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Players Entering Minor League Free Agency

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Major League free agents became eligible to sign with other teams on Thursday, but the minor league free agent market has technically been open since season’s end.  MLBTR has published several posts detailing players who had already elected to become minor free agents, but Baseball America’s Matt Eddy (multiple links) has the full account of all the minor league free agents that officially joined their big league counterparts on the open market on Thursday.

This list details only players who have played in the Major Leagues, and whose minor league free agency hasn’t already been covered on MLBTR in the last month.

Athletics: Aaron Brooks, Carlos Duran, CD Pelham, Bryan Lavastida, Nick Martini, Alejo Lopez

Braves: Ian Anderson, Davis Daniel, Enoli Paredes, Amos Willingham, Brian Moran, Jonathan Ornelas, Chandler Seagle, Matthew Batten, Conner Capel

Orioles: Jakson Reetz, Livan Soto, Thaddeus Ward

Red Sox: John Brebbia, Isaiah Campbell, Mark Kolozsvary, Chadwick Tromp, Seby Zavala, Trayce Thompson

Cubs: Yency Almonte, Zach Pop, Caleb Kilian, Austin Gomber, Forrest Wall, Billy Hamilton, Joe Ross, Tommy Romero, Antonio Santos, Tom Cosgrove, Dixon Machado, Nicky Lopez, Carlos Perez

White Sox: Elvis Peguero, Kyle Tyler, Vinny Capra, Chris Rodriguez, Caleb Freeman, Joe Perez, Owen White, Andre Lipcius

Reds: Tejay Antone, Alan Busenitz, Buck Farmer, Josh Staumont, P.J. Higgins, Eric Yang, Levi Jordan, Edwin Rios, Davis Wendzel, Evan Kravetz, Adam Plutko, Charlie Barnes, Alex Young

Guardians: Riley Pint, Tyler Naquin, Parker Mushinski

Rockies: Xzavion Curry, Sean Bouchard, Owen Miller, Karl Kauffmann,

Tigers: Kevin Newman, Brian Serven, Jordan Balazovic, Nick Margevicius, Blair Calvo

Astros: Jon Singleton, Joe Hudson, Kenedy Corona, Greg Jones, Matt Bowman, Luis Contreras, Tyler Ivey, John Rooney

Royals: John Gant, Spencer Turnbull, Bobby Dalbec, Diego Castillo, Geoff Hartlieb, Jordan Groshans, Nick Pratto, Isan Diaz, Stephen Nogosek, Nick Robertson, Joey Krehbiel, Noah Murdock, Ryan Hendrix

Angels: Shaun Anderson, Brandon Drury, Yolmer Sanchez, Ben Gamel, Evan White, Cavan Biggio, Logan Davidson, Travis Blankenhorn, Oscar Colas, Kelvin Caceres, Dakota Hudson, Chad Stevens, Angel Felipe, Jordan Holloway, Victor Gonzalez

Dodgers: Michael Grove, Luken Baker, Giovanny Gallegos, Kyle Funkhouser, Chris Okey, CJ Alexander, Zach Penrod

Marlins: Jack Winkler, Lane Ramsey

Brewers: Luis Urias, Oliver Dunn, Julian Merryweather, Daz Cameron, Drew Avans, Josh Maciejewski, Jared Oliva

Twins: Jose Miranda, Anthony Misiewicz, Jonah Bride, Thomas Hatch, Daniel Duarte, Connor Gillispie

Mets: Joey Meneses, Jose Azocar, Joe La Sorsa, Gilberto Celestino, Ty Adcock, Bryce Montes de Oca, Yacksel Rios, Oliver Ortega, Luis De Los Santos

Yankees: Kenta Maeda, Jeimer Candelario, Rob Brantly, Andrew Velazquez, Jose Rojas, Joel Kuhnel, Wilking Rodriguez

Phillies: Matt Manning, Adonis Medina, Lucas Sims, Jacob Waguespack, Phil Bickford, Rodolfo Castro, Oscar Mercado, Brewer Hicklen, Christian Arroyo, Payton Henry

Pirates: Brett Sullivan, Nick Solak, Nelson Velazquez, Beau Burrows, Ryder Ryan

Cardinals: Zach Plesac, Anthony Veneziano, Tyler Matzek, Zack Weiss, Drew Rom, Aaron Wilkerson

Padres: Eguy Rosario, Tim Locastro, Reiss Knehr, Nate Mondou

Giants: Sean Hjelle, Miguel Diaz, Max Stassi, Sam Huff, Cole Waites, Drew Ellis, Ethan Small

Mariners: Michael Fulmer, Casey Lawrence, Collin Snider, Jesse Hahn, Nick Anderson, Josh Fleming, Austin Shenton, Jacob Nottingham, Beau Taylor, Cade Marlowe, Jack Lopez, Michael Mariot, Hagen Danner

Rays: Cooper Hummel, Jonathan Hernandez, Jamie Westbrook, Tres Barrera

Rangers: Omar Narvaez, Cal Quantrill, Ty Blach, Alan Trejo, Joe Barlow, Cory Abbott, Michael Plassmeyer, Alex De Goti

Blue Jays: Eloy Jimenez, Buddy Kennedy, Joe Mantiply, Elieser Hernandez, Rene Pinto, Adam Kloffenstein

Nationals: Francisco Mejia, Juan Yepez, Joan Adon, CJ Stubbs, Parker Dunshee, Erick Mejia, Adrian Sampson, Delino DeShields

Minor MLB Transactions: 8/9/25

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Leading up to the trade deadline, dozens of moves were made. In the wake of those trades, several players were designated for assignment. Here are the results of a few recent DFAs which MLBTR hasn’t yet covered…

  • Right-hander Sean Hjelle has been sent outright to Triple-A Sacramento, per his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He was designated for assignment by the Giants when they traded Tyler Rogers to the Mets. Two of the players the Giants received, José Buttó and Blade Tidwell, required 40-man roster spots. The departure of Rogers opened one spot, with Hjelle DFA’d to open another. This was Hjelle’s first career outright and he has less than three years of service time, meaning he didn’t have the right to elect free agency. He will give the Giants non-roster depth and try to earn his way back to the majors. His Triple-A numbers have been good this year, having tossed 41 2/3 innings with a 2.81 ERA, 25.7% strikeout rate, 5.7% walk rate and 52.7% ground ball rate.
  • Left-hander Zach Penrod has been outrighted to Triple-A Oklahoma City, per his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He was designated for assignment by the Dodgers when left-hander Blake Snell was reinstated from the 60-day injured list. This was his first career outright and he has less than three years of big league service time, meaning he had to accept the assignment. Penrod was just acquired from the Red Sox in a DFA trade in June and was kept on optional assignment, so he still hasn’t pitched for the Dodgers in the majors.
  • Right-hander Connor Gillispie has been outrighted to Triple-A St. Paul, per his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He had been designated for assignment by the Twins in late July when Michael Tonkin was selected. This was Gillispie’s first career outright and he has less than three years of big league service time, meaning he had to accept the assignment. He reported to the Saints but they put him on the minor league injured list a few days later. It’s unclear what his current health status is but he hasn’t pitched since July 27th.
  • Right-hander Geoff Hartlieb is back with the Tigers on a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He was designated for assignment in late July when Detroit signed Luke Jackson. Hartlieb cleared waivers and elected free agency, which was his right as a player with a previous career outright, but reunited with the Tigers on a new minor league deal. He has a 7.95 career ERA in the majors but better minor league numbers. He has tossed 41 Triple-A innings this year with a 3.29 ERA, 27.5% strikeout rate, 6% walk rate and 40.6% ground ball rate.

Photo courtesy of Eakin Howard, Imagn Images

Twins Designate Connor Gillispie For Assignment

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The Twins announced Monday that they’ve designated right-hander Connor Gillispie for assignment. His spot on the 40-man roster will go to fellow righty Michael Tonkin, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A St. Paul. Right-hander Travis Adams was optioned back to Triple-A in a corresponding move.

Gillispie was a waiver claim out of the Marlins organization last month. He appeared in four games (three starts) with the Twins’ top minor league affiliate but was shredded for 22 runs in 13 2/3 innings. Prior to landing in Minnesota, he’d won a spot in Miami’s Opening Day rotation. Gillisipe made six starts with the Fish, the first three of which went fairly well (3.86 ERA in 14 innings), before being pummeled for 19 runs over his next dozen innings. The Marlins optioned him to Triple-A Jacksonville at that point, and he hasn’t pitched in the majors since, leaving Gillispie with a bleak 8.65 ERA in 26 MLB frames this season.

The 27-year-old Gillispie (28 in November) spent last season in the Guardians organization. He pitched fairly well, logging 113 1/3 innings with their Triple-A club en route to a 4.05 ERA, a 25% strikeout rate and a 10.1% walk rate. That led to a brief big league debut, wherein Gillispie tossed eight innings of relief and held opponents to two runs with an 8-to-5 K/BB ratio. Cleveland non-tendered him nonetheless, after which he signed a major league deal with the Braves and bounced to the Marlins after Atlanta tried to pass him through waivers.

Tonkin, 35, was a 30th-round selection by the Twins back in 2008. He returned to the organization last year when Minnesota claimed him off waivers from the Yankees. He’s pitched in parts of seven major league seasons (in addition to a solid 2018 season in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball). Tonkin has tossed 305 2/3 innings in the majors and carries a 4.18 ERA with solid strikeout and walk rates of 23.6% and 8.2%, respectively.

The Twins tendered Tonkin a $1MM contract over the winter, but he opened the season on the injured list due to a strained rotator cuff. Minnesota passed Tonkin through waivers last month while he was on a rehab assignment. He went unclaimed and accepted his assignment back to Triple-A, keeping him with the organization but removing him from the 40-man roster.

He’s now back on the 40-man after a strong run with the Saints. In 20 1/3 innings since coming back from that shoulder issue, Tonkin has turned in a 3.10 ERA and punched out 24 of 80 batters faced (30%) against just three walks (3.8%). His command hasn’t been quite as sharp as that rate might suggest, as he’s also plunked four batters, but it’s a been a nice run all the same. He’ll give the Twins a fresh arm after Adams tossed 3 1/3 innings in long relief yesterday (and thus would not have been available for several days).

Twins Claim Connor Gillispie

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The Twins have claimed right-hander Connor Gillispie off waivers from the Marlins, reports Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. He’s been optioned to Triple-A St. Paul. Miami had designated Gillispie for assignment last week.

Gillispie, 27, was an offseason waiver claim by the Marlins (from the Braves, who’d signed him to a big league deal) back in January. He parlayed a strong spring showing into a spot in Miami’s rotation to open the season. He made six starts, the first three of which went fairly well (3.86 ERA in 14 innings), before being pummeled for 19 runs over his next dozen innings. The Marlins optioned him to Triple-A Jacksonville at that point, and he hasn’t pitched in the majors since, leaving Gillispie with a bleak 8.65 ERA in 26 MLB frames this season.

Things have gone better in the minors. Gillispie has pitched 33 2/3 innings with a 4.28 ERA. His 15.7% strikeout rate is a well shy of league average average, however, and his 11.4% walk rate is quite high. The right-hander’s average 90.9 mph average fastball this year is down from the 91.5 mph he posted last year with the Guardians’ Triple-A affiliate.

That 2024 season in Cleveland’s system was solid. Gillispie pitched 113 1/3 innings with a 4.05 ERA, a 25% strikeout rate and a 10.1% walk rate. That led to a brief big league debut with the Guardians, wherein Gillispie tossed eight innings of relief and held opponents to two runs with an 8-to-5 K/BB ratio.

Gillispie is in the second of three minor league option years. He’ll give the Twins some depth either at the back end of the rotation or as a long reliever for a reeling pitching staff. The Twins were among the league leaders in most pitching categories for the better part of six weeks before injuries to Pablo Lopez and Zebby Matthews thinned their rotation.

The Twins have since endured a series of short starts, even from some of their more established arms, that has led to a heavily worked bullpen and prompted them to lean heavily on waiver claim Joey Wentz and utilityman Jonah Bride for mop-up work in several blowout games. Minnesota has dropped nine of its past ten games, falling below .500 and sliding considerably down the playoff standings in the American League.

Marlins Designate Connor Gillispie For Assignment

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The Marlins announced that they have selected right-hander Robinson Piña, a move that was reported earlier. In corresponding moves, righty Adam Mazur has been optioned to Triple-A Jacksonville and righty Connor Gillispie has been designated for assignment.

Gillispie, 27, was claimed off waivers from Atlanta in January. He earned a rotation job to start the season but couldn’t hold it. In six starts, he allowed 25 earned runs in 26 innings, leading to an unsightly 8.65 ERA.

That got him optioned down to Triple-A, where he has since logged 33 2/3 innings with a 4.28 ERA. While that was obviously a big improvement, luck was a big factor. He struck out just 15.7% of batters faced in the minors while giving out walks at an 11.4% clip. If it weren’t for a tiny .161 batting average on balls in play, he would have fared far worse, hence his 6.55 FIP.

He’s now been nudged off the 40-man roster and will likely end up on waivers in the coming days. His minor league work prior to this year was better. From 2021 to 2024, he logged 406 innings on the farm with a 4.12 ERA. His 9.6% walk rate was a tad high but he also punched out 24.1% of opponents. He is still optionable for the rest of this year and one further season, so perhaps a club with a need for depth and a plan to get Gillispie on track could have interest. If he clears outright waivers, he would stick with the Marlins as non-roster depth.

Photo courtesy of Ryan Sun, Imagn Images

Eury Pérez, Ryan Weathers Begin Rehab Assignments

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The Marlins’ rotation has some reinforcements on the way, as both right-hander Eury Pérez and left-hander Ryan Weathers began rehab assignments over the weekend. Pérez tossed one inning for Single-A Jupiter on Saturday while Weathers logged three innings for the same club on Sunday.

The timing is fairly notable with Pérez, who underwent Tommy John surgery in April of last year. Back in February, he said that he was targeting a return around the All-Star break this year. It now seems as though he’s on pace to beat that timeline.

A rehab assignment for a pitcher can normally last as long as 30 days, though that can be extended for Tommy John recoveries. For those pitchers, it’s possible to extend the 30-day rehab window by an extra 10 days. That extension can happen as many as three times, meaning the total rehab assignment can eventually get up to 60 days. But even if Pérez ends up rehabbing for close to 60 days, that would only take him to mid-to-late June, well before the mid-July All-Star break.

Prior to his surgery, Pérez was in the process of establishing himself as a future ace. He was one of the top prospects in the sport before his debut. He made it to the majors in 2023, only 20 years old at the time, and tossed 91 1/3 innings over 19 starts. He allowed 3.15 earned runs per nine with a 28.9% strikeout rate and 8.3% walk rate. Ideally, he’ll be able to pick up right where he left off when he returns.

The Marlins control him through 2029, so he could be a pillar of their rotation for years to come. The baseball industry is expecting Sandy Alcantara to be traded this summer, so perhaps Pérez can take over as the rotation’s anchor.

As for Weathers, he was once a top 100 prospect with the Padres but struggled in his initial attempts against big league hitters. He was acquired by the Marlins at the 2023 deadline and then finally had some major league success in 2024. He posted a 3.63 ERA in 16 starts for the Marlins last year with a 21.8% strikeout rate, 6.5% walk rate and 46.6% ground ball rate.

Unfortunately, health has been stalling that breakout. A left index finger strain kept him on the injured list for most of the second half of last year. He then suffered a forearm strain before Opening Day of this year, which has led to him spending the entire season on the IL so far. He will likely return ahead of Pérez since he’s not coming back from surgery and also seems to be further along in his build-up.

The Marlins optioned Connor Gillispie yesterday, dropping them down to four starters. He allowed seven runs in two innings against the Mariners on Saturday, bumping his ERA to 8.65 for the year. That temporarily gives them a four-man rotation of Alcantara, Max Meyer, Cal Quantrill and Edward Cabrera. Perhaps Adam Mazur will get a chance to replace Gillispie, since he has a 1.44 ERA in Triple-A at the moment. Valente Bellozo is also on the 40-man and is sitting on a 1.59 ERA in Triple-A.

By the time Weathers and Pérez get back into the mix, the club will want to open spots for them. Alcantara isn’t going anywhere. He’s out to a rough start, with a 6.56 ERA through five outings, but the club will give him lots of time to get back on track after missing 2024 while recovering from his own Tommy John surgery. Meyer has options and can technically be sent to the minors but he’s been the club’s best pitcher this year, with a 3.18 ERA, 33.1% strikeout rate, 7.7% walk rate and 56.1% ground ball rate.

Cabrera and Quantrill are perhaps less secure. Quantrill is sitting on a 7.83 ERA right now. He’s never been a huge strikeout guy but his 12.5% rate this year is even lower than his own standards. Cabrera has always combined strikeouts with walks to mixed results, which is still the situation. He has punched out 26.9% of opponents this year but has also given out free passes at an 11.9% rate. He currently has a 6.14 ERA on the year, though he missed some time with a blister and has only made three starts.

It’s possible the rotation outlook will change by the time Weathers and Pérez are back in the mix, due to other injuries or shifts in performance, but the Marlins may have to make some decisions about who holds onto a rotation job. The picture will likely change again ahead of the July trade deadline. As mentioned, it’s expected that Alcantara will be moved this summer, though the club may hold onto him if his struggles continue. Quantrill is on a one-year deal and should be available as well, though he would also have to turn his results around to have trade appeal. Cabrera has been in plenty of trade rumors over the years but is under club control through 2028.

Photo courtesy of Rhona Wise, Imagn Images

Marlins Notes: Payroll, Practice Squad, Cabrera, Gillispie

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One of the key storylines of this offseason has been the aggression coming from the nomadic Athletics. They have given out three of the largest contracts in franchise history, signing free agent Luis Severino and giving extensions to Brent Rooker and Lawrence Butler.

That has at least partly been motivated by a desire to keep their revenue-sharing status away from risk. As has been reported by The Athletic through the winter, that club needed to get their competitive balance tax number up to 150% of what they receive in revenue-sharing funds. Falling short of that would leave them subject to a potential grievance from the MLB Players Association. Understandably, the MLBPA wants to be assured that the funds are being spend on player salaries.

Since the A’s will reportedly receive about $70MM in revenue-sharing funds this year, they seemingly need to get their CBT number above $105MM, give or take. Thanks in part to those aforementioned deals and others, RosterResource projects them at about $115MM.

Back in December, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported that the Marlins were in the same situation as the A’s. Rosenthal took a look at the situation in a follow-up piece today, noting that the Marlins have not taken the same aggressive approach. RosterResource has the Marlins’ CBT number just below $87MM, more than $18MM shy of the $105MM target. As noted by Rosenthal, a midseason trade of Sandy Alcántara would drop them even further away from that line.

It seems the Marlins are far more willing to live dangerously with the situation. Rosenthal notes that the MLBPA brought revenue-sharing grievances against several clubs, including the Marlins, in 2018 and 2019. The report adds that many of those grievances were dropped but the ones against the Marlins remain active.

For the A’s, they understandably don’t want to be playing chicken with the union right now. The A’s had their revenue-sharing status revoked gradually over the course of the 2016-2021 collective bargaining agreement, with their payouts dropping by 25% annually. They only got 75% of their funds in the first year, 50% in the second, 25% in the third and none at all in the final two years. They are gradually getting their revenue-sharing status back up in the current CBA, reversing that previous plan, adding 25% per year. As they incur the costs of moving to West Sacramento and then Las Vegas, building a new stadium in the latter city, they surely don’t want to lose their payments again.

The Marlins are seemingly more cavalier. As noted by Rosenthal, the CBA runs through 2026 and these matters are collectively bargained. If the MLBPA wants to fight to strip the Marlins of their revenue-sharing payments, they will have to wait almost two years and will also have to weigh that against other CBA priorities. Rosenthal also adds that owner Bruce Sherman is likely to tout the club’s non-payroll spending, on things such as technology and infrastructure, though that’s unlikely to satisfy a union focused on player compensation. Perhaps the situation will be worth monitoring between now and the fall of 2026.

Elsewhere, the club also attracted some more negative attention from players for a different reason. As noted in a piece from Andy McCullough and Sam Blum of The Athletic, the Fish recently ran an ad on LinkedIn offering players $150 a day to be part of a practice squad, which would play against Low-A players.

The posting garnered the attention of MLB officials and players as it seemed to circumvent some existing rules. In April of 2023, the first ever CBA for minor leaguers was agreed to. That CBA established minimum salaries for minor leaguers but also gave each club a tight limit of how many minor leaguers they could have. The Domestic Reserve List, which is each club’s list of minor leaguers outside of Latin America, was dropped from 180 to 165.

The practice squad plan seemingly had the chance to skirt both the player limit and the minimum salary rules, which is why it raised flags around baseball. The Marlins pulled the ad and scuttled the plan, claiming that the ad was run before it had received proper internal vetting.

Turning to the major league roster, right-hander Edward Cabrera will start the season on the injured list, reports Christina De Nicola of MLB.com. The righty has been battling a blister on the middle finger of his throwing hand. That may seem like a minor issue but it’s a persistent one for Cabrera, since he’s had blister problems on that finger dating back all the way to 2021.

Without Cabrera, the Marlins project to have a front four of Alcántara, Ryan Weathers, Max Meyer and Cal Quantrill in the rotation. Per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, righty Connor Gillispie could have the inside track on taking Cabrera’s spot.

Gillispie, 27, made his major league debut with Cleveland last year. He tossed eight innings over three relief appearances, allowing 2.25 earned runs per nine. He also posted a 4.05 ERA over 113 1/3 Triple-A innings, working in a swing role there. His 10.1% walk rate at that level was a bit high but he also struck out 25% of opponents. After the season, he was non-tendered and signed a major league deal with Atlanta. He was put on waivers when that club signed Jurickson Profar, getting claimed by Miami.

In camp so far, he has thrown eight scoreless. That will seemingly get him a shot to open the season in the rotation. He still has options and can be sent back down when Cabrera gets healthy. The Marlins will also have Eury Pérez coming back around the All-Star break, though a midseason trade of Alcántara could also open up some starts. Other optionable starters on the roster include Adam Mazur and Valente Bellozo.

Photo courtesy of Jim Rassol, Imagn Images

Marlins Claim Connor Gillispie, Designate Jhonny Pereda

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The Marlins announced that they have claimed right-hander Connor Gillispie off waivers from the Braves. The righty was designated for assignment by Atlanta last week. Catcher Jhonny Pereda has been designated for assignment by the Marlins as the corresponding move. Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase reported the moves prior to the official announcement.

Gillispie, 27, made his major league debut with the Guardians last year in limited fashion. He tossed eight innings over three appearances, allowing two earned runs, striking out eight and walking five. He was non-tendered in November, heading out to free agency without being exposed to waivers. Atlanta signed him to a split deal shortly thereafter but bumped him off the roster when they signed Jurickson Profar.

The major league track record isn’t much to go off, so the clubs in Atlanta and Miami are surely looking more at Gillispie’s minor league performance. Over the past four years, he has thrown 406 innings on the farm with a 4.12 earned run average, 24.1% strikeout rate and 9.6% walk rate. Gillispie has worked both as a starter and reliever throughout his time in the minors, so he can potentially provide the Marlins with a little extra depth in both areas.

Pereda, 29 in April, also made his major league debut last year. He started the season with the Marlins on a minor league deal and was selected to the big league roster in the middle of April. He lasted on the 40-man through the rest of the year but was mostly on optional assignment. He got 40 major league plate appearances, hitting .231/.250/.231 in those. His minor league numbers have been better, with a combined line of .286/.381/.400 over the past four years, production which translates to a 108 wRC+. Baseball Prospectus has given him decent marks for his minor league work behind the plate.

The Marlins are fairly thin at catcher, with Nick Fortes and Liam Hicks the projected top duo, though prospect Agustín Ramírez could force his way into some playing time this year. The club will have a week to figure out what’s next for Pereda, whether that’s a trade or some fate on waivers. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so any trade talks would have to come together in five days. If Pereda passes through waivers unclaimed, the Fish can keep him around as catching depth without him taking up a roster spot in the short term.

Braves Sign Jurickson Profar

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The Braves announced that they have signed free agent outfielder Jurickson Profar to a three-year, $42MM deal. The MVP Sports Group client will make $12MM this year and then $15MM in each of the next two seasons. Atlanta designated right-hander Connor Gillispie in a corresponding move.

Profar, 32, has been wildly inconsistent in his career but is coming off his best season. Once a top prospect with the Rangers, he made it to the majors as a 19-year-old but struggled in his first few seasons. He eventually showed some promise but frustratingly alternated between good and bad seasons.

He had one of those down seasons in 2023, which is why the Padres were able to sign him last offseason for just $1MM, barely above the league minimum. The Padres probably couldn’t have dreamed about the return on investment they would eventually get from that.

Profar got into 158 games and stepped to the plate 668 times. His 15.1% strikeout rate and 11.4% walk rate were both strong numbers but fairly normal for him. He managed to do more damage when he connected, without sacrificing any of his trademark plate discipline. His 24 home runs were a career high. The three numbers in his .280/.380/.459 slash line were all personal bests as well, apart from a .471 slugging percentage in his nine-game debut back in 2012. His 139 wRC+ easily eclipsed his previous personal high of 113 and was also put him in the top 15 among qualified hitters last year. The switch-hitter did that damage from both sides of the plate, with a 137 wRC+ as a lefty and 147 as a righty.

Given his capricious production over the years, it would be fair to be a bit skeptical that he could keep that kind of performance going. However, there are some encouraging numbers under the hood. Profar’s 44.8% hard hit hate rate, 91.1 mile-per-hour average exit velocity and 7.2% barrel rate were all significantly better than anything he had done before. His .302 batting average on balls in play was a career high but just a bit above the .291 league average.

Though Profar has played all over the diamond in his career, he’s mostly a left fielder now. He’s barely played the other outfield slots in his career. He hasn’t really been an infield regular since 2019. He logged just 18 innings at first base last year, the only place he played apart from left field during the campaign.

Profar’s work in left hasn’t been especially well regarded. Last year, he was given a grade of -8 from Defensive Runs Saved and -6 from Outs Above Average. Despite that, thanks to his huge offense and ten stolen bases, FanGraphs considered him to be worth 4.3 wins above replacement on the season.

That production was huge for the Padres, given that they had notable financial restraints, which is why they took that $1MM flier on Profar. They surely would have welcomed him back, given the longstanding ties between Profar and president of baseball operations A.J. Preller. However, their financial situation is perhaps even more grim now than it was a year ago. They reportedly need to make significant cuts to the budget while also looking for solutions on the roster. In addition to Profar’s absence in left, they have question marks behind the plate, in the rotation and at shortstop.

Profar has also expressed a fondness for San Diego and probably wanted to go back, but he also probably recognized that this is probably his best chance at a free agent payday. He had previously signed a three-year, $21MM deal with the Padres going into 2021 but opted out of that pact after two years. He settled for modest one-year deals in the past two offseasons but has now secured himself a strong three-year deal. MLBTR predicted a three-year, $45MM deal for him at the start of the offseason.

For Atlanta, outfield has stood out as a clear area for improvement this winter. Ronald Acuña Jr. suffered a torn ACL in his left knee last year and missed the second half of the season. He’ll be back in right field at some point in 2025 but probably not on Opening Day. Players like Ramón Laureano and Jorge Soler were used to cover for Acuña’s absence but jettisoned after the season. Soler was flipped to the Angels while Laureano was non-tendered. The club’s acquisition of Jarred Kelenic last offseason also didn’t go especially well. He struck out 29.6% of the time and hit .231/.286/.393 for a wRC+ of 86.

Time will tell how the club plans to play it once everyone is healthy. Michael Harris II will be in center but Atlanta has its designated hitter spot committed to Marcell Ozuna. Profar and Kelenic can flank Harris for now but Acuña will eventually be back. The lefty-swinging Kelenic has better numbers against righties but the club presumably isn’t giving the Profar $42MM to be a short-side platoon guy.

Perhaps Kelenic will eventually get pushed into a fourth outfielder role once Acuña is back, though he may have a bit of time to prove himself worthy of more. Ozuna is an impending free agent, so perhaps the foursome of Harris, Acuña, Profar and Kelenic can better co-exist in 2026 and beyond. Kelenic does have an option remaining, so some time in the minors is possible as well.

With Profar now in the fold, RosterResource calculates Atlanta’s payroll at $212MM and their competitive balance tax number at $230MM. The latter is $11MM shy of this year’s base threshold. They opened last year at $223MM, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts.

President of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos has previously said that he expects payroll to rise and that the club is willing to pay the tax again this year. However, most of his moves have been focused on adding financial breathing room. As mentioned, Soler was flipped in a salary dump and Laureano was cut. Travis d’Arnaud had his club option turned down. The club restructured the contracts of Aaron Bummer and Reynaldo López to kick some money down the road.

If there is still some powder dry, then perhaps Atlanta will pivot to adding some pitching in the coming weeks. They were connected to Nathan Eovaldi earlier in the winter and reportedly had an agreement in place with Jeff Hoffman, with Hoffman to be stretched out as a starter, before they grew concerned by something they saw in his shoulder during his physical. They were also connected to reliever Tanner Scott earlier in the winter. All those guys have signed elsewhere but the interest indicates Atlanta is looking to add to the staff.

For clubs still looking for outfield help, the market is essentially out of everyday players now. Juan Soto, Teoscar Hernández, Anthony Santander, Tyler O’Neill and Profar are now all off the board. The best remaining outfielders are role players like Harrison Bader, Randal Grichuk and Alex Verdugo. Clubs like the Royals, Astros and Blue Jays have been connected to Profar this winter, though the Jays signed Santander earlier this week.

Gillispie, 27, just signed a non-guaranteed contract with Atlanta in November. He made his major league debut with Cleveland last year but only logged eight innings and was non-tendered at season’s end. In his minor league career, he has thrown 426 1/3 innings with a 4.01 earned run average, 24.3% strikeout rate and 9.4% walk rate. Atlanta will have one week of DFA limbo to figure out what’s next for him. Since the waiver process takes 48 hours, any potential trade talks would have to come together in the next five days.

Robert Murray of FanSided was first with the agreement between Atlanta and Profar.

Braves Sign Connor Gillispie To Major League Deal

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The Braves announced that they have signed right-hander Connor Gillispie to a one-year, non-guaranteed contract. Financial terms were not disclosed. They have multiple openings on their 40-man roster and won’t need to make a corresponding move. Bob Nightengale of USA Today (X link) reported the deal prior to the official announcement.

Gillispie, 27, just made his major league debut in 2024. Though he was drafted by the Orioles in 2019 and was with them through the 2023 season, the Guardians nabbed him in the minor league phase of last year’s Rule 5 draft. Cleveland selected him to the big league roster in August and he tossed eight innings for them down the stretch, allowing two earned runs. Last week, the Guardians added four players to their roster to protect them from this year’s Rule 5, with Gillispie designated for assignment to open a spot.

He was later non-tendered and became a free agent without being exposed to waivers, with Atlanta quickly offering him a roster spot to get him off the market. The brief major league debut wasn’t much to go on, so Atlanta has presumably been enticed by his minor league work. Gillispie tossed 113 1/3 Triple-A innings in a swing role this year, making 15 starts and 12 relief appearances. He allowed 4.05 earned runs per nine innings, striking out 25% of opponents against a 10.1% walk rate while surrendering 22 home runs.

That’s roughly similar to the work he did in the Orioles’ system. From 2021 to 2023, he tossed 292 2/3 innings in the minors, starting 50 of his 73 appearances. He had a 4.15 ERA, 23.8% strikeout rate and 9.3% walk rate in that time while allowing 48 long balls.

Perhaps Atlanta will try to move Gillispie to the bullpen on a more permanent basis, as he posted a 4.68 ERA as a starter this year but a 2.63 mark in relief. However it plays out, Gillispie still has options and just a few days of service time, meaning he can theoretically be cheaply retained well into the future if he continues to hang on to his roster spot. Atlanta’s pitching staff just lost Max Fried, Charlie Morton, A.J. Minter, Jesse Chavez and John Brebbia to free agency, while Joe Jiménez recently underwent knee surgery and could miss the entire 2025 season.

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