Mets, Cionel Pérez Agree To Minor League Deal
The Mets and left-handed reliever Cionel Pérez are in agreement on a minor league contract, reports Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com. The Octagon client will presumably head to Triple-A Syracuse once the deal is official.
Pérez opened the season in the division-rival Nationals’ bullpen. He signed a minor league deal in free agency but won a roster spot with seven shutout spring innings. He allowed only two hits and a walk during Grapefruit League play and punched out seven batters along the way.
The good vibes for Pérez didn’t last long. He tossed a scoreless frame in his Nats debut but then surrendered runs in each of his next three appearances. He struggled on and off for the next month before being designated for assignment, clearing waivers and rejecting an outright assignment in favor of free agency earlier this week. Pérez wrapped up his five-week Nationals stint with a 6.19 ERA and more walks (11) than strikeouts (nine) through 16 frames. It’s the second straight ugly year for Pérez, who had a nice 2022-24 run in Baltimore but was tagged for 20 runs in 21 2/3 innings as an Oriole last year.
Pérez, 30, originally signed with the Astros in 2017 after defecting from his native Cuba. He scuffled through some rocky seasons in Houston and Cincinnati before breaking out with the 2022 Orioles. From 2022-24 in Baltimore, Pérez notched a 3.12 ERA with a 20.2% strikeout rate and 10.6% walk rate. He picked up 57 holds and six saves during that solid run.
Pérez has never had great command, but he kept his walk rate at a manageable level during that Orioles peak. The walks and hit batters have begun to pile back up over the past few seasons. He’s given out a base on balls to 13.5% of his opponents dating back to 2024 and has plunked another seven hitters and tossed nine wild pitches in the process. On the plus side, he did add a bit of life back to his heater during his short time in Washington, bumping his average fastball back north of 96 mph (96.2); he averaged 96.6 mph from 2021-25 before dipping to 95.5 mph last year.
The Mets rank eighth in the majors in bullpen ERA, but not because of the free agent additions they brought into the fold. Both Devin Williams and Luke Weaver have struggled in the fist several weeks of the season (albeit while posting more encouraging rate stats than their ERAs would suggest). Tobias Myers, Huascar Brazoban, Brooks Raley and David Peterson — who’s moved into the ‘pen at least temporarily after struggling in the rotation — all have earned run averages south of 2.50. Craig Kimbrel, who signed a minor league deal, has allowed three runs in 7 1/3 innings while setting down 30% of his opponents on strikes.
Raley, Peterson and former starter Sean Manaea currently give Mets skipper Carlos Mendoza three options from the left side, though Manaea hasn’t pitched well. The Mets are also hoping to have A.J. Minter back soon. He’s nearing the end of a minor league rehab window and has held opponents to one earned run in 7 2/3 innings as he makes his way back from last May’s hip surgery. There’s no dire need for left-handed relief help in the Mets organization, but there’s also no harm in taking a low-cost look at a 30-year-old with a 96 mph heater who was a quality setup option for the Orioles not long ago.
Cionel Perez Elects Free Agency
May 4: Perez has rejected his outright assignment in favor of free agency, the Nationals announced Monday.
May 2: The Nationals announced that left-hander Cionel Perez has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Rochester. Right-hander Orlando Ribalta was called up from Triple-A to take Perez’s spot on the 26-man roster, and Washington now has only 39 players on its 40-man roster.
There wasn’t any previous indication that Perez had been designated for assignment, and the lefty actually pitched just yesterday in the Nationals’ 6-1 loss to the Brewers. Perez tossed two scoreless innings in what could be his final game in a Nats uniform, and the transaction could’ve been made in part so Ribalta could provide a fresh arm for the bullpen. Since other relievers still have minor league options remaining, however, the Perez outright could indicate that the team has just decided to move on from the 30-year-old.
Signed to a minor league deal over the offseason, Perez made the Nats’ Opening Day roster and thus locked in a $1.9MM guaranteed salary. Things haven’t gone well, as Perez has recorded more walks (11) than strikeouts (nine) while posting a 6.19 ERA over 16 innings. Batters have been making tons of hard contact against Perez’s pitches, and the damage could be even worse if it wasn’t for Perez’s 60.4% grounder rate and a favorable .275 BABIP.
Perez has been outrighted in the past, so he has the right to decline the Nationals’ assignment to Rochester in favor of free agency. Perez’s month-plus on Washington’s roster has now given him enough big league service time to cross the five-year threshold, so he can now retain the approximately $1.5MM remaining of his $1.9MM salary even by becoming a free agent. If Perez signs elsewhere, his new team would pay him the prorated portion of the league minimum salary, which is subtracted from the $1.5MM sum that is still Washington’s responsibility.
Josiah Gray Diagnosed With Flexor Strain
Nationals right-hander Josiah Gray has been diagnosed with a flexor strain, the team announced. He has been placed on the 60-day injured list and will miss at least the first two months of the season. That opens a 40-man roster spot for lefty reliever Cionel Pérez, whose contract has officially been selected. Washington also placed righty reliever Paxton Schultz on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to March 22, with elbow inflammation.
It’s a tough blow for Gray, as he’d seemingly just gotten healthy after undergoing Tommy John surgery two years ago. Gray missed the entire ’25 season rehabbing from the operation, which took place the previous July. The ligament damage was ominously preceded by a flexor strain diagnosis three months earlier.
The Nats hadn’t provided any indication that Gray was dealing with renewed elbow discomfort. His most recent Spring Training appearance came on March 7, though it’s common for teams to give pitchers additional rest in camp when they’re coming off a significant injury. The Nationals announced last week that Gray had been optioned and would begin the season in Triple-A. That’ll be rescinded with the flexor sending him to the major league injured list instead.
Manager Blake Butera will presumably provide some kind of update on Gray’s health outlook in the coming days. It’s not clear whether another procedure is a possible outcome, though any significant arm injury this close to a previous surgery is disheartening. Gray is making a $1.35MM salary this season and under arbitration control through 2027.
Nationals To Select Cionel Pérez
Left-handed reliever Cionel Pérez has been informed that he’s made the Nationals’ Opening Day roster, reports Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com. Pérez is in camp as a non-roster invitee, so the Nats will need to open a 40-man roster spot in order to formally add him to the club.
Pérez, 29, signed a minor league deal back in February and has had a terrific spring. The veteran southpaw has pitched six innings and held opponents scoreless on only two hits and a walk with five strikeouts. He’s kept a hearty 53.3% of batted balls against him on the ground and sat 95.7 mph with his four-seamer and 95.5 mph with his sinker.
Originally signed by the Astros after defecting from Cuba, Pérez struggled through several seasons in Houston and Cincinnati before breaking out with the Orioles in 2022. A then-26-year-old Pérez fired 57 2/3 innings with a pristine 1.40 ERA. For three seasons, Pérez was a largely reliable arm in Baltimore, compiling 164 2/3 innings with a 3.12 ERA, 57 holds and six saves.
In 2025, Pérez stumbled badly out of the gate and never managed to find his footing. He opened the season with 21 2/3 innings of 8.31 ERA ball, including five runs in his final appearance, before being designated for assignment. He went unclaimed on waivers and spent the rest of the season in Triple-A Norfolk, where he posted a 6.65 ERA in 22 1/3 innings.
Pérez’s undoing last season was a sudden erosion of his already sub-par command. Even during his three quality seasons with the O’s, he walked 10-11% of his opponents. In 2025, he walked more than 16% of the batters he faced both in the majors and in Triple-A. He also lost a mile per hour off his four-seamer and a half-mile off his sinker.
Pérez will reportedly earn $1.9MM on his deal now that he’s made the roster. He can pick up another $700K worth of incentives. He has just under five years of big league service, meaning if he gets back on track, the Nats can control him through 2027 via arbitration. Pérez instantly becomes the most experienced reliever in the rebuilding Nationals’ bullpen and could even find himself in high-leverage spots, given the team’s lack of established relievers.
Nationals, Cionel Perez Agree To Minor-League Deal
The Nationals have agreed to a minor-league deal with left-hander Cionel Perez, according to Francys Romero of Beisbol FR. Perez earns an invite to major-league Spring Training. He will earn $1.9MM if he makes the roster, with $700k in incentives, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Perez is represented by Octagon.
Perez is an eight-year big-league veteran. After stints with the Astros and Reds from 2018-21, he was claimed off waivers by the Orioles in November 2021 and subsequently earned a larger role. His first season in Baltimore was his best. Perez posted a shiny 1.40 ERA in 57 2/3 innings across 66 appearances in 2022. His expected stats weren’t quite as high on him, though his 3.63 xERA and 2.80 FIP still painted the picture of an above-average reliever. Perez excelled that year by keeping the ball in the park and getting plenty of groundballs. His 51.3% groundball rate was tied for 33rd among 152 qualified relievers that year. His 0.31 HR/9 rate was 11th-best.
Perez’s 2023-24 numbers were more serviceable than great. His strikeout and walk numbers both trended in the wrong direction from 2022, leaving him with a 7.2% K-BB rate. He still excelled at inducing grounders, with a 58.3% groundball rate across those two seasons (including a career-best 60.7% mark in 2023). Altogether, he posted a 4.04 ERA in 107 innings from 2023-24.
Batters teed off on Perez in 2025. In 19 appearances in the season’s first two months, he posted an ERA of 8.31 with an elevated 16.4% walk rate, his highest since 2021 with the Reds. More surprisingly, after allowing just four home runs in total from 2022-24, Perez allowed three in only 21 2/3 innings in 2025. A .379 BABIP and 3.93 xERA suggest he was the victim of bad luck, but his 5.77 FIP implied he was doing poorly independently of his defense. By the end of May, the Orioles had seen enough. Perez was designated off the 40-man roster and spent the rest of the year at Triple-A, pitching to a 6.85 ERA in 22 1/3 innings.
Despite the disappointing end to his Orioles tenure, a look at Perez’s Statcast page gives some reason for optimism. His fastball velocity, expected batting average, barrel rate, and groundball rate all would have ranked in the 71st percentile or better had he pitched enough to qualify. As recently as 2024, Perez’s slurve and sinker were above average pitches by run value. Opponents slugged just .282 and .314 against those pitches, respectively.
For the rebuilding Nats, there is no risk in bringing Perez into the fold of what is otherwise a young, inexperienced bullpen. Julian Fernandez and waiver claim Richard Lovelady are the only projected members with even two years of service time, per RosterResource. At the least, Perez is an experienced lefty with a high groundball rate who could turn into a trade candidate by the deadline if he rebuilds his value. Assuming he makes the roster, his $1.9MM salary would bring the Nationals’ payroll to $95.38MM and their luxury tax payroll to $118.18MM.
Photo by Daniel Cusin Jr., Imagn Images
Red Sox Targeting Left-Handed Bullpen Help
The Red Sox are scouring the bullpen market for free agent southpaws, and MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo reports that Tim Mayza and Cionel Perez are two of the left-handers on the team’s radar. Boston has also maintained interest in Justin Wilson and Danny Coulombe, as Cotillo initially reported last month.
Wilson is the most known quantity for the Sox, as he posted a 3.35 ERA, 27.5% strikeout rate, and 9.7% walk rate over 48 1/3 innings out of the Boston pen in 2025. While the walk rate was on the high side and Wilson’s fastball velocity dropped from 95.5mph in 2024 to 94.5mph last year, it was still a very solid season for Wilson, and a sign that he is now fully recovered from the injuries that basically erased his entire 2022-23 seasons.
One complication for the Red Sox and any other suitor pursuing Wilson is that the veteran isn’t entirely committed to pitching in 2026. According to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon, Wilson wants “a fair deal with a legitimate World Series contender” and is willing to hang up his cleats after 13 Major League seasons if his demands aren’t met.
As Cotillo notes, Wilson and his agents at ACES could be using the retirement threat as leverage in contract talks. That said, it also isn’t out of the question that Wilson is nearing the end of the line, after turning 38 years old last August. Another one-year guarantee seems likely given Wilson’s age, and he is undoubtedly looking for a raise on the $2.25MM guarantee he received from the Red Sox on his deal for the 2025 campaign.
The Sox have seen plenty of Mayza and Perez over the years in AL East battles. Mayza spent his first seven MLB seasons with the Blue Jays and Yankees before pitching with the Pirates and Phillies in 2025, and Perez has worked out of the Orioles’ bullpen from 2022-25. Either pitcher could be had on a one-year contract and perhaps not even a guaranteed big league deal, as Mayza and Perez are both looking to bounce back from rough 2024-25 seasons.
Mayza (who turns 34 next week) had a 3.78 ERA over only 16 2/3 innings in 2025, as a lat strain and a teres major strain kept him on the injured list for much of the year. He likely would’ve been a deadline trade candidate if healthy, and the Pirates put him on the waiver wire at the end of August, with Philadelphia claiming the veteran to add bullpen depth for the stretch run. Mayza had only a 4.91 ERA in his eight games and 7 1/3 IP with the Phils, and he wasn’t included on their playoff roster.
Perez seemingly broke out with a tremendous 1.40 ERA over 57 2/3 relief innings for Baltimore in 2022, but his results have steadily declined over the past three seasons. The bottom completely fell out for Perez last year, as he had an 8.31 ERA and almost as many walks (18) as strikeouts (21) over 21 2/3 innings. Perez hasn’t pitched in the majors since late May, when the Orioles designated the lefty for assignment and then outrighted him off the 40-man roster.
Since the start of the 2022 season, Coulombe has a 2.38 ERA — the ninth-lowest ERA of any pitcher who has tossed at least 130 Major League innings (Coulombe has 136 1/3 IP). A 26% strikeout rate and 8.1% walk rate support this excellent bottom-line number, though Coulombe struggled after being dealt from the Twins to the Rangers at last year’s trade deadline.
Coulombe turned 36 in October so he’ll likely be limited to one-year offers as well this winter, but he is still drawing a good deal of interest. Rosenthal and Sammon write that five teams are in on Coulombe, which may or may not include the Red Sox.
Aroldis Chapman is the top southpaw in Boston’s bullpen, but with Chapman set to operate as the closer, the Sox are in need of at least one experienced left-hander to work in a more situational capacity. Jovani Moran projects as the top non-Chapman option amongst Boston’s current bullpen mix, but Moran has a 5.44 ERA over 46 1/3 innings since the start of the 2023 season, and he missed most of the last two years recovering from Tommy John surgery.
22 Players Elect Free Agency
Now that the season is over, we’ll start seeing several players choose to become minor league free agents. Major League free agents (i.e. players with six-plus years of big league service time) will hit the open market five days after the end of the World Series, but eligible minor leaguers can already start electing free agency.
To qualify, these players must have been all outrighted off their team’s 40-man rosters during the 2025 season without being added back. These players also must have multiple career outrights on their resume, and/or at least three years of Major League service time.
We’ll offer periodic updates over the coming weeks about many other players hitting the market in this fashion. These free agent decisions are all listed on the official MLB.com or MILB.com transactions pages, for further reference.
Catchers
- Matt Thaiss (Rays)
Infielders
- Sergio Alcantara (Diamondbacks)
- Keston Hiura (Rockies)
- Vimael Machin (Orioles)
Outfielders
- Jordyn Adams (Orioles)
- Connor Joe (Reds)
- Jose Siri (Mets)
Utility Players
- Scott Kingery (Angels)
- Terrin Vavra (Orioles)
Pitchers
- Scott Blewett (Orioles)
- Noah Davis (Twins)
- Kevin Herget (Mets)
- Nick Hernandez (Astros)
- Brooks Kriske (Twins)
- Richard Lovelady (Mets)
- Corbin Martin (Orioles)
- Darren McCaughan (Twins)
- Triston McKenzie (Guardians)
- Cionel Perez (Orioles)
- Jose Ruiz (Rangers)
- Jordan Weems (Astros)
- Bryse Wilson (White Sox)
Cionel Perez Accepts Outright Assignment
The Orioles announced this evening that left-hander Cionel Perez has cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Norfolk. He’ll report to the minors and be utilized as a non-roster depth option going forward.
Perez, 29, came up to the big leagues with the Astros back in 2018. He ultimately didn’t get much run with the club, serving as an up-and-down piece for Houston across three seasons with the club where he posted a 5.74 ERA in 26 2/3 innings of work. An equally disappointing and short-lived stint with the Reds followed in 2021, but ahead of the 2022 season Perez was plucked off waivers by the Orioles and placed into their bullpen mix for the coming year.
Once given regular reps on a club that entered the year still in the midst of a rebuild, Perez began to blossom. The lefty enjoyed the best season of his career in 2022 as he pitched to a sterling 1.40 ERA (278 ERA+) with a 2.80 FIP in 57 2/3 frames. A 23.5% strikeout rate and a 9.0% walk rate were both solid figures, but what made Perez truly stand out was his ability to keep the ball in the park. A 51.3% ground ball rate proved to be a big part of that, but Perez’s 4.3% home run to fly ball ratio appeared unsustainable from the jump. That made it far from surprising when his results regressed the following year, though he still remained an effective reliever with a 3.54 ERA and 3.84 FIP in 65 appearances.
Things started to take a turn for the worse last year, however. Despite peripheral numbers that were generally about the same or better as compared to 2023, Perez’s 2024 season saw his ERA balloon all the way up to 4.53. Perez’s strikeout and walk rates had slipped incrementally over the past two years and now sat at a lackluster 19.3% and 11.8%, respectively. While his 55.8% grounder rate and continued ability to avoid allowing home runs was enough to inspire some optimism about the possibility of a return to form in 2025, those hopes were quickly snuffed out by his early-season performance. Perez pitched to an 8.31 ERA with a 5.71 FIP across 21 2/3 innings of work this year before the Orioles decided to pull the plug last week.
Between those brutal results and a $2.2MM salary for 2025, it’s hardly a shock that no club opted to claim the lefty off waivers and try to help him improve his results going forward. Perhaps a club will view him as a low-cost reclamation project in the offseason when he won’t come with such an expensive price tag, assuming he hasn’t already turned things around by then. For now, Perez figures to attempt to get right at the Triple-A level in hopes of being utilized in the big league bullpen once again later this year. The floundering Orioles are appearing increasingly certain to sell at least some pieces at the trade deadline, so if the club fails to turn things around it’s not hard to imagine Perez getting another opportunity after the trade deadline if Baltimore parts ways with some of the pitchers currently in their bullpen mix.
Orioles Select Yaramil Hiraldo
The Orioles have selected the contract of right-hander Yaramil Hiraldo, according to a team announcement. Southpaw Cionel Perez was designated for assignment to make room on the active and 40-man rosters.
Hiraldo, 29, signed with the Diamondbacks out of the Dominican Republic all the way back in 2018 but departed affiliated ball following a 2021 season where he struggled to a 4.13 ERA in 24 innings of work at the High-A level. He caught on with the independent Atlantic League, where he scuffled a bit in his first year outside of the minor leagues but bounced back to deliver an impressive 1.50 ERA in 18 innings of work. After once again impressing in 2024 (this time as a member of the Mexican League’s Caliente de Durango), he caught on with the Orioles this year on a minor league deal.
The right-hander has just 18 1/3 innings of work under his belt in the minors since returning to affiliated ball, but he’s dominated at every level the Orioles have put him through with a 2.43 ERA and 26.0% strikeout rate overall. Evidently, the Orioles feel he’s ready for the test of major league action, and the 29-year-old’s big league debut could come as soon as today’s game against the Red Sox. Now that he’s on the 40-man roster, Hiraldo will be an optionable bullpen piece available to Baltimore, a particularly valuable commodity given that closer Felix Bautista, top setup man Yennier Cano, and top lefty Keegan Akin are the only three pitchers besides Hiraldo will options remaining in the bullpen as things stand.
It’s been a tough year for Orioles pitching to say the least, given their MLB-worst team ERA of 5.77. The bullpen is less of a culprit in those struggles than the rotation, but their 5.67 ERA and 4.82 FIP still make them a bottom-four bullpen overall in baseball this year. Turning things around in the bullpen will primarily rely on pieces like Bautista and Cano getting right, but a dominant performance from Hiraldo in his first opportunities at the big leage level might be enough to convince the Orioles to keep him around over a struggling arm like Seranthony Dominguez, even though the latter is out of options. At the very least, a strong showing from Hiraldo in this first call-up to the majors should bode well for his ability to earn opportunities after a trade deadline where the Orioles look increasingly likely to be sellers in at least some capacity.
As for Perez, the 29-year-old has spent each of the past four seasons in Baltimore after previously pitching for the Astros and Reds over the years. Perez’s time in Baltimore has been generally successful, with a 3.72 ERA and 3.58 FIP across 212 appearances, though it must be noted that most of that success came in the 2022 and ’23 seasons. Last year was a down season for Perez, as he posted an ugly 4.53 ERA that clocked in 16% below average by ERA+ despite solid peripheral numbers. Those peripherals gave him a 3.30 FIP that suggested positive regression could be on the way, but Perez has not experienced that in 21 2/3 innings of work for the Orioles this year. Instead, he’s been torched to the tune of a 8.31 ERA with a 5.71 FIP that, while better, offers little optimism for above-average results going forward. Those deep struggles were evidently enough for Baltimore to pull the plug on the lefty, who they’ll now have one week to either work out a trade or attempt to pass through waivers.
Orioles Exercise Club Options On Ryan O’Hearn, Cionel Perez
The Orioles have picked up their $2.2MM club option on the services of left-hander Cionel Perez for the 2025 season, according to Francys Romero. Baltimore would’ve still had Perez under team control for 2025 via arbitration even if the option had been declined. They’ve also picked up their $8MM option on the services of first baseman Ryan O’Hearn, as first reported by Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Both will return to the club in 2025.
Whether or not the Orioles would pick up Perez’s option appeared to be a close call given that MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected a $2.1MM salary for the left-hander in his penultimate trip through arbitration. That comes in slightly lower than the figure Perez will now earn in 2025. It’s possible Baltimore’s own internal view of Perez’s likely arbitration salary came in a touch higher than MLBTR’s, although the Orioles’ decision may be as simple as not wanting to decline the option and risk an arbitration hearing with the southpaw over just $100K.
That there was any sort of decision to be made regarding the option would’ve registered as something of a surprise headed into the 2024 season. Entering this year, Perez had been among the club’s very best relievers over his two years in Baltimore. From 2022 to ’23, Perez dominated to the tune of a 2.43 ERA in 111 innings of work. That fantastic ERA was somewhat belied by higher 3.30 FIP thanks to Perez’s lackluster strikeout (20.6%) and walk (10%) rates over the past two years, but the lefty made up for that by generating grounders at an excellent 56.2% rate.
Unfortunately, Perez took a major step backwards in 2024 when it came to run prevention as his ERA ballooned to 4.53. With that being said, his peripherals remained remarkably similar to his previous successful seasons with the Orioles. His 11.8% walk rate was elevated and his 19.3% strikeout rate was just a tick lower than those previous figures, but the lefty maintained a strong 55.8% groundball rate and wound up with a 3.30 FIP that was identical to his average over the prior two seasons. Of course, it’s worth noting that Perez’s FIP is somewhat deflated by the fact that Perez managed to give up zero home runs during the 2024 campaign. While the lefty has typically been excellent at limiting hard contact throughout his career, it’s worth noting that his homerless season came in spite of a nearly doubled barrel rate relative to 2023.
Overall, Perez seems likely to remain with the Orioles as a solid lefty relief option, though perhaps not one they’ll be interested in offering high leverage duties to until and unless he can bring his strikeout and walk ratios closer to the 23.5% and 9% figures he flashed during his dominant 2022 campaign. The Orioles notably declined their club option on fellow lefty Danny Coulombe today, making Perez all the more valuable as he joins Keegan Akin and Gregory Soto as lefty options in 2025.
Turning to O’Hearn, the decision to pick his option up doesn’t register as much of a surprise given his excellent performance since first donning an Orioles uniform. The 31-year-old just wrapped up his second season with Baltimore and carries an overall slash line of .275/.329/.450 (119 wRC+), though even that slash line may be selling his growth with the club short as he massively improved his plate discipline in 2024. After striking out at a 22.3% clip and walking just 4.1% of the time in 2023, this year O’Hearn took free passes at an excellent 9.3% clip while striking out just 14% of the time. A small step back in the power department meant his wRC+ was largely unchanged from the year prior, but underlying metrics such as xwOBA viewed O’Hearn’s work in 2024 as a substantial improvement over his first season with the club.
As impressive as O’Hearn’s evolution in Baltimore has been, there do remain questions about his fit on the club’s roster entering next year. While Anthony Santander‘s likely departure in free agency will open up some playing time in the corner/DH mix, the Orioles have already at times struggled to juggle playing time for O’Hearn and fellow first baseman Ryan Mountcastle when both are healthy in previous seasons. Looking ahead to 2025, they’ll be searching for ways to include Coby Mayo and Heston Kjerstad in the lineup more regularly, and either player could take up the lion’s share of playing time at DH with Mayo in particular even standing as a possible inclusion in the club’s first base mix as well. A trade of Mountcastle, one of the prospects, or even O’Hearn himself could help to clear up the clubs log jam at the position, and it would hardly be a surprise if the club decided to do so in order to upgrade a rotation facing plenty of questions headed into 2025 following the departure of Corbin Burnes and elbow surgery that will sideline Kyle Bradish for the start of next season.