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John Morris Passes Away

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Former big league pitcher John Morris passed away last week at the age of 84, according to an obituary posted to the Cape Gazette in Morris’s hometown of Lewes, Delaware.

A veteran of eight MLB seasons, Morris is perhaps best known as a member of the Seattle Pilots during the club’s lone 1969 season. Morris signed into the Phillies organization for his age-18 season in 1960 but spent the first several years of his career in the minors before making his big league debut with Philadelphia in 1966. He threw just 13 2/3 innings of work in that brief cameo in the majors before returning to Triple-A for the 1967 season, where he dominated with a 1.54 ERA across 33 relief appearances.

He was traded to the Orioles ahead of the 1968 season and briefly returned to the majors in 1968 with Baltimore but once again was sent back to Triple-A for much of the 1969 campaign, though he did make it to Seattle and pitch 12 2/3 innings for the Pilots. When the Pilots franchise moved to Milwaukee the following year, Morris remained with the club and became a regular fixture of the Brewers’ bullpen for the 1970 and ’71 seasons. In 1970, Morris served as a swing man and pitched to a 3.93 ERA across 20 games, including nine starts.

The highlight of Morris’s career came on May 13 and May 19, 1970 as he threw complete games in back-to-back starts. Morris surrendered four runs on ten hits and three walks while striking out 11 batters across those two complete games, both of which ended in wins for the Brewers. Morris’s May 19 start against the Oakland A’s saw him out-duel All-Star and future Hall of Famer Catfish Hunter on the mound as Milwaukee won 6-3. Morris’s solid season a swing man earned him a full-time look in the Milwaukee bullpen for the 1971 campaign, and he posted a 3.72 ERA in 67 2/3 innings of work across 43 appearances for the team.

Morris was traded to the Giants following the 1971 season and was mostly relegated to work at the team’s Triple-A affiliate once again. He pitched for San Francisco in parts of three seasons and ended his career on a high note with a 3.05 ERA in 17 appearances for the 1974 Giants in his age-32 season. In all, Morris appeared in 132 games for the Phillies, Orioles, Pilots, Brewers, and Giants across his eight seasons in the majors. He pitched to a 3.95 ERA, struck out 137 batters, finished his career with a lifetime 11-7 record and picked up two saves along the way.

We at MLB Trade Rumors send our condolences to Morris’s family, friends, and loved ones.

Mariners Aiming For Roughly $166MM In “Starting Point” Payroll In 2026

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The Mariners finished the 2025 season with a payroll within the range of around $165.2MM (as per calculations from Cot’s Baseball Contracts) to $166.2MM (according to RosterResource).  Either of these projections stand as the largest payroll figure in franchise history, topping the roughly $161.8MM that Cot’s estimated as Seattle’s season-ending budget for its 40-man roster in 2018.

It looks like the club will keep spending at at least this higher level in 2026, as president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto told the Seattle Times’ Adam Jude and other reporters at the season wrap-up press conference on Thursday.  When asked what the Mariners’ payroll would be for next season, Dipoto said “I would say similar to where we ended the year, as a starting point,” with the potential to boost spending during the season for trade deadline additions.

This is exactly what the M’s did at this past deadline, landing Josh Naylor and Eugenio Suarez in separate trades with the Diamondbacks and also bringing in left-hander Caleb Ferguson from the Pirates.  These swaps added roughly $9.5MM to Seattle’s payroll but the money was clearly worth it.  Naylor went nuclear during the remainder of the regular season and through the playoffs, Ferguson pitched well in the regular season, and Suarez was a little more inconsistent but had some big postseason moments (like his two homers in Game 5 of the ALCS).

The deadline spending was a notable step forward for a team that has largely kept its spending in check for the last two offseasons, owing largely to uncertainty over TV broadcasting rights.  Dipoto has long maintained that ownership would increase payroll as the team got deeper into regular contention, and while this wasn’t exactly the case following the Mariners’ playoff appearance in 2022, upper management did indeed step forward to approve a larger budget this summer.

“This was always the goal, to methodically build toward what we were doing,” Dipoto said.  “And I’m comfortable that the resources that we’re given, we’re going to have every ability to go out and put together a championship-quality team.  And like we have in recent years, when we get into the right position, I’m certain that we will be aggressive in doing the next thing.”

In terms of money on the Mariners’ books for 2026, RosterResource projects the team at slightly under $132MM in payroll, and Cot’s with a slightly higher total of roughly $132.4MM.  This would seemingly leave about $34MM in payroll capacity for Dipoto and GM Justin Hollander to work with this winter, and of course some more money could be freed up by non-tenders or trades.

Dipoto has stated multiple times that the M’s would love to re-sign Naylor in free agency, so assuming that happens, Naylor alone will take up a significant portion of available payroll space.  With Naylor as the stated top priority, the perception is that Suarez likely won’t be retained, while Jorge Polanco (who is expected to reject his player option and re-enter free agency) is a bit more of a 50-50 proposition.  Chances are that Seattle will focus its energies on Naylor first and then turn to Polanco, or potentially to other first base options should Naylor sign elsewhere.

As always, expect plenty of trade speculation about the possibility of the Mariners trading from their rotation depth.  The cost of keeping the starting five together is on the rise, as Logan Gilbert and George Kirby are due significant arbitration raises and Bryce Miller is now arb-eligible for the first time.  Dipoto wasn’t as adamant about not trading starting pitching as he was last winter, but it is fair to assume that it would take a huge offer to get the M’s to even consider moving any of their top five starters.

Mariners Expected To Prioritize Josh Naylor In Free Agency

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The Mariners’ season ended with heartbreak in Game 7 of the ALCS versus the Blue Jays, and they’ll now turn their focus to an offseason aimed at building upon what was clearly a World Series-caliber roster (even if they fell just short). They’ll be faced with several key free agent departures — Eugenio Suarez, Josh Naylor and Jorge Polanco chief among them. Per both Daniel Kramer of MLB.com and Adam Jude of the Seattle Times, Naylor is the team’s top priority among all of its potential free agents.

The 28-year-old Naylor (29 next June) was outstanding after being acquired in a deal sending young pitchers Ashton Izzi and Brandyn Garcia back to Arizona. Already in the midst of a nice season with the D-backs (.292/.360/.447), Naylor found another gear in the Emerald City, erupting for a .299/.341/.490 slash (137 wRC+) and astonishingly stealing nearly as many bases (19) in 54 games as he had in his entire career prior (25).

In many ways, Naylor embodies the approach the Mariners have sought in recent offseasons where improving the club’s contact skills has been a goal (one that’s largely eluded them). He punched out in only 13.7% of his plate appearances this year (16.2% with the Mariners) and carries just a 15.2% strikeout rate dating all the way back to 2020. He’s not a traditional slugging first baseman, but Naylor is typically good for around 20 homers per seasons — he hit nine in his 54 games with the M’s — and does have a 31-homer campaign on his résumé with the 2024 Guardians.

Heading into his age-29 season and coming off a career-best year with no qualifying offer attached — he’s ineligible to receive one after being traded midseason — Naylor will be a hot commodity in free agency. In president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto’s nearly a decade running baseball operations in Seattle, he has only given out one multi-year deal to a free agent position player, that being Mitch Garver’s modest two-year, $24MM pact a couple offseasons ago. Clearly, that will need to change in order to retain Naylor.

That said, Dipoto told MLBTR’s Darragh McDonald on our podcast last month that the Mariners have definite interest in keeping Naylor long-term and believe the feeling is mutual. Dipoto noted that Naylor is “as good as anybody that’s played in the last handful of years at hitting [at T-Mobile Park]” — notoriously one of the most pitcher-friendly stadiums in the game. Naylor himself spoke about that to Jude’s colleague Ryan Divish last month, too, stating that as a visitor he “couldn’t wait” to come to T-Mobile Park and emphasizing how much he enjoys the stadium and the atmosphere created by the fan base. He used the word “awesome” multiple times in his more recent chat with Kramer and Jude about his experience in Seattle and the “ride-or-die” mentality of Seattle fans.

Even with mutual interest, the Mariners will have to extend well beyond their prior comfort levels in free agency to keep Naylor. At just 28 years old and coming off four straight seasons of well above-average offense, he should be in position to command a deal of at least four and possibly up to six years in length. In all likelihood, Seattle will need to more than triple and perhaps quadruple its investment to Garver in order to keep Naylor. Currently, the M’s have about $139MM on next year’s books (once Andres Munoz’s option is exercised), per RosterResource, though non-tenders and trades will surely impact that sum. They finished up the current season at about $166MM in payroll.

To be clear, the Mariners have signed players to lucrative long-term deals under Dipoto — just not specifically free agent position players. Left-hander Robbie Ray signed a five-year, $115MM deal in free agency following his Cy Young win back in 2021. The Mariners extended Luis Castillo on a five-year, $108MM deal after acquiring him from the Reds in a deadline swap. And of course, homegrown stars Cal Raleigh (six years, $105MM) and Julio Rodriguez (12 years, $210MM) signed nine-figure extensions to remain in Seattle for the long haul.

That the Mariners will prioritize Naylor over other free agents doesn’t necessarily make it a foregone conclusion that Polanco and Suarez will depart. Both Jude and Kramer suggest that with top prospect Colt Emerson and slick-fielding Ben Williamson in the mix at third base, re-signing Suarez on a weighty multi-year deal that covers his mid-30s is unlikely. However, both also note interest in retaining Polanco, who enjoyed a remarkable rebound campaign after re-signing on the heels of a 2024 season that was ruined by a knee injury.

Polanco underwent surgery last October and roared back into relevance this year with a .265/.326/.495 batting line (132 wRC+) and 26 homers during the regular season. He added three more postseason homers, including a pair of long balls against likely AL Cy Young winner (for the second consecutive season) Tarik Skubal.

The Mariners have a high-upside long-term option at second base in former first-round pick and top prospect Cole Young, but the 22-year-old Young hit just .211/.302/.305 in his first 77 MLB games this year. Even if Young is the long-term answer at second base — and some early struggles in fewer than 300 plate appearances hardly erodes the chances of that happening — Seattle could bring Polanco back as a primary designated hitter and part-time infielder. That’s the role he filled in 2025, tallying 88 games at DH, 38 at second base, five at third base and even one at first base.

As with Naylor, Polanco would require the Mariners to commit a multi-year deal, although not nearly on the same scale. Polanco will turn 33 early next July. A deal for him seems likely to be capped at three years, particularly when considering his recent injury troubles. He’d still require a more sizable commitment than the one made to Garver in free agency two years ago, but not by an especially large margin.

Mariners brass is set to talk with the media at an end-of-season press conference later this morning (1oam PT), and they’ll surely touch on this and a broad range of topics as they look ahead to the offseason, so there could be a fair bit of Mariners news emerging in the very near future.

Jesus Montero Passes Away

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Former big league catcher Jesus Montero passed away recently, according to a report from El Extrabase. The report indicates that Montero was part of a serious traffic accident on October 5 and passed following several days in the hospital. Montero was just 35 years old.

Montero is best known for having been one of the league’s most elite prospects in the early 2010s. Signed out of Venezuela by the Yankees as an amateur, Montero made his pro debut in 2007 at the age of 17. His second professional season saw him break out at the Single-A level, where he hit .326/.376/.491 with 17 homers and 34 doubles in 132 games. That strong performance earned Montero plenty of attention prior to the 2009 season, when he became a consensus top-50 prospect in the sport.

The youngster’s prospect star continued to shoot upwards from there. His 2009 season was cut short by a broken finger that limited him to just 92 games, but he raked when healthy and looked entirely capable in 44 games at the Double-A level. That was enough to get him promoted to Triple-A for the start of the 2010 season, at which point Montero was viewed as a consensus top-5 prospect in the sport. Baseball America went as far as to name him the sport’s #3 prospect, behind only future Hall of Famers Bryce Harper and Mike Trout. Montero did what he could to deliver on the hype at Triple-A in 2010, slashing .289/.353/.517 with 21 homers and 34 doubles in 123 games.

The next step for Montero was the majors, and after spending most of the 2011 season at Triple-A he finally made his big league debut with the Yankees on September 1 against the Red Sox at Fenway Park. While he did not record a hit in his first big league game, Montero was hit by a pitch in his first game and recorded a run scored. He went on to post incredible numbers down the stretch, with a .328/.406/.590 slash line across 69 plate appearances. He made the Yankees’ postseason roster and got into Game 4 of the ALDS against the Tigers, where he went 2-for-2 with a run scored and an RBI.

That would be Montero’s last appearance in a Yankees uniform. In January of 2012, he was traded to the Mariners in what at the time was viewed as a blockbuster deal. Montero and teammate Hector Noesi were shipped to Seattle in exchange for All-Star right-hander Michael Pineda and pitching prospect Jose Campos. Pineda didn’t live up to his sensational rookie campaign after being traded to New York, but did manage to post a solid 4.16 ERA in 89 starts from 2014 to 2017 with the Yankees after battling injuries in his first two seasons with the team. Neither Noesi nor Campos had much impact in the majors, though Noesi did manage to pitch in parts for six MLB seasons.

As for Montero, the star prospect split time between catcher and DH for the Mariners in 2012 as an everyday player. Unfortunately, his season did not go as either he or Seattle were surely hoping it would. Montero was solid enough at the plate but hit just .260/.298/.386 with 15 doubles and 20 homers. It was a roughly league average performance, but with Montero still in his age-22 campaign there was plenty of reason for optimism that he would be able to take off in the future. That did not come to pass, however, as Montero struggled early in the 2013 season before being sidelined by a torn meniscus and accepting a 50-game suspension as part of the Biogensis scandal.

A combination of injuries, under-performance, and the aforementioned suspension left Montero limited to just 73 games in the majors between 2013 and 2015. In that time, he hit a disappointing .217/.255/.374 in 243 plate appearances. Prior to the 2016 season, the Mariners designated Montero for assignment. He went on to play in the minor leagues for the Blue Jays and Orioles throughout the 2016 and ’17 seasons and even found himself named to the Triple-A All-Star game during his time with Triple-A Buffalo, but was suspended for a second time for the use of a banned substance.

Montero played in the Mexican League in 2017 and 2018 before logging 29 games in Venezuelan winter league play. He played his last professional baseball game during the 2020-21 winter league season. In all, Montero made it into 226 MLB games across parts of five seasons and hit .253/.295/.398 with 28 home runs and 31 doubles.

We at MLB Trade Rumors send our condolences to Montero’s family, friends, loved ones and former teammates.

Joey Loperfido Replaces Anthony Santander On Blue Jays’ Playoff Roster

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Major League Baseball has officially approved the substitution of Joey Loperfido for Anthony Santander on the Blue Jays’ playoff roster. Manager John Schneider told reporters (including Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet) this evening that Santander was dealing with back stiffness. His season is over.

Teams set their postseason rosters at the beginning of each series. They can only make changes mid-series in the event of an injury. A player removed midway through a series is ineligible for the following series if his team advances, so Santander could not participate in the World Series if the Jays come back to beat the Mariners.

Injuries essentially ruined Santander’s first season in Toronto. He was out between the end of May and the middle of September with a left shoulder issue. He didn’t return until the final week of the regular season. Santander has appeared in five of the Jays’ seven postseason games. He missed Game 2 of the ALCS with lower back soreness. Santander returned to the lineup for Game 3 but was replaced by Myles Straw as a defensive substitute in the fifth inning. He finishes his postseason with a 3-15 showing with a pair of runs batted in.

While Davis Schneider drew into the lineup when Santander was out for Game 2, it’s Isiah Kiner-Falefa who picks up the extra playing time tonight. He’s in at second base and batting eighth against Luis Castillo. That pushes Ernie Clement to third base and Addison Barger from the hot corner to right field.

The Jays have carried the same 13 position players for their Division Series and the ALCS. Loperfido had been inactive for both series despite hitting .333/.379/.500 across 41 games during the regular season. He was the only real candidate to join the roster as a left-handed bench bat in Santander’s place. Bo Bichette and Ty France are injured and weren’t ready to go for the beginning of the series. Leo Jiménez finished the season on the Triple-A injured list, leaving light-hitting outfielder Jonatan Clase (who spent the entire second half in Triple-A) as the only other healthy position player on the 40-man roster.

Mitch Bannon and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported that Santander would be removed from the roster. Nicholson-Smith was first to confirm that Loperfido would be the replacement.

MLBTR Podcast: Murakami To Be Posted This Offseason, Managerial Vacancies, And More!

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

  • Munetaka Murakami to be posted for MLB clubs this offseason (2:20)
  • Ten teams will go into 2026 with a new manager, with eight of those jobs currently vacant (18:50)

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • Can the Mets get Tarik Skubal from the Tigers? (29:55)
  • Would Pete Alonso return to the Mets if they offered $150MM over five years? (38:20)
  • The White Sox have a lot of #4 or #5 starters. Which other teams might be interested in them? (40:00)
  • The Nationals have lots of outfielders, one of whom is 6’7″ tall, and no first baseman. Is it stupid to consider James Wood for first base? (44:20)
  • Will this finally be the Mariners’ year and can they keep Josh Naylor? (49:20)

Check out our past episodes!

  • Rockies’ Front Office Changes, Skip Schumaker, And ABS Talk – listen here
  • Mike Elias On The State Of The Orioles – listen here
  • The Tigers And Astros Try To Hang On, And Brewers’ Rotation Issues – listen here

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images

Mariners Add Bryan Woo, Miles Mastrobuoni To ALCS Roster

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The Mariners announced the 26 players who will be part of their American League Championship Series roster against the Blue Jays.  After using a complement of 14 pitchers and 12 position players against the Tigers in the ALDS, the M’s will use an even 13 pitchers and 13 position players to navigate their series with Toronto.  The full list…

Catchers: Harry Ford, Mitch Garver, Cal Raleigh
Infielders: J.P. Crawford, Josh Naylor, Jorge Polanco, Leo Rivas, Eugenio Suarez
Outfielders: Randy Arozarena, Dominic Canzone, Victor Robles, Julio Rodriguez
Utility player: Miles Mastrobuoni
Left-handed pitchers: Caleb Ferguson, Gabe Speier
Right-handed pitchers: Eduard Bazardo, Matt Brash, Luis Castillo, Logan Gilbert, Emerson Hancock, Luke Jackson, George Kirby, Bryce Miller, Andres Munoz, Carlos Vargas, Bryan Woo

The biggest story is Woo’s return, as the right-hander hasn’t pitched since suffering pectoral tightness in a start against the Astros on September 19.  Woo’s ramp-up work didn’t quite allow him to be ready for Seattle’s ALDS roster, but president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said on Friday after the Mariners’ Game 5 clinch that Woo would likely be part of the roster against Toronto.

Dipoto specified that Woo wouldn’t be available until closer to midway through the series, which would seemingly line him up for a start in Game 4.  Because Gilbert and Castillo were both needed in the 15-inning finale against Detroit, the Mariners’ rotation plans over the first two ALCS games in Toronto are very much up in the air.  Miller will start Game 1 on short rest and it can be assumed that Kirby will start Game 3 on regular rest, but it remains to be seen if Castillo and/or Gilbert will be involved in Game 2, and in what capacity.

Woo takes the roster spot of rookie infielder Ben Williamson, who didn’t see any action in the ALDS (and hasn’t played in a big league game since July 30).  Williamson’s inclusion on the ALDS roster was largely as a hedge against Josh Naylor potentially missing time on paternity leave, so the Mariners wouldn’t be left short-handed in terms of infield depth.  As it happened, Naylor played in all five games against Detroit and was still able to welcome his first child into the world.

Seattle’s other change comes on the bench, with one left-handed utilityman in Mastrobuoni replacing another in Luke Raley.  Mastrobuoni doesn’t have Raley’s offensive upside, but brings more to the table in pure versatility.  Raley can play first base and all three outfield positions, but Mastrobuoni saw work at both corner outfield slots and at first base in 2025, as well as time as a second and third baseman.  Essentially, Mastrobuoni’s inclusion allows the Mariners to replace Raley and Williamson in one fell swoop.  Raley came off the bench in four games of the ALDS, with one hit-by-pitch over six plate appearances.

Poll: Who Will Win The League Championship Series?

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The postseason field has been narrowed down to four teams, in mostly chalk fashion.  Each member of the final four is a division winner, and three of the clubs received first-round byes.  The Dodgers were the only club who had to advance through the wild card round, and the reigning World Series champs aren’t exactly underdogs.  In fact, all of the Brewers, Mariners, and Blue Jays had a lot more questions to answer about their playoff readiness given a recent lack of postseason success, yet all three teams were up to the task in winning their League Championship Series matchups.

Only the Yankees have reached the World Series more times than the Dodgers, who are vying for the franchise’s 23rd trip to the Fall Classic.  Los Angeles is the defending champion aiming for its third ring in six seasons, against three teams with much less of a postseason resume.  The Blue Jays are a perfect 2-0 in the club’s only two World Series appearances, but they last reached the Series in 1993.  The Brewers’ lone Series appearance was so long ago (in 1982) that the club was still in the American League, and Milwaukee fell to the Cardinals in a seven-game nail-biter.  The Mariners can get a big albatross off their backs just by winning the AL pennant, as Seattle is the only team in Major League Baseball to have never reached a World Series.

The ALCS between the Mariners and Blue Jays carries some added historical import since the two teams both joined MLB in 1977.  The only previous playoff series between the two expansion cousins took place in 2022, when Seattle swept Toronto in two games in the best-of-three wild card series, and made an epic comeback from an 8-1 run deficit to capture a 10-9 win in Game 2.  That crushing loss was part of the 0-6 playoff record the Jays carried during the Vladimir Guerrero Jr. era, before Toronto broke out with a dominant win over the Yankees in this year’s ALDS.

Blue Jays hitters erupted for 34 runs and a collective .338/.373/.601 slash line over the four games against New York.  While that level of an explosion came as a surprise, Toronto led the league in both batting average and OBP this season, while also finishing near the top of the table in runs and OPS.  Seattle’s season-long numbers weren’t quite as impressive, yet the club has been one of baseball’s best offensive teams since Josh Naylor and Eugenio Suarez were acquired at the trade deadline.  Led by these two big bats, Julio Rodriguez, Jorge Polanco, and the all-around brilliance of MVP candidate Cal Raleigh, the Mariners’ powerful lineup will provide the Jays’ pitching staff with a huge challenge.

In terms of run prevention, the Blue Jays have a significant edge on defense.  Toronto had a collective +51 Defensive Runs Saves and +14 Outs Above Average in the regular season, in comparison to Seattle’s +9 DRS and -30 OAA.  This could potentially help the Jays counter the Mariners’ deeper rotation, as with Bryan Woo expected to return from injury in the ALCS, all five of the M’s regular starters will be available in some capacity.  How exactly those starters will be deployed is still a matter of debate, as George Kirby, Logan Gilbert, and Luis Castillo all had to pitch during Seattle’s 15-inning marathon with the Tigers in Game 5 of the ALDS.

The Blue Jays held a 4-2 edge in the season series with the Mariners this year, and have the homefield advantage as the AL’s top seed.  That is a significant point for a Jays team that is 56-27 at Rogers Centre during the regular season and playoffs, plus the Mariners’ road record is only 40-43.  Turning to the National League, the Brewers and Dodgers each had identical 52-29 home records in the regular season, and Milwaukee was an impressive 45-36 away from home, while the Dodgers were only 41-40 on the road.

The other eye-opening statistic is Milwaukee’s perfect 6-0 record in head-to-head play against Los Angeles this season.  As daunting as the Dodgers’ star-studded roster may be, the Brewers have had their number in 2025, and will now have to try and do it again in the postseason.  L.A. has won the only two prior postseason series between the two franchises, including a seven-game win in the 2018 NLCS.

That 2018 season marked the last time the Brew Crew won a playoff series until their five-game win over the Cubs in this year’s NLDS.  The series as a whole was a demonstration of the kind of quality pitching and timely hitting that the Brewers have enjoyed all season.  A relative lack of power is basically the only flaw for a lineup that posted tremendous numbers, but Andrew Vaughn’s career turn-around since being acquired by the Brewers in June has added a new dimension to the offense.

A pair of shaky starts from Freddy Peralta and Quinn Priester at Wrigley Field could be red flags for the Brewers against L.A.  Peralta pitched well enough in Game 1 that his Game 4 performance might just be a hiccup, yet if Priester can’t get on track, the Brewers will have to lean even harder on a bullpen that has already logged a lot of innings in the NLDS.  Milwaukee is as creative as any team in getting the most out of its pitching staff, so expect plenty of unconventional pitcher usage as the Brewers will try to keep the Dodgers at bay.

After a somewhat underwhelming regular season by their high standards, the Dodgers may have flipped the switch for October, sweeping the Reds in the wild card series and then dispatching the Phillies in a four-game NLDS.  Even with several stars (Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, and an injury-diminished Will Smith) yet to get rolling at the plate, the Dodgers have been aided by a red-hot Mookie Betts and contributions from up and down their seasoned lineup.

Roki Sasaki’s emergence as the club’s seeming first choice at closer has been huge for Los Angeles, and perhaps addresses the team’s biggest weakness.  If Sasaki is now a high-leverage option late in games and the excellent L.A. starting rotation remains in form, the Brewers have a pretty narrow window to strike against the rest of the struggling Dodger bullpen.

Seven Players Elect Free Agency

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Now that the season is over, we’ll start seeing several players choose to become minor league free agents. Major League free agents (i.e. players with six-plus years of big league service time) will hit the open market five days after the end of the World Series, but eligible minor leaguers can already start electing free agency.

To qualify, these players must have been all outrighted off their team’s 40-man rosters during the 2025 season without being added back. These players also must have multiple career outrights on their resume, and/or at least three years of Major League service time.

We’ll offer periodic updates over the coming weeks about many other players hitting the market in this fashion. These free agent decisions are all listed on the official MLB.com or MILB.com transactions pages, for further reference.

Infielders

Outfielders

Pitchers

Bryan Woo Expected To Be Part Of Mariners’ ALCS Roster

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After an epic 15-inning win over the Tigers in Game Five of the ALDS, the Mariners are advancing to their first AL Championship Series since 2001.  The club’s hard-worked pitching staff will likely be getting some major reinforcements, as M’s president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto told reporters (including the Seattle Times’ Adam Jude) that right-hander Bryan Woo is expected to added to the Mariners’ roster for the next round.

Woo probably won’t pitch until closer to the midpoint of the series, Dipoto said.  This means Woo is being lined up for a start when the ALCS shifts to Seattle for Games 3-4 and (if necessary) 5.  It also leaves open the question of who exactly will be starting for the Mariners in the first two games in Toronto, as the M’s used starters Logan Gilbert and Luis Castillo out of the bullpen during last night’s 15-inning marathon.  Gilbert threw 34 pitches over two innings of relief, and Castillo threw 15 pitches over 1 1/3 frames.

Dipoto told Shannon Drayer of Seattle Sports 710 radio last night that “probably Bryce [Miller] and friends” would be the plan for Game 1, “but for a couple of days we may have to be creative…simply because so many guys had to pitch in today.”  Miller would be working on three days’ rest if he started Game 1, so as Dipoto implied, the bullpen may be leaned on again in what would probably be a limited start for the righty.  Castillo is probably the favorite to go in Game 2 with Gilbert’s availability also a question, and in theory, this could line up Gilbert for Game 3, George Kirby in Game 4, and Woo in Game if the M’s chose to deploy their full rotation.  This assumes that Woo will be used in a normal starting capacity, and holding him off until the middle of the series would give the right-hander more time to fully ramp up.

Woo posted a 2.94 ERA over 186 2/3 innings during the regular season, but he developed pectoral tightness in a start on September 19 that forced him out of the game after five shutout innings.  Woo hasn’t pitched since, though he wasn’t placed on the 15-day injured list, and he was able to throw a bullpen session and a simulated inning prior to the start of the ALDS.  Jude wrote prior to Game 5 that Woo threw close to 30 pitches during a bullpen session on Friday, and “appeared to be throwing at roughly 75 percent effort” before kicking things up “closer to 100 percent” for the final few pitches of the session.

Seattle and Toronto don’t have to reveal their ALCS rosters until tomorrow, so we’ll get the final word then on Woo’s involvement and whose spot he’ll be taking on the 26-man.  The move to a seven-game series likely means the Mariners will carry an extra pitcher after using 14 position players and 12 pitchers in the ALDS, so a rookie like Ben Williamson or Harry Ford could be the odd man out.

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