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Players Avoiding Arbitration: 11/21/25

By Steve Adams and Darragh McDonald | November 21, 2025 at 3:50pm CDT

The deadline for teams to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players is this afternoon at 4pm CT. Throughout the day, we’ll surely see a handful of arb-eligible players agree to terms with their clubs to avoid a hearing.

These so-called “pre-tender deals” usually, although not always, involve players who were borderline non-tender candidates. Rather than run the risk of being cut loose, they can look to sign in the lead-up to the deadline. Those salaries often come in a little below projections, since these players tend to have less leverage because of the uncertainty about whether they’ll be offered a contract at all.

Under the 2022-26 collective bargaining agreement, players who sign to avoid an arbitration hearing are guaranteed full termination pay. That’s a change from prior CBAs, when teams could release an arb-eligible player before the season began and would only owe a prorated portion of the contract. This was done to incentivize teams and players to get deals done without going to a hearing.

All salary projections in this post come via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz. This post will be updated throughout the day as deals are announced and/or reported. Salary figures are from The Associated Press unless otherwise noted.

  • The Astros signed right-hander Enyel De Los Santos to a one-year deal and outfielder Taylor Trammell to a split deal, per Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. Per Chandler Rome of The Athletic, De Los Santos gets $1.6MM, plus a $100K bonus if he appears in 60 games, while Trammell $900K if in the majors and $500K in the minors. They were projected for $2.1MM and $900K respectively.
  • The Athletics announced that they have signed right-hander Luis Medina and left-hander Ken Waldichuk to one-year deals. Medina gets $835K, while Waldichuk comes in at $825K.
  • The Braves announced that they have signed infielder Vidal Bruján, infielder Mauricio Dubón, outfielder Eli White and left-handers Joey Wentz and José Suarez for the 2026 season. Bruján’s deal was announced as a split contract; he’ll make $850K in MLB and $500K in the minors. Dubon will make $6.1MM, per Jon Heyman of The New York Post, right around his $5.8MM projection. Suarez gets $900K, per Ari Alexander of 7 News, below his $1.5MM projection. White and Wentz also get $900K salaries.
  • The Brewers announced that they have signed first baseman Jake Bauers for 2026. He’ll make $2.7MM, per Jon Heyman of The New York Post. He was projected for $2MM.
  • The Giants have agreed to a one-year deal with right-hander JT Brubaker, per Justice selos Santos of Mercury News. He commands a $1.82MM salary.
  • The Guardians have agreed to one-year deals with outfielder Nolan Jones, catcher/designated hitter David Fry and right-hander Matt Festa, per Zack Meisel of The Athletic. In a follow-up, Meisel also provides the salary figures. Jones will make $2MM, Fry $1.375MM and Festa $1MM. They were projected for $2MM, $1.2MM and $1MM respectively.
  • The Mets and outfielder Tyrone Taylor have agreed at $3.8MM, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, right around his $3.6MM projection.
  • The Nationals announced they have signed catcher Riley Adams to a one-year deal. It’s a split deal that pays $1MM in the big leagues and $500K in the minors.
  • The Orioles and right-hander Félix Bautista have agreed to a $2.25MM contract, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. He was projected for $2.1MM.
  • The Padres announced they signed catcher Luis Campusano to a one-year deal. He’ll make $900K next year, per Dennis Lin of The Athletic. He was projected for $1MM.
  • The Phillies have agreed to a split deal with catcher Garrett Stubbs, reports Matt Gelb of The Athletic. Stubbs will make $925K in the majors and $575K in the minors. The major league salary is an exact match for his projection. The Phils announced that they also signed catcher Rafael Marchán. He’ll make $860K, per Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. He was projected for $1MM.
  • The Rangers announced they signed outfielder Sam Haggerty to a one-year deal. It’s a $1.25MM contract.
  • The Rays and right-hander Cole Sulser have settled at $1.05MM, per Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times. Sulser was projected for $1.2MM. According to the AP, it’s a split deal that pays at a $600K rate in the minors.
  • The Reds and left-hander Sam Moll have agreed at $875K, per Jon Heyman of The New York Post. He was projected for $1.2MM. His 2026 deal also has $150K in potential incentives — $50K each for 45, 55 and 65 appearances.
  • The Royals and infielder Jonathan India agreed to an $8MM deal. You can read more about that in this post.
  • The Tigers and infielder/outfielder Matt Vierling agreed at $3.225MM, per Jon Heyman of The New York Post. He was projected for $3.1MM. Detroit signed right-hander Beau Brieske at $1.1575MM, per Heyman, right around his $1.3MM projection. The Tigers signed catcher Jake Rogers at $3.05MM, per Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press, right around his $2.9MM projection.
  • The Twins signed right-hander Justin Topa to a one-year, $1.225MM deal. MLBTR covered that earlier in this post. The Twins turned down a $2MM club option for Topa, giving him a $225K buyout instead, but he remained under club control via arb. Between the buyout and next year’s salary, he’ll collect $1.45MM. Darren Wolfson of KSTP reported Topa’s 2026 salary. Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic adds that the guarantee is broken down into a $1MM salary in 2026 followed by a $225K buyout on a $5MM mutual option. The buyout can rise to $300K via unspecified incentives.
  • The White Sox announced that they have agreed to terms on a $900K deal with outfielder Derek Hill. He was projected for $1MM.
  • The Yankees and infielder Oswaldo Cabrera have agreed to a $1.2MM contract, per Jack Curry of Yes Network, an exact match for his projection. The Yanks have also signed right-hander Clarke Schmidt to a $4.5MM deal, per Robert Murray of FanSided, right around his $4.9MM projection.

Photo courtesy of William Liang, Imagn Images

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Athletics Atlanta Braves Baltimore Orioles Chicago White Sox Cincinnati Reds Cleveland Guardians Detroit Tigers Houston Astros Kansas City Royals Milwaukee Brewers Minnesota Twins New York Mets New York Yankees Philadelphia Phillies San Diego Padres San Francisco Giants Tampa Bay Rays Texas Rangers Transactions Washington Nationals Beau Brieske Clarke Schmidt Cole Sulser David Fry Derek Hill Eli White Enyel De Los Santos Felix Bautista Garrett Stubbs J.T. Brubaker Jake Bauers Jake Rogers Joey Wentz Jonathan India Jose Suarez Justin Topa Ken Waldichuk Luis Campusano Luis Medina Matt Festa Matt Vierling Mauricio Dubon Nolan Jones Oswaldo Cabrera Rafael Marchan Riley Adams Sam Haggerty Sam Moll Taylor Trammell Tyrone Taylor Vidal Brujan

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Giants Acquire Joey Wiemer, Designate Andrew Knizner

By Steve Adams | November 21, 2025 at 12:59pm CDT

The Giants acquired outfielder Joey Wiemer from the Marlins in exchange for cash, per the team. Miami designated the former top prospect for assignment earlier in the week when setting its roster ahead of the deadline to protect players from the Rule 5 Draft. San Francisco designated catcher Andrew Knizner for assignment in a corresponding roster move.

Now 26 years old, Wiemer was the Brewers’ fourth-round pick in 2020. He appeared on the back end of MLB.com’s top-100 prospect list in both 2022 and 2023 but has seen his stock dwindle since that time. Milwaukee flipped him to the Reds alongside Jakob Junis in the 2024 Frankie Montas trade, and Cincinnati subsequently dealt him to Kansas City with Jonathan India in exchange for right-hander Brady Singer. The Marlins scooped him up off waivers in early August, shortly following this year’s trade deadline.

Wiemer has appeared in parts of three major league seasons between the Brewers, Reds and Marlins. He popped 13 homers and swiped 11 bags as a rookie in ’23 but did so with poor rate stats. He’s a career .205/.279/.359 hitter through 499 trips to the batter’s box in the majors. That said, he’s shown plenty of pop against lefties, albeit with still-shaky OBP skills; in 173 plate appearances versus southpaws, the righty-swinging Wiemer is a .255/.298/.484 hitter (106 wRC+).

Beyond his above-average power versus lefties, Wiemer is capable of playing all three outfield spots and doing so at a fairly high level. Even bearish scouting reports on him over the years have labeled him as a potential plus defender. Defensive metrics bear that out. Wiemer has positive marks in all three spots individually and a collective 11 Defensive Runs Saved and 7 Outs Above Average in 1249 innings of outfield work at the big league level.

Wiemer is out of minor league options, so he’ll need to stay on San Francisco’s 40-man roster all offseason and break camp with the team or else be designated for assignment once again. He can’t be sent to the minors without first passing through waivers. For now, he projects as a possible bench option who could platoon with lefty-swinging Drew Gilbert in right field — if the Giants don’t make a larger-scale addition at the position. Former top prospects Luis Matos and Marco Luciano could compete for a similar role, but both hit poorly in 2025 and have seen their once lofty prospect stock crater in recent years. Like Wiemer, both Matos and Luciano are out of minor league options, so at least two of the three figure to be roster casualties between now and Opening Day.

Knizner, 31 in February, was eligible for arbitration and projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $1.3MM next year. The journeyman backstop hit .221/.299/.299 in 88 trips to the plate with the Giants this season. He’s improved upon formerly poor framing grades in recent seasons but struggles to block pitches in the dirt and control the run game. Knizner is a career .211/.281/.316 hitter in 975 plate appearances during his big league career.

The Giants can spend the next couple hours looking for a trade partner, though they’ve presumably already been doing so without success. If there’s no trade opportunity, he’ll be non-tendered prior to tonight’s 5pm ET deadline.

Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle first reported that the Giants were acquiring Wiemer. Jon Heyman of the New York Post first reported Knizner’s DFA.

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Giants To Hire Justin Meccage As Pitching Coach

By Charlie Wright | November 18, 2025 at 11:50pm CDT

The Giants are expected to add Justin Meccage as their pitching coach, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. Meccage has spent the majority of his coaching tenure in the Pirates’ organization. He was most recently a minor league coach in the Brewers’ system.

After a brief playing career, Meccage got his coaching start in the college ranks. After seven years spent between the University of Texas-Pan American and Arkansas State University from 2004 to 2010, Meccage headed to the pros. He became a minor league pitching coach for Pittsburgh in 2011. Meccage moved through multiple levels of the minors before taking over as minor league pitching coordinator in 2017.

Meccage got his first big-league gig in 2018 as assistant pitching coach for the Pirates. He transitioned to bullpen coach in 2020, a role he held through 2024. Meccage was a Triple-A pitching coach for Milwaukee this past season.

New manager Tony Vitello’s staff is slowly coming together. San Francisco added Hunter Mense as hitting coach last week. Meccage will replace pitching coach J.P. Martinez, who was hired by Atlanta to be their bullpen coach. Martinez had been on the Giants’ staff since 2021.

San Francisco ranked 10th in ERA last season. The staff will be headlined by Logan Webb and Robbie Ray, though the options beyond that tandem are uncertain. The bullpen lost closer Camilo Doval at the trade deadline, then saw replacement Randy Rodriguez go down with an injury that led to Tommy John surgery. General manager Zack Minasian said the offseason plan will involve adding pitching depth.

Photo courtesy Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images

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Mets, Tigers, Giants Interested In Devin Williams

By AJ Eustace | November 18, 2025 at 1:29pm CDT

The Mets have expressed interest in signing reliever Devin Williams, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. The Tigers and Giants are also interested, per Jon Morosi of MLB Network. It had previously been reported that roughly a dozen teams were in on Williams, including the Red Sox, Reds, Dodgers, and Marlins. The Mets, Tigers, and Giants can now be counted among his suitors.

Williams, 31, is coming off an uneven season for the Yankees. The Brewers traded the star reliever to New York in exchange for Nestor Cortes, Caleb Durbin, and cash considerations in December 2024. At the time, he was long established as an elite closer, having posted a 1.83 ERA across 235 2/3 innings for Milwaukee from 2019-2024. In that time, his 39.4% strikeout rate and 27.6% K-BB rate were fourth- and fifth-best among qualified relievers, respectively. Though he did walk 11.8% of hitters in that span, the elite strikeout numbers were more than enough to compensate. All told, Williams was worth 7.6 fWAR during his time in Milwaukee, which placed sixth among qualified relievers. Ryan Pressly, who ranked fifth ahead of Williams, was worth 8.0 fWAR but pitched 74 more innings.

The Yankees were surely hoping for more of the same from Williams in his final year before free agency. Instead, he posted a 4.79 ERA in 62 innings while being shifted in and out of the closer role due to his performance. His first 12 games of the season were abysmal, as Williams struck out an uncharacteristically low 20.0% of hitters across March and April while walking 16.0% and allowing an opposing batting line of .300/.420/.400. The strikeout and walk numbers returned to normal the rest of the way, but Williams continued to post uneven run prevention numbers, with an ERA of 0.93 in June followed by ERAs over 4.90 in July and August, then settling down to 3.72 in September and October. Though his contributions were still worth 1.4 WAR according to FanGraphs, the bottom-line results were clearly not what Williams was hoping for in his platform season.

That said, he is still garnering a lot of interest, largely due to his excellent peripheral stats. Despite the below-average ERA, Williams still got strikeouts at a rate of 34.7% in 2025, which was tied for eighth-best among qualified relievers. His 9.7% walk rate, while still higher than league average, was actually his best mark since 2020 and down from 12.5% in 2024. He also continued to induce groundballs 44.6% of the time, above the league average of 42.3% for relievers. His expected stats, including a 3.07 xERA and a 2.95 xFIP, also paint a much better picture than just his ERA. In terms of stuff, Williams’s signature changeup remained a plus pitch by run value, while his four-seam fastball velocity only declined slightly from 94.7 mph in 2024 to 94.1 mph this year.

Those signs point to Williams still being an elite closer, so the high amount of interest is hardly surprising. Among the three new teams mentioned, the Mets are an interesting case. Their president of baseball operations, David Stearns, is familiar with Williams due to their shared years in the Brewers organization. The Mets bullpen ranked 15th with a 3.93 ERA and 13th with a 22.8% strikeout rate in 2025. Owner Steve Cohen is clearly willing to spend big, and the pressure to win will be higher in 2026 after a lackluster 83-79 season and playoff miss this year.

Meanwhile, the Tigers bullpen posted a 4.05 ERA (17th in the league) but an 11.3% K-BB rate that ranked 27th. The team surely wants to capitalize on Tarik Skubal’s final year of team control, so their interest in Williams makes sense. As for the Giants, their bullpen was slightly better than Detroit’s but still below-average with a 12.8% K-BB rate (20th) this year. We at MLBTR rated Williams as the 16th-best free agent this offseason and predicted that he will sign a four-year, $68MM contract.

Photo courtesy of Vincent Carchietta, Imagn Images

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Giants To Hire Hunter Mense As Hitting Coach

By Darragh McDonald | November 12, 2025 at 3:45pm CDT

The Giants are going to hire Blue Jays assistant hitting coach Hunter Mense as their hitting coach, reports Mitch Bannon of The Athletic. Yesterday, Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic reported that the Giants were targeting Mense.

Mense, 41, played baseball at the University of Missouri at the same time as new Giants manager Tony Vitello. Mense was drafted by the Marlins and played in the minor league system for a while, then spent some time in indy ball. Once his playing days were done, he pivoted to coaching, working in the Blue Jays’ minor league system.

He was promoted to the major league staff ahead of the 2022 season. It’s always tough to give one coach credit for the performance of several players, but for what it’s worth, the Jays have performed well during his time as an assistant hitting coach. Over the past four years, the Jays have a .257/.326/.416 line and 109 wRC+, which puts them fourth-best in the majors.

Last week, Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said there would be no “proactive subtractions” from the coaching staff. However, it seems Mense has been lured to San Francisco by his former college teammate offering him a promotion. The Giants have had Pat Burrell as their hitting coach for the past two years. It was reported last week that he would be staying with the Giants but in a different role.

The Giants have been hovering around .500 for the past four years. In 2025, they hit .235/.311/.386 for a wRC+ of 97. Perhaps a full season from Rafael Devers and/or a breakout from Bryce Eldridge will help them break through, but Mense will also try to do his part to help. The Jays will presumably look to add an assistant to replace Mense, whether that’s an internal promotion or external hire.

Photo courtesy of Nathan Ray Seebeck, Imagn Images

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Royals Acquire Mason Black

By Darragh McDonald | November 11, 2025 at 1:30pm CDT

The Royals announced that they have acquired right-hander Mason Black from the Giants. Minor league righty Logan Martin heads in the other direction. The Giants designated Black for assignment last week. The Royals’ 40-man roster count climbs from 36 to 37.

Black, 26 next month, joins a new organization for the first time in his career. The Giants took him with a third-round pick in 2021. As he climbed the minor league ladder, he was generally regarded as one of the club’s top ten prospects.

He hasn’t yet delivered much at the big league level. Between 2024 and 2025, he tossed 40 1/3 innings for the Giants, allowing 6.47 earned runs per nine. His 8% walk rate in that time was around average but his 19.1% strikeout rate subpar.

His work in the minors has been better but he’s coming off a poor season. From 2022 to 2024, he logged 320 minor league frames with a 3.77 ERA, 28.2% strikeout rate and 9.5% walk rate. In 2025, he pitched 119 1/3 Triple-A innings but with a 5.81 ERA in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. He struck out 21.5% of opponents and walked them at an 11.7% pace. That got him bumped off San Francisco’s roster but Kansas City will take a shot on him.

Black still has one option season remaining, so the Royals don’t need keep him on the big league roster. He could be kept in Triple-A Omaha as rotation depth. It’s also possible they experiment with him in a relief role. Black has mostly been a starter in his career but his final five appearances in 2025 were out of the bullpen for Triple-A Sacramento. In those, he faced 25 batters, striking out six while giving out two walks.

To get Black aboard, the Royals are parting with Martin. He was their 12th-round pick in 2023. Last year, he tossed 102 innings at the Single-A level with a 3.62 ERA, 22.9% strikeout rate and 7.5% walk rate. This year, he moved up to High-A and logged 91 1/3 innings with a 3.45 ERA, 20.6% strikeout rate and 9.5% walk rate. He has been pitching in the Arizona Fall League of late, though with 12 earned runs allowed in 11 innings. Back in May, Eric Longenhagen and James Fegan of FanGraphs gave Martin an honorable mention on their list of the top prospects in the Royals system.

Martin is a bit of a lottery ticket since he hasn’t yet reached Double-A but the Giants are surely happy to get any kind of chance at a return for a player they designated for assignment. Martin will be Rule 5 eligible a year from now, so the Giants can use that time to decide if he’s worth a roster spot. The Royals, meanwhile, weren’t going to get anything from Martin in the near term whereas Black has a chance to contribute to the big league club in 2026. The Royals presumably also hope that Black has the greater upside as a former third-round pick and notable prospect.

Photo courtesy of Dennis Lee, Imagn Images

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Braves Add Tony Mansolino, J.P. Martinez To Coaching Staff

By Steve Adams | November 11, 2025 at 10:09am CDT

Nov. 11: Mansolino will serve as the bench coach and work with the team’s infielders rather than his previously reported role of third base coach, according to David O’Brien of the Athletic. Instead, the Braves have hired Tommy Watkins to be the third base coach, per Dan Hayes of the Athletic. Watkins was a long-time Twins coach and was given permission to interview for the role with the Braves. O’Brien adds that Eddie Perez will be remaining as a major league coach for Atlanta. The club also officially announced Dustin Garneau as catching coach, Darnell Coles as assistant hitting coach, and Tony Diaz as a major league coach.

Nov. 7: The Braves on Friday announced the hiring of former Orioles interim manager Tony Mansolino as their new third base coach. He’ll take over for Fredi Gonzalez, whose departure from the staff was reported earlier in the week. Atlanta also hired former Giants pitching coach J.P. Martinez — not to be confused with the former Braves outfielder of the same name — as their new bullpen coach.

The 43-year-old Mansolino took over for O’s skipper Brandon Hyde after Baltimore dismissed him back in mid-May. He’d been Hyde’s third base coach prior to that appointment — a role he’d held dating back to the 2021 season. Mansolino was previously a hitting coach and infield coordinator in Cleveland prior to being hired in Baltimore. A 26th-round pick by the Pirates back in 2005, he played professional from 2005-10 as an infielder Pittsburgh’s system and later on the independent circuit.

Mansolino guided the O’s to a 60-59 record, but that wasn’t enough to erase a disastrous start to the season. Baltimore finished last in the AL East with a 75-87 record. He was in the running for the Orioles’ full-time managerial gig moving forward, but that job went to Guardians associate manager and bench coach Craig Albernaz.

Martinez, also 43, was San Francisco’s pitching coach in 2025 and an assistant pitching coach with the Giants from 2021-24. He broke into the coaching ranks in the low levels of the Twins’ system back in 2015. He served as a pitching coach with Minnesota’s Rookie-level and High-A affiliates before being named the organization’s overall minor league pitching coordinator in 2018 — a role he held until being hired by the Giants in the 2020-21 offseason.

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Giants Hire Bruce Bochy For Special Assistant Role

By Anthony Franco | November 10, 2025 at 11:35am CDT

Nov. 10: The Giants formally announced Bochy’s hiring as a special assistant to the baseball operations department.

“Having Boch back in the organization means a great deal to all of us,” Posey said within this morning’s press release. “His experience, leadership, and feel for the game are unmatched, and his perspective will be invaluable as we continue building towards sustained success.”

Nov. 5: Bruce Bochy is nearing a deal to return to the Giants in an advisory role. CEO Greg Johnson first told Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle on Tuesday that the sides were working on a deal. Bochy confirmed to Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic this evening that he’s in the process of finalizing a special assistant position. He’ll be on hand as an excellent resource for first-year manager Tony Vitello. Bochy will join another future Hall of Fame manager, Dusty Baker, as special assistants in San Francisco.

The 70-year-old Bochy has spent the past three seasons managing the Rangers. He led Texas to a World Series in 2023, the fourth title of his career. Bochy famously led the Giants to three World Series in a five-year span between 2010-14. President of baseball operations Buster Posey was a face of the franchise for most of Bochy’s 13 seasons at the helm. Only Hall of Famer John McGraw, who managed for 31 years between 1902-32 when the team was still in New York, has won more games in Giants’ history.

This might close the book on Bochy’s managerial career. “I would say that’s where I’m at right now,” he told Baggarly when asked if he expects that his stint with the Rangers would be his last one in the dugout. “I’ll add you don’t ever rule anything out. You don’t, you know? But I’m content with what I’m doing now. … This is what I want to do. I want more time for myself and family but also to contribute to a game that I love.”

Bochy is sixth all-time with 2,252 managerial wins between his stints with the Padres, Giants and Rangers. He and Baker are the only two skippers within the top 10 who have not been inducted into the Hall of Fame. That’s only because both men were managing within the past couple seasons. It’s a matter of time before they’re in Cooperstown. (The same is true for Terry Francona, who is 12th on the all-time list and now the winningest active manager with Bochy back in an advisory role.)

Managers are only inducted into Cooperstown via the Era Committees. Managers who are 65 and older are eligible for Hall of Fame consideration six months after they retire. Baker and Bochy would only be up for consideration by the Contemporary Baseball Era Non-Players Committee. That’ll come up during the 2026-27 offseason. Baker should get into the Hall next winter. Bochy could be eligible for that cycle if he officially retires within the next few months, but it seems he prefers not to shut the door entirely just yet.

There’s also some news on Vitello’s coaching staff. Baggarly reports that Twins bench coach Jayce Tingler has agreed to join the San Francisco staff in some capacity. He’ll bring a decent amount of experience, as he managed the Padres between 2020-21 and had been Rocco Baldelli’s top lieutenant in Minnesota for the last four years. The Twins fired Baldelli and hired Derek Shelton to manage, so it’s not surprising there’ll be some coaching turnover. Tingler and Vitello go back more than two decades. They were teammates at the University of Missouri in the early 2000s.

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Giants “Briefly Considered” Patrick Bailey Trade At Deadline

By Mark Polishuk | November 9, 2025 at 5:16pm CDT

The Giants were 2-12 in the 14 games leading up to the trade deadline, a cold stretch that convinced the team to deal away some impending free agents (i.e. Tyler Rogers, Mike Yastrzemski) and a controllable asset in Camilo Doval.  According to Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle, the Giants also “briefly considered” the possibility of trading another notable player under longer-term control — catcher Patrick Bailey.

The way Rubin phrases the club’s thought process could mean that the Giants front office was simply doing due diligence in assessing its trade chips heading into the deadline, or perhaps another team made an interesting enough offer to at least get Buster Posey and company mulling the idea.  “There isn’t a strong motivation to trade” Bailey, Rubin writes, which makes sense given Bailey’s defensive excellence and pre-arbitration status.

Bailey was the 13th overall pick of the 2020 draft, and his emergence and Joey Bart’s struggles led the Giants to opt for Bailey as the team’s proverbial “catcher of the future.”  Through three Major League seasons, Bailey has hit only .230/.287/.340 over 1253 plate appearances, but he has won the last two Gold Gloves and Fielding Bible Awards for his superb glovework.  In addition to his latest Fielding Bible Award, Sports Info Solutions also named Bailey the defensive player of the year in all of baseball for the 2025 season.

Bailey fell just a couple of days short of Super Two status and an extra year of arbitration eligibility.  As a result, his first trip through the arb process won’t come until next winter, and he isn’t eligible for free agency until the 2029-30 offseason.  There’s no rush for San Francisco to move the 26-year-old, and trading Bailey would then leave the Giants trying to find a new backstop within a thin catching market.

Creating a new roster need probably doesn’t appeal too much to the Giants, whose offseason to-do lists includes a focus on both starting and relief pitching, plus right field or second base as areas of concern around the diamond.  That said, Rubin suggests the incoming Automated Ball-Strike challenge system might give the team some reason to move Bailey before the ABS system is implemented next season.  While Bailey is a strong all-around defensive catcher, his elite framing skills are his bread-and-butter, and Bailey’s ability to frame pitches (and steal strikes) could be hampered now that opponents are allowed to challenge umpire calls.

It remains to be seen exactly how the ABS system will impact day-to-day play in the majors, though we’ve already seen the system in use at the Triple-A level over the last four seasons, and big leaguers got a taste at last year’s Spring Training and in the All-Star Game.  It may be that the effect on Bailey or other excellent framers will be relatively minimal, though it could be argued that anything that diminishes his glovework has an outsized impact on his overall value, since Bailey isn’t providing anything at the plate.

San Francisco’s catching position should get some attention anyway this winter since the team might non-tender Andrew Knizner, creating the need for a new backup.  The Giants are likely to bring in a veteran or two to compete for the job in Spring Training, plus Jesus Rodriguez is an internal candidate for the role.  Rodriguez was one of the four prospects acquired from the Yankees for Doval, and Rubin notes that Rodriguez would’ve made his MLB debut with the Giants last year if Rodriguez hasn’t been set back by a shoulder injury.

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Minasian: Giants Will Prioritize Adding Pitching Depth

By AJ Eustace and Charlie Wright | November 9, 2025 at 11:57am CDT

The Giants finished 2025 at an even 81-81, their fourth consecutive season without posting a winning record. The club, which recently hired Tony Vitello as its new manager, is clearly hoping to improve that performance in 2026. General manager Zack Minasian said as much in speaking to John Shea of the San Francisco Standard, noting that the Giants will be active in acquiring pitching depth during the offseason.

“Right now there are holes,” Minasian said. “It’s not to say that some of those holes can’t be filled from within… But obviously, if we can bring some pitching in from the outside to continue to build up depth and try and find quality, we’re going to look at that as much as possible.” Minasian later added that the club will be cautious of adding pitchers on long-term deals due to the risk of injury.

San Francisco pitchers had a 3.84 combined ERA in 2025, ranking 10th-best in the majors. The team’s 45.3% ground ball rate was the third-highest in the league, and they also did well at limiting hard contact, with a 39.6% hard hit rate that was sixth-best. In the rotation, much of that success came from ace Logan Webb, who posted a 3.22 ERA in 207 innings and got grounders at a well-above-average 53.2% clip. He was worth a career-high 5.5 fWAR.

Robbie Ray, Justin Verlander, and Landen Roupp gave solid performances behind Webb, each having an ERA under 4.00. However, the club’s depth was sorely tested throughout the season. Hayden Birdsong had a 4.80 ERA in 11 starts before he was optioned in July. Jordan Hicks made nine starts before being sent to the Red Sox as part of the Rafael Devers trade. Beyond Webb, Ray, Verlander, and Roupp, no other Giant reached 100 innings. Roupp went on the injured list twice with right elbow and left knee inflammation, and 10 pitchers (including Hicks) made between one and nine starts.

The Giants could also use a few more arms in the bullpen. That unit was a strength for the team until it was gutted by trades and injuries. San Francisco shipped Camilo Doval to the Yankees and Tyler Rogers to the Mets at the trade deadline. Standout setup man Randy Rodriguez stepped into the closer role, only to suffer an elbow injury that ultimately required Tommy John surgery. The Giants ranked second in bullpen ERA through July. They sank to 13th over the final two months of the season. As Shea pointed out, Ryan Walker and Spencer Bivens were the only relievers on the Opening Day roster to make it through to the end of the season.

Minasian and company have plenty of names to choose from on the free agent market, though any long-term commitments seem unlikely. Team chairman Greg Johnson recently mentioned trepidation about signing a pitcher to a nine-figure deal, and Minasian echoed those sentiments. “I would just say it’s important for us to make good decisions no matter what players are making,” Minasian said, “but also understanding when you’re getting into very lengthy deals, I think you do approach it with some caution because if there is a major injury, it becomes a very difficult hurdle.”

San Francisco hasn’t handed out more than $100MM to a free agent pitcher since handing Johnny Cueto a six-year, $130MM deal back in 2015. The approach could rule out the Giants from shopping in the Dylan Cease/Framber Valdez tier, making them more likely to dabble in the Zack Littell range. A reunion with Verlander would fit the short-term strategy, and president of baseball operations Buster Posey has said he’d be open to bringing the veteran back.

Johnson didn’t give a firm answer regarding spending, though the club’s financial situation is in a decent spot. FanGraphs’ RosterResource tool has them at around $170MM for next year’s payroll. The recent signings of Willy Adames, Matt Chapman, and Jung Hoo Lee, along with the midseason addition of Devers’ massive contract, will eat up a significant portion of the payroll for the next several seasons, but Webb is the only pricey commitment on the pitching side. Ray’s deal is expiring at the end of 2026. There should be room for additions in the rotation and in the bullpen.

Photo courtesy of D. Ross Cameron, Imagn Images.

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