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Phillies Expected To Trade Or Release Nick Castellanos

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The Phillies are likely to trade or release Nick Castellanos this offseason, reports Matt Gelb of The Athletic. The veteran outfielder is owed $20MM for the final season of a five-year, $100MM free agent deal.

It has been apparent for the past few months that Castellanos’ time with the organization would probably come to an end this winter. He hasn’t performed up to expectations for most of his time in Philly. He’s coming off a career-worst .250/.294/.400 batting line and lost playing time in the second half.

Castellanos has also had a couple public spats with manager Rob Thomson. The skipper benched Castellanos for a game in June after the player made what Thomson considered “an inappropriate comment” when being lifted for a defensive replacement (ESPN link). Late in the season, Castellanos publicly criticized Thomson for what he called “questionable” communication on players’ roles.

The Phillies have not announced any decisions. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski was asked about the situation at this morning’s end-of-season press conference. “I don’t know. I’m not going to get into specific players that are on our roster under contract. The [incidents] that you talked about are accurate, but we’ll see what happens,” he replied (link via Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer).

Obviously, the Phillies would prefer to find a trade partner than to simply release Castellanos. That won’t be easy. Other teams will be aware of the soured relationship. Even if things hadn’t gone south off the field, he’s coming off a season in which both FanGraphs and Baseball Reference felt he was below replacement level. Castellanos ranked among the bottom 20 hitters (minimum 500 plate appearances) in on-base percentage. He tied with Jo Adell and Juan Soto for an MLB-worst 12 outs below average among outfielders. He probably would have been a primary designated hitter if he weren’t teammates with Kyle Schwarber.

Castellanos did connect on 17 homers while driving in 72 runs. He’d topped 20 homers in each of the previous two seasons. He has not gone on the injured list in three seasons and has hit .282/.329/.463 against left-handed pitching over the past four years. He’d still be an offensive upgrade for some teams as a part-time outfielder/DH.

Teams aren’t going to assume a notable portion of a $20MM salary for that kind of role. The Phils will hope to find a club willing to take $3-5MM off their hands for a nominal return. Failing that, it seems they’d simply eat the contract and release him. Castellanos could then sign anywhere for the league minimum with the Phillies on the hook for the rest of the money. The Guardians, Royals, Rangers and Padres are among the teams that need more production out of the outfield and/or designated hitter.

Moving on from Castellanos will be one of multiple changes to the Phils’ outfield. Harrison Bader and Max Kepler are headed to free agency. (Bader will decline his end of a mutual option and sign a multi-year deal.) That leaves Brandon Marsh as the only returning regular. Kepler had a poor season after signing a $10MM free agent deal. Dombrowski acknowledged that he’s unlikely to be re-signed.

The Phils will presumably make an effort to bring Bader back, but they’re also facing the impending free agencies of Schwarber, J.T. Realmuto and Ranger Suárez. While Dombrowski said the Phillies have interest in re-signing each of those players individually, he called it “probably impractical” to get all four of them done. Schwarber and Realmuto feel like the bigger priorities.

That points to a potential Opening Day roster spot for former first-round pick Justin Crawford. The Phillies were mulling a midseason call-up for the 21-year-old outfielder. Crawford probably would’ve debuted had they not managed to acquire Bader from Minnesota at the deadline. He instead spent the season at Triple-A Lehigh Valley, where he hit .334/.411/.452 and stole 46 bases in 112 games.

Crawford remains a somewhat divisive prospect. He has excellent bat-to-ball skills, but his power is limited by a swing designed to hit the ball on the ground. While he has the pure speed for center field, his arm and defensive routes lead many evaluators to project him as a left fielder. That could push Marsh back to center field, perhaps in another platoon with righty-swinging Johan Rojas.

N.L. Notes: Horton, Chourio, Bader

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Cubs right-hander Cade Horton is potentially making some progress. According to Patrick Mooney of The Athletic, he will throw off a mound this week as the club decides whether or not to include him on the NLCS roster, if they advance that far.

Horton debuted this year and hit the ground running. He logged 118 innings for the Cubs with a 2.67 earned run average. Unfortunately, his season ended on a sour note. Horton suffered a rib fracture in September and it was immediately apparent that he would miss at least one playoff series. The Cubs survived the Wild Card round without him but he still wasn’t on the roster for their NLDS matchup against the Brewers.

The Chicago rotation is feeling thin at the moment, composed of Matthew Boyd, Shota Imanaga and Jameson Taillon. Boyd just got rocked by the Brewers on Saturday. He was charged with six runs, only two of them being earned, as he failed to get out of the first inning. The Cubs went on to lose 9-3. Imanaga and Taillon were both decent this year but both had subpar strikeout rates. If the Cubs can hang on for a best-of-seven NLCS, getting Horton in there to take some pressure of those guys could be a difference maker.

Mooney also adds that the Cubs expect Horton to earn a full year of service time, which is understandable. As a top prospect who was promoted late enough that he wasn’t slated to get a full service year, he can earn that full year retroactively by finishing top two in N.L. Rookie of the Year voting. Horton and Atlanta catcher Drake Baldwin are considered the frontrunners for that award, so Horton will likely get that full service year. That would put him on track to reach free agency after 2030 instead of 2031.

Some other injury updates from around the league…

  • Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio is in tonight’s lineup, batting leadoff against the Cubs. Chourio left the first game due to some right hamstring tightness. A subsequent MRI led to results which Pat Murphy described as “inconclusive,” adding that it’s “not a serious hamstring strain.” That implied that Chourio did indeed strain his hamstring, though the club is apparently comfortable running him out there tonight. Murphy said today, per Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, that Chourio is not 100% and they’ll take him out of the game if it appears necessary.
  • Phillies outfielder Harrison Bader was removed from his club’s first NLDS game against the Dodgers due to a groin injury. He’s not in tonight’s Game Two lineup but he could be available to pinch hit. Manager Rob Thomson passed the new on to reporters, including Lochlahn March of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Bader is an excellent defender and he hit .305/.361/.463 after being acquired from the Twins at the deadline, so the Phillies will obviously want him back in there as soon as possible. The Phils have Otto Kemp, Brandon Marsh and Nick Castellanos in the lineup tonight from left to right. Max Kepler is also in the mix, though he’s probably not starting tonight since lefty Blake Snell is on the bump for the Dodgers.

Photo courtesy of Isaiah J. Downing, Imagn Images

Harrison Bader To Undergo Imaging For Groin Injury

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October 5: Thomson said this morning that Bader’s MRI showed no major tear or strain, as relayed by Varnes. He’ll continue receiving treatment and the team will know more about his availability for Game 2 tomorrow, but MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki notes that Thomson said Bader is feeling better after receiving treatment last night.

October 4: The Phillies pulled outfielder Harrison Bader from Game 1 of the NLDS against the Dodgers tonight due to what was at first described by the team has hamstring tightness, but manager Rob Thomson later relayed to reporters (including Charlotte Varnes of The Athletic) that the issue was actually groin tightness. Bader himself later spoke to reporters (including Tim Kelly of On Pattison) and revealed that he would be undergoing imaging to determine the extent of his injury.

While the situation might seem concerning, Bader is considered day-to-day for the time being and expressed confidence that he’ll return to the Phillies’ lineup during this series. He noted that he’ll rest during tomorrow’s day off and “go from there,” adding that playing in the postseason is the time where you “empty the tank,” suggesting a willingness to try and play through an injury that might otherwise sit him down at another point in the season. That’s surely encouraging for Phillies fans to hear given Bader’s emergence as a key piece of the team in recent weeks.

Acquired from the Twins at the trade deadline back in July, Bader had already been enjoying a solid season with the Twins but kicked things up to another gear when he arrived in Philadephia. In 50 games with the Phillies, Bader has hit .305/.361/.463 with five home runs, eleven doubles, and a triple in 194 trips to the plate while serving as the team’s regular center fielder. He’s done his part defensively as well, with +1 Fielding Run Value in center this year despite playing the outfield corners exclusively in Minnesota. Bader has long been a well-regarded center fielder in the majors, but was pushed into a corner with the Twins due to the presence of a healthy Byron Buxton in the club’s lineup.

The addition of Bader at the deadline helped to stabilize the Phillies on both sides of the ball. Nick Castellanos struggled badly this year, with below-average offensive numbers that paired with his typical lackluster glove in the outfield to make him a below replacement level player. Max Kepler and Johan Rojas had disappointing seasons of their own as well, leaving Bader to step up alongside Brandon Marsh to help create some more production for the Phillies on both offensively and defensively. Few deadline additions have been more impactful for their club down the stretch, and it would be devastating for the club to go without Bader during a tough matchup against the Dodgers this week, especially after dropping game 1 of the series at home earlier this evening.

If Bader were to miss Game 2 on Monday, an outfield featuring Marsh in center flanked by Kepler in left and Castellanos in right seems like the most likely outcome, though Weston Wilson is also on the roster as a potential right-handed complement to Kepler. In a worst-case scenario where Bader needed to be pulled from the club’s NLDS roster entirely, the Phillies would have the option to place him on the injured list and replace him on the roster. Doing so would mean that Bader would miss the entire NLCS, however, and only be eligible to return this year if the Phillies made it all the way to the World Series. Needless to say, that’s a situation the Phillies will surely be hoping to avoid.

Padres Notes: Bogaerts, Bader, De Vries, Gore, Kwan

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The Padres are expected to activate Xander Bogaerts from the 10-day injured list prior to Monday’s game with the Brewers, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes.  The shortstop might’ve already been back this weekend except a planned on-field workout on Friday was canceled due to rain, delaying Bogaerts’ return until the start of the six-game homestand that will conclude the Friars’ regular season.

A left foot fracture has kept Bogaerts out of action since August 27, and it wasn’t clear if he would be able to play again before the postseason, even if the injury wasn’t expected to keep Bogaerts out of any October action.  Bogaerts has hit .262/.330/.387 with 10 home runs over 534 plate appearances, for a decent but unspectacular 103 wRC+.  He has displayed some good plate discipline and augmented his work at the plate with 20 steals (in 22 attempts) and very good defense in the view of the Outs Above Average metric (+7).  Jake Cronenworth and Jose Iglesias have handed most of the shortstop duty over the last four weeks, and with Bogaerts back, Cronenworth should return to his usual second base position.

Returning Monday gives Bogaerts six games to ramp up for a postseason trip that has been all but officially clinched.  San Diego seems likely to finish as the NL’s second wild card team, unless the Padres can overcome the Dodgers’ three-game edge in the NL West race, or if the Padres somehow fritter away their five-game edge over the Reds (who hold the third and final wild card slot).

Though the Padres surely wish they’d been able to overtake Los Angeles for the division lead, a 25-22 record since the trade deadline has at least helped San Diego more or less lock up its fourth playoff berth in the last six years.  President of baseball operations A.J. Preller was his typical active self at the deadline, swinging five trades in July to add a variety of roster upgrades.

The many players actually acquired were just the tip of the iceberg, as the New York Post’s Jon Heyman writes that “the Padres were in on every top player” even somewhat available at the deadline.  Most of those trade targets were cited on MLBTR’s pages, but Heyman adds that the Padres also had interest in Harrison Bader, who instead went from the Twins to another NL power in the Phillies.

San Diego’s interest in Bader was logical, as the Padres had a clear need in the outfield.  Rather than Bader, the Padres ended up acquiring both Ramon Laureano and Ryan O’Hearn from the Orioles for a six-prospect trade package, addressing both left field and first base in one fell swoop.  O’Hearn’s bat has cooled off since the deal while Laureano has played really well, so there probably aren’t any regrets in the Friars’ front office about missing out on Bader, who has exploded since arriving in Philadelphia.

The largest of the Padres’ deadline deals saw Mason Miller and JP Sears acquired from the Athletics for four minor leaguers, including elite prospect Leo De Vries as the headliner.  De Vries was far and away the most prominent prospect moved at the deadline, and it took the inclusion of a controllable young arm like Miller to convince the Padres to move the young shortstop.

This doesn’t mean that other teams didn’t ask.  San Diego was known to have made a push to pry MacKenzie Gore away from the Nationals, even though Washington wasn’t going to move Gore for anything less than a haul.  Heyman writes that the Nats’ ask from the Padres was a five-player package that included De Vries, so it isn’t too surprising that the Padres turned elsewhere.

Steven Kwan was another outfielder on the Padres’ wishlist, and a De Vries-for-Kwan trade was floated between the Padres and Guardians even though Heyman says that neither team wanted a straight-up swap.  Kwan (like Gore) is arbitration-controlled through the 2027 season, so while two-plus years of control is still a lot of an established player, it perhaps wasn’t enough of a long-term add to convince Preller to move De Vries.

From Cleveland’s perspective, the Guardians often pursue at least one MLB-ready piece when trading their veteran assets.  De Vries only just made his Double-A debut after his move to the Athletics’ farm system, and while he is posting strong numbers, he doesn’t turn 19 until next month and isn’t expected to reach the majors until 2027.  While the Guards were only 54-54 on July 31, keeping Kwan has paid dividends, as has helped contribute to the September surge that has now given Cleveland a chance at not just a playoff spot, but even the AL Central title.

9 Contract Options To Keep An Eye On In September

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The final push of the 2025 season is upon is, which means postseason chases for fans lucky enough to root for contending clubs and offseason dreams for those whose clubs are already out of the running. It also means that players with vesting clauses in their contract and/or performance incentives are beginning to unlock bonuses related to plate appearances, innings pitched, games finished, etc.

In particular, there are a handful of club options that are worth keeping an eye on either for incentive purposes or for season-long rehabbers who’ll have a limited September window to audition for next year’s club. MLBTR’s Anthony Franco already highlighted the three vesting options of note last month, but we’ll still take a look at how those players are tracking and also shine a light on six more club/mutual options that’ll have some present financial ramifications as well as potential 2026 roster implications.

Here are nine options to keep in the back of your mind as the season’s final weeks play out…

Pete Fairbanks, RHP, Rays

Fairbanks’ three-year, $12MM extension with Tampa Bay contained a $7MM club option for the 2026 season, but he’s boosted that option’s value considerably. Fairbanks already triggered $1.5MM in escalators based on his total appearances in the first three seasons of the deal, and he’s maxed out a set of escalators based on his number of games finished in 2025, tacking another $2MM onto the option price. His option at this moment is valued at $10.5MM, but if he appears in even two more games this year, he’ll boost his 2023-25 appearance count to 150, triggering another $1MM escalator. If he appears in seven of Tampa Bay’s final 22 games, he’ll bump his 2025 appearance total to 60 and hit another $1MM escalator.

Despite all those escalators, MLBTR has learned that the option maxes out at $11MM. That salary for a reliever is steep for the Rays, but Fairbanks has pitched a career-high 52 1/3 innings and logged a 3.10 ERA, 25.2% strikeout rate and 7% walk rate en route to 24 saves. Even if the Rays were hesitant to commit $11MM to a frequently injured reliever who’ll turn 32 in December, a team with lesser budgetary concerns would be willing to do. The option will very likely be picked up either way, but the steeper the cost, the likelier an offseason trade becomes.

Andrés Muñoz, RHP, Mariners

Muñoz’s four-year, $7.5MM contract has become one of the game’s great bargains. At the time of the agreement, he’d made just one appearance for the M’s and had only 23 2/3 major league innings under his belt due to Tommy John surgery. The four-year term bought out his final pre-arbitration year and all three arbitration seasons, while also giving Seattle options on his first three free agent years. It’s easy to say now that Muñoz would’ve earned more through arbitration, but it’s hard to blame a 22-year-old who’d scarcely pitched in the majors for locking in that life-changing payday, and there was some modest risk for the Mariners in the deal as well.

The first of those three option years has a $6MM base value, but Muñoz has already boosted that by $500K. He unlocked $250K option escalators when he reached 20 and 30 games finished on the season. He’s finished 39 games now, and he’ll hit additional $250K escalators when he finishes his 40th and 45th games of the season. The first of those is a lock, and the second is certainly within reach.

Muñoz’s contract also has an $8MM club option for 2027 and a $10MM club option for 2028. He can boost both those figures by $1MM with the same set of escalators based on his games finished in the next two seasons, and beginning next year, he can also earn an additional $2MM per season based on games finished.

John Means, LHP, Guardians

Coming off his second career Tommy John surgery, Means signed a one-year, $1MM deal with the Guardians. Cleveland knew full well he’d miss most of the season recovering from last summer’s UCL operation. Means has a $6MM club option, with no buyout. He can’t boost that sum any further, but he’s on the cusp of returning to the majors and making what’ll amount to a two- or three-start audition.

Means, 32, has made four minor league rehab starts and has pitched well. He’s tossed 13 1/3 innings and yielded four earned runs (2.70 ERA) on eight hits and five walks with 13 punchouts. He’d been slated to make his final rehab start today before being scratched with an illness, but a return to the majors could happen as soon as next weekend.

When healthy, Means has been a high-quality starter. He’s posted a 3.68 ERA in 401 big league innings, all coming with the Orioles. He’s a former Opening Day starter and All-Star for Baltimore who has twice topped 140 innings in a season. A pair of UCL surgeries has limited him to just 52 1/3 innings since Opening Day 2022, however.

The Athletic’s Zack Meisel suggests that as long as Means is healthy, the option will be picked up. The Guards have committed a full year to rehabilitating the talented lefty. And, as explored at MLBTR last night, Cleveland has an uncharacteristic need for some pitching upgrades. A $6MM gamble on Means isn’t exactly a pricey roll of the dice, but the Guardians are one of the sport’s lowest-payroll clubs. If Means returns next week and gets rocked in his only two or three big league starts this year, it doesn’t feel like a given that they’ll dedicate that $6MM sum to him. If he looks even close to his old form, it seems like a reasonable risk to take. His handful of starts will be worth watching with a careful eye for Cleveland fans.

Jose Urquidy, RHP, Tigers

Urquidy is in a very similar situation to that of Means. He’s rehabbing from a second career Tommy John surgery and signed a one-year, $1MM deal with a $4MM club option for the 2026 season. Like Means, he’s on a minor league rehab assignment right now and could be activated in the near future. The former Astros righty tossed three scoreless innings for Triple-A Toledo three days ago and has now pitched 14 2/3 minor league innings with a 4.30 ERA and a 12-to-3 K/BB ratio.

Urquidy and Means have nearly identical career innings totals, though Urquidy’s 405 frames have come in a more condensed five seasons. From 2019-22, the right-hander posted a 3.74 ERA with a 20.3% strikeout rate and 5.2% walk rate in 342 innings for Houston. He was hit hard in a 2023 season that was shortened by shoulder troubles (5.29 ERA in 63 frames) and didn’t pitch in 2024 due to the elbow/forearm discomfort that eventually prompted his Tommy John surgery in early June last year.

If Urquidy comes back anywhere close to that 2019-22 form, a $4MM option should be a no-brainer, but a rocky performance could give the Tigers reason to pause. Urquidy’s return will also be worth monitoring since he could pitch his way into postseason roster consideration for Detroit.

Tyler Kinley, RHP, Braves

Atlanta looked past Kinley’s dismal 5.66 ERA with the Rockies and acquired him in July, clearly believing that the hard-throwing righty was only a few tweaks away from success. It’s been a masterstroke. Kinley has pitched 13 2/3 innings and allowed just one run since being traded to Atlanta in exchange for 26-year-old Double-A righty Austin Smith. The Braves have Kinley throwing even more sliders and working with a slightly lower release point, and the results have been stellar — albeit in a small sample.

The Braves were out of the postseason chase by the time the deadline rolled around, so the mere fact that they traded for a potential free agent with a 2026 club option signaled that they were open to exercising that option in spite of his struggles. Kinley’s success in Atlanta makes it quite likely he’ll return, but there’s a good chance it won’t be at the $5MM base price of his value. His contract contains option escalators based on games finished, the first of which kicks in at 20. Kinley has currently finished 18 games this year, including three with Atlanta. If he finishes two more, he’ll boost next year’s option to $5.5MM — and he’ll also unlock a $500K bonus for the current season.

It’s not a major change, but those incentives would bump him from a $2.08MM luxury tax hit to $2.875MM. Assuming the options on Kinley, Pierce Johnson, Chris Sale, Ozzie Albies and Ha-Seong Kim are all exercised, Atlanta will have $207.5MM committed to next year’s books when the offseason begins (before accounting for arbitration raises).

Harrison Bader, OF, Phillies

Bader has proven to be a terrific pickup for the Phils, hitting .307/.374/.477 in his first 99 plate appearances since being traded over from Minnesota. He’s up to 406 plate appearances on the season, which is just enough for his incentive structure to kick in. The $1.5MM buyout on Bader’s $10MM mutual option jumped to $1.7MM when he reached 400 plate appearances, and it’ll climb to $1.9MM at 425 plate appearances and $2.1MM if he reaches 450. It’s a minor bump, but for a Phillies club that’s a third-time luxury payor in the top tier of penalization, they’ll pay a 110% tax on the prorated portion of that extra $600K.

Given the strength of Bader’s play, they’ll happily pay that, of course, and the increased buyout does nothing to change the fact that Bader will return to free agency this winter. It’s been over a decade since the last time both sides of a mutual option were exercised in MLB (Brewers, Aramis Ramirez in 2014). Bader’s plus defense and strong season at the plate should position him for a multi-year deal in the offseason.

Jorge Polanco, INF, Mariners

Polanco is nine plate appearances shy of converting his 2026 mutual option into a $6MM player option. He’s also already tacked $2MM onto his 2025 salary via plate appearance incentives, and when he hits the 450 mark needed to trigger that player option, he’ll unlock another $500K. That’ll bump the veteran switch-hitter up to a $9.5MM salary in 2025. He’d get another $500K if he can make it to 500 plate appearances, but it’s not a guarantee he’ll get 59 plate appearances in between now and season’s end.

Though he’s slumped considerably in the middle months of the season, Polanco has heated up again in the past three weeks. He’s slashing .254/.319/.471 with 23 homers and 17 doubles in only 441 plate appearances — miles better than the down year he had with the M’s in 2024 before undergoing offseason knee surgery. He’s played well enough that he’s probably going to decline a $6MM player option anyhow, but it’ll be a nice safety net in the event of an injury (so long as it’s not a lower-half injury, as his contract contains language that’d prevent the player option from kicking in if he’s dealing with an injury related to that offseason knee procedure).

Matt Strahm, LHP, Phillies

Strahm is on the cusp of having his contract’s 2026 option vest. While that originally came at a $4.5MM base value, he’s already boosted the option value to $6.5MM via $1MM escalators at 40 and 50 innings pitched. Once he reaches 60, the option value increases to its maximum $7.5MM. The contract also stipulates that if Strahm pitches 60 innings and passes a physical at the end of the season, it’ll automatically vest.

Strahm has been excellent in 2025, logging 56 1/3 frames of 2.88 ERA ball with a 27.9% strikeout rate and 7.7% walk rate. He’s saved six games and tallied 17 holds. The Phillies would’ve picked up the option anyhow, but this removes any doubt.

Lucas Giolito, RHP, Red Sox

Giolito’s two-year, $38.5MM contract with Boston couldn’t have started much worse. The typically durable righty went down with a UCL injury in spring training last year, ultimately requiring surgery that wiped out his entire 2024 season. His 2025 return didn’t appear to be going well early on, either. Through his first seven starts, the 31-year-old was shelled for a 6.42 ERA in just 33 2/3 innings.

Since June 10, however, Giolito has returned to form. He’s started 15 games, totaled 91 2/3 innings and logged a pristine 2.26 earned run average. His 21.1% strikeout rate and 8.6% walk rate in that time are both about half a percentage point worse than league average among starting pitchers, but it’s been a strong run overall, pushing his season ERA down to a tidy 3.38.

That turnaround would make Giolito’s $14MM club option likely to be picked up — but it’s not likely to remain a club option. The right-hander’s contract stipulates that with 140 innings pitched this year, that option converts into a $19MM mutual option with a $1.5MM buyout. With 125 1/3 innings under his belt, Giolito only needs another 14 2/3 frames in the final three weeks to convert that option to mutual status. If and when he reaches that point, Giolito is a lock to decline his half of the mutual option, collect that buyout and return to free agency in search of a multi-year deal. The Sox could — and likely would — counter with a qualifying offer, but the hefty contracts for mid-rotation arms like Eduardo Rodriguez (four years, $80MM), Sean Manaea (three years, $75MM), Taijuan Walker (four years, $72MM), Jameson Taillon (four years, $68MM) and Luis Severino (three years, $67MM) in recent offseasons all suggest that Giolito can reasonably seek a pricey three- or four-year deal ahead of what’ll be his age-31 season.

Phillies Acquire Harrison Bader

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The Phillies announced the acquisition of outfielder Harrison Bader from the Twins. Minnesota receives two prospects: outfielder Hendry Mendez and right-hander Geremy Villoria. Philadelphia designated reliever Brett de Geus for assignment to clear a 40-man roster spot.

Bader, 31, has been a solid big leaguer for years. He is one of the best outfield defenders in the league, with career tallies of 63 Defensive Runs Saved and 76 Outs Above Average. That DRS total is fifth-best among outfielders since the start of 2017, while the OAA total tops the leaderboard.

His offense has been up-and-down but he’s currently on pace to have his best season at the plate. In 307 plate appearances, he already has 12 home runs. Only once in his career has he hit more than that, which was the 16 he hit in 2021. His 26.4% strikeout rate is a bit high but his 8.8% walk rate is his best mark in years.

On the whole, he has a .258/.339/.439 line this year. His 117 wRC+, a career high, indicates he has been 17% better than league average at the plate this year. Thanks to ten stolen bases and some quality glovework, he’s already been worth 2.0 wins above replacement on the year, in the eyes of FanGraphs.

The Twins have pivoted to sell mode recently. They are 51-57 and 5.5 games out of a playoff spot. This the second deal they have lined up with the Phillies, as they already sent Jhoan Durán to Philadelphia. They also traded Chris Paddack to the Tigers and Brock Stewart to the Dodgers.

Bader has long been seen as likely to go, since he’s an impending free agent. He signed a one-year, $6.25MM deal with the Twins in the offseason. That guarantee came in the form of a $750K signing bonus, a $4MM salary, and a $1.5MM buyout on a mutual option. Mutual options are essentially never picked up by both sides, which is why Bader has been viewed as a rental. His buyout can also increase via plate appearance incentives. He would add $200K at 400, 425 and 450 plate appearances, then $450K at 475 and 500. As mentioned, he’s currently at 307 plate appearances.

His deal also has a $500K assignment bonus if he’s traded. Per Bobby Nightengale of the Minnesota Star Tribune, the Twins aren’t including any money in this deal, so it seems the Phils will take on the remaining salary and the buyout on the option. There’s about $1.3MM of salary left. The buyout, as mentioned, is $1.5MM but can increase.

Money aside, Bader is a great fit for the Phillies. They have been looking for outfield help and right-handed bat. Bader ticks both boxes. Nick Castellanos is cemented in right, but he’s a league-average bat with horrible defensive metrics. Johan Rojas is the opposite, as he’s a great defender who doesn’t hit. Brandon Marsh and Max Kepler are a bit less extreme. They’re both good defenders in a corner but a bit stretched in center. They both can hit but are left-handed hitters who do more damage with the platoon advantage. Kepler is also now battling a triceps injury, per Lochlahn March of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Bader has largely been playing left field for the Twins out of deference to Byron Buxton. He should be able to pivot back to center for the Phils. That should allow for Rojas, Kepler and Marsh to all be used more selectively. Bader has pretty even platoon splits this year but his career splits are more extreme, with a .248/.315/.461 line versus lefties and a .242/.307/.374 slash against righties. Kepler recently expressed some dissatisfaction with being platooned but he hasn’t helped his cause with a .196/.250/.314 line against southpaws this year.

Mendez, 21, was originally a Brewers prospect. He came to the Phils in a November 2023 trade which sent infielder Oliver Dunn to the Brewers. Dunn was a minor league Rule 5 pick out of the Yankees’ system, making a fairly unusual trade tree for this move.

Since Mendez has come over the Phils, he’s been great at the plate. He spent last year at High-A and has been at Double-A this year. He has stepped to the plate 722 times in those two seasons with a 12.7% walk rate, 13.3% strikeout rate, .287/.380/.412 batting line and 131 wRC+. Baseball America lists him as the #17 prospect in the system. Their report notes that he hits the ball incredibly hard but too often into the ground. He’s not considered a strong outfield defender, so his development as a hitter will be key.

He is eligible for the Rule 5 draft this winter. Perhaps the Phils weren’t going to add him to their 40-man roster or were on the fence about it. The Twins will need to add him this fall if they don’t want him to be exposed.

Villoria, 16, was an international signing of the Phils out of Venezuela. He just signed with the Phils this year out of for a $425K bonus and has 14 professional innings under his belt in the Dominican Summer League. His youth and inexperience naturally make him a long-term play. Baseball America notes that he can already get up to the mid-90s with his fastball and he also has a high-spin slider as well as a changeup.

For the Phils, they’re adding a bit of money to their books but they’re usually not afraid to do that and they’ve clearly got a foot on the gas pedal here. Their core players are mostly in their mid-30s, so they made a bold strike by giving up notable prospects in the Durán deal. Here, they’ve given up a few prospects but not top guys.

They are a third-time payor of the competitive balance tax and over the top tier, meaning they will face a 110% tax rate on Bader’s remaining salary and the buyout. Between the salary and buyout, he’s owed at least $2.8MM, so the Phils will also have to pay over $3MM in taxes on that.

For the Twins, they add a couple of extra prospects from a player who was set to depart in free agency anyway. It’s possible that saving money is a goal for them this week. They could have included money here to ask for a greater prospect return but didn’t do so. They also included Randy Dobnak’s contract in the Paddack deal, seemingly to save a few million bucks. They could still move Willi Castro, Danny Coulombe, Ty France and Christian Vázquez before the day is done, as they are all impending free agents. If they’re willing to move another controllable player like they did in the Duran deal, Griffin Jax could be on the move as well.

Teams like the Mets, Yankees and Dodgers were also connected to Bader in recent weeks. Those teams could pivot to guys like Steven Kwan, Luis Robert Jr., Cedric Mullins and/or Ramón Laureano, who are thought to be available today.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported the Phillies were closing in on a Bader deal for an outfield and pitching prospect. Matt Gelb of The Athletic had the return.

Photo courtesy of Matt Blewett, Jordan Johnson, Imagn Images

Mets, Yankees Have Shown Interest In Harrison Bader

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The Dodgers, Mets and Yankees have all shown interested in Twins outfielder Harrison Bader, reports Jorge Castillo of ESPN. The interest from the Dodgers was reported by Bob Nightengale of USA Today yesterday.

Bader, 31, has long been a useful big leaguer on account of his speed and defense. His offense has been more mercurial but he’s currently in the midst of what could be his best season at the plate. In 298 plate appearances, he already has 12 home runs. Only once in his career has he hit more than that, which was the 16 he hit in 2021. His 26.2% strikeout rate is a bit high but his 8.7% walk rate is his best mark in years.

On the whole, he has a .255/.336/.441 line this year. His 118 wRC+, a career high, indicates he has been 18% better than league average at the plate this year. Thanks to nine stolen bases and some quality glovework, he’s already been worth 2.0 wins above replacement on the year, in the eyes of FanGraphs.

The Twins seem to be pivoting to sell mode, at least in terms of guys who aren’t core pieces. They are 50-55, a record which puts them 5.5 games back of a playoff spot in the American League. It was reported last week that they were leaning towards making their rental players available. They flipped Chris Paddack to the Tigers earlier today. It’s likely that Bader, Christian Vázquez, Danny Coulombe, Ty France and Willi Castro will follow in the coming days.

Bader signed a one-year, $6.25MM deal with the Twins in the offseason. That guarantee came in the form of a $750K signing bonus, a $4MM salary, and a $1.5MM buyout on a mutual option. Mutual options are essentially never picked up by both sides, which is why Bader will be viewed as a rental. His buyout can also increase via plate appearance incentives. He would add $200K at 400, 425 and 450 plate appearances, then $450K at 475 and 500. He came into tonight’s game with 298 trips to the plate. His deal also has a $500K assignment bonus if he’s traded.

Though he has mostly been playing left field this year, that has been out of deference to Byron Buxton. Suitors calling the Twins will likely view Bader as a center fielder, since he’s perfectly capable of sliding back to that spot.

Even with the little extra bits in his contract, Bader’s price is still attractive. Some of the other notable center field options on the market are Cedric Mullins and Luis Robert Jr. Mullins is making $8.725MM and has been in a rough slump since April. Robert is making $15MM this year and is also owed at least a $2MM buyout on his $20MM club option for next year. He’s been hitting better lately but is having a bad season overall.

The Mets and Yankees would both be logical landing spots for Bader. He has already played for both New York clubs, so there’s already familiarity there. The Mets have already been connected to Robert and Mullins. They came into the year with Jose Siri and Tyrone Taylor as their center field options. Siri suffered a fractured shin a couple of weeks into the season and has been on the IL since. He still hasn’t started a rehab assignment. Taylor has a dismal .204/.260/.298 line at the plate this year.

Lately, Jeff McNeil has taken over the center field job. If the Mets were to acquire a center fielder, McNeil could move back to the infield. The Mets have a cluttered infield mix with Mark Vientos, Brett Baty, Ronny Mauricio and Luisangel Acuña. They are reportedly open to trading from that group of younger players, however, so it’s possible the roster gets shaken up in a few different ways this week.

For the Yankees, they just lost Aaron Judge to the injured list with a flexor strain. They now have a regular outfield alignment of Cody Bellinger, Trent Grisham and Jasson Domínguez. Bellinger and Grisham are both lefties while Domínguez is a switch-hitter who is far better against right-handed pitchers. Bringing in a righty bat like Bader to complement that group makes a lot of sense. Bader has fairly neutral splits in 2025 but has been better against lefties in his career. He has hit .248/.315/.461 against lefties for a 110 wRC+ overall, with a career .241/.307/.374 slash and 87 wRC+ against righties.

Both the Mets and the Yankees are third-time payors of the competitive balance tax. Both clubs are also above the top CBT threshold this year. That means each club faces a 110% tax bill for any spending they add to the ledger for the rest of the season. Bader’s relatively modest salary should therefore be appealing to both clubs for the same reason.

Photo courtesy of Matt Blewett, Imagn Images

Dodgers Interested In Harrison Bader

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While the Dodgers are widely expected to focus their trade deadline on pursuing high-leverage help in the bullpen, they could also stand to add another bat given the paltry production they’ve received from Michael Conforto (79 wRC+) in left field. They’ve previously been connected to Cardinals super utility man Brendan Donovan, and this morning USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports that Los Angeles has interest in another outfield option: Harrison Bader of the Twins.

Bader, 31, has enjoyed his strongest offensive season in years after signing in Minnesota on a one-year deal this past offseason. He’s slashed a strong .250/.332/.435 (115 wRC+) in 92 games for the Twins this year with 12 home runs, nine stolen bases, and excellent outfield defense. The gifted defender has typically been deployed in center field throughout his career, but has primarily played left field this year in deference to Twins franchise face Byron Buxton, an elite center fielder in his own right. Andy Pages is currently patrolling center field for the Dodgers and is performing well on both offense (126 wRC+) and defense, but Bader’s elite glove could push Pages into a corner and Conforto to the bench if acquired.

The addition of Bader would help bolster a rare weak spot in the Dodgers’ daunting lineup. For all the club’s star power and overall offensive ability, its outfield is pedestrian overall. Dodgers outfielders have posted a combined wRC+ of 102 this year (12th in the majors), with 3.3 fWAR (16th in the majors). Adding Bader’s excellent glove and solid bat to the mix would go a long way to help make up for the offensive malaise key contributors like Mookie Betts, Teoscar Hernandez, and more recently Freddie Freeman have found themselves in at various points in the season.

Of course, Bader is far from the only player who could theoretically be an upgrade for the Dodgers in the outfield. As previously mentioned, they’ve already been connected to Donovan. A number of other intriguing outfielders are expected to be available this summer as well, including Ramon Laureano of the Orioles, Luis Robert Jr. of the White Sox, and Jesus Sanchez of the Marlins. Laureano and Robert (as well as Bader himself) would be particularly strong fits given that their right-handed bats can serve as a solid complement to the lefty Conforto, although even a left-handed outfielder like Sanchez or Mike Tauchman of the White Sox would offer a boost to the club’s production on the grass.

As for Bader, the Dodgers are the first team he’s been explicitly connected to but Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reported yesterday that he’s expected to have a “solid market” this summer as the Twins dangle their rental pieces. Teams like the Phillies, Padres, and Royals are in clear need of outfield help, and perhaps even clubs like the Yankees, Reds and Blue Jays with heavily left-handed outfield options could use another right-handed complement to those existing players as well.

Twins More Seriously Listening To Offers On Rental Players

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The Twins have stumbled out of the gate with a 1-3 record in the second half and are beginning to more seriously weigh trades of their short-term players, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Utilityman Willi Castro, outfielder Harrison Bader and left-handed reliever Danny Coulombe are the team’s three most appealing free agents, but the Twins also have righty Chris Paddack, first baseman Ty France and backup catcher Christian Vazquez set to hit the market at season’s end.

[Related: Minnesota Twins Trade Deadline Outlook]

Of course, more of the focus for contending clubs will be on Minnesota’s more controllable and higher-profile talents. Top starter Joe Ryan and high-leverage relievers Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax will draw widespread interest. Heyman notes that Twins brass won’t turn interested clubs away without hearing them out, but the they would understandably need to be bowled over to consider moving anyone from that group. All three pitchers are controlled for two additional seasons beyond the current campaign.

Among the rental players, Castro fits the broadest number of teams, given his versatility. The 28-year-old switch-hitter is enjoying a nice season at the plate, hitting .258/.350/.435 with 10 homers, 14 doubles, two triples, eight steals (ten attempts) and a career-best 10% walk rate. He’s been productive from both sides of the dish, has above-average speed (74th percentile, per Statcast) and is capable of playing second base, shortstop, third base and the outfield (although defensive metrics have panned his work at shortstop and in center). Castro is earning $6.4MM, making him affordable for virtually any contender.

Bader’s defensive excellence and bounceback year at the plate ought to garner plenty of interest as well. He’s hitting .249/.330/.438 as Minnesota’s primary left fielder, but he’s only in left because of Byron Buxton’s presence in center. Bader still grades out brilliantly at any outfield slot, and while he’s typically showed notable platoon splits, he’s posted nearly identical numbers against righties and lefties alike in 2025. By measure of wRC+, Bader has been 15% better than average at the plate. He’s sporting his highest walk rate in a 162-game season since 2019 and hitting for more power than he has since 2021 (12 home runs, 11 doubles, .189 ISO in 282 plate appearances). He’s on a one-year, $6.25MM contract with a mutual option that obviously won’t be exercised by both parties.

Coulombe has been quietly terrific. He missed three weeks earlier in the season with a forearm strain but has shown no ill effects. His 0.65 ERA in 27 2/3 frames is the best in baseball among the 433 pitchers who’ve tossed at least 20 innings, and Coulombe has fanned 26.9% of his opponents against a 6.5% walk rate. He doesn’t throw hard (90.2 mph average fastball) and isn’t going to make it the whole season without surrendering a home run — he’s currently yet to do so — but there aren’t many better left-handed options on the market. He’s playing on a one-year, $3MM contract.

The rest of the Twins’ rental options have some track record but are in the midst of poor seasons. Paddack still has good command, but he’s sitting on a 5.14 ERA and career-worst 16.4% strikeout rate. He had a nice run from mid-April to mid-June, but Paddack has never really held up for a whole season under a starter’s workload and has been hit hard since mid-June. He looked impressive in relief when he came back from Tommy John surgery in 2023 and is making a relatively affordable $7.5MM this season, so perhaps a club might roll the dice on him as a bullpen option. Otherwise, his appeal as a fifth starter is fairly limited.

France had a nice start but has seen his role decrease and is now mired in an awful 5-for-41 slump that’s dropped his previously solid batting line to .245/.309/.348. He’s not striking out and has played a strong first base, but he’s a bat-first player who’s in his third straight down year at the plate. France’s $1MM salary is low enough that another club could well roll the dice on adding him to its bench, but he’s not going to net the Twins anything of substance in a trade.

The 34-year-old Vazquez is in the final season of a three-year, $30MM contract that hasn’t gone as hoped. He was always signed to be a glove-first catcher and remains a plus defender, but his once-passable offense has cratered and he’s been thoroughly outplayed by Ryan Jeffers, who has long since claimed the starting role in Minnesota. Vazquez’s .182/.249/.260 batting line in 159 plate appearances is among the least-productive in baseball. He’s still such a good defender that another club might take him on if the Twins ate most of the money he’s owed, but like France and Paddack, he’s not going to net a prospect of any real note.

There are other players the Twins could conceivably market. Right-handed reliever Justin Topa has pitched decently on a $1MM salary and has a cheap $2MM club option for the 2026 season. The aforementioned Jeffers is in his penultimate season of club control, but the Twins lack an heir apparent in the upper minors and starting catchers rarely change teams midseason. Trevor Larnach has been a roughly league-average bat at DH and in the outfield corners and is controlled two more seasons beyond the current one. Righty Brock Stewart has been excellent since the Twins signed him to a minor league deal a couple years back (2.44 ERA, 32.6 K% in 73 2/3 innings since 2022), but he’s frequently been injured. He’s being paid $870K and has two seasons of club control remaining. He could be a nice bullpen piece in future Twins seasons, but if a team is willing to make a decent offer, there could be some temptation to sell high as well.

One player clearly not going anywhere is Buxton. The 2025 All-Star is signed for three more seasons, has a full no-trade clause, and during last week’s All-Star break called himself a “Minnesota Twin for the rest of my life.”

Looking Ahead To Club Options: AL Central

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

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

Chicago White Sox

Pérez signed a $5MM free agent deal to serve as the veteran presence in a very young White Sox rotation. Chicago hoped he’d pitch well enough in the first half to net a lottery ticket prospect at the deadline. Pérez was reasonably effective through his first three starts, but he came out of his fourth outing with forearm discomfort. A flexor strain diagnosis immediately sent him to the 60-day injured list. He’s expected to avoid surgery but will miss almost the entire season. A deadline trade is off the table, and he’ll be bought out at season’s end.

As recently as a few months ago, Robert’s $20MM club option looked like excellent value, as did the matching option for 2026. He was a down-ballot MVP performer in 2023, when he hit .264/.315/.542 with 38 homers while playing plus center field defense. The ’24 campaign was a struggle. Robert missed nearly two months early in the season with a hip flexor strain and was unproductive when healthy. He hit .224/.278/.379 with 14 homers in 100 games. Chicago held him into this year rather than sell low in an offseason trade.

That put a lot of pressure on Robert to hit early in the year. An excellent few months could make him one of the top position players available at the deadline. A terrible start might tank what remained of his trade value. The early returns are disastrous: .138/.255/.238 with 30 strikeouts in 96 plate appearances. There’s still time for a turnaround, but Robert may be following in the footsteps of Tim Anderson and Eloy Jiménez — players whose once team-friendly extensions soured to the point that they were traded for meager returns and/or bought out.

Cleveland Guardians

Means underwent UCL surgery last June. That was his second such procedure within the past three years. He’d undergone Tommy John surgery in 2022 and had only just returned before his elbow gave out again. The Guardians took a $1MM flier in free agency. The deal includes a $6MM team option for next season. Means is hoping to return to the mound in August or September. His late-season form will determine whether Cleveland wants to keep him around next year.

If the Guardians exercise the option, Means could unlock up to $2.5MM in performance bonuses. He’d earn $75K apiece at 20, 30, 40 and 50 innings pitched next year. That climbs to $100K each for 60, 70, 80 and 90 frames; $125K at 100, 110, 120 and 130 innings; and $150K apiece for 140 and 150 frames.

Sewald had a pair of above-average seasons as Seattle’s closer between 2022-23. His production started to trend down after a ’23 deadline deal that sent him to Arizona. Sewald remained generally productive through the Snakes’ surprising World Series run that year. Last season was his worst since his 2021 breakout. He allowed a 4.31 ERA with declining velocity through 39 2/3 innings. The Guardians surprisingly guaranteed him $7MM to deepen an already excellent bullpen. The veteran righty has punched out 13 hitters through 10 1/3 frames, but he has already surrendered three homers while averaging just 90.2 MPH on his fastball.

Detroit Tigers

Detroit added Brebbia on a $2.75MM contract early in Spring Training. It was a roll of the dice on the veteran righty’s intriguing swing-and-miss rates. Brebbia had allowed nearly six earned runs per nine innings last season (mostly with the White Sox), but he punched out nearly 28% of opposing hitters. Things have reversed early in his Detroit tenure. Brebbia has only allowed two runs (one earned) over his first nine innings. His 8.8% swinging strike rate is well below average, though, and he’s given out eight free passes — five walks and three hit batters.

Brebbia is working in low-leverage situations that suggest he’s towards the bottom of the bullpen depth chart. He’ll need to turn around his underlying numbers to pitch his way into more meaningful spots and, eventually, to convince the front office to exercise the option.

Brebbia could push the option price by another $4MM based on his performance this year. It’d climb by $500K at 65 appearances, $1MM apiece at 45 and 50 games finished, and by $2MM for 55 games finished. The maximum escalator value is capped at $4MM, so the appearance threshold would essentially be nullified if Brebbia finishes 55 games and pushes the option value to $8MM based on that criteria alone. He has finished six of eight appearances so far.

Urquidy’s situation is similar to that of Means. The former Astros righty required Tommy John surgery last June. Houston waived him at the end of the season. He reunited with A.J. Hinch in Detroit on a $1MM contract. Urquidy won’t be an option until the final few weeks of the season in a best case scenario. Detroit can gauge his progress to determine whether they want to retain him at a $4MM base value. Urquidy could tack on another $3MM if the Tigers exercise the option: $150K each at four and seven starts next year; $300K apiece for 10, 13, 16 and 19 starts; and $500K each at 22, 25 and 28 starts.

Kansas City Royals

  • Michael Lorenzen, RHP ($12MM mutual option, $1.5M buyout if team declines its end)

Kansas City brought Lorenzen back on a $7MM free agent deal. He’s playing on a $5.5MM salary and would collect a $1.5MM buyout on a $12MM mutual option assuming the Royals decline their end. He grabbed a season-opening rotation spot with both Alec Marsh and Kyle Wright on the shelf. Lorenzen has had a customary start to the season. He carried a 4.57 ERA with a below-average 17.7% strikeout rate into this evening’s appearance against the Rockies. He’s through five scoreless innings against Colorado at the time of this writing.

Perez is making $22MM in the final season of the four-year extension that he signed in March 2021. At the time, it was the largest contract in organizational history. (Bobby Witt Jr. has since shattered that record.) Perez is a franchise stalwart, of course, but it was still surprising to see the Royals guarantee him $82MM for his age 32-35 seasons — especially given the heavy workloads he’d taken throughout his career.

The nine-time All-Star has rewarded the team’s faith. He led the majors with 48 homers and 121 RBI in 2021, though he was already under contract for that season anyhow. He combined for a .261/.307/.447 slash over the first three seasons of the extension. Perez eclipsed 20 home runs in each, and he won the AL Silver Slugger Award behind the dish with a .271/.330/.456 showing during last year’s playoff season.

Perez has started this season more slowly. He entered today’s doubleheader with a .185/.235/.293 line, though he has picked up four doubles over two games against Colorado pitching. If this continues all season, the Royals could face a tough decision, but the safer bet right now is that Kansas City will exercise the option. It’s tough to imagine Perez playing anywhere else.

Minnesota Twins

Minnesota added Bader on a $6.25MM contract amidst a quiet offseason. They’ve preferred to have a capable right-handed hitting fourth outfielder who can reduce Byron Buxton’s workload in center field while complementing their lefty-hitting corner bats. Bader has started 18 of the team’s first 25 games. He’s hitting .230/.319/.393 with a trio of home runs through 69 plate appearances. It’s an early improvement over last year’s .236/.284/.373 showing, but it’s unlikely the Twins would exercise their end of a $10MM option.

The bigger factor might be Bader’s semi-regular playing time. He could push the buyout price as high as $3MM based on this season’s plate appearance total. It has a $1.5MM base value and would climb by $200K at 400, 425 and 450 plate appearances, then by $450K at 475 and 500.

Note: Justin Topa’s arbitration contract contains a $2MM club option or a $225K buyout for next season. He’d remain eligible for arbitration if the team declines the option, as he will not have reached six years of service time.

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