedly a $15MM guarantee for the Wasserman client. Baltimore designated catcher René Pinto for assignment to open a 40-man roster spot.
Morton, who turned 41 in November, joins the sixth team of his career in what’ll be his 18th MLB season. The two-time All-Star has spent the past four seasons with the Braves, where he combined for a 3.87 ERA over 124 starts. While Morton’s production has dipped slightly over the past couple years, he has avoided the kind of dramatic drop-off one might expect from a pitcher in his 40s.
The righty took the ball 30 times and worked to a 4.19 earned run average across 165 1/3 innings last year. He reached 30 starts and surpassed 160 frames in all four seasons during his late-career run in Atlanta. Morton struck out 23.8% of opposing hitters against a slightly elevated 9.3% walk rate. The strikeout rate was his lowest since his 2017 breakout in Houston but remained a couple points above the league average for starting pitchers.
Morton hasn’t lost much velocity despite his age. His fastball averaged 94 MPH last year, a tick below where it had been for the prior three seasons. His primary offering, his curveball, landed at its customary 81.5 MPH on average. Morton continues to generate elite spin and generally strong results against the breaking pitch. Opponents hit .200 against the curveball last season.
In aggregate, Morton’s 2024 production was that of a solid fourth starter. He ran into some trouble in the second half, though. Morton allowed 4.37 earned runs per nine while giving up a lofty .279/.357/.469 batting line after the All-Star Break. Morton rebounded in September following a shaky August, while his strikeout and walk marks held steady throughout the season.
Atlanta, seemingly working with strict budget limits, never appeared interested in keeping Morton for a fifth season. There’s annual speculation that he could retire, but it became clear last month that he planned to return for another year. The Athletic’s David O’Brien has written that Morton wanted to sign with a team that played Spring Training near his Bradenton, Florida home. The Orioles qualify. Their complex is in Sarasota. Morton won’t be as close to home as he’d been in Georgia once the regular season begins, but that’s evidently less of a concern than the Spring Training geography.
Morton is Baltimore’s second veteran rotation addition of the winter. His signing comes three weeks after the O’s inked 35-year-old Japanese star Tomoyuki Sugano to a one-year, $13MM contract. Both pitchers project as durable back-end starters at this stage of their careers. The Orioles needed to add to their rotation behind Zach Eflin and Grayson Rodriguez. Sugano and Morton each make sense in isolation, but neither brings anywhere near the upside they lost when Corbin Burnes walked.
The offseason is halfway complete. Baltimore has been tied to Jack Flaherty, the best unsigned starter. They’re an obvious fit for potential trade candidates like Luis Castillo and Dylan Cease. There’s no guarantee this is their final move. Through the offseason’s first couple months, however, they’ve shied away from making the kind of splash that many in the fanbase anticipated under new owner David Rubenstein. In addition to the rotation acquisitions, they signed outfielder Tyler O’Neill to a three-year deal that guaranteed just under $50MM and brought in Gary Sánchez as a backup catcher/designated hitter on an $8.5MM signing.
Eflin, Rodriguez, Morton and Sugano form the top four in Brandon Hyde’s rotation for now. Dean Kremer projects as the fifth starter. Albert Suárez, Trevor Rogers, and younger pitchers Cade Povich and Chayce McDermott are behind them. They’re building decent depth but arguably still need an impact arm to slot at the top of the staff.
Pinto, 28, was claimed off waivers from the Rays at the start of the offseason. He’s out of options and can’t be sent to Triple-A without clearing waivers. His spot on the 40-man roster seemed tenuous after the Sánchez pickup. Baltimore will have five days to trade him or put him back on the waiver wire. Pinto hit .231/.263/.404 in 82 major league games with Tampa Bay between 2022-24.
Mark Feinsand of MLB.com first reported the $15MM salary. Image courtesy of Imagn.
Dodgers Sign Hyeseong Kim
With hours left to go before his posting window closes, Hyeseong Kim and the Dodgers signed a three-year contract worth $12.5MM. The deal includes a two-year club option (which would need to be exercised together) covering the 2028-29 seasons. If the Dodgers exercise the option, they’d pay an additional $9.5MM over those two years. Los Angeles designated catcher Diego Cartaya for assignment to open a 40-man roster spot. Kim is represented by CAA Sports.
Kim’s former team, the Kiwoom Heroes, officially posted him on December 5, giving him until 4:00 PM CT this afternoon to sign with an MLB club. As the days ticked by and the rumor mill remained relatively quiet, it seemed like a legitimate possibility that Kim would return for one more season with the Heroes. Instead, the Dodgers, who hadn’t been closely linked to Kim this winter, swooped in and made a winning offer in the nick of time. In addition to Kim’s salary, the Dodgers will have to pay a $2.5MM release fee to the Heroes (20% of the guaranteed $12.5MM on his deal). Their total investment is $15MM.
Kim, soon to be 26, is a four-time consecutive winner of the KBO Golden Glove Award, given annually to the best overall player at each position. He won the award at shortstop in 2021 before moving to second base and winning each year from 2022-24. In addition to playing a strong second base and at least a capable shortstop, Kim is also an asset on the basepaths. He led the KBO in stolen bases in 2021 and has swiped at least 20 bags in all seven full seasons of his career. His glove and legs should give him a relatively high floor as a utility player in MLB, if nothing more.
The big question is how Kim’s bat will hold up against MLB pitching. While he struggled at the plate early in his career, the lefty batter blossomed into a well-above-average hitter during his last three years in the KBO. From 2022-24, he produced a .326 batting average and a .384 OBP, while his wRC+ was never below 118 in any season. However, Kim has never hit for much power, even by the slightly lower power standards of the KBO. His 2024 season was the best of his career power-wise – he reached double-digit home runs for the first time – but his .132 isolated power was still below league average. Thus, it’s fair to worry that Kim might not have the necessary power to be an everyday player in MLB. Just look at his former KBO teammate Ha-Seong Kim. Ha-Seong Kim was a genuine power threat in the KBO, socking 30 homers in 138 games during his final season in Korea. Since coming to MLB, he has become known as a soft-hitting contact specialist. His career .137 ISO in MLB is 15% worse than the league average over the last four years.
When MLBTR ranked Hyseong Kim at no. 26 on our Top 50 Free Agents list, we predicted he’d sign a three-year, $24MM contract. His actual deal guarantees him a little more than half of that predicted salary. That said, it’s worth mentioning that Kim reportedly turned down more money from at least one other team. A representative from Kim’s agency, CAA Baseball, told a Korean media outlet (passed along by Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News) that the Angels offered him a five-year, $28MM deal, while the Mariners, Cubs, and Padres also made offers with undisclosed terms. Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register contradicts that report. According to Fletcher, the Angels made an offer to Kim but did not top what he received from the Dodgers.
To that point, Kim might not have a guaranteed starting role in L.A. The Dodgers already have Gavin Lux to play second base, Mookie Betts at shortstop, and Max Muncy holding down the hot corner. Furthermore, they have the talented defensive shortstop Miguel Rojas and the versatile Chris Taylor on the bench. Center fielder Tommy Edman can also play all around the infield.
According to Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic, Kim will play a “super-utility role” in 2025. The use of the prefix “super” seems to imply that he’ll be playing several positions. While he has significant experience at both shortstop and second base, he has only played a handful of games at third base in his professional career. He also played 44 games in left field during the 2020 season, and it will be interesting to see if the Dodgers consider using him in the outfield at all. As a “super-utility” player, Kim will presumably have a bigger role than that of a typical bench bat, but with so much competition on the Dodgers’ talent-filled roster, he’ll have to earn his playing time.
The fact that the Dodgers signed Kim despite already having so many infielders is evidence of how much this team values depth and flexibility. It’s also a sign of how much they value what Kim can bring to the table. Funnily enough, manager Dave Roberts has already made his team’s affinity for Kim quite clear. After the Dodgers played an exhibition match against the Korean national team last March, Roberts told reporters (including Yoo), “Our scouts like the second baseman: just the way his body moves.” That second baseman, of course, was Kim.
Various reports out of South Korea were first with the news that Kim was signing with Los Angeles on a three-year deal with a two-year club option. Jon Heyman of the New York Post was first to report the $12.5MM guarantee and the $22MM maximum value.
Latest On Jack Flaherty
Jack Flaherty is the top unsigned starter as the calendar flips to 2025. While there haven’t been a ton of teams publicly linked to the right-hander, Flaherty was tied to the Orioles before their agreement with Charlie Morton this evening.
MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand wrote this afternoon that the Blue Jays, Cubs, Giants and Tigers are among the teams that “remain in the mix.” Feinsand also listed the Orioles as a suitor, though his column was published before the Morton signing. It’s not clear if that’ll take them out of the running. In an appearance on Foul Territory yesterday, Baltimore Baseball’s Rich Dubroff suggested the O’s could be reluctant to meet Flaherty’s asking price.
Will Sammon and Katie Woo of The Athletic wrote earlier this week that Flaherty was believed to be seeking a deal of at least five years. That’d probably be the necessary term if he’s to get into nine figures. MLBTR predicted Flaherty for five years and $115MM at the beginning of the offseason. The market has been favorable to starting pitching, but Flaherty has yet to find a deal to his liking.
He’s coming off an excellent season. Flaherty combined for a 3.17 ERA while striking out nearly 30% of batters faced between the Tigers and Dodgers. He walked fewer than 6% of opponents while getting swinging strikes at a strong 13.3% clip. It was easily his best season since his dominant finish to the 2019 campaign when he was a member of the Cardinals. Flaherty battled injuries between 2020-22 and struggled in ’23, when he allowed an ERA just below 5.00 across 29 appearances.
The inconsistency is a concern, as is Flaherty’s injury history. He’s been generally durable over the past two seasons, but the Yankees reportedly nixed a deadline trade because of concerns about his back. Flaherty went to the Dodgers instead and held up for the rest of the season. He didn’t pitch well in the postseason, but there’s no indication he wasn’t at full health during L.A.’s World Series run.
Flaherty’s fantastic regular season gives him a solid case for five years. He just turned 29 and isn’t attached to a qualifying offer because he was traded midseason. There hasn’t been a four-year free agent deal for a starting pitcher this offseason. Max Fried and Corbin Burnes got six-plus years, while Blake Snell signed for five. Sean Manaea, Luis Severino, Nathan Eovaldi and Yusei Kikuchi all signed three-year deals. Flaherty should beat that group and presumably expects to top the four years and $80MM which Eduardo Rodriguez received last winter.
That’s without many clearly interested teams, however. Baltimore has added Morton and Tomoyuki Sugano on one-year deals, suggesting they may be reluctant to make a significant pitching investment. The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma wrote at the Winter Meetings that while the Cubs had some interest in Flaherty, they were hesitant to meet an elevated asking price.
San Francisco didn’t make as strong a push as many expected for Burnes. President of baseball operations Buster Posey recently suggested to Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic that the club was optimistic about its young starters and searching for offensive help. The Tigers might be in a similar spot. They’ve been tied to Alex Bregman and Anthony Santander recently. Detroit GM Jeff Greenberg indicated after they signed Alex Cobb at the Winter Meetings that they weren’t likely to be big factors in the rotation market aside from a long shot push for Roki Sasaki (link via Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free-Press). Toronto has been linked to essentially every free agent but remains in the Bregman/Santander markets and could prioritize free agency’s top relievers.
Dodgers Still Planning To Use Betts-Lux Middle Infield
The Dodgers added to their middle infield with the signing of KBO second Hyeseong Kim to a three-year contract. That fueled speculation about Los Angeles dealing one of their other infielders.
General manager Brandon Gomes downplayed the notion that adding Kim will spur another trade. “I think it’s more that we’re adding a really talented player, and [then we’ll] see where things play out,” Gomes told reporters (including Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times). “It’s helpful to have really strong pieces at a lot of different areas. So that’s how we’re viewing it right now.” He added that the team’s “mindset” remains a middle infield pairing of Mookie Betts at shortstop and Gavin Lux at second base.
Before Gomes’ media session, Fabian Ardaya of the Athletic reported that the Dodgers view Kim as a utility player. Los Angeles values defensive flexibility as much as any team. The 25-year-old Kim has primarily been a second baseman but has experience in left field and at both positions on the left side of the infield. L.A. already has Miguel Rojas and Chris Taylor as veteran utility options. Tommy Edman can also play either middle infield spot but is expected to be the everyday center fielder between Michael Conforto and Teoscar Hernández. Assuming a four-man bench, Kim and backup catcher Austin Barnes would round out the position player group. That’d push outfielders Andy Pages and James Outman, each of whom has a minor league option left, to Triple-A if everyone’s healthy.
Rojas underwent postseason hernia surgery, but there’s no indication that’ll keep him from participating in Spring Training. Taylor is coming off a .202/.298/.300 showing. The organization clearly places a lot of emphasis on his versatility and clubhouse presence. L.A. designated former top prospect Diego Cartaya for assignment as the corresponding move for Kim. That suggests the Dodgers see a path to carrying all of Kim, Rojas and Taylor on the roster.
There could be an element of gamesmanship to Gomes’ comments. It wouldn’t do the team much good to proclaim they’re trying to deal a middle infielder even if they were. That said, it’s not surprising that the Dodgers don’t feel Lux’s situation changes much after the Kim signing. The latter’s three-year, $12.5MM guarantee is a modest investment that suggests MLB teams generally viewed him as a utility player rather than a regular.
Lux hit .251/.320/.383 with 10 homers while playing slightly below-average defense in more than 1000 innings at second base last year. He had a fantastic second half, hitting .304 with seven homers in 61 games after the All-Star Break. He has been a league average hitter over nearly 1500 MLB plate appearances. Evaluators question how much Kim will bring to the table offensively. It’d be risky for the Dodgers to deal Lux and expect Kim to handle the keystone.
The Dodgers also don’t have glaring weaknesses that they need to address via trade. There’s little reason to deal Lux for prospects. The Dodgers could open the season with a rotation including Shohei Ohtani, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. They’re expected to bring Clayton Kershaw back. They might sign Roki Sasaki. Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May are returning from injury. The bullpen is the relative weak point, but Ardaya writes in a separate column at The Athletic that the team prefers to address that through free agency rather than trade.
Yankees, Andrew Velazquez Agree To Minor League Deal
The Yankees have brought back infielder Andrew Velazquez on a minor league contract with a non-roster Spring Training invite, reports Jack Curry of the YES Network. The CAA client is a Bronx native who appeared for his hometown team in 2021.
Velazquez, 30, has played for five teams over a big league career spanning parts of six seasons. Nearly half his playing time came as a member of the Angels in 2023. Velazquez appeared in a personal-high 125 contests that year. He hit .196 with a .236 on-base percentage but played great defense in more than 900 shortstop innings. His defensive grades slipped the following year and the Angels waived him that September.
Prior to his nearly two years in Orange County, he’d made brief appearances with the Rays, Cleveland, Orioles and Yankees. Velazquez hit .224 over 28 games in pinstripes four years ago. He played all of last season in Triple-A with the Braves after signing an offseason minor league contract. While he hit 16 homers and stole 33 bases, his overall offense was mediocre. Velazquez struck out nearly a third of the time while hitting .242/.298/.394 through 473 plate appearances with Atlanta’s highest affiliate.
The switch-hitting Velazquez is a career .189/.244/.293 hitter in 624 big league plate appearances. His glove is the selling point. He has logged nearly 1500 major league innings at shortstop. Velazquez played both middle infield positions and all three outfield spots in Triple-A last year. He’ll likely begin next season at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre as a versatile depth option.
Dodgers Designate Diego Cartaya For Assignment
The Dodgers designated former top catching prospect Diego Cartaya for assignment. The move opens a 40-man roster spot for Hyeseong Kim, whose three-year deal is official.
Cartaya has yet to play in the major leagues, but he’s a bigger name than most players who find themselves in DFA limbo. The Venezuela native was one of the best talents in his amateur signing class and inked a $2.5MM bonus in 2018. He performed well in the low minors and shot to the top of the Dodger system. Baseball America ranked him as L.A.’s #1 prospect entering both the 2022 and ’23 campaigns. He was among BA’s 25 best minor league talents in both years.
The Dodgers added Cartaya to their 40-man roster after the 2022 season. There was no chance they’d leave him unprotected in the Rule 5 draft. Cartaya’s long-term future on a team that already rostered Will Smith was debatable, but he at least seemed like a potential key trade chip. That he has been DFA just over two years later demonstrates how far his stock has fallen.
Cartaya’s bat has stalled in the upper minors. He hit .189 with a 29% strikeout rate over 93 Double-A games in 2023. While that knocked him off Top 100 lists, he still ranked eighth among Dodger prospects at Baseball America going into last season. Cartaya improved offensively in his second shot at Double-A, where he hit .236/.354/.379 over 45 contests. He couldn’t maintain that after being promoted to Triple-A Oklahoma City in the middle of June.
The 23-year-old hit .208/.293/.350 while striking out at a 27.4% clip across 49 games in the Pacific Coast League. He had the second-lowest batting average and fifth-lowest OBP among PCL hitters with at least 200 plate appearances. Cartaya had been surpassed by Dalton Rushing as the top catching prospect in the system, while Smith signed a contract extension that’ll keep him in Los Angeles through 2033.
After Cartaya struggled through consecutive down seasons, the Dodgers are willing to move on. They’ll have five days to trade him or place him on waivers. Another team will almost certainly roll the dice, likely via trade that’d allow them to jump the waiver order.
Cartaya draws praise for his defensive acumen and has drawn plenty of walks even as his numbers have fallen in the high minors. While the swing-and-miss means he’s unlikely to become a franchise catcher, there are probably teams that feel he’ll be a capable backup or a potential low-end regular. Cartaya still has a minor league option remaining. An acquiring team would be able to send him to Triple-A for another season.