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Mariners Acquire Miles Mastrobuoni, Designate Nick Raposo

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The Mariners announced that they have acquired infielder/outfielder Miles Mastrobuoni from the Cubs. The latter club had designated him for assignment last week and now receives cash considerations for his departure. Seattle designated catcher Nick Raposo for assignment to open a roster spot.

Mastrobuoni, 29, has been a part-time big leaguer over the past few years. Over the past three seasons, he has appeared in 119 games and taken 272 plate appearances, mostly with the Cubs but also with the Rays. He has a tepid .219/.279/.263 batting line in that time but has stolen 16 bases in 17 tries while providing defensive versatility. He has spent time at the three infield positions to the left of first base as well as the outfield corners.

As is often the case with a depth player like this, the minor league performance has been better. Over the past three years, he’s had 982 Triple-A plate appearances with 22 home runs, an 18.1% strikeout rate, 12.8% walk rate, .278/.371/.434 slash line and 114 wRC+.

The Mariners have been looking for infield upgrades this winter. They lost Justin Turner to free agency, turned down an option on Jorge Polanco and non-tendered Josh Rojas. That left them with J.P. Crawford at shortstop and no clear answers for the other positions. They have various possible solutions on the roster, including Luke Raley, Dylan Moore, Ryan Bliss, Austin Shenton and others, though strengthening the group has clearly been a goal this winter. The club signed Donovan Solano this week but shouldn’t be done.

Mastrobuoni won’t fix everything but he’s a solid addition to that cluster of potential contributors. He can bounce around to multiple positions and steal a few bases at least. The offense in the majors hasn’t been good yet but the minor league numbers have been better, perhaps suggesting there’s potential for more there. He also has an option remaining, meaning he doesn’t need to be given an active roster spot and can be shuttled between the minors and majors with relative ease.

Raposo, 27 in June, was just claimed off waivers from the Blue Jays last month. He hasn’t yet made his major league debut. He first got a 40-man roster spot from the Cardinals last summer, when both Iván Herrera and Willson Contreras were injured, but never got into a game. He went from the red birds to the blue birds in August when the Jays claimed him off waivers, though Toronto lost him to Seattle a few months later.

In his four years of minor league experience, he has a .241/.321/.387 line and 85 wRC+ in 808 plate appearances. Baseball Prospectus has given him solid marks for his blocking and throwing in the minors. He still has a couple of options and just a handful of days of service time.

The M’s will now have a week to figure out what’s next for Raposo. That could be a trade or Raposo could be put on waivers again. The waiver process takes 48 hours so any trade talks would need to happen in the next five days.

Dodgers, Padres, Blue Jays Reportedly Finalists For Roki Sasaki

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The Roki Sasaki frenzy is nearing its completion. Several teams have reportedly been told that they won’t be signing the right-hander and now Jeff Passan of ESPN reports that the Dodgers, Padres and Blue Jays are the three finalists. The Cubs are no longer in the running, according to Mike Rodriguez, with Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic adding that the Cubs have been informed of their status.

It seems that today was the day that Sasaki and his reps started informing teams that had been eliminated from the running. Earlier today, various reports indicated that the Giants, Yankees, Mets, Rangers and Diamondbacks would not be signing Sasaki. The Mariners were vaguely connected to Sasaki at times and hadn’t been expressly eliminated, but it seems they didn’t make it to the podium as one of the top three.

Sasaki’s decision has been one of the biggest wild cards hanging over the offseason. Since he’s coming over to the big leagues before his 25th birthday, he’s considered an amateur under MLB rules and is therefore subject to the international bonus pool system. As such, no club could be initially ruled out just based on economics, as is usually the case with other free agents.

Each team gets an annual pool of money that they are allowed to spend on international amateurs. This year’s pools are in the $5-8MM range, with the smaller-market clubs mostly having the slightly larger ones. Teams can trade for more pool space but they can’t increase their initial allotment by more than 60%. A posting fee will also be owed to the Chiba Lotte Marines, Sasaki’s former club in Japan, though that will only add 20% of the bonus. As such, each team has roughly the same ability to pay Sasaki a few million bucks.

Sasaki is likely therefore to decide based on factors beyond money. After all, if money was his top priority, he probably would have waited until he turned 25. That’s what Yoshinobu Yamamoto did, which led to a $325MM deal from the Dodgers.

No one can say for sure what Sasaki is prioritizing, though the Dodgers and Padres have been seen as logical suitors for a while now. Both clubs are on the West Coast, which is closer to Japan, perhaps a favorable factor when considering the flights for Sasaki and his family members. The Dodgers also have a strong reputation as a whole, having made the postseason in each year going back to 2013, with a fresh World Series victory in 2024. The Padres don’t have quite the same track record of success but have been good in recent years.

Both clubs also have Japanese players on the roster, with the Dodgers having Yamamoto and Ohtani, while the Padres have Yu Darvish. Some reports have suggested Sasaki and Darvish have an especially close relationship.

The Jays have been floated as a landing spot for Sasaki far less than the Dodgers or Padres, which is sensible. They are not on the West Coast. They had a strong run of contention from 2020 to 2023 but are coming off a down season. They had Yusei Kikuchi until last year’s trade deadline but don’t currently have a Japanese player on the roster.

In April of 2023, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic wrote that “Some Japanese players are uncomfortable being major-league teammates with other Japanese players because of the importance of seniority in Japan’s hierarchical culture, major-league executives and agents say.” That piece was examining the possibility of Ohtani singing with the Mets when they already had Kodai Senga on the roster. Sasaki’s agent Joel Wolfe has downplayed the importance of a club having Japanese players on its roster, either positively or negatively. “That was never a topic of discussion,” Wolfe said last month, per Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.

It’s possible that Sasaki will be attracted to playing in another country for other reasons. Wolfe has suggested that the Japanese media was often unkind to Sasaki, which could perhaps make it preferable for him to be in a smaller market. Toronto isn’t exactly a small market but it would be further away from the American media spotlight. The Blue Jays are also owned by Rogers Communications, the media company that broadcasts the club’s games on television and radio. Perhaps that would allow the Jays to promise Sasaki a more guarded environment in terms of media access. Toronto is also a city with a reputation for its diversity and relatively low crime rates.

Those are all speculative arguments, but the same could be said about the arguments for Sasaki preferring Los Angeles or San Diego. Sasaki and Wolfe have given very few clues about what will be used to make the final decision, leaving the baseball world to mostly guess.

Whatever he decides will likely have ripple effects into the rest of the offseason. The Padres have a tight budget and needs all over their roster. Trading Dylan Cease is reportedly one potential solution to their situation, which would perhaps become more likely if they sign Sasaki. The Dodgers already have lots of rotation options and might consider a trade of their own if they add Sasaki. That’s perhaps less likely with the Jays, who have been trying to add a starting pitcher all winter without success thus far.

There will also be domino effects elsewhere. Whichever team signs Sasaki will likely have to walk away from verbal commitments to teenagers in Latin America, as they will need to redirect bonus money to Sasaki. That will lead to those players then looking for other clubs. Some of this has seemingly already started to happen, as the Pirates are reportedly going to sign Darell Morel, a Dominican shortstop that had previously been committed to the Dodgers.

It won’t take long for all of these knock-on effects to really ramp up. Sasaki’s posting window closes on January 23, meaning resolution will be coming in less than a week. He can’t officially sign until January 15, when the new international signing period begins, though it’s possible an agreement could be reported before then.

Mariners Sign Donovan Solano

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The Mariners announced that they have signed infielder Donovan Solano to a one-year contract. Robert Murray of FanSided reports that the ACES client will make $3.5MM this year, with $1MM in performance bonuses also available to him. Left-hander Austin Kitchen was designated for assignment to open a 40-man roster spot.

Solano, 37, has somewhat quietly been one of the better utility players in the league in recent years. Earlier in his career, he spent time with the Marlins and Yankees but didn’t hit enough at the major league level. He languished in the minors in 2017 and 2018 but got back to the big leagues in 2019 and has been hitting almost non-stop since then.

Over the past six years, Solano has played for the Giants, Reds, Twins and Padres. He got into 546 games over that stretch, stepping to the plate 1,838 times. He has managed to produce a batting line of .294/.353/.413 in that time, which translates to a wRC+ of 112, indicating he’s been 12% above league average overall.

For those years, he has a combined .360 batting average on balls in play. That would normally be a concern, since the league average is usually below .300, but he’s been maintaining high BABIPs for several years now. Of the six most recent seasons, his BABIP bottomed out at .321 in 2021. He was at .346 or higher in the other five seasons. That suggests the numbers are more a reflection of his swing than mere luck.

Solano won’t provide huge power, with last year’s eight home runs actually marking a career high. His walk rates aren’t especially strong either. However, his style of offense could be a good fit for Seattle, as that club has been wary of its strikeout problems for a while now.

Going back to the 2023 club, guys like Mike Ford, Jarred Kelenic, Teoscar Hernández, Eugenio Suárez and Tom Murphy were not brought back after posting strikeout rates north of 27%. But Seattle didn’t find the improvements it was looking for in that category last year, with guys like Luis Urías, Mitch Garver, Mitch Haniger, Jorge Polanco and Randy Arozarena striking out more than 28% of the time after being brought aboard. Solano has a career strikeout rate of 18.9% and has never had that number finish higher than 22.2% in any individual season.

The Mariners have clearly been looking for infield help this winter. Justin Turner hit free agency. Josh Rojas was non-tendered. The M’s turned down a club option on Polanco. That left them with J.P. Crawford at shortstop and question marks elsewhere.

Solano has played all four infield spots in his career but hasn’t played shortstop since 2021. He has more experience at second base than anywhere else but has spent more time at the corners in recent years.

That flexibility gives the Mariners some options in terms of how Solano is deployed. Reporting this winter has suggested the club may feel it has enough in-house options to cover second base, with Dylan Moore and Ryan Bliss potentially covering there until prospect Cole Young seizes the job. Luke Raley is an option to be the strong side of a platoon at first, since he’s a lefty swinger with notable splits. Guys like Austin Shenton, Tyler Locklear, Samad Taylor and Leo Rivas are also capable of playing various infield positions and on the 40-man roster.

The M’s are likely not done adding to that group, so Solano’s role could well be determined by what other moves are forthcoming. He could take some playing time at second or third, while his right-handed bat could also allow him to shield Raley from lefties at first base. Solano has fairly neutral platoon splits for his entire career, with a 101 wRC+ against lefties and 98 wRC+ otherwise. However, he’s been a bit more extreme in his recent resurgence. Over the past six years, he has slashed .310/.361/.444 against lefties for a 122 wRC+, compared to a .285/.349/.395 line and 107 wRC+ against righties.

It has been reported this offseason that the M’s were working with about $15-16MM of payroll space. Solano will use up a small portion of that while strengthening the infield group. That still leaves with them with some powder dry for another infield addition. It was previously reported that they were interested in bringing back Turner, though it’s possible the Solano signing makes that harder to put together.

It’s also possible that the M’s make a bold move to totally remake the picture, as there have been rumors they could trade Luis Castillo as a means of freeing up some spending capacity. Whether they go that route or simply find another modest infield addition remains to be seen. Pitchers and catchers will be reporting to spring training in about a month.

Kitchen, 28 next month, has limited big league experience. A prospect in the Rockies’ system, he was selected to the big league roster in June but was designated for assignment the next day without getting into a game. He went to the Marlins via waivers and made four appearances for that club, allowing 11 earned runs in seven innings. A second DFA in September put him back on waivers, which led the Mariners to put in a claim.

Though Kitchen has an ugly 14.14 earned run average, it’s a tiny sample of major league work. His minor league track record has generally been solid, with the lefty keeping the ball on the ground. In 2024, pitching for three organizations, he logged 52 1/3 innings in the minors. In that time, he had a 3.78 ERA, 15.1% strikeout rate, 6.8% walk rate and 55.1% ground ball rate.

The M’s will now have a week to figure out what’s next for Kitchen, whether that’s a trade or another trip to the waiver wire. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so any trades would have to come together in the next five days. Kitchen still has a couple of option years and minimal service time, so a club willing to give him a roster spot could keep him as cheap depth for the foreseeable future.

Mariners Claim Tyler Jay

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The Mariners announced that they have claimed left-hander Tyler Jay off waivers from the Brewers. The latter club designated him for assignment a week ago when they acquired Grant Anderson. Seattle’s 40-man roster had a vacancy but is now full.

Jay, 31, was the sixth overall pick in the 2015 draft but it took him almost a decade to get to the big leagues. Various injuries, including surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome, slowed his rise through the minors. By the end of the 2019 season, he had topped out at Double-A, then didn’t pitch in any official capacity in 2020 or 2021. That was followed by stints in indy ball in the next two years, which led to the Mets taking a flier on him on a minor league deal.

In April of last year, he finally got up to the majors, though was on and off rosters all year. The Mets selected his contract in mid-April but outrighted him a few days later. He was back up in June, then designated for assignment a second time in July. His second DFA resulted in getting traded to the Brewers, though that club kept him mostly on optional assignment. He finished the year with 7 2/3 innings pitched between his two clubs, allowing four earned runs while walking six batters and recording six strikeouts.

That’s a tiny sample size, so the Mariners are probably more interested in the minor league numbers. Jay tossed 56 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level last year, between the two organizations, allowing 3.02 earned runs per nine. He had a 20.9% strikeout rate, 5.1% walk rate and 47.3% ground ball rate. For what it’s worth, the strikeout rate jumped after he came to the Brewers, going from 18.6% with Syracuse to 25.7% with Nashville, though his walk rate also went from 2.5% to 10.8% after the switch.

For the Mariners, they’re clearly intrigued enough to give Jay a roster spot, at least for now. He has just a few days of service time and a couple of option years remaining, so he can at least serve as a cheap depth piece with roster flexibility. As a former first-round pick and top prospect, perhaps there’s some untapped upside in there. They currently have Tayler Saucedo and Gabe Speier as the top lefties in their projected bullpen, with Austin Kitchen also on the roster. Jay will jump into that group and try to push for opportunities in the 2025 season.

Mariners, Randy Arozarena Avoid Arbitration

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The Mariners have avoided arbitration with Randy Arozarena, as first reported by Francys Romero. The left fielder will earn $11.3MM in 2025, slightly less than his projected $11.7MM salary (per MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz). He will be eligible for arbitration once more ahead of the 2026 campaign.

Arozarena, 30 in February, is coming off the least productive season of his MLB career. Entering the 2024 campaign, the former AL Rookie of the Year had a career .802 OPS and 127 wRC+ in just over 2000 trips to the plate. In 2024, his OPS dropped to a career-worst .720, while his wRC+ fell to a career-worst 114. Those are still above-average numbers, to be clear, but a step back from his All-Star-caliber performances of the past.

On the bright side, Arozarena hit significantly better after a deadline trade from the Rays to the Mariners, raising his wRC+ from 109 to 122. Interestingly, the biggest difference between his numbers with Tampa Bay and Seattle was his batting average on balls in play (BABIP). He actually struck out more often and hit for less power with the Mariners, but his BABIP increased from .249 to .323. That could be good news for Arozarena, who came into the year with a career .331 BABIP, far higher than his overall .275 BABIP in 2024. If more of his batted balls drop for hits in 2025, he could get back to being a far more productive hitter once again.

Even in a down year, Arozarena hit 20 home runs and stole 20 bases, achieving his fourth straight 20/20 season. He also ranked among the top five qualified AL batters with an 11.3% walk rate. On top of that, he reached 600 plate appearances for the fourth year in a row. Since his debut in 2019, his only two stints on the injured list have been due to COVID-19 protocols. An outfielder who can play every day while offering a rare combination of power, speed, and plate discipline is a valuable player indeed; he’d command far more than $11.3MM on the open market. He will certainly be valuable to the Mariners, who need as much offense as they can get. Seattle’s pitching staff is among the best in the league, but the bats failed to support the arms last season. That’s precisely why the M’s brought Arozarena in at the deadline. They’ll be counting on him to continue producing at the plate in 2025.

Mariners Claim Hagen Danner

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The Mariners announced that they have claimed right-hander Hagen Danner off waivers from the Blue Jays. The latter club had designated him for assignment last month. DFA limbo normally only lasts a week but that clock is paused during the holidays. Seattle’s 40-man roster count is now 39.

Danner, 26, has a fairly limited track record as a pitcher. That’s due to his unusual trajectory, as well as some injuries. He was drafted by the Jays as a catcher in 2017 but struggled at the plate and moved to the mound in recent years. His first professional season as a pitcher was 2021, a year in which he tossed 35 2/3 innings at the High-A level, allowing 2.02 earned runs per nine. He struck out 29.4% of batters faced while limiting walks to an 8.4% clip.

Although he had only been on the mound for that one season as a minor leaguer, he was already Rule 5 eligible on account of the years he spent behind the plate. But the Jays didn’t want him to get away at that time and gave him a spot on the 40-man.

He spent most of 2022 on the injured list, only making four Double-A appearances. He was healthy again in 2023, tossing 39 1/3 innings across multiple levels, with a 3.66 ERA, 35.7% strikeout rate and 7% walk rate. He also made his major league debut, although he only tossed a third of an inning before an oblique strain sent him to the IL for about six weeks to finish the year. In 2024, he spent another two months on the minor league injured list but managed to toss 35 1/3 innings on the year with a 3.06 ERA, 24.2% strikeout rate and 8.7% walk rate.

Perhaps that big drop in his strikeout rate prompted the Jays to move on, though the Mariners are intrigued enough to give him a shot. Danner is still a fairly unknown quantity at this point, with barely 100 professional innings under his belt, but he still has an option year left. Seattle can get a close-up look at him and see how things play out. He can serve as optionable depth for one more year and, if things break right, be cheaply retained into the future since he has just a handful of service days.

Latest On Yankees’ Infield

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6:39pm: Jon Heyman of the New York Post pushes back against the Arraez fit, reporting that the Yankees don’t see him as a fit for the moment. Lux, meanwhile, is being traded to Cincinnati.

1:03pm: The Yankees have already had a busy offseason but aren’t done yet. Jeff Passan of ESPN reports that they have had discussions with the Padres about Luis Arráez and the Dodgers about Gavin Lux, with either a possibility to take over the second base job in the Bronx. Jon Morosi of MLB Network says the Mariners, who are known to be looking for infield upgrades, have checked in on Lux as well.

For the Yanks, their infield took a couple of hits at the end of the 2024 season, with Anthony Rizzo and Gleyber Torres both hitting free agency, leaving holes at first and second base. They have since taken care of first by signing Paul Goldschmidt, but another infield upgrade would make sense.

The versatility of Jazz Chisholm Jr. gives them some flexibility. He largely played third base after being acquired last year but has plenty of experience at the keystone, meaning the Yanks could add either a second or third basemen, with Chisholm taking over whichever position is not addressed. They’ve been connected to free agent Alex Bregman and trade candidate Nolan Arenado as potential third base additions but appear to be exploring second base candidates as well.

Arráez is a logical trade candidate from San Diego’s perspective and something they have reportedly considered. RosterResource currently projects the Padres for a $210MM payroll this year, well beyond last year’s $169MM figure. While a payroll bump is reportedly possible, it’s been suggested they need to get their 2025 spending closer to 2024 levels. They are also projected to be just above the competitive balance tax and likely want to dip below that if they are going to be cutting payroll.

However, many of their players are difficult to move for contractual reasons. Many have no-trade clauses or hefty remaining guarantees or both. They also have a number of spots on the roster that could use upgrades.

Last winter, a similar set of circumstances led to the Friars parting ways with Juan Soto and Trent Grisham, sending them to the Yankees. The five players they received in return allowed them to shore up their depth in different areas while also offloading notable salary commitments.

Arráez, 28 in April could perhaps follow the same path this year. Like Soto last offseason, he is currently one year away from free agency and set to make a notable salary in his final season of club control. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects Arráez to earn $14.6MM in 2025. That’s about half of what Soto was set to earn in 2024 but still a notable chunk of change for a team with budgetary constraints.

Though the projected salary is significantly lower, Arráez will still have far less appeal as a trade candidate than Soto did. Despite his elite bat-to-ball skills, Arráez is a limited player. He doesn’t take walks or add much power and is also not an asset defensively. Despite three straight batting titles, his .323/.372/.418 career batting line adds up to a wRC+ of 120, indicating his overall offensive contributions have been about 20% above average. Soto, on the other hand, has a .285/.421/.532 line and 158 wRC+ in his career.

The aforementioned defensive limitations are also something the Yankees will have to consider with Arráez. The Twins started using him more at first base in 2022 before trading him to the Marlins. With the Fish in 2023, Arráez got his largest sample of work at second and produced four Defensive Runs Saved but also -11 Outs Above Average. The Padres acquired him early in the 2024 season and only put him at the keystone for 58 innings the rest of the way.

The Yankees would have to weigh his defensive limitations against the attraction of putting his bat into the lineup, while also factoring in the money. RosterResource projects their competitive balance tax number at $303MM for this year, which is already above the fourth and final tier. As a third-time payor at that level, the Yanks face a 110% tax on any additional spending and would therefore have to pay about $30MM to employ Arráez this year. Of course, the Padres would also want something in return, though the cost savings might be their top priority at the moment.

As for Lux, it’s unclear if the 27-year-old is even available but it’s understandable why the Yanks would pick up the phone and check, as the Dodgers seem to be overloaded with middle infield options. They are planning to have Mookie Betts act as their everyday shortstop and committed themselves to that path by signing Teoscar Hernández and Michael Conforto to fill their corner outfield jobs, with guys like Andy Pages and Dalton Rushing also in the mix.

With Tommy Edman seemingly ticketed for the center field job, that leaves them with Betts at short and Lux at second, with Miguel Rojas and Chris Taylor around as bench/utility guys. They added even further depth by signing Hyeseong Kim a few days ago. Reportedly, the club still plans to use Betts and Lux as their primarily middle infielders, but perhaps the Kim signing increases the chances of the Yankees prying Lux loose.

If they succeeded, they would be getting something of an unknown quantity. Lux has had an up-and-down career thus far, but with some encouraging up arrows. Through the end of the 2021 season, he had a tepid batting line of .233/.314/.368, which led to an 86 wRC+. He took a noticeable step forward in 2022, slashing .276/.346/.399 for a 113 wRC+, but then missed all of 2023 due to a torn ACL.

His 2024 season was a step back, in a sense, though he finished strong. He hit .251/.320/.383 for a wRC+ of 100 on the season overall but with a dismal .213/.267/.295 line in the first half and a robust .304/.390/.508 showing in the second, leading to respective wRC+ marks of 60 and 152 in those halves. His batting average on balls in play jumped over 100 points from the first half to the second, so it might not be entirely sustainable, but he also improved in terms of the quality of his batted balls. Defensively, the reviews are mixed. Both DRS and OAA gave Lux a negative grade at second base in 2024 but both have him in positive territory for his career overall.

Financially, Lux is more attractive than Arráez. Thanks to an inconsistent career and missing an entire season, Lux is projected to make just $2.7MM next year, with an extra year of club control beyond that as well. Given the Yankees’ CBT situation, that would be far more attractive, but it’s also valuable to the Dodgers for the same reason. Since the Dodgers don’t seem especially motivated to let go of Lux, the Yankees would have to send something of real value the other way.

For the Mariners, their infield needs are well known. They lost Justin Turner to free agency, turned down an option for Jorge Polanco and non-tendered Josh Rojas. Apart from shortstop J.P. Crawford, little is settled on the dirt in Seattle. They have some internal options, such as Luke Raley for first base. He would need a right-handed platoon partner, which could come in the form of bringing back Turner. At second, they reportedly have some willingness to ride with Dylan Moore and Ryan Bliss until prospect Cole Young is ready to take over.

That has made it seem more likely that the club would add at third base, though bringing in a second baseman is still a consideration. The M’s were connected to Cubs’ second baseman Nico Hoerner earlier this winter, for instance, and are seemingly open to Lux as well. Lux does have some third base experience, but only six innings in the majors, so he would be a far more logical solution at the keystone.

His low projected salary is surely appealing to the Mariners, though for different reasons than the Yankees. Seattle reportedly has about $15MM to play with this offseason, a tight enough budget that Luis Castillo rumors have been swirling for quite a while. A Castillo trade would weaken the rotation but would open up some more spending capacity, perhaps to go after a player like Bregman or Arenado, though trading for Lux might be a more straightforward solution. That would allow the M’s to keep their strong rotation intact, though they would perhaps have to give the Dodgers some notable prospect capital in order to move Lux up the coast.

Cubs, Mariners Among Teams Interested In Yoan Moncada

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“Several” teams remain involved the market for third baseman Yoán Moncada, according to a report from Francys Romero this afternoon. Romero goes on to report that the Cubs and Mariners are among the clubs with interest in Moncada’s services in addition to the Blue Jays, who were previously reported as a potential suitor last month.

After spending eight seasons on the south side of Chicago, the prospect of Moncada moving on to the north side and joining the Cubs makes plenty of sense. The switch-hitter has primarily played third base throughout his career but has also spent time at the keystone. Those are perhaps the two positions where the Cubs could stand to benefit most from shoring up their depth. The club parted ways with third baseman Isaac Paredes as part of the deal that brought Kyle Tucker to Chicago last month, and while top prospect Matt Shaw seems poised to take over everyday reps at the hot corner he has just 35 games of experience at the Triple-A level.

It would be a surprise for the club to simply anoint an unproven player as an everyday player, even one as talented as Shaw. To that end, president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer indicated last month that Shaw will have to “earn” the position in Spring Training. There’s at least some semblance of internal competition for the role in the form of Rule 5 draft pick Gage Workman as well as utility infielders Miles Mastrobuoni and Vidal Bruján, but adding a player with more of a big league track record to the mix could give Shaw some more robust competition for the role. Moncada is as good a choice as any player available on the infield market for that role. Though he’s often been injured in recent years, he’s hit a respectable .262/.311/.422 (101 wRC+) over the past two seasons and was a well above-average regular as recently as 2021.

In addition to providing competition to Shaw this spring, adding Moncada to the Cubs’ infield mix would give the club additional protection against the possibility that incumbent second baseman Nico Hoerner isn’t ready for Opening Day. Hoerner underwent flexor tendon surgery back in October, and the Cubs have subsequently indicated that although he’s expected to be ready early in the 2025 season at the latest, a specific timetable for his return won’t be clear until camp opens next month. With so much uncertainty surrounding both second and third base, the addition of Moncada to the mix would give the Cubs a high-upside veteran who could fill in for Hoerner in the lineup early in the year and act as an insurance policy against Shaw struggling in his first taste of big league action.

As for the Mariners, MLBTR discussed Moncada as a potential fit for their needs at third base in a post last night. Given the club’s wide-open third base competition, the prospect of everyday playing time is one that would surely appeal to Moncada if it were to be made available to him. With that being said, Moncada’s 29.4% strikeout rate over the past two seasons could give the Mariners some level of pause given their efforts to cut down on strikeouts in their lineup over the past couple of years. With that being said, the third base options available in free agency this winter are fairly limited and it’s difficult to imagine Seattle finding a clearly better option for the hot corner unless they can swing a trade for a player like Alec Bohm or Willi Castro.

While Toronto’s interest in Moncada’s services isn’t exactly news, it’s nonetheless noteworthy given that prior reports of interest in his services originated prior to the Andrés Giménez trade last month. With Giménez and Bo Bichette seemingly locked into the club’s middle infield barring a Bichette trade coming together at some point, that seemingly left youngsters like Ernie Clement and Addison Barger to jockey for playing time at the hot corner. Adding Moncada to the mix might push those youngsters to the bench or Triple-A, though it’s also possible that the Jays could instead have a bench role in mind for Moncada while Clement remains as the club’s likely regular at third.

Where Can The Mariners Turn For Third Base Help?

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The Mariners haven’t been shy about their desire to shore up their infield mix this winter, and while at points in the offseason the club has shown an interest in upgrading at second their focus appears to be primarily on upgrading the infield corners rather than the keystone, where options like Dylan Moore and Ryan Bliss are available to hold down the fort until top middle infield prospect Cole Young is ready for his MLB debut.

First base appears to be fairly simple hole for the club to fill. They’ve long been connected to a reunion with veteran Justin Turner, who helped to bolster their first base mix down the stretch and could pair well with Luke Raley’s left-handed bat at the position. Aside from that possibility, a number of viable veteran options like Mark Canha and Anthony Rizzo still remain available in free agency as well, not to mention trade candidates like Yandy Diaz, Luis Arraez, and LaMonte Wade Jr. who could provide a bit more impact at the cost of trade capital. Even after a run on first base talent just before the New Year, plenty of options remain available for the club to consider as they look for an upgrade over Raley and youngster Tyler Locklear.

Third base, however, is a bit more complicated. While a number of players could at least theoretically be available at the position this winter, Alex Bregman and Nolan Arenado both figure to be well outside of the Mariners’ price range. Another potential trade candidate, Eugenio Suarez, also seems unlikely to be a fit given that the Mariners themselves traded Suarez just one offseason ago. Beyond Bregman, few options available in free agency provide obvious upgrades over Josh Rojas, who the club utilized at third base last year before non-tendering him back in November.

Standing pat doesn’t appear to be an option at the position, either: Austin Shenton and Leo Rivas could at least theoretically pitch in at the position but have a combined 136 plate appearances at the big league level, necessitating at least one veteran addition to take the lion’s share of reps at the hot corner. With an apparently tight budget and minimal internal solutions available, who could be a realistic target for the club this winter?

Free Agents

  • Ha-Seong Kim: Kim, 29, is without a doubt the best free agent infielder who could potentially fit into the Mariners’ budget given his 106 wRC+ and plus defense all around the infield over the past three seasons. MLBTR predicted Kim to land a relatively affordable one-year, $12MM contract ahead of the 2025 season at the outset of the offseason, but as the market has developed some reports have indicated he could land a multi-year deal this winter and depending on how the bidding goes, it’s easy to imagine things going beyond Seattle’s comfort zone. Beyond the possibility of Kim landing a deal that goes beyond what Seattle is willing to offer, Kim has played both shortstop and second base far more commonly than third throughout his career. As Kim likely looks to rebuild his value coming off shoulder surgery, it would hardly be a shock if he preferred to sign somewhere where he’d be able to be a regular shortstop. He’d be a defensive upgrade for J.P. Crawford, but the Mariners have shown no desire to move him off the position to this point.
  • Paul DeJong: DeJong, 31, was a quality regular at shortstop with the Cardinals early in his career and even made an All-Star game back in 2019. His offense fell way off after that season, however, and he struggled to a 72 wRC+ from 2020 to 2023. Last season as something of a rebound for the veteran, however, as he split time between the White Sox and Royals and managed to hit a respectable .227/.276/.427 (95 wRC+) in 139 games with solid glovework at both shortstop and, more importantly in this context, third base. That respectable season should allow him to easily beat the $1.75MM guarantee he landed with Chicago last winter, though he should nonetheless still be a perfectly affordable option for the Mariners this winter. It’s easy to imagine DeJong jumping at the opportunity if offered regular starts in Seattle, but it’s fair to wonder if the Mariners would have much interest in him as a fit. After all, they just parted ways with Rojas back in November despite strong glovework thanks to his below average offense, and DeJong’s 32.4% strikeout rate last year goes against the more contact-oriented approach the club has attempted to cultivate in recent years.
  • Yoán Moncada: Moncada would be an interesting candidate for the third base job in Seattle. A former top prospect, Moncada has had an up-and-down career with the White Sox before things came off the rails due to injuries the past few years. He’s played just 104 games over the past two seasons, but has a fairly respectable 101 wRC+ in that time. It’s far from impossible to imagine him bouncing back to something closer to the 120 wRC+ he posted with Chicago back in 2021, though it’s possible that (like with DeJong) his elevated strikeout numbers throughout his career could give the Mariners some pause. That said, Moncada’s overall offensive profile when healthy is stronger than that of DeJong’s, and given his limited track record in recent years the infielder should still be very affordable.
  • Jose Iglesias: Iglesias is coming off a career year with the Mets that saw him slash .337/.381/.448 (137 wRC+) in 291 plate appearances across 85 games. That’s the sort of performance that should make him a very attractive candidate for virtually any club’s bench mix, but the Mariners could stand out among other potential suitors by offering him a regular role. With that being said, there’s plenty of potential cause for concern in Iglesias’s profile. The veteran infielder will play all of this coming season at age-35, and it’s impossible to imagine him replicating the incredible .382 BABIP that made him an above-average hitter last year. He’s also fairly inexperienced at third base, although he did play the position quite well (+2 Outs Above Average) when called upon by the Mets last year. Iglesias’s contact-oriented approach could hold particular appeal in Seattle, and he could be an attractive option for the club if they’re interested in giving larger roles to youngsters like Shenton and Rivas.

Trade Candidates

  • Alec Bohm: Bohm stands out on this list in part because the club has already reportedly expressed interest in his services this winter. Those talks understandably seemed to fizzle out when the Phillies asked for Logan Gilbert or George Kirby in return for Bohm’s services, but if Philadelphia decides to drop their asking price as the offseason drags on he remains one of the better fits available to the Mariners this winter. While Bohm’s defense at the hot corner has generally left much to be desired, he slashed a strong .280/.332/.448 (115 wRC+) last year and struck out just 14.2% of the time, making him a strong fit for a club that has typically shied away from high-strikeout hitters when possible. If the asking price for Bohm stays anywhere near where it was earlier this offseason, however, it’s hard to imagine a trade coming together.
  • Willi Castro: Castro, 28 in April, has started just 48 games at third base throughout his career to this point but is a super utility player with a great deal of experience at both shortstop and second base, which suggests he should be able to handle the hot corner relatively easily. Since joining the Twins prior to the 2023 season, Castro has put up back-to-back 108 wRC+ seasons while accumulating 5.6 fWAR. Minnesota seems disinclined to pay the $6.2MM that MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects Castro will earn in his final trip through arbitration, but that’s a price tag the Mariners should have little trouble stomaching for a likely regular at a position of need.
  • Brett Baty: Baty, 25, stands out from the other potential trade candidates mentioned thanks to the fact that he’s got just 169 MLB games under his belt. A former consensus top-30 prospect in the sport, Baty has struggled to this point in his big league career and hit just .229/.306/.327 (83 wRC+) in 50 games with the Mets this past season. The emergence of Mark Vientos has seemingly boxed Baty out of a path to playing time with the club in 2025, particularly if Pete Alonso eventually returns to Queens. That could make Baty expendable for the club, and if the Mariners aren’t able to find a more reliable veteran option in free agency or on the trade market it would be very understandable for the club to pivot towards rolling the dice on a player with Baty’s offensive potential and prospect pedigree.

Managers & Top Front Office Executives On Expiring Contracts

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Several teams don’t publicize contract details for their top front office executives or even for their managers, so this list of skipper and execs (any head of a baseball operations department, whether titled as a president of baseball ops, general manager, chief baseball officer, etc.) entering the final year of their deals may not be entirely complete or accurate.  Still, since MLBTR so often focuses on players entering their “contract year,” this post provides a rough outline of which notable team personnel may be feeling some extra pressure as their own deals may be close to expiring.

It is quite possible some of these names may have already quietly signed extensions weeks or months ago, or will sign new deals during Spring Training once clubs turn their attention away from offseason roster-building.  A shorter-term extension may not necessarily indicate much extra job security, as some teams tack an extra year (or at least a club option) onto an executive or managerial contract just to avoid the appearance of that person entering a lame-duck year.  Of course, even a longer contract is no guarantee of job security, as a rough season can instantly put a manager or a front office on the hot seat.

As always, thanks to Cot’s Baseball Contracts for reference information on some of these contract terms.

Angels: Ron Washington is already heading into the final season under contract, as he signed only a two-year deal to manage the Halos in November 2023.  While the Angels were only 63-99 last season, it could hardly be considered Washington’s fault given the subpar state of the roster.  Expectations will be higher in 2025 since the team has been aggressing in adding talent this winter, and since GM Perry Minasian got a contract extension last August, Los Angeles might also look to add a year onto Washington’s deal to at least keep him on line with the guaranteed portion of Minasian’s new contract.  It should be noted that Washington turns 73 this coming April, so he might also prefer to just take things year-to-year if he has any thoughts about retirement.

Astros: Dana Brown is entering his third season as Houston’s GM, and the terms of his contract weren’t made public when he was hired in January 2023.  It is possible Brown might only be working on a three-year deal since his predecessor James Click also received just a three-year commitment, though Click was hired in the singular aftermath of the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal.  This probably isn’t a situation to monitor too closely since the Astros have kept winning during Brown’s tenure, with the caveat that owner Jim Crane and his advisors are known to weigh heavily on baseball operations decisions.  Click was let go within days of winning a World Series due to reported acrimony with Crane, but there hasn’t been any indication of any heat between Crane and Brown.

Athletics: Mark Kotsay’s initial contract covered the 2022-24 seasons, and the A’s picked up Kotsay’s 2025 club option over a year ago.  GM David Forst said in October that “there’s no one I would rather have managing this team,” and that Kotsay “wants to be here,” though there hasn’t been any public word about any extension talks.  As comfortable as Kotsay seems with the organization, it is possible he might be willing to let the season play out and then explore his options, if he has any uncertainty over continuing to manage the A’s through their stint in West Sacramento before their planned move to Las Vegas for the 2028 season.  While no public details were revealed about Forst’s latest contract, the GM has obviously signed some kind of extension since his last deal expired after the 2023 season, and said in November that “I’ve been here for 25 years.  There’s not a thought that I wouldn’t be in this for the long run.”

Blue Jays: Manager John Schneider is entering the last guaranteed season of his three-year contract, as the Blue Jays hold a club option on Schneider for 2026.  It is fair to guess that the Jays might not exercise that option too far in advance, as there is widespread speculation that another disappointing season (or even a slow start) will cost Schneider his job.  The same could be true of general manager Ross Atkins, even though Atkins is under contract through 2026.  Team president Mark Shapiro is also entering the final season of his five-year contract, and while Shapiro’s focus has been more towards bigger-picture projects like Rogers Centre’s renovations, his possible departure might also trigger a larger overhaul unless the Jays turn things around on the field in 2025.

Braves: Manager Brian Snitker is entering the last year of his contract, so the Braves might well look to tack at least one more season onto Snitker’s deal this spring.  Snitker has led Atlanta to the postseason in each of the last seven seasons, highlighted by the team’s World Series victory in 2021.  He has stuck to just shorter-term deals and extensions during his tenure, which is probably due more to his age (Snitker turned 69 in October) than any dissatisfaction on the organization’s part, so no change seems imminent in the Braves dugout.

Cardinals: John Mozeliak’s exit plan is already in place.  The longtime head of the St. Louis front office is stepping down after the 2025 season, with Chaim Bloom already inked to a long-term contract to become the Cardinals’ next president of baseball operations.

Cubs: The Cubs have posted 83-79 records in each of the last two seasons, but they still haven’t reached the postseason during Jed Hoyer’s four-year tenure as president of baseball operations.  2025 is the last year of Hoyer’s original five-year contract, and acquiring Kyle Tucker (who is a free agent next winter) in a big-ticket trade might indicate that Hoyer is feeling some heat to win as soon as possible.  It can be argued that Hoyer has been somewhat hamstrung by ownership’s reluctance to spend at the top of the market, but that might also indicate that ownership could be considering hiring a PBO with more experience in building contenders on limited budgets.

Dodgers: Reports surfaced earlier today that the Dodgers are planning to work out an extension with Dave Roberts, as the skipper is entering the last season of his last three-year extension with the club.  It comes as no surprise that L.A. wants to retain Roberts in the wake of the team’s second World Series title during his tenure, and it stands to reason that president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman is also a candidate for a new deal, perhaps regardless of the terms of his last agreement.  Friedman came to the Dodgers on a five-year deal in October 2014, then signed an extension of an unknown length in November 2019.  If that next contract was another five-year pact, Friedman is a technically free agent right now, but there has no zero indication that Friedman (who has been as busy as ever in bolstering the Dodgers roster this winter) is going anywhere.

Guardians: This is a speculative entry since it has been well over a decade since Chris Antonetti’s contract terms were publicly reported.  Even if he is approaching the end of his current deal, there hasn’t been any sense that the Guardians are planning a front office change, especially not in the wake of another AL Central crown and a trip to the ALCS.  Antonetti has been a member of Cleveland’s front office since 1999, and in his current role as president of baseball operations since October 2015.

Mariners: Jerry Dipoto has been extended twice since the M’s first hired him in September 2015, and his last extension in September 2021 was a multi-year deal of unspecified length.  It is therefore possible this could be Dipoto’s final season under contract as Seattle’s president of baseball operations, unless another extension has been signed in the last three-plus years.  Despite four straight seasons of 85 or more wins, the Mariners reached the playoffs just once in that span, as a lack of hitting has hampered the team over the last two years in particular.  It remains to be seen if ownership is okay with just being competitive (or, as Dipoto infamously put it, winning “54 percent of the time“) or if any impatience is growing over the Mariners’ difficulty in truly breaking through as a contender.  The Mariners were sparked to a 21-13 record down the stretch after manager Dan Wilson was hired last August, so it could be that the managerial change (and a change of hitting coaches) is what was needed to get the M’s back on track, but Dipoto and Wilson could both face pressure if Seattle again falls short of postseason baseball.

Orioles: Mike Elias has been Baltimore’s GM for six seasons, though his contract terms haven’t been made public at any point during his tenure.  Manager Brandon Hyde signed a three-year deal when first hired prior to the 2019 season, and he has signed at least one or perhaps two extensions since, leaving his contract status a bit of a mystery.  This is another situation where job security probably isn’t an issue, as the Orioles have come out of their rebuild to reach the playoffs in back-to-back years, even if the club has yet to record even a single postseason win in that span.  New owner David Rubenstein is eager to win but hasn’t shown any inclination to changing the leadership structure since he bought the Orioles earlier this year.

Pirates: Ben Cherington has now completed five full seasons as the Buccos’ general manager, so he either signed a somewhat unusually long contract when first hired, or he has already inked one extension that has escaped public attention.  Pittsburgh fans are impatiently waiting for the first winning season of Cherington’s tenure, as the team has flirted with contention in each of the last two years before finishing with identical 76-86 records.  Paul Skenes has at least emerged as the crown jewel of the Pirates’ lengthy rebuild process, so regardless of Cherington’s contract terms, it doesn’t appear as though he is in any danger of being fired.

Rangers: Bruce Bochy’s return to managing saw him sign a three-year contract with Texas, so 2025 represents the final year of that deal.  Bochy turns 70 in April but didn’t give any hints about retiring when speaking to reporters at the end of the season.  A second straight losing season might change the equation either on Bochy’s end or on the front office’s end, but the Rangers’ 2023 World Series title (to say nothing of Bochy’s three previous rings as the Giants’ manager) has naturally brought him a lot of leeway within the organization.  Both sides might prefer to go year-to-year just to maintain flexibility, but it wouldn’t be surprising if Bochy soon gets another year added to his contract.

Rockies: Bud Black has signed three straight one-year extensions to remain as Colorado’s manager, and past reports have indicated that Black is on something of an unofficial year-to-year rolling contract with the organization.  It is perhaps notable that Black’s most recent deal wasn’t finalized until this past October, whereas his previous two extensions were completed prior to the start of the seasons.  This might indicate that ownership and/or Black himself are starting to think harder about continuing the relationship in the wake of six straight losing seasons, even despite the Rockies’ well-known penchant for staying loyal to long-term employees.  The same logic could extend to GM Bill Schmidt, though Schmidt’s contract terms haven’t been known since he was elevated to the full-time general manager position in October 2021.

Royals: Matt Quatraro is entering the final guaranteed year of his initial three-year contract as manager, though the Royals have a club option on his services for the 2026 season.  J.J. Picollo has also completed two full seasons as the team’s general manager since being elevated to top of Kansas City’s baseball ops ladder in September 2022, though his contract status in the wake of that promotion wasn’t known.  Regardless, it doesn’t seem like either is going anywhere, and extensions could be in order since the Royals enjoyed an 86-win season and a return to the playoffs last year, including a wild card series win over the Orioles.

Tigers: Likewise, Detroit is also coming off a playoff appearance and a wild card series victory, as a magical late-season surge left the Tigers just one game short of the ALCS.  It is therefore safe to assume that president of baseball operations Scott Harris has plenty of job security, and while his contract terms aren’t known, it is probably safe to assume Harris received more than a three-year guarantee when he was hired in September 2022.

Twins: Some larger-scale changes could be afoot in Minnesota since the Pohlad family is exploring selling the Twins, and some shuffling in the front office has already taken place, with president of baseball ops Derek Falvey also becoming the president of business operations and Jeremy Zoll replacing Thad Levine as general manager.  Falvey’s previous deal was up after the 2024 season so obviously he signed an extension, but while manager Rocco Baldelli’s previous extension is known to have run through at least the end of the 2025 campaign, it is unclear if the coming season is the final year of that deal.  If Baldelli is indeed heading into a lame-duck year, the ownership situation might prevent the skipper from getting at least another season added to his deal, just so a new owner could potentially have a clean slate in evaluating things once they take over the team.

White Sox: This is more of a speculative entry, just because Chris Getz’s contract terms weren’t released when he was named Chicago’s general manager in August 2023.  A GM wouldn’t normally be considered to be on the hot seat so soon after being hired, nor are immediate results expected since the White Sox are quite obviously going through a hefty rebuild.  While nobody expected the Sox to contend in 2024, however, there’s a difference between just being a losing team and having a league-record 121 losses.  Another embarrassment of a season might give owner Jerry Reinsdorf second thoughts about Getz’s stewardship of the rebuild effort, or the possibility exists that Reinsdorf could sell the team, which should shake the organization up entirely.

Yankees: Aaron Boone quieted some of his critics when the Yankees both returned to the postseason, and captured the first AL pennant of Boone’s seven-year stint as the Bronx manager.  This result led the Yankees to exercise their club option on Boone’s services for 2025, and while no negotiations had taken place about a longer-term deal as of early November, it stands to reason that some talks will take place before Opening Day.  Then again, Boone’s current deal wasn’t signed until after he’d already completed the final season his previous contract, so it could be that the Yankees will again play wait-and-see.  There isn’t much sense that Boone is in jeopardy, and while expectations are always high in New York, ownership’s loyalty to Boone through some relative lean years would make it unusual if he was let go so soon after a World Series appearance.

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