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Reds Activate Tyler Stephenson For 2025 Debut, Place Austin Hays On Injured List

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The Reds announced Friday that they’ve reinstated catcher Tyler Stephenson from the injured list. He’s missed the entire season so far due to an oblique strain he suffered in spring training. It’s not all good news for the Reds, however, as the corresponding move for Stephenson’s return is 10-day IL stint for hot-hitting outfielder Austin Hays. He’s dealing with a left hamstring strain, per the team. His IL placement is retroactive to April 29.

With Stephenson returning and backups Jose Trevino and Austin Wynns hitting well, Cincinnati will carry three catchers on the roster for the time being. Stephenson has plenty of experience at first base, if the Reds want to plug him into that mix, and he has more than enough bat to justify being deployed as a designated hitter. The 28-year-old bounced back from a down showing in 2023 to hit .258/.338/.444 (112 wRC+) with 19 home runs in 515 plate appearances last year. Since breaking into the majors in 2020, Stephenson is a career .267/.343/.427 hitter (106 wRC+).

This will be the second IL stint of the season for the 29-year-old Hays, who’s been on an otherworldly tear when healthy enough to take the field. He started the season on the IL with a calf strain in this same left leg but has decimated opponents with a .365/.431/.712 output between the two IL trips. Hays has already clubbed five homers in just 58 plate appearances, and he’s walking at a career-high 10.3% clip against a manageable 22.4% strikeout rate.

Hays is the third potential Reds regular on the injured list. He’ll join Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Jeimer Candelario, both of whom are dealing with back injuries. With that trio sidelined, the Reds can go with a combination of Stephenson and Spencer Steer at first base. In the outfield, TJ Friedl, Jake Fraley and Gavin Lux ought to see plenty of run — particularly against right-handed pitching. Steer and fellow righty hitters Blake Dunn and Santiago Espinal can contribute in the outfield against left-handed opponents.

Looking Ahead To Club Options: NL Central

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MLBTR continues our division by division look at next year’s team/mutual option class with the NL Central. Virtually all of the mutual options will be bought out by one side. Generally, if the team is willing to retain the player at the option price, the player will decline his end in search of a better free agent deal.

Previous installments: player options/opt-outs, NL West, AL West

Chicago Cubs

  • Shota Imanaga, LHP (team has three-year, $57MM option covering 2026-28; if they decline, Imanaga has $15MM player option for 2026)

Imanaga signed a somewhat complex four-year, $53MM deal when he made the jump from NPB during the 2023-24 offseason. Next winter, the Cubs need to decide whether to trigger a three-year, $57MM option for the 2026-28 seasons. That’d come with respective salaries of $20MM, $20MM and $17MM. If the Cubs decline their end, Imanaga would be able to decline a $15MM player option for ’26 and test free agency.

It’d almost certainly take an injury for that to happen. Concerns about how Imanaga’s stuff might translate against MLB competition proved unfounded. The southpaw finished fifth in NL Cy Young balloting during his first major league season. He turned in a 2.91 earned run average across 173 1/3 innings, striking out a quarter of opponents against a 4% walk rate. The punchouts haven’t been there through this year’s first five starts, but he takes a 2.22 ERA into tonight’s appearance against the Dodgers. He’s getting whiffs on an excellent 14% of his pitches, so he’ll likely finish off a few more strikeouts moving forward. Imanaga’s deal looks like a bargain, and the Cubs should happily sign up for another three seasons at a $19MM average annual value unless he suffers an injury.

  • Colin Rea, RHP ($6MM club option, $750K buyout)

Rea reunited with Craig Counsell in Chicago after the Brewers declined his $5.5MM club option. It actually worked out slightly to his financial benefit. The righty collected a $1MM buyout from Milwaukee and secured a $5MM guarantee with the Cubs. He’s playing this year on a $4.25MM salary and will make at least a $750K buyout on next year’s club option. That’s valued at $6MM, so it’ll be a $5.25MM decision.

The Cubs had Rea work in long relief to begin the season. He has stepped into the rotation since the Justin Steele injury. The 34-year-old righty is out to a strong start, allowing two runs through his first 13 2/3 innings. He has punched out 12 while only allowing one walk in 56 plate appearances. Rea had held a rotation role in Milwaukee for most of last year, posting a 4.29 ERA through a career-high 167 2/3 innings. As a mid-30s swingman with league average whiff rates, he’s never going to break the bank, but the option price is reasonable for a capable #5/6 starter.

Turner’s option is mostly an accounting measure designed to push back $2MM of his $6MM free agent guarantee by a few months. Option buyouts are paid at year’s end, while the money would have been evenly distributed throughout the season had it simply been a $6MM salary. It’s unlikely that the Cubs would want to sign up for a $10MM salary covering Turner’s age-41 campaign even if he repeats his solid 2024 production.

The 17-year big league veteran has posted 11 consecutive above-average offensive seasons since his 2014 breakout with the Dodgers. His power numbers have declined with age, but he put up a strong .354 on-base percentage in 139 games between the Blue Jays and Mariners a year ago. Turner’s start on the North Side hasn’t been good. He’s hitting .147 without an extra-base hit over 14 games. He’s taken six walks against nine strikeouts but will obviously need to make more of a slugging impact.

Cincinnati Reds

Cincinnati took a buy-low flier on Barlow, a former closer who was released by the Guardians shortly before the playoffs. The righty had fallen quickly down the depth chart in Cleveland. He carried a 3.52 ERA with a 32% strikeout rate into the All-Star Break. Barlow allowed a near-6.00 ERA while striking out just 19% of batters faced in the second half. A fastball that typically sat around 93 MPH had dropped to the 90-91 range.

The early tenure in Cincinnati has been mixed. Barlow has gotten his velocity back, averaging 93 on both his four-seam and sinker. He’s getting whiffs on a huge 15.3% of his offerings, nearly two percentage points above last year’s level. The stuff is certainly more encouraging, but the results haven’t followed. He has a pedestrian 9:6 strikeout-to-walk ratio while allowing five runs on eight hits through 9 1/3 innings. He was limited to a $2.5MM guarantee last offseason. He’ll need a more convincing rebound for Cincinnati to retain him on what amounts to a $5.5MM call.

Hays signed for $5MM after being non-tendered by the Phillies. The righty-hitting outfielder has been a capable regular for most of his career, but his production dipped last season while he battled a grueling kidney infection. A Spring Training calf injury delayed his team debut until last week. Hays has been on tear since his return, connecting on three homers while hitting .406 in 34 plate appearances. He has a hit in all seven games, including three straight multi-hit performances against his old teammates in Baltimore over the weekend.

Suter, who grew up in Cincinnati, joined the Reds on a $3MM deal during the 2023-24 offseason. He posted a 3.15 ERA through 65 2/3 innings and signed a $2.25MM extension at the start of last winter. The 35-year-old southpaw is out to a customary start. He has managed 9 2/3 frames of three-run ball despite striking out just four of 38 opponents. Suter’s stuff is never going to jump off the page — he’s sitting in his typical 85-88 MPH range with his fastballs — but he avoids hard contact and is aiming for his seventh straight sub-4.00 ERA showing. Assuming he continues on his usual pace, the Reds should want him back on a $2.75MM decision.

Milwaukee Brewers

Milwaukee made a big investment by their standards in signing Hoskins to a two-year, $34MM contract during the 2023-24 offseason. The longtime Phillies first baseman had missed his walk year after suffering an ACL tear during Spring Training. The Brewers expected Hoskins to recapture his consistently above-average offensive form after a healthy offseason.

That didn’t happen in year one, as he hit a career-worst .214/.303/.419 across 517 plate appearances. Hoskins still managed 26 homers, but the overall offense was essentially league average. It wasn’t attributable to lingering knee discomfort. Hoskins did his best work early in the season, carrying an .813 OPS through the end of May. He hit .203/.285/.395 over the season’s final four months and bypassed an opt-out opportunity.

Hoskins has gotten out to another strong start this year. He’s batting .270 with a trio of homers and what would be a career-low 20% strikeout rate over his first 75 trips to the plate.

Milwaukee signed Peralta to a $20MM extension just before Spring Training 2020. He was mostly unproven at the time, but it only took one more season before he developed into a top-of-the-rotation starter. This quickly became one of the more team-friendly contracts in baseball. The deal included respective $8MM club options for 2025 and ’26, which would have been Peralta’s first two free agent years had he gone through arbitration.

The 28-year-old righty has been the clear staff ace since Milwaukee traded Corbin Burnes. He posted a sub-4.00 ERA in each of the five guaranteed seasons of the contract. Peralta has rattled off another 28 1/3 frames of 1.91 ERA ball through his first five starts this year. Unless he suffers a significant injury that’d threaten his availability for next season, the Brewers are going to rubber-stamp the option.

Quintana signed late on a $4.25MM pillow contract after finding a weaker market than he expected. The net present value was actually just under $4MM, as Quintana agreed to defer the $2MM buyout on his ’26 mutual option. The Brewers aren’t going to exercise their end of the $15MM option for what would be the veteran lefty’s age-37 season. It looks like they got great value on the one-year deal, though, as Quintana is coming off a 3.75 ERA showing for the Mets. The late signing delayed his team debut, but he has fired 12 1/3 innings of one-run ball over his first two starts.

Woodruff underwent shoulder surgery late in the 2023 season. The Brewers re-signed him to a backloaded two-year deal with a $17.5MM guarantee. They knew he’d spend all of ’24 rehabbing. They’ve taken his progression carefully and didn’t push him during Spring Training. Woodruff began a minor league rehab stint on April 12. He has made a pair of rehab starts and could be back with the big league team in the next couple weeks.

Note: William Contreras’ arbitration contract contains a $12MM team option for next season. He’s excluded from this list because he’d remain under arbitration control if Milwaukee declines the option, as they did with Devin Williams last offseason.

Pittsburgh Pirates

  • None

St. Louis Cardinals

  • None

Reds To DFA Fairchild, Place Hays On IL; Steer Will Not Go On IL

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The Reds have a few notable moves on tap ahead of Opening Day, as reported by Mark Sheldon of MLB.com. Despite previous reports that infielder/outfielder Spencer Steer will start the season on the injured list due to a right shoulder injury, he actually will make the Opening Day roster but will be the designated hitter only. However, outfielder Austin Hays will go on the 10-day injured list due to a calf injury. Additionally, outfielder Stuart Fairchild will be designated for assignment tomorrow.

At this point, the details on Hays aren’t clear. He was in the lineup for the club on Sunday, stepping to the plate three times. It hasn’t been publicly reported how he sustained his injury or how severe it is. Opening Day IL stints can be backdated by three days, so it’s possible he could rejoin the club as soon as one week into the season if it’s minor.

As for Steer, his right shoulder has been bothering him going back to last year. Here in camp, he’s been able to swing a bat without pain but the shoulder bugs him when he throws. Manager Terry Francona told members of the media a few days ago that Steer would start the season on the IL but it seems the club has changed that plan recently.

It’s understandable that they don’t want to lose his bat. He hit .271/.356/.464 for a 117 wRC+ in 2023. His line dropped to .225/.319/.402 last year but that seems to have been at least partially bad luck, with his batting average on balls in play dropping from .318 to .260 in those respective seasons. Having him in the DH spot will give the club a bit less flexibility but ideally some extra thump.

As for Fairchild, he has largely been serving as a glove-first depth outfielder for the Reds lately. He exhausted his final option year in 2023 but then managed to stick on the roster last year as the club suffered through a number of injuries.

His glovework has been strong but he has a career batting line of .224/.308/.389, which translates to an 88 wRC+. In camp this year, his numbers were far worse, as he slashed .132/.233/.184 in 45 plate appearances. That performance seems to have sealed his fate. The Reds could have kept Fairchild and optioned guys like Jacob Hurtubise and Blake Dunn to the minors, but will open the season with those two and bump Fairchild off the roster.

Once he’s officially DFA’d, he’ll have at most a week to find out his fate, whether that’s a trade or some destiny on the waiver wire. Despite the poor offense, he does have ten Defensive Runs Saved and nine Outs Above Average in his 1,389 1/3 innings. He’s also stolen 23 bases over the past two years. Perhaps some other club will be interested in grabbing him as a fourth outfielder. If that comes to pass, he can be controlled for four seasons since his service time is between two and three years at the moment.

Without Steer, Hays or Fairchild, the outfield might be in flux to start the season. TJ Friedl and Jake Fraley should be regulars in two spots. Gavin Lux might play a decent amount of left field with Matt McLain at second and Jeimer Candelario at third. Candelario can also play first but it seems as though Christian Encarnacion-Strand will be the regular there. Dunn and Hurtubise could also factor into the mix alongside Lux.

Photo courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images

Reds Designate Casey Legumina For Assignment

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The Reds announced that right-hander Casey Legumina has been designated for assignment. That’s the corresponding move to open a roster spot for outfielder Austin Hays, whose one-year deal is now official.

Legumina, 28 in June, has had a limited role with the Reds over the past two seasons. He logged a combined 22 innings over the 2023 and 2024 campaigns, allowing 17 earned runs. His 16.7% strikeout rate and 10.2% walk rate were both subpar marks but he did get ground balls on 56.4% of balls in play. As one would expect, his minor league work in that same timeframe has been better. He tossed 91 frames on the farm over the past two years with a 3.76 ERA. His 25.1% strikeout rate and 8% walk rate were both quite strong.

Despite the solid minor league numbers, the lack of results in the big leagues has seemingly cost Legumina his roster spot. The Reds will have one week of DFA limbo to figure out his fate, whether that’s a trade or something on the waiver wire. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so any trade talks would need to come together in the next five days.

Legumina still has one option year and less than a full season of service time. If a club is intrigued by his minor league results and acquires him somehow, he could give them some cheap depth with roster flexibility.

Reds Sign Austin Hays

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The Reds announced the signing of outfielder Austin Hays to a one-year deal. The MAS+ client is reportedly guaranteed $5MM. That takes the form of a $4MM salary for the upcoming season and a $1MM buyout on a $12MM mutual option for 2026. Hays can earn an additional $1MM via incentives. Right-hander Casey Legumina was designated for assignment as the corresponding move.

Hays, 29, gives the Reds the right-handed-hitting complement they’ve been seeking for the lefty-swinging outfield group of TJ Friedl, Jake Fraley and Will Benson. He’s a career .277/.331/.469 hitter against left-handed pitching and has experience playing all three outfield spots — though he’s generally better suited for corner work than center field.

As recently as 2023, Hays was an All-Star in Baltimore. He had a down showing in the second half after a monster .314/.355/.498 first half of that season but still finished out the year with a hearty .275/.325/.444 batting line in 566 plate appearances.

The 2024 season, however, was an abject nightmare for Hays. He struggled immensely on the field, due to a pair of leg injuries (hamstring strain, calf strain) and, far more concerning, a kidney infection. As Rosenthal detailed earlier in the offseason, Hays described that kidney infection as “the hardest thing I’ve ever gone through.” Upon discovering it, doctors told him he’d likely been suffering from the ill effects of that infection for weeks prior.

Hays told Rosenthal that his symptoms included nausea, lightheadedness, lower back pain, sluggish legs and even a “brain fog” that would at times cause him to lose focus and forget what he was talking about mid-conversation. Hays initially chalked some of the exhaustion, leg fatigue and back pain up to the rigors of a full season and the prior hamstring/calf strains still impacting him. As time wore on and his symptoms increased, it became clear something else was at play.

A healthy Hays could well be a boon to the Cincinnati outfield, particularly if he’s in line to face a large slate of left-handed pitching. The move from Baltimore to Cincinnati should favor him considerably, too. Camden Yards has become a wasteland for right-handed power hitters in recent years, following the team’s decision to alter the dimensions in left field. Since 2022, when the O’s initially altered their park and installed a towering wall in left field (often referred to as “Mount Wall-timore”), their stadium has been the third-worst in MLB for right-handed home runs, per Statcast, leading only Cleveland’s Progressive Field and Pittsburgh’s PNC Park. Cincinnati’s Great American Ball Park, meanwhile, ranks as the third most-favorable park in MLB for right-handed home runs, by those same park factors.

Hays’ presence in Cincinnati could open up some more infield and/or DH at-bats for fellow righty Spencer Steer, who played primarily in the outfield last year. Steer is an infielder by trade, but his versatility was leveraged when the Reds’ infield became increasingly crowded.

The trade of Jonathan India and overwhelming struggles of Noelvi Marte last year have perhaps lent some extra clarity to the infield, however. There’s still some playing time to sort out this spring, but Steer could see time at the corners and DH alongside Jeimer Candelario, who also struggled in an injury-marred 2024 season, and Christian Encarnacion-Strand, who missed most of the year due to wrist surgery. Matt McLain (who missed most of the season due to shoulder surgery) and Elly De La Cruz are in line to serve as the primary second baseman and shortstop, respectively. Trade acquisition Gavin Lux could also see time at second base and in left field. Broadly speaking, the Reds’ lineup will feature quite a few moving parts for new skipper Terry Francona to juggle based on matchups, health and workload management.

Hays’ $5MM guarantee will push the Reds’ payroll just north of $110MM, marking an increase of about $10MM over their 2024 budget. Even an increase of that level looked questionable just weeks ago, but the team’s surprise agreement with Main Street Sports/FanDuel Sports Network (the rebranded Diamond Sports/Bally RSN provider) afforded president of baseball operations Nick Krall some additional resources to further build out the 2025 club. The Reds have also been tied to relief upgrades, Carlos Estevez most notably, but it’s not clear whether ownership’s budgetary preferences can accommodate both Hays and another bullpen arm — particularly one of Estevez’s caliber and likely asking price.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported that Hays and the Reds had agreed to a one-year, $5MM deal with $1MM in incentives. Jon Heyman of The New York Post had the salary breakdown and the mutual option.

Five Non-Tendered Hitters To Keep An Eye On This Winter

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Every year, MLB’s non-tender deadline sees clubs allow some of their players who remain under team control to test the open market early, whether it be due to an increasing price tag in arbitration or a need for additional space on the club’s 40-man roster. Previous seasons have seen a number of high-profile players wind up non-tendered, including Brandon Woodruff last winter and Cody Bellinger the year before that. Kyle Schwarber and Kevin Gausman are among a handful of other star players who have found themselves non-tendered for one reason or another during their careers, and all except Woodruff (who is expected to return to the mound next year after missing the 2024 season due to shoulder surgery) have gone on to enjoy big league success following their respective non-tenders.

While players of that caliber reaching free agency by way of a non-tender are extremely rare, plenty of players find themselves cut loose early by their clubs only to make an impact elsewhere down the line, whether as a regular in the lineup or rotation or simply as a solid contributor off the bench or out of the bullpen. With the majority of teams in the game signalling on some level or other that they hope to compete in 2025, clubs who get outbid in free agency or on the trade market this winter will surely be incentivized to try and uncover a diamond in the rough this winter as they hunt for offensive upgrades. Let’s take a look at five hitters who hit free agency following last week’s non-tender deadline and could be worth keeping an eye on throughout the coming offseason. Players are listed in alphabetical order, with their age for the 2025 season in parentheses.

Austin Hays (29)

Hays is perhaps the most surprising non-tender on this list, as he was an All-Star for the Orioles just last year and has been a reliable league-average bat capable of playing all three outfield spots throughout his career. That steady production is what convinced the Phillies to trade Seranthony Dominguez and Cristian Pache to the Orioles in order to acquire him over the summer. While he didn’t live up to those expectations in 22 games with Philadelphia down the stretch, his lackluster .256/.275/.397 slash line during that time comes with a massive caveat: Hays spent the second half of the year battling through a kidney infection that seriously hampered his ability to play, as was discussed at length in a recent article from The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal.

Given the serious illness that afflicted Hays during his time as a Phillie, it seems prudent to examine his free agency in the context of his career overall. By that metric, the outfielder would be a valuable addition to virtually any outfield mix in the big leagues. Over his three seasons as a full-time player with the Orioles from 2021 to 2023, Hays slashed a solid .261/.313/.439 (108 wRC+) in 420 games for Baltimore. During that time, he generated 6.1 fWAR, a number that placed him ahead of a number of solid regulars during that time such as Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Orioles teammate Anthony Santander. What’s more, Hays has continued to put up excellent numbers against left-handed pitching even during this year’s illness-plagued season that saw his role reduced to more of a part-time player: in 49 games against lefties this year, he hit an excellent .354/.407/.537, even better than his career line of .277/.331/.469 against southpaws. If Hays can rebound to the form he showed from 2021 to 2023, he could be a solid regular for a team with a vacancy in the corner outfield, especially one that struggles against left-handed pitching.

Ramon Laureano (30)

Early in his career, Laureano appeared to be a key piece of the Athletics’ core alongside Matt Olson, Matt Chapman, Marcus Semien, Sean Manaea, and Frankie Montas. Over his first two seasons in the big leagues, Laureano hit a phenomenal .288/.345/.508 (128 wRC+) in a combined 657 trips to the plate while playing solid defense in right field. After that, however, Laureano’s career was thrown off course by three shortened seasons: the 60-game shortened campaign in 2020 and the 2021 and ’22 campaigns that were truncated for Laureano by an 80-game PED suspension. Across those three seasons, Laureano hit just .225/.310/.400 with a wRC+ of 103 and noticeably less impressive defense in the field. That lackluster production continued throughout the 2023 season, as he posted a 90 wRC+ overall between stints with the A’s and in Cleveland. His second season with the Guardians got off to an atrocious start in 2024, as he hit just .143 in 31 games before the club cut bait.

If that’s where Laureano’s story for the 2024 season ended, he’d be a fairly unremarkable name relegated to hoping for a minor league deal this winter. That’s not the case, however, because he joined the Braves lineup to fill in for Ronald Acuna Jr. after the reigning MVP suffered a torn ACL. He looked like the hitter he was earlier in his career during his time with Atlanta, hitting an excellent .296/.327/.505 (129 wRC+) in a part-time role that saw him collect 226 plate appearances across 67 games. While that performance wasn’t enough to convince the Braves to bring him back in spite of Acuna’s pending return early next year, plenty of teams could benefit from a solidly above average corner outfielder who crushes lefties (.305/.343/.526 in 102 PA this year) and puts up decent enough numbers against righties to be a passable regular.

Brendan Rodgers (28)

The youngest player on this list, Rodgers seemed to be coming into his own as a player during the 2021 and ’22 seasons. As the primary second baseman for the Rockies, Rodgers hit a respectable .274/.326/.434 (95 wRC+) while improving enough on defense to win the Gold Glove award at the position in 2022. Unfortunately, what should have been an opportunity to follow up on that strong performance was cut short when he underwent shoulder surgery in March of 2023, which left him sidelined until the end of July. He received regular playing time with Colorado upon returning, but didn’t look quite as good as he had previously. In 181 games since returning, he’s hit just .265/.314/.402 (85 wRC+). His defense has also fallen from the Gold Glove-caliber showing he flashed in 2022, with him posting relatively average defense by the metrics over the past two seasons.

While the red flags in Rodgers’s profile post-surgery are obvious, his youth, pedigree as a former top-20 prospect in the sport, and the thin infield market this winter seem likely to earn him some real consideration on the market. After all, if getting another year removed from his shoulder injury can help him rediscover the form he flashed in 2022, it’s easy to imagine him posting a strong season as a regular second baseman for a team without a clear answer at the position such as the Mariners, Yankees, or Giants. Unlike the outfielders on this list, Rodgers’s competition on the infield market is similarly flawed, with only a handful of players likely to land multi-year deals.

Josh Rojas (31)

Rojas was a somewhat surprising non-tendered, given his status as one of the Mariners’ better internal infield options headed into 2025. Evidently, the club wasn’t willing to pay a projected $4.3MM salary for his services next year after an up-and-down 2024 campaign that saw him slash a decent .204/.304/.336 (91 wRC+) overall. That slash line doesn’t tell the whole story, however, as Rojas hit just .192/.273/.301 (72 wRC+) after all the All-Star break this year. That’s an untenable slash line for an everyday player, particularly given the fact that Rojas is a rather pedestrian defender at both second and third base.

With that being said, Rojas figures to be benefit from a lackluster infield market just as Rodgers does. Over the past four seasons, Rojas has been a roughly league average hitter (97 wRC+) with the Diamondbacks and Mariners. It’s also worth noting that he stands out as a solid candidate for a platoon role; left-handed hitting infielders are somewhat scarce, and Rojas made the most of his platoon advantage by posting an above-average 104 wRC+ against right-handed pitching this year. With a lefty-mashing platoon partner or in a bench role that helps to limit his exposure to same-handed pitching, it’s easy to imagine Rojas enjoying a solid season in 2025. Another notable factor in Rojas’s free agency should be that he figures to remain arbitration-eligible next winter, meaning his next club could retain him for a second season if the first one goes well.

Mike Tauchman (34)

Tauchman is the oldest player on the list, but he’s noteworthy for being the only player here to post an above-average wRC+ in each of the past two seasons. After a brief sojourn to South Korea to play in the KBO during 2022, Tauchman latched on with the Cubs and excelled in a fourth outfielder role with the club. In 217 games with Chicago over the past two years, he’s slashed .250/.360/.372 with a wRC+ of 110 and an excellent 13.7% walk rate that even earned him a stint as the club’s regular leadoff hitter. Tauchman found himself non-tendered despite that solid production thanks in large part to his shrinking role with the club in the second half last year; the Cubs have Ian Happ, Cody Bellinger, Seiya Suzuki, and Pete Crow-Armstrong all penciled into the lineup for regular playing time, and youngsters like Alexander Canario, Owen Caissie, and Kevin Alcantara on the 40-man roster as depth options.

That made Tauchman expendable to Chicago, but he should be an interesting free agent option for a team in need of a steady, high-OBP veteran presence in their outfield mix. While he’s a pedestrian defender at all three outfield spots, Tauchman’s ability to play a passable center field should further add to his value, and like Rojas he comes with an additional season of team control after 2025 should the club that signs him have interest in his services the following year. Just 11 clubs posted a 110 wRC+ of higher in the outfield in 2024, and 15 clubs got below-average offensive production on the grass overall, meaning Tauchman could be a relatively inexpensive fit for a number of clubs in need of outfield help this winter.

AL East Notes: Romano, Loaisiga, Hays, Rays

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The Blue Jays didn’t make Jordan Romano a contract offer before the closer was non-tendered this week, the Toronto Star’s Gregor Chisholm reports.  This apparent lack of interest in retaining Romano at any price (let alone his projected $7.75MM arbitration salary) probably closes the door on any chance of a reunion between Romano and the Jays, so the two-time All-Star will almost surely be pitching elsewhere in 2025.  It wasn’t necessarily a surprise that Romano was non-tendered, given his high price tag and the uncertainty over his health situation after his injury-riddled 2024 campaign.

Romano didn’t pitch after May 29 and he underwent an arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow in July.  As Chisholm notes, Romano told the Toronto Star’s Mike Wilner earlier in November that he was soon going to start throwing off a mound, and “that he was feeling great” in the recovery from his surgery.  While more specifics on Romano’s health are sure to emerge over the offseason, it is clear that the Jays didn’t share the reliever’s confidence in his elbow.  Finding a new closer is now the latest item on Toronto’s lengthy winter to-do list, and the Jays already had a lot of work to do in fixing a bullpen that was one of baseball’s worst last season.

More from around the AL East….

  • The Yankees are open to a reunion with Jonathan Loaisiga, though Mark W. Sanchez of the New York Post reports that the Bombers are one of 14 teams that have shown interest in the reliever.  Loaisiga has pitched only 21 2/3 big league innings over the last two seasons, as elbow problems (including a bone spur removal surgery) limited him to 17 2/3 frames in 2023, and he tossed only four innings before a UCL surgery brought his 2024 season to a quick end.  Loaisiga’s procedure wasn’t a Tommy John procedure, and he was throwing from 90-foot distances for scouts earlier this week, with the Yankees among the clubs with an evaluator on hand.  All 163 of Loaisiga’s MLB games have come in a Yankees uniform, so the team has plenty of familiarity with the right-hander’s ability when healthy, and also the inside scoop on his health status.  Signing Loaisiga wouldn’t be expensive for the Yankees or any team that might offer him a contract this winter, making him an interesting buy-low candidate on the bullpen market.
  • Austin Hays was traded from the Orioles to the Phillies prior to the trade deadline, but now that Hays is a free agent after being non-tendered, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com thinks there’s a chance Hays could return to Baltimore.  Hays had an injury-plagued 2024 season that included a severe kidney infection that emerged during his time in Philadelphia, and he wound up with a below-average 98 wRC+ from a .255/.303/.396 slash line in 255 total plate appearances.  The outfielder was significantly better both offensively and defensively during the 2021-23 seasons when healthy, and Baltimore has a clear need for right-handed hitting outfielders (and right-handed hitting in general).
  • It remains to be seen if the Rays will ever again play at Tropicana Field, but for at least the 2025 season, the club will play at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa.  The move will impact the Rays’ roster construction plans, as some adjustment is naturally necessary simply by dint of the fact that the Rays will now be playing outdoors during the Florida summer rather than within the confines of a domed stadium.  With multiple rainouts now a likelihood, president of baseball operations Erik Neander is looking to add multi-inning pitching depth at both the Major and minor league levels.  As Neander told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, “it’s…making sure that we can protect our arms and maneuver the roster in a way where if a game gets disrupted and delayed after two innings and you lose a starter, and then you’ve got to cover four or five [innings] as it comes back before you can go to the bullpen, that you have the ability to maneuver day to day as needed, to cover that and do it in a way that’s responsible for the well-being of the group.”  More pitching will also be needed since the Stein is expected to be a much more hitter-friendly environment than the Trop, though the Rays’ own hitters can also benefit from the situation.

National League Non-Tenders: 11/22/24

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The deadline to tender a contract to arbitration-eligible players is tonight at 7pm CT. Here’s a rundown of the players on National League teams that have been non-tendered today. This post will be updated as more decisions are revealed. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected salaries for all players eligible for arbitration last month. All players who are non-tendered before this evening’s deadline go directly into free agency, where they’re eligible to sign with any of MLB’s 30 clubs.

Onto the transactions…

  • The Braves non-tendered outfielder Ramón Laureano, left-hander Ray Kerr, as well as right-handers Griffin Canning, Huascar Ynoa and Royber Salinas, which you can read more about here.
  • The Brewers parted ways with lefty reliever Hoby Milner, who’d been projected at $2.7MM for his final arbitration season. The typically reliable southpaw was tagged for a 4.73 ERA in 64 2/3 innings this year.
  • The Cardinals have non-tendered right-hander Adam Kloffenstein, per Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat (Bluesky link). The righty only just made his major league debut in 2024 and was not yet arb-eligible. He immediately becomes a free agent without being exposed to waivers.
  • The Cubs have non-tendered infielder Nick Madrigal, per Jesse Rogers of ESPN (X link). Madrigal has hit .251/.304/.312 for a 76 wRC+ over the last three seasons with the Cubs and was projected for a $1.9MM salary next year. Chicago also announced they non-tendered outfielder Mike Tauchman, which comes as a bit of a surprise after he reached base at a .357 clip this year. Patrick Wisdom, Adbert Alzolay, Brennen Davis and Trey Wingenter — all of whom were designated for assignment earlier this week — were also dropped.
  • The Diamondbacks non-tendered lefty reliever Brandon Hughes, per a club announcement. The 28-year-old southpaw allowed 16 runs over 17 2/3 big league innings this year. He wasn’t eligible for arbitration but would’ve occupied a 40-man roster spot if offered a contract.
  • The Dodgers are non-tendering right-hander Brent Honeywell Jr. and left-hander Zach Logue, per Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times (X link). Both pitchers are still in their pre-arbitration years, so this was more about the Dodgers sending them to free agency without exposing them to waivers, as opposed to cost cutting. Perhaps the club will look to re-sign them on minor league deals.
  • The Giants only made two non-tenders, parting with lefty Ethan Small and righty Kai-Wei Teng. Teng had been designated for assignment earlier in the week. Small, who was in his pre-arbitration years, spent the season in the minors or on the injured list.
  • The Marlins had zero non-tenders. They offered contracts to everyone on the 40-man roster.
  • The Mets dropped a trio of players from the 40-man roster: relievers Grant Hartwig and Alex Young and outfield prospect Alex Ramirez. Young was the only member of that group who’d been eligible for arbitration. The southpaw pitched well in a depth role, but the Mets didn’t want to keep him around at a $1.4MM projection. Hartwig made four appearances this year, while the 21-year-old Ramirez (a former top prospect) had a .210/.291/.299 showing in Double-A.
  • The Nationals announced that they have non-tendered right-hander Kyle Finnegan and Tanner Rainey, which you can read more about here.
  • The Padres dropped four players from the roster: righties Luis Patino and Logan Gillaspie, outfielder Bryce Johnson and infielder Mason McCoy. Patino, who underwent Tommy John surgery last summer, was the only member of the group who’d been eligible for arbitration. The other three cuts are simply about roster maintenance. The Padres could try to bring anyone from that group back on minor league deals.
  • The Phillies will not be tendering a contract to outfielder Austin Hays, which MLBTR covered earlier today.
  • The Pirates are expected to non-tender first baseman/outfielder Connor Joe and outfielder Bryan De La Cruz, per Alex Stumpf of MLB.com (Bluesky link). They are also non-tendering right-hander Hunter Stratton, per Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (X link). Joe was projected for a salary of $3.2MM next year and De La Cruz $4MM. Stratton had not yet qualified for arbitration. Joe has been around league average at the plate in his career but doing more damage against lefties. De La Cruz has hit .253/.297/.407 in his career for a wRC+ of 90. Startton had a 3.58 ERA this year but his season was ended by knee surgery, giving him an uncertain path forward.
  • The Reds have non-tendered right-hander Ian Gibaut, per Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Bluesky link). The righty was projected for a salary of $800K. He spent the vast majority of 2024 on the injured list due to arm trouble and only made two appearances on the season.
  • The Rockies moved on from starter Cal Quantrill and second baseman Brendan Rodgers, which MLBTR covered here.

Phillies To Non-Tender Austin Hays

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The Phillies have informed outfielder Austin Hays that they will not tender him a contract before tonight’s deadline, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports. He’ll immediately become a free agent without having to first clear waivers. He’d been projected for a $6.4MM salary by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz.

Hays, 29, spent his entire career with the Orioles before being traded to the Phils in exchange for Seranthony Dominguez and Cristian Pache a few days before the 2024 trade deadline. The Phillies hoped that Hays, who’d battled injuries in the season’s first half, could rebound with better health and solidify their outfield mix down the stretch. That’s not how things played out, however. Hays suffered a strained hamstring a couple weeks after the trade and only briefly returned before hitting the shelf with a kidney infection that took a significant toll on his body. He only took 80 plate appearances with Philadelphia and batted just .256/.275/.397 in that small sample.

All told, Hays endured three IL stints in 2024, missing time with that kidney infection, hamstring strain and a calf strain that shelved him for three weeks from late April to mid-May. His combined .255/.303/.396 slash between the two clubs was arguably the worst production of his big league career.

While injuries clearly hampered Hays’ 2024 campaign, he’s still only a season removed from an All-Star season. Hays turned in a nice .275/.325/.444 slash with 16 home runs and quality glovework in left field as recently as 2023. He’s long been the type of player who thrives in platoon settings and merely holds his own against same-handed opponents, but paired with his defensive acumen that’s enough for him to have been a solid regular in Baltimore. Hays is a lifetime .277/.331/.469 hitter against lefties (120 wRC+) and a .254/.304/.415 hitter against fellow righties (99 wRC+).

Teams seeking a low-cost, right-handed bat to plug into their outfield mix figure to have interest in Hays. Many non-tendered players ultimately sign minor league deals, but Hays was a notable enough contributor with the O’s from 2021-23 that he ought to find a one-year deal in free agency, presumably a price south of his projected arbitration salary.

The Phillies, meanwhile, were already known to be in the market for outfield help. Hays was a likely non-tender candidate for some time now, though they opted not to make the move before today — presumably gauging the market for potential trade partners. Philadelphia’s outfield includes Brandon Marsh, Johan Rojas and Nick Castellanos, but the Phils are interested in adding a bat to the outfield and either going with a Marsh/Rojas platoon in the other spot or giving Marsh a larger role if he can handle lefties better than in the past. The Phillies are planning to meet with Juan Soto and will surely be connected to a variety of other targets both on the open market and trade market.

Phillies Notes: Hays, Turnbull, Painter

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Now that the Phillies have officially clinched a spot in the postseason, manager Rob Thomson spoke to reporters (including Alex Coffey of The Philadelphia Inquirer) earlier today about the club’s plans for the postseason roster. Per Coffey, the club appears to be leaning towards a 12-man pitching staff and an expanded bench for the playoffs this year.

Garrett Stubbs, Edmundo Sosa, Kody Clemens, Weston Wilson, and Cal Stevenson currently make up the club’s bench mix. Stubbs and Sosa are all but guaranteed spots on the postseason bench as the club’s backup catcher and primary utility infielder respectively, but if the club plans to utilize a five-man bench in the postseason then there are still three spots up for grabs. In addition to Clemens, Wilson, and Stevenson, Coffey notes that recently-optioned infielder Buddy Kennedy could be in the mix for a spot on the postseason bench as well.

Perhaps most notably, outfielder Austin Hays also figures to factor into the club’s bench conversation this postseason despite having spent the entire month of September to this point on the IL due to a kidney infection. Hays began a rehab assignment at Triple-A earlier today and while that rehab stint only figures to last two days with the Triple-A season set to end tomorrow, Thomson indicated to reporters (including Coffey) that the club isn’t concerned about the lack of in-game reps due to the fact that, if the Phillies secure a bye through the Wild Card round as they currently seem poised to do, Hays would be able to get plenty of at-bats in intra-squad games during that layoff prior to the NLDS.

Hays, 28, started the season with the Orioles but was dealt to the Phillies in the trade that sent right-hander Seranthony Dominguez to Baltimore ahead of the trade deadline back in July. Overall, he’s been a roughly league average bat this year with a .254/.305/.388 slash line (96 wRC+), though he was above average before slumping in Philadelphia as he adjusted to a bench role. With that said, he’s still an excellent source of offense against left-handed pitching, as demonstrated by his sensational 166 wRC+ against southpaws this season. That could make him a perfect platoon partner of sorts for Brandon Marsh, who the Phils have worked to protect from same-handed pitching for much of the year.

If Hays joins Sosa and Stubbs on the club’s bench, that would leave two spots available for the other four names that seem to be in discussion. Stevenson has enjoyed semi-regular playing time in a platoon with Johan Rojas in center field over the past month and could continue in a similar role into the playoffs, while Clemens has the strongest record of the group as a pinch hitter this year and could therefore be an attractive option as well. That being said, both Wilson and Kennedy could be viable alternatives if the club prefers more right-handed options on the bench beyond Sosa and Hays.

Set to join Hays on a rehab assignment tomorrow is right-hander Spencer Turnbull, who MLB.com’s Injury Tracker notes is expected to start the season finale at Triple-A before continuing his rehab at the club’s complex in Florida. It’s a step in the right direction for the 32-year-old, who has been shelved since late June due to a lat strain but could still return to the club during the postseason. The right-hander was nothing short of excellent for the Phillies in a swing role early this year, pitching to a 2.65 ERA with a 3.85 FIP in 54 1/3 innings of work.

Speaking of injured right-handers, Coffey noted that top pitching prospect Andrew Painter could be in the conversation to participate in the Arizona Fall League as he works his way back from Tommy John surgery, per president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski. Painter has been throwing to live hitters in the club’s Florida complex, but Dombrowski noted that the club has avoided making a firm decision on his availability for the AFL so as to not put pressure on the 21-year-old to get ahead of himself in his rehab.

The club’s top pitching prospect and a consensus top-30 prospect in the sport, Painter was in the conversation for the club’s Opening Day roster after a dominant Spring Training last year but ended up undergoing Tommy John surgery before being sidelined by injuries and eventually going under the knife. The youngster figures to be ready to return in time for the 2025 season, but a return this fall in Arizona would be an encouraging development for a youngster who has lost plenty of reps over the past two seasons due to injury.

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