Brendan Rodgers

Astros Place Isaac Paredes On 10-Day IL Due To Hamstring Strain

By Mark Polishuk | July 20, 2025 at 12:37pm CDT

12:37PM: The Astros officially placed Paredes on the 10-day IL due to a right hamstring strain, and also optioned catcher Cesar Salazar to Triple-A. Whitcomb was called up and Singleton’s contract was selected, and Brendan Rodgers was moved from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL to create a 40-man roster spot for Singleton.

8:11AM: Astros third baseman Isaac Paredes left Saturday’s 7-6 loss to the Mariners with what was described as right hamstring discomfort. The injury occurred in the third inning, when Paredes hit a line drive off the left field wall that resulted in only a single, as he started limping partway down the first base base line.

Paredes is going from Seattle to Houston today to undergo testing, and a trip to the injured list seems inevitable. MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart reports that infielder/outfielder Shay Whitcomb and first baseman Jon Singleton are joining the Astros from Triple-A Sugar Land prior to today’s game, so the club is already arranging its next set of roster moves. Singleton isn’t on the 40-man roster, so another transaction is forthcoming apart from the shuffle of Paredes for Whitcomb.

This isn’t the first time Paredes has dealt with hamstring problems this season, as some soreness in his left hamstring forced him to miss three games last month but he was able to return none the worse for wear. This new injury “hurts more than the other one,” Paredes told the Houston Chronicle’s Matt Kawahara and other reporters, as he said “I just feel like it pulled as I started running and I couldn’t run anymore.”

While the Astros maintain a three-game lead in the AL West, the club has lost seven of its last eight games, as a mountain of injuries may be catching up to the roster. Assuming Paredes will indeed be sidelined, he’ll become the 16th different player on Houston’s IL, and the ninth position player. The long list of injuries includes arguably Houston’s three top hitters in Paredes, Yordan Alvarez, and Jeremy Pena.

Acquired from the Cubs as part of last winter’s blockbuster Kyle Tucker trade, Paredes has hit .259/.359/.470 with 19 homers over 409 plate appearances in his first season in Houston. Since his .362 wOBA significantly outpaces his .332 xwOBA, some good fortune has been involved in Paredes’ performance, and he isn’t making much hard contact. On the plus side, Paredes is making a lot of contact overall, and posting very strong strikeout and walk rates. It all added up to Paredes’ second straight All-Star nod, as he also made the Midsummer Classic last year when he was still a member of the Rays.

In short, Paredes is basically just about the last player the Astros could afford to lose, but it now looks like he’ll be out of action for (in a best-case scenario) at least the next 10 days. Any of Whitcomb, utilityman Mauricio Dubon, or rookie Brice Matthews could get time at third base with Paredes out, and if Dubon ends up getting the bulk of time at third base, Zack Short will probably take over at shortstop until Pena is able to return. Matthews has primarily played second base since making his MLB debut last week, and the keystone could remain his primary position if Jose Altuve is needed more in left field to help cover the Astros’ long list of outfield absences.

Some good news may be on the horizon, as Alvarez is with the team in Seattle and has started taking swings. Alvarez hasn’t played since May 2 due to what was initially described as right hand inflammation, though follow-up tests in late May revealed a slight fracture in the slugger’s right ring finger. He received two injections after a consultation with a hand specialist at the start of July, and while Alvarez’s IL stint has gone on much longer than expected, his return could be on the horizon.

AL West Notes: Trout, Rangers, Rodgers, Waldichuk

By Mark Polishuk | July 19, 2025 at 7:26pm CDT

Mike Trout was hitting .179/.264/.462 when a bone bruise in his left knee sent him to the injured list on May 2, but since being activated from the IL, Trout has been closer to his old superstar form in batting .287/.432/.483 over his last 183 plate appearances. It might not be a coincidence that Trout has excelled since exclusively acting as a designated hitter since his return, as the Angels have been cautiously managing his leg health in the wake of both the bone bruise, and a variety of other leg injuries over the years. Trout did take part in some right field drills prior to Friday’s game and came away feeling good, though he told MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger and other reporters that the team doesn’t yet have a timetable set in regards to an in-game return to right field.

Both Trout and interim manager Ray Montgomery are eager to see Trout return to right field, with Montgomery noting that freeing up the DH spot would allow more players to get partial rest days. Time will tell when Trout is entirely physically ready to go, though there must be some slight sense of “if it ain’t broke….” within the Angels’ decision process. Trout has been so hammered by injuries in recent years that if regular DH duty allows him to stay in the lineup and post big numbers, the Halos surely have to be considering whether limiting Trout to just cameo appearances in the outfield could be the best course of action going forward.

Astros Notes: Arrighetti, Gusto, Rodgers

By Mark Polishuk | April 13, 2025 at 9:28am CDT

“A really, really freak accident” is now Spencer Arrighetti described the batting-practice incident that resulted in a broken right thumb for the Astros pitcher. Last Monday, Arrighetti was in the outfield playing catch while the Mariners were taking BP, and a line drive from the batter’s box struck the right-hander before Arrighetti could properly react. As the pitcher told MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart, he instinctively covered his head with his hands after someone called out about the incoming line drive, only for the ball to hit Arrighetti’s thumb.

While a broken thumb is still a tough outcome, Arrighetti said “the road back is really clear-cut….We’re going to continually image it over the course of the next few weeks, and as soon as we feel it’s in a place where I’m ready to throw the ball, I’ll throw the ball again.” Houston general manager Dana Brown said on Friday that the team believes Arrighetti can be back in action in around six weeks’ time, if all goes well with the recovery process.

With Arrighetti sidelined, Ryan Gusto received the opportunity for his first MLB start, though things didn’t exactly go swimmingly for Gusto in Houston’s 4-1 loss to the Angels yesterday. Gusto allowed three earned runs over his four innings (72 pitches) of work, with two of those runs coming early when Gusto surrendered hits to his first three batters of the game.

The Astros have an off-day on Thursday, so the team technically doesn’t need a fifth starter again until April 22 if the other four starters are kept on their regular rest schedule. This gives the Astros some time to determine if Gusto will get another start, or if they could return him to bullpen action and use another starter in his stead. As noted by the Houston Chronicle’s Sam Warren, Brown said on Friday that Triple-A starter Colton Gordon could be called up (in what would be Gordon’s big league debut) to start if the club ultimately decides to keep Gusto in a relief role.

Gusto also made his MLB debut earlier this season, and he posted a 1.13 ERA over his first eight innings and four appearances out of Houston’s pen. While the Astros don’t want to close the door on Gusto’s potential as a starter in the near term, there is obvious appeal in deploying him as a quality multi-inning reliever. The fact that Arrighetti will miss at least the next six weeks does allow the Astros some flexibility in figuring how exactly they’ll address the fifth starter spot, as there’s enough time for Gusto to start games and then get moved back into a long relief or swingman role.

Brendan Rodgers hasn’t played in either of the Astros’ last two games due to some left hip soreness, manager Joe Espada told Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle and other reporters. The injury appears to be pretty minor, as Rodgers felt well enough to take some grounders before Saturday’s game. Rodgers is off to a respectable start (.250/.351/.313) over his first 37 plate appearances in a Houston uniform, as he went from minor league signing to starting second baseman due to the Astros’ decision to use Jose Altuve primarily as a left fielder.

Brendan Rodgers’ Deal With Astros Contains Advance Consent Clause

By Anthony Franco | April 3, 2025 at 11:58pm CDT

Brendan Rodgers broke camp with the Astros after signing a minor league contract in February. The deal comes with a $2MM base salary, but it’s apparently not fully guaranteed. Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports that Rodgers agreed to an advance consent clause: one which allows a team to release a veteran player within the first 45 days of the regular season and get out from under the remainder of the contract.

Most of the time, a player’s base salary will become fully guaranteed once the team selects their minor league deal. Players who have over five years of service time, as Rodgers does, also generally have the right to refuse any optional assignments to the minors. However, the collective bargaining agreement permits teams and players who have five-plus service years to agree to the advance consent provision — giving the team extra flexibility for a month and a half to determine whether they want to keep that player. Teams cannot use the advance consent clause to release players because of injury, but they can do so for any other reason within the first 45 days.

It’s obviously not an ideal situation for the player. It’s nevertheless fairly common for teams to seek advance consent clauses for veterans who sign late in the offseason and have little leverage. Ken Rosenthal and Patrick Mooney of The Athletic wrote in early March that some clubs were seeking advance consent provisions in negotiations with the handful of starting pitchers (e.g. Lance Lynn, Kyle Gibson) who had remained unsigned into Spring Training, for instance.

Rodgers was non-tendered by the Rockies and found himself limited to minor league offers in the final week of February. He didn’t have a great Spring Training, hitting .233/.250/.349 without a home run in 44 plate appearances. Rodgers would have been able to opt out of his minor league deal at the end of camp if the Astros didn’t call him up. They did so but evidently worked in the clause to give themselves the flexibility to get out of the deal if he didn’t perform well early in the season. They also built in the ability to option him to Triple-A, though Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 reported last month that Rodgers can opt out on May 1 and/or June 1 if he’s not on the 26-man active roster.

While a $2MM base salary isn’t much by MLB standards, the Astros are up against a luxury tax line they’ve had little interest in crossing. RosterResource estimates their CBT number around $238MM, about $3MM below the base threshold. That includes Rodgers’ $2MM salary. Money added via in-season waiver claims or trades would count towards the CBT calculation. That puts more emphasis on even relatively light investments that the front office makes. That’s presumably part of the reason they made Ben Gamel’s $1MM base salary conditional on him making the team out of Spring Training (which he did not do).

The clause puts more pressure on Rodgers to perform well in the early going. He has started five of the first seven games at second base. (Primary left fielder Jose Altuve and utilityman Mauricio Dubón have each made one start apiece at the keystone.) A three-hit game on Thursday pushed Rodgers to 5-16 (.313) on the year. He has drawn a pair of walks while striking out four times. An RBI double off Louie Varland today was his first extra-base hit of the season. The former third overall pick hit .267/.314/.407 with 13 homers through 539 plate appearances for the Rockies last year.

Astros Designate Cooper Hummel For Assignment

By Steve Adams and Anthony Franco | March 27, 2025 at 11:34am CDT

The Astros have designated catcher/infielder/outfielder Cooper Hummel for assignment and placed righty J.P. France on the 60-day injured list as he recovers from last summer’s shoulder surgery. That pair of moves opens two additional spots on a 40-man roster that already had two vacancies. The four openings will go to righty Rafael Montero, lefty Steven Okert, second baseman Brendan Rodgers and top prospect Cam Smith, all of whom have been selected to the 40-man roster and are on the Opening Day club.

Houston also placed outfielders Pedro Leon and Taylor Trammell on the 10-day injured list due to a knee strain and calf strain, respectively. Right-handers Shawn Dubin, Luis Garcia, Cristian Javier, Lance McCullers Jr., Kaleb Ort and Forrest Whitley have all been placed on the 15-day IL.

The Astros had telegraphed all these moves. They’d already announced that Montero, Okert, Smith and Rodgers were making the team. Houston had previously informed Hummel that he would not break camp. Since he’s out of options, that made a DFA or waiver placement inevitable. France, who’ll be out into at least July rehabbing last year’s shoulder procedure, was an obvious 60-day IL candidate to open the final roster spot.

Houston claimed Hummel off waivers from the Giants last spring. They outrighted him off the 40-man roster a couple weeks later but reselected his contract in June when they released José Abreu. He spent most of the season in Triple-A, exhausting his final option season in the process. Hummel went 0-8 with a pair of strikeouts in his big league work. He had a solid year in Triple-A, hitting .277/.419/.454 with a massive 17.9% walk rate through 442 plate appearances.

The Astros will have five days to trade Hummel or place him on waivers. He’s not viewed as a regular behind the plate, but he can catch on occasion while playing first base or the corner outfield. His patient plate approach has translated to a .285/.419/.480 career slash in Triple-A. He owns just a .159/.255/.275 line with a 31.9% strikeout rate over 82 major league games.

Trammell, Whitley, Ort and Dubin are all out of options themselves. Their Spring Training injuries delay the Astros’ need to make a decision on any of them, as they’ll begin the year on the major league IL. Ort has the best chance of holding a roster spot once he returns after pitching to a 2.55 ERA with a 28% strikeout rate last season.

Astros To Select Brendan Rodgers

By Anthony Franco | March 26, 2025 at 11:55am CDT

March 26: Rodgers’ contract contains a $2MM base salary plus another $300K of incentives tied to plate appearances, Ari Alexander of KPRC-2 reports. Rodgers would receive $50K bonuses for reaching each of 200, 250, 300, 350, 400 and 450 plate appearances.

March 25: The Astros will select Brendan Rodgers onto the major league roster, manager Joe Espada told reporters (including Matt Kawahara of The Houston Chronicle). The former Rockies second baseman breaks camp after signing a minor league deal last month.

Rodgers didn’t exactly force his way into the picture with a huge Spring Training. He hit .233 without a home run over 44 plate appearances. Still, it was surprising that he needed to settle for a minor league deal in the first place. Rodgers is a former third overall pick who spent four seasons as Colorado’s primary second baseman. He has never lived up to the top prospect billing, but he’s been a better than replacement level performer.

The 28-year-old hit .267/.314/.407 with 13 homers across 539 plate appearances last season. Like many Colorado hitters, he had extreme home/road splits. Rodgers hit .328/.396/.502 at Coors Field and .214/.247/.323 away from Denver. The thin air in Colorado can flatten pitchers’ breaking stuff, which causes trouble for a lot of Rockies hitters as they try to adjust to sharper stuff when on the road. The Astros will hope for some positive regression in Rodgers’ road production to compensate for the expected drop-off in his numbers at home.

Rodgers won a Gold Glove at second base in 2022. Public metrics have painted that as an outlier season; he has graded as a middling defender by Defensive Runs Saved and Statcast in every other year. Rodgers hasn’t played anywhere other than the keystone since 2021. That’ll limit his versatility as a bench piece.

Houston will use Jose Altuve primarily in left field. While Mauricio Dubón is technically the starting second baseman, he’s capable of playing essentially anywhere. Rodgers could draw into the lineup at second on days when Espada wants to move Dubón around to rest someone else. As a player with more than five years of service, Rodgers cannot be sent to the minors without his consent.

The Astros have two openings on their 40-man roster at the moment. They’ll add Rodgers, Cam Smith, Rafael Montero and Steven Okert by Opening Day. They’ve already informed the out-of-options Cooper Hummel that he won’t make the team. He’ll be designated for assignment or waived. They can easily open the final spot by transferring an injured pitcher (e.g. J.P. France, Cristian Javier) to the 60-day injured list.

Cam Smith To Make Astros’ Roster

By Darragh McDonald | March 25, 2025 at 11:57pm CDT

Prospect Cam Smith is going to make the Astros’ Opening Day roster as their right fielder, reports Chandler Rome of The Athletic. The youngster isn’t yet on the 40-man roster and they will need a spot for him, as well as Rafael Montero and Steven Okert. They have two openings already and several candidates for the 60-day injured list, meaning they shouldn’t have trouble finding room for all those guys.

It’s been an incredible whirlwind for Smith, who was a student at Florida State a year ago. In July, the Cubs selected him with the 14th overall pick in the draft and signed him to a $5,070,700 bonus. The Cubs put the young third baseman to work right away, getting him into 15 Single-A games, 12 at High-A and five at Double-A. He walked in 11.2% of his plate appearances and was only struck out at a 17.9% clip. He launched seven home runs in 134 plate appearances and had a combined .313/.396/.609 batting line.

That made him one of the top prospects in baseball going into 2025. The Cubs went into the winter with a loaded farm system but a big league roster that had struggled to push beyond the mushy middle, finishing at 83-79 in each of the past two years. They were looking for a big splash and the Astros were reportedly open to moving Kyle Tucker. He’s a tremendous player but was slated for free agency after 2025, with Houston seemingly having no hope of getting an extension done. The Astros also had a preference to avoid the competitive balance tax this year.

The Cubs, as mentioned, had a very strong farm system. That included a couple of infield guys who were viewed as ahead of Smith. Matt Shaw and Owen Caissie are both on many top 100 prospect lists and each of them reached the Triple-A level in 2024.

All those stars aligned to make the trade happen. The Astros sent Tucker to Wrigley in exchange for third baseman Isaac Paredes, pitcher Hayden Wesneski and Smith. From the Cubs’ perspective, they were giving up a lot in the long term in order to make a big upgrade in 2025. Smith, as a prospect, was obviously a long play. Paredes still had three years of club control and would be an affordable replacement for Bregman at third base. Wesneski, with five years of club control, gave the club some affordable rotation depth.

Arguably, the Astros were making themselves worse in the short term, in order to save some money and come out ahead in the long run. Bregman and Tucker were two big losses. Parades could make up for some of Bregman’s production but likely not all. The outfield looked clearly worse on paper when compared to last year, especially with Yordan Alvarez slated to spend more time as the designated hitter. But beyond 2025, they weren’t going to have Tucker anyway. Now they would have Paredes, Wesneski and Smith’s contributions.

The short-term picture has changed a lot since camp opened. Smith put up a massive line of .342/.419/.711 in Grapefruit League action. As he started building those impressive numbers, there were whispers that the club wanted to get him work in right field, with Paredes blocking Smith’s natural third base position. It seems he has impressed the decision-makers enough to get the Opening Day nod, despite his very limited professional track record of just 32 professional games, none at the Triple-A level.

The outfield picture also changed in another way. Jose Altuve, who has been Houston’s second baseman for over a decade, is now going to be the left fielder. His glovework at the keystone was never great but has declined significantly as he has pushed into his mid-30s.

Overall, it’s a fascinating gambit for the Astros. Moving Alvarez out of left field makes sense, given all the health scares he has had over the years. Trading Tucker was also risky in its own way. Now they seem likely to feature a regular outfield mix of Jake Meyers in center, flanked by Altuve and Smith. Meyers hasn’t hit much in his career but is a strong defender. That glovework figures to be important, as he’ll be flanked by two converted infielders with no real experience on the grass.

The Altuve/Smith combo seems to have a good chance of outhitting a corner mix of Ben Gamel and Chas McCormick, which seemed like a possible Opening Day alignment as recently as a few weeks ago. Then again, even the best prospects often struggle when first promoted to the majors, so there are no guarantees Smith will immediately flourish. Still, it’s understandable bet on a higher ceiling.

If Smith does thrive, that would obviously help the club in 2025 but it could also benefit the Astros in another way. The current collective bargaining agreement added measures to discourage service time manipulation. One of those prospect promotion incentives is that clubs can receive an extra draft pick just after the first round under certain conditions. If a player is on two of the three top 100 lists from Baseball America, ESPN or MLB.com, they are PPI eligible if their club promotes them early enough in the season to earn a full service year. If such a player wins Rookie of the Year or finish top three in MVP or Cy Young voting in their pre-arbitration years, the club earns an extra pick. Smith is ranked 55th overall at BA, 73rd at ESPN and 59th at MLB.com and is therefore eligible.

Turning to a few other roster decisions for the Astros, Zach Dezenzo will get a bench spot but Cooper Hummel will not, per Ari Alexander of KPRC 2. Hummel is out of options, so he should be designated for assignment or traded in the coming days.

Hummel has an awful .159/.255/.275 batting line in the majors but has been much better in the minors and has interesting defensive versatility. He has a .285/.419/.480 line over the past four minor league seasons and hit .316/.435/.447 in camp this year. Defensively, he’s an option at all four corner spots. He didn’t play behind the plate in 2024 but did in previous seasons. That could make him attractive to other clubs but he cleared waivers in April of 2024 when he still had an option remaining.

One final bench spot will come down to Brendan Rodgers or Zack Short, manager Joe Espada tells Rome. Both players were signed to minor league deals, so that will be another 40-man spot the team will need to open. But as mentioned, they have lots of 60-day IL candidates and should be fine there.

Images courtesy of Reinhold Matay, Imagn Images

Astros, Brendan Rodgers Agree To Minor League Deal

By Anthony Franco | February 21, 2025 at 2:50pm CDT

February 21: Per Chandler Rome of The Athletic, Rodgers has three opt-outs in his deal: end of spring training, May 1 and June 1.

February 18: The Astros are in agreement with second baseman Brendan Rodgers on a minor league contract, reports Ari Alexander of KPRC 2. The signing, which is still pending a physical, includes a non-roster invite to Spring Training. Colorado had non-tendered Rodgers in lieu of paying a projected $5.5MM salary for his final arbitration season.

Rodgers had spent his entire career with the Rockies. Colorado drafted him out of high school with the third overall pick in 2015. He was one of the game’s top prospects for a few seasons, though he never developed into the impact hitter expected at the time. Rodgers spent four years as Colorado’s primary second baseman, posting slightly below-average numbers after adjusting for Coors Field.

The right-handed hitter has turned in a .266/.316/.409 slash line in more than 1800 career plate appearances. He put up virtually identical numbers last year, posting a .267/.314/.407 mark across 539 trips to the dish. Rodgers hit 13 home runs with middling strikeout and walk rates. He hit the ball on the ground at a career-high 56.1% rate. Among hitters with 500+ plate appearances, no one hit the ball on the ground more often.

Rodgers has put more than half his batted balls on the ground in each season of his career. That has capped his power potential despite his home park and solid exit velocities. Like many Colorado hitters, he’s had a difficult time acclimating away from Coors Field. Rodgers is a .306/.361/.465 career hitter in Denver. He has turned in a .227/.272/.356 mark on the road. Hitting on the road is a challenge for Rockies hitters, who need to adapt to sharper breaking stuff than they usually see in higher altitudes at home. Projecting Rodgers isn’t as simple as looking solely at his road numbers, though that lack of production outside Colorado surely played a role in limiting him to a minor league contract.

Aside from a few scattered starts at shortstop between 2019-21, Rodgers has been a full-time second baseman. He won a Gold Glove in 2022 behind a massive +22 grade from Defensive Runs Saved. That’s an extreme outlier compared to the rest of his career. Rodgers has received slightly below-average grades from DRS in his other three full seasons. Statcast’s Outs Above Average metric has put him slightly below par as well.

A second base-only profile is a difficult one to carry off the bench. Teams tend to prioritize defensive flexibility from their backup infielders. Rodgers came up as a shortstop prospect and played a little bit of third base in the minors. He doesn’t have any professional outfield experience.

Houston has Mauricio Dubón and backup catcher Victor Caratini locked into two of their four bench spots. Jon Singleton will probably keep his role as a left-handed bench bat. That’d leave one job up for grabs among out-of-options outfielder Taylor Trammell, righty-hitting corner bat Zach Dezenzo, and non-roster invitees like Rodgers, Luis Guillorme, and Zack Short. If Rodgers makes the team, he’d likely draw into the lineup on days when the Astros use Jose Altuve in left field. Houston reportedly still intends to get Altuve some outfield work despite Alex Bregman’s departure.

Yankees Interested In Brendan Rodgers

By Darragh McDonald | January 7, 2025 at 5:32pm CDT

The Yankees are known to be looking for infield help and Bob Nightengale of USA Today relays that they have had discussions with free agent Brendan Rodgers, though it’s unclear when those talks took place or how serious they were.

Rodgers, 28, came up with a huge amount of prospect hype but he hasn’t been able to deliver on it thus far. The Rockies selected him with the third overall pick in the 2015 draft and he was the club’s top prospect for a while after that. Baseball America ranked him first in the system and in the top 25 prospects league-wide from 2017 to 2020.

In 2021 and 2022, Rodgers seemed to be cementing himself as a capable major leaguer, though something below a star. Over those two seasons, he put up a solid slash of .274/.326/.434, though that only amounted to a 95 wRC+, with that measure accounting for the hitter-friendly nature of Coors Field. Despite the subpar offense, Rodgers got strong marks for his second base defense, leading FanGraphs to credit him with a combined 3.1 wins above replacement over those two years.

Baseball Reference was even more bullish, giving Rodgers 4.3 WAR in 2022 alone. That discrepancy is due to BR using Defensive Runs Saved for its WAR, while FanGraphs uses a combination of Statcast and Ultimate Zone Rating. Rodgers had 3 OAA in 2022 but a massive 22 DRS, which is why the WAR tallies are so lopsided. But his DRS grade has been negative over the rest of his career, so that looks like a clear outlier.

Regardless of how Rodgers was evaluated at that time, he hasn’t been at that level since. He suffered a dislocated shoulder during spring training in 2023 and required surgery. He got into 46 games late that year but didn’t perform well, slashing .258/.313/.388 for a 78 wRC+. In 2024, he improved but not by much, producing a .267/.314/.407 line and 88 wRC+.

If one wanted to find a reason for optimism, they could look to Rodgers improving as the season went along. He hit .262/.306/.383 for a wRC+ of 79 in the first half and then .275/.325/.441 in the second half for a 100 wRC+, though that latter line was mostly buoyed by a huge August, as he had poor results in July and September.

Both in 2024 and in his career, the righty-swinging Rodgers has been better against lefties. He slashed .311/.364/.455 against southpaws last year for a 117 wRC, not far off from his career line of .298/.359/.484 and 120 wRC+ in that split. That could perhaps allow him to form a platoon with Jazz Chisholm Jr., who swings from the left side and has a line of .224/.281/.364 against southpaws in his career for a 76 wRC+.

The Rockies could have retained Rodgers for 2025, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting him for a salary of $5.5MM, but the Rockies opted to non-tender him instead. That means that Rodgers will be cheap, which is surely attractive to the Yankees. They came into the offseason with a number of big contracts already on the books and have since swelled their commitments by adding Max Fried, Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt.

RosterResource puts the Yankees’ competitive balance tax number at $303MM, which is already above the fourth and final tier of $301MM. As a third-time payor, the Yanks will be taxed at a 110% rate on any further spending. They are reportedly shopping Marcus Stroman, which could lower their commitments, but they would still have one of the top payrolls in the league.

The fact that Chisholm can play either second or third base gives the Yanks some flexibility in how they add to their infield in the coming weeks but the top options at the hot corner will be expensive. Alex Bregman is available in free agency but is looking for a big nine-figure deal of some kind. Nolan Arenado is available in trade but the Cards are reportedly looking to get rid of most of what remains of his contract.

Rodgers is less exciting than those guys but will be far cheaper and seems capable of at least being a short-side platoon guy. He’s also still young and a former top prospect, so there could be some possibility of a late-bloomer breakout.

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

By Nick Deeds | November 30, 2024 at 10:55pm CDT

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.

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