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Rangers Acquire Jake Burger

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10:15am: Both clubs announced the deal today.

12:21am: The Rangers and Marlins have reportedly agreed to a deal that’ll send corner infielder Jake Burger to Texas for a trio of prospects. Miami receives infielders Max Acosta and Echedry Vargas as well as pitching prospect Brayan Mendoza.

Burger adds an affordable bat to deepen the Texas lineup. The Rangers surprisingly struggled to produce offense this year. Texas had a .238/.305/.380 team batting line that slotted in the bottom third of the league. They finished 18th in scoring. It was a far cry from the 2023 lineup that mashed its way to a championship.

The 28-year-old Burger can step into the middle of the order. He popped 29 home runs with a .250/.306/.460 slash line over 579 plate appearances. The former first-round pick combined for 34 longballs between the White Sox and Marlins in 2023. His 63 homers over the past two seasons ties him with José Ramírez and Corey Seager for 15th in MLB.

Burger, a righty hitter, is more of a one-dimensional slugger than many of his peers at the top of the home run leaderboard. He’s a .250/.305/.488 hitter over the last two years. Burger strikes out a higher than average rate and doesn’t draw many walks, but he has gotten to his huge power against pitchers of either handedness. He’s a career .244/.298/.496 hitter against lefty pitching and carries a .253/.308/.478 slash versus right-handers.

A third baseman for most of his career, Burger divided his time fairly evenly between the infield corners in 2024. He’s a poor defender at the hot corner, where his 6’2″, 230-pound frame limits his mobility. Burger posted roughly average defensive marks at first base in nearly 500 innings. While he doesn’t project as the starter at either position in Arlington, he’s insurance at both spots. Third baseman Josh Jung has battled a litany of injuries. Nathaniel Lowe has a strong durability track record, but he’s not guaranteed to stick on the roster all year. The Rangers could think about trading Lowe, who is projected for a hefty $10.7MM arbitration salary, if they’re working with a tight budget after committing to a $25MM annual salary to retain Nathan Eovaldi.

If they hold Lowe, Burger would project as the top option at designated hitter. That’d allow the Rangers to keep Wyatt Langford in left field, while Evan Carter could slide to center field and push Leody Taveras to the bench. That’s seemingly a goal for GM Chris Young and his staff. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News wrote on Tuesday evening that Texas had been in contact with free agent DH Joc Pederson. That’s a far less likely fit now that Burger is in the fold.

Burger is under team control for four seasons. He finished five days shy of the cutoff to qualify for early arbitration as a Super Two player. He’ll be paid close to the league minimum for one more season before getting his first salary of significance next offseason. That’s of clear appeal to a Texas team that has a projected luxury tax number around $219MM (courtesy of RosterResource), a little more than $20MM shy of the base threshold. With a reported desire to avoid the tax and multiple holes in the bullpen they still need to address, Burger’s affordability is a big plus.

From Miami’s perspective, it’s another move to shape the roster more to the liking of second-year baseball operations leader Peter Bendix. Former general manager Kim Ng made the move to acquire Burger at the ’23 deadline. It’s possible Bendix was never enamored with the profile, as he comes from a Rays front office that placed a lot of emphasis on infield defense and versatility.

Acosta, 22, steps onto Miami’s 40-man roster. Texas selected his contract last month to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. The Venezuelan-born infielder hit .288/.353/.425 with eight homers over 434 plate appearances at Double-A Frisco. He’s an advanced contact hitter with minimal power. Acosta has experience at both middle infield positions and could be a utility option in the near future.

Vargas, who turns 20 in February, spent the entire season at Low-A Down East. He popped 14 homers and stole 29 bases in 97 games with a .276/.321/.454 slash line. Vargas has a very aggressive plate approach but there’s a fair amount of upside in the power-speed combination for a player who has played shortstop thus far in his career.

Mendoza, a 6’0″ lefty from Venezuela, had a nice year in the low minors. The 20-year-old combined for a 2.32 earned run average through 101 innings. He struck out 26.3% of batters faced while limiting his walks to a 6.4% clip. While Mendoza hasn’t gotten much public prospect fanfare, he has the look of a potential pichability lefty.

Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic reported the Rangers were acquiring Burger for three prospects. Robert Murray of FanSided was first with Acsota’s inclusion. Christina De Nicola of MLB.com had the Vargas element, while Alden González of ESPN was first on Mendoza. Image courtesy of Imagn.

Max Fried Will Reportedly Choose Destination In Coming Days

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Left-hander Max Fried is one of the top remaining free agents but he could be coming off the board soon. Per a report from Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, Fried is expected to pick his next club by Thursday, with the Yankees, Red Sox and Blue Jays presented as the frontrunners. Rosenthal adds that right-hander Corbin Burnes is generating interest from the same three clubs, with the Giants perhaps involved there as well but not for Fried. The Rangers are mentioned as a possibility for Fried but that’s depicted as more of a long shot, with the Angels listed alongside the Giants as cubs that are not finalists for Fried.

It’s perhaps not a coincidence that the Yankees, Red Sox and Blue Jays were finalists in the Juan Soto frenzy and are now listed as the most likely landing spots for Fried. The general expectation throughout the baseball world has been that the clubs with money to spend would focus on Soto until getting clarity on that situation, with those that missed out then pivoting to other targets. Now that Soto is going to the Mets, that seems to be how things are indeed playing out.

All three clubs are looking to make a big splash, though for different reasons. The Yankees just made it to the World Series, but suffered a deflating five-game loss to the Dodgers in which they looked clearly outmatched. They then lost last year’s big splash when Soto moved from the Bronx to Queens. The Red Sox have been dialing back payroll in recent years with lackluster results to go along with it, though now seem motivated to big big dogs again. The Jays were good during the regular season from 2020 to 2023 but suffered heartbreaking ends in each of those years, narrowly missing the playoffs in one of them with three quick postseason exits in the others. They followed that up with a dismal 2024 season that saw them fall to the basement of the A.L. East.

In different ways, each club is looking to both improve their respective rosters for next year while also perhaps mollifying a restive fanbase. Soto would have been one way of doing that but that’s now off the table.

Fried, 31 in January, has been a strong pitcher at the major league level for quite some time. He got brief big league looks in 2017 and 2018 but has been an established big leaguer for the past six seasons. From 2019 to the present, he has tossed 824 2/3 innings, allowing 3.06 earned runs per nine. His 23.8% strikeout rate and 6.4% walk rate in that time were both a bit above average while his 54.1% ground ball rate was excellent. Only Framber Valdez and Logan Webb had better ground ball rates for that time, among pitchers with at least 550 innings pitched, and Fried had a slightly better strikeout rate than those two. Fried was also a key part of Atlanta’s postseason rotations throughout that time.

There is a little bit of injury risk, as Fried was limited to 14 starts last year due to a forearm strain and had a brief IL stint in 2024 due to neuritis in that same forearm. That’s bit concerning but Fried managed to make 29 starts this year, logging 174 1/3 innings, and there hasn’t been anything to suggest he won’t be healthy for 2025.

At the start of the offseason, MLBTR predicted Fried could land a six-year deal with a $156MM guarantee, though it’s possible that Fried’s earning power has jumped since then. Pitchers like Luis Severino, Yusei Kikuchi, Frankie Montas, Matthew Boyd and Clay Holmes have outearned expectations and the massive Soto deal has perhaps altered industry spending expectations more generally.

For the Yankees, they don’t strictly need pitching. Their rotation is already fairly deep with Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón, Clarke Schmidt, Luis Gil, Marcus Stroman, Nestor Cortes and other options on the roster. However, Fried would certainly upgrade that group and they could then perhaps use the surplus to make a trade, with both Stroman and Cortes have been in previous rumors.

Boston’s chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has said he would like to raise the ceiling of the club’s rotation, which currently has a core three of Tanner Houck, Brayan Bello and Kutter Crawford. The Sox will get Lucas Giolito back at some point during the 2025 season, once he recovers from last year’s elbow surgery. They have depth options like Richard Fitts, Cooper Criswell and Quinn Priester but adding Fried would help the club with its aims of improving the rotation and the club more generally.

The Toronto rotation has a veteran core of Kevin Gausman, José Berríos and Chris Bassitt. It seems likely that Bowden Francis will get a shot at having a spot next year since he was so strong in the second half of 2024. Yariel Rodríguez is an option for the fifth spot but he also has plenty of relief experience and could get bumped to the bullpen. Jake Bloss is on the roster and has encouraging potential but limited experience and could be ticketed for the Triple-A rotation.

While all three clubs are looking at Fried, they have another option in Burnes. He has flashed a higher ceiling than Fried but hasn’t hit that ceiling in the past two years. From 2020 to 2022, he posted a 2.62 ERA with a 33.4% strikeout rate, 6.4% walk rate and 47.6% ground ball rate. Over the past two seasons, his 3.15 ERA has still been a strong mark but with a diminished strikeout rate of 24.3%. He is still perceived as a strong option on account of his durability and overall strong results, with MLBTR predicted him for a $200MM guarantee over seven years.

The Giants make sense for a rotation addition and seemingly prefer Burnes to Fried. Their rotation currently consists of Webb, Robbie Ray and Kyle Harrison. President of baseball operations Buster Posey said this week that Jordan Hicks will get another shot at a rotation job. Guys like Hayden Birdsong and Landen Roupp could battle for the fifth spot but getting Burnes would obviously be a boon to the group.

Both Burnes and Fried rejected qualifying offers and are therefore associated with penalties, which differ depending on who ultimately signs them. The Giants are perhaps the most interesting club in this group as they already agreed to sign QO guy in Willy Adames. Since they paid the competitive balance tax last year, that means forfeiting $1MM of international bonus pool space and two draft picks, while signing another QO would effectively double that.

The Rangers’ interest in Fried was reported previously but also characterized as more of a long shot. They definitely want rotation upgrades, including a hope of re-signing Nathan Eovaldi, but they might need more clarity on their finances. They no longer have a broadcast deal with Diamond Sports Group and have been looking into creating their own regional sports network but haven’t quite figured that all out yet. They are reportedly hoping to stay under the CBT in 2025 and they might need to make progress on the broadcast deal before throwing big money around.

The Angels are seemingly only mentioned to touch on Fried’s potential geographic preferences. Fried was born and raised in Southern California, then committed to UCLA before being drafted by the Padres. He was traded to Atlanta as a prospect and has spent his entire major league career with them so far. That club has signed many players to extensions but Fried wasn’t one of them. Rosenthal relays that some clubs feared Fried would prefer to return to the West Coast but it seems his three primary suitors are all A.L. East clubs.

Time will tell how things play out with Fried and Burnes, but it seems that the expected post-Soto domino effect might be coming to pass. As clubs pivot to plan B or plan C or plan D, guys like Fried and Burnes are seeing their markets heat up, which could potentially also impact guys like Alex Bregman, Pete Alonso and others soon as well.

Rangers Interested In Max Fried, A.J. Minter, Jonathan Loáisiga

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As the Rangers look to replace the many arms they lost to free agency this winter, three more targets have emerged: left-handed starter Max Fried, left-handed reliever A.J. Minter, and right-handed reliever Jonathan Loáisiga.

The news that Texas is interested in Fried comes from The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon. They confirm that re-signing Nathan Eovaldi remains the team’s primary goal but suggest the Rangers are considering Fried as one potential alternative. However, their interest seems to be casual, at least for now. After Corbin Burnes, Fried is arguably the top starting pitcher available in free agency. That means he’s going to command significantly more money than Eovaldi. Entering the offseason, the MLBTR staff predicted Fried would sign a six-year, $156MM deal; Eovaldi’s predicted contract was a two-year, $44MM pact. Thus, as the Rangers look to duck under the luxury tax threshold and continue to deal with TV revenue uncertainty, financial constraints could prevent them from signing any star free agents. In other words, it seems like the Rangers are keeping tabs on Fried, but a deal remains unlikely.

The bullpen is perhaps a bigger area of concern for Texas. The only four pitchers who threw more than 50 innings out of the Rangers bullpen in 2024 are all free agents: Kirby Yates, David Robertson, José Leclerc, and José Ureña. What’s more Josh Sborz is going to miss significant time again after undergoing shoulder surgery. President of baseball operations Chris Young has already made a couple of small additions, claiming Roansy Contreras off of waivers from the Angels and signing Luis Curvelo to a major league deal, but neither is the type of proven, high-leverage arm the Rangers desperately need. Ideally, the Rangers would be in the market for a bona fide closer like Tanner Scott or an All-Star talent like Jeff Hoffman. However, a lack of payroll flexibility could explain why they’re targeting a pair of bounce-back candidates instead.

Over the past five seasons, Minter has pitched to a 2.85 ERA and 3.04 SIERA in 243 innings of work for the Braves. While he only has 36 career saves, the southpaw has experience pitching late in games. He also has several years of playoff experience. In 25 postseason frames, he has a 2.88 ERA and 2.63 SIERA. The reason for hesitation when it comes to Minter, is that he spent two long stints on the injured list nursing a hip injury this past season. He ultimately needed surgery, and it’s not yet clear how soon he’ll be able to return. That said, a hip injury is far less worrisome than an arm-related issue, and Minter was highly durable from 2020-23. Only three relievers made more appearances in that time. Thus, Jon Morosi of MLB Network reports that Minter is among the “most popular” left-handed relievers on the free agent market, linking him to the Braves, Cubs, and Rangers. He was also linked to the Blue Jays earlier this offseason.

Loáisiga has not been nearly as durable as Minter throughout his career, but the upside is appealing. He was one of the top relievers in the game in 2021, putting up a 2.17 ERA and 3.01 SIERA in 70 2/3 innings for the Yankees. Unfortunately, various arm injuries have gotten in his way ever since. He dealt with shoulder inflammation in 2022, bone spurs in his elbow in 2023, and, most recently, he underwent an internal brace procedure in April 2024. The rehab timeline for an internal brace procedure is typically 10-12 months, which means Loáisiga could be back to full strength in time for Opening Day. That being the case, it’s not hard to see why he has so many suitors, including the Yankees, Mets, Blue Jays, and now, according to Jorge Castillo of ESPN, the Padres and Rangers. While it’s been a long time since Loáisiga was a reliable big league reliever, it’s easy to dream about the upside of his 98 mph sinker and lethal curveball. So, it comes as little surprise that he is expected to sign a major league deal this winter (per Castillo).

Rangers Still Pursuing Reunion With Nathan Eovaldi

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The Rangers continue to pursue a reunion with free agent starter Nathan Eovaldi, GM Chris Young confirmed today at the Winter Meetings. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports that Texas has a meeting scheduled with the right-hander’s representatives on Monday evening.

Eovaldi is one of the better unsigned pitchers in a quick-moving rotation market. Unlike Corbin Burnes and Max Fried, he’ll be limited to a relatively short-term deal. Eovaldi turns 35 in February. That’s an age at which very few free agent pitchers get three years. Using MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, we see that there are only three free agent starters 35 or older who signed for at least three years within the past decade: Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer and Rich Hill.

MLBTR thus predicted two years at a hefty $22MM average annual value for Eovaldi. The rotation market has been quite strong early on, however, so it’s not out of the question that he gets to three years on a deal that pushes past $60MM total. Even if he’s limited to two years, it’ll very likely cost north of $20MM annually.

It’s not clear whether the Rangers would find that price palatable. They’ve scaled back spending in consecutive winters as they navigate an uncertain future with their in-market television deal. Grant reported in October that Texas was hoping to keep their luxury tax number below next year’s $241MM base threshold. RosterResource calculates the Rangers’ CBT number around $195MM. They’ve got a decent amount of flexibility, but something like $22MM annually for Eovaldi would account for nearly half the gap. Texas needs to acquire multiple relievers as well, and teams generally prefer to leave some payroll space for deadline acquisitions. A club’s luxury tax number isn’t calculated until the end of the season, so salary taken on midseason counts towards it on a prorated basis.

Eovaldi unsurprisingly has broad appeal on the market. He has gotten reported interest from the Orioles, Mets, Braves and Red Sox. He still has above-average velocity and is coming off a 3.80 ERA showing with good strikeout and walk numbers. Eovaldi also has a strong reputation for his performance in the postseason, including a 2.95 ERA over six starts during the Rangers’ 2023 World Series run.

Rangers Sign Adrian Houser To Minors Contract

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The Rangers have signed right-hander Adrian Houser to a minor league deal, according to Just Baseball Media’s Aram Leighton (via X).  The contract contains an invitation to the Rangers’ big league spring camp.

It was just under a year ago that the Mets acquired Houser and Tyrone Taylor from the Brewers, as New York president of baseball operations David Stearns looked to bolster the Mets’ roster with two familiar faces from his old position in Milwaukee.  Taylor delivered respectable production as part of New York’s outfield mix, but Houser had a much rougher time in the Big Apple, posting a 5.84 ERA over 69 1/3 innings.

Injuries to other pitchers opened the door for Houser to begin the season in the Mets’ rotation, and he temporarily moved back to starting pitching when the Mets briefly adopted a six-man rotation.  The splits were pretty stark — Houser had an 8.55 ERA in 33 2/3 innings as a starter and a 3.28 ERA in 35 2/3 innings as a reliever, with those bullpen assignments usually coming in multi-inning form.

While it seemed like Houser had found his groove as a long reliever, the Mets opted to designate him for assignment and then release him in late July.  The Cubs and Orioles each signed Houser to minor league contracts during the season but those deals failed to translate into any more big league playing time for the righty.

Houser has started 104 of his 152 career Major League games, delivering solid-to-passable results as a swingman for the Brewers for much of his career.  A grounder specialist whose career strikeout rate is only 18.5%, Houser’s results in 2024 could somewhat close the door on his usage as a starter, even if the Rangers could see value in having a swingman around as rotation depth.  Beyond just last year’s splits, Houser has a 2.32 ERA in 97 career innings as a reliever, as compared to a much less impressive 4.57 ERA in 511 2/3 frames as a starter.

Relief pitching is also a much more significant need for a Rangers team could lose most of its 2024 bullpen (Kirby Yates, David Robertson, Jose Leclerc, Jose Urena, and Andrew Chafin) to free agency, plus Josh Sborz will be out until at least the start of June due to offseason shoulder surgery.  A multi-inning reliever like Houser could eat some up valuable innings out of the bullpen, while also providing a rotation safety net.  The current Texas pitching staff of Jacob deGrom, Jon Gray, Tyler Mahle, Kumar Rocker, and Jack Leiter is full of health question marks or inexperienced arms, so in addition to depth signings like Houser, the Rangers are also hoping to re-sign at least one of Nathan Eovaldi or Andrew Heaney.

MLBTR Podcast: Blake Snell, Dodger Fatigue, And The Simmering Hot Stove

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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…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • What would the Pirates have to give to the Red Sox to get Triston Casas? (48:20)
  • Why is Cody Bellinger’s deal so tough for the Cubs to trade? (54:15)

Check out our past episodes!

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

Rangers Sign Kyle Higashioka To Two-Year Deal

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The Rangers announced the signing of catcher Kyle Higashioka to a two-year contract with a mutual option for 2027. Higashioka, a Beverly Hills Sports Council client, is reportedly guaranteed $13.5MM. He’ll make successive salaries of $5.75MM and $6.75MM over the next two seasons. He’s also guaranteed a $1MM buyout on the ’27 option, which is valued at $7MM. The Rangers now have 39 players on their 40-man roster.

Higashioka was one of the top catchers in a weak free agent class. He’d been a first-time free agent even though he’ll turn 35 in April. Drafted out of high school by the Yankees in 2008, Higashioka spent nine seasons in the minors before he got his first big league call. He bounced on and off the MLB roster for another three years. It wasn’t until he’d exhausted his minor league options that he got a permanent big league job in 2020.

New York never gave Higashioka a look as a legitimate starting catcher. He spent four-plus seasons in a backup role while working as Gerrit Cole’s personal catcher. The Yankees packaged him to the Padres in last winter’s Juan Soto blockbuster. While San Diego was looking for a veteran backup who could work behind Luis Campusano, Higashioka was generally viewed as the final piece of their five-player Soto return.

The Huntington Beach native ended up as a surprisingly key contributor to San Diego’s 93-win team. Campusano struggled on both sides of the ball and eventually played his way off the big league roster. Higashioka, on the other hand, had the best season of his career. He hit a personal-high 17 home runs over 84 games. The longball made him a decent offensive player despite terrible on-base marks. Higashioka ran a bizarre .220/.263/.476 batting line over 267 trips to the plate.

Only 21 hitters (minimum 200 plate appearances) had a lower on-base percentage. Still, Higashioka is the only player who ranked among MLB’s bottom 30 in OBP who nevertheless graded as an above-average overall hitter by measure of wRC+ — a testament to his power production. By year’s end, Higashioka had overtaken Campusano as Mike Shildt’s starting catcher. He drilled three more homers in seven postseason games.

Higashioka has earned a solid defensive reputation. Statcast has looked favorably on his pitch framing skills, while he’s generally well-regarded for his ability to work with a pitching staff. Higashioka has struggled as a blocker in consecutive seasons, though. He was charged with nine passed balls across 665 2/3 innings this year. Only Francisco Alvarez (11) was charged with more. Korey Lee and Patrick Bailey tied Higashioka with nine passed balls, but they each caught 150+ more innings than he did. Statcast placed him in the bottom third of qualified catchers in average pop time, though his 20% caught stealing rate was in line with the MLB average.

The on-base deficiencies and perhaps some concern about his arm strength have kept Higashioka from getting a full-time starting job. He has never tallied 300 plate appearances in an MLB season. Teams have viewed him more as a high-quality backup than a true #1 catcher.

Texas has 2023 All-Star Jonah Heim as their primary option behind the plate. Heim had a disappointing ’24 campaign, slumping to a .220/.267/.336 line over 491 plate appearances. Heim has topped 125 games in three straight seasons. Between the regular season and playoffs, he appeared in 148 contests in 2023. Higashioka isn’t likely to supplant him as the starting catcher, but the veteran’s presence could allow manager Bruce Bochy to scale back Heim’s workload by 15-20 games.

Texas got almost nothing out of backup catcher Andrew Knizner for the first few months of the season. The Rangers acquired Carson Kelly at the deadline, but he stumbled to a .235/.291/.343 showing in 31 games. With Kelly hitting free agency, GM Chris Young and his staff targeted Higashioka to hopefully solidify the catching corps.

RosterResource now calculates the Rangers’ payroll around $185MM, while they have about $195MM in luxury tax obligations. Texas reportedly intends to stay underneath the tax threshold in 2025. They’ve got around $46MM in breathing room before they hit that mark, though it’s unclear precisely where ownership will draw the line as the Rangers try to arrange a new setup for their in-market local broadcasting.

Higashioka’s deal meets expectations. MLBTR predicted he’d receive a two-year, $15MM pact that’s marginally higher than what he actually landed. Four free agent catchers have come off the board within the first few weeks of the offseason. Higashioka joins Travis d’Arnaud as recipients of multi-year deals, while Jacob Stallings and Austin Hedges each signed for one guaranteed season. Alongside Kelly, Danny Jansen stands as the top free agent for teams looking for help behind the dish.

The Padres are one of those clubs. Higashioka’s departure leaves the Padres with an obvious need behind the plate. Campusano and Brett Sullivan are the only catchers on their 40-man roster. Neither looks like a viable starter for a team with postseason aspirations. Top prospect Ethan Salas is hopefully the long-term solution, but the teenager is unlikely to make an MLB impact by next season.

Jon Morosi of the MLB Network first reported the Rangers and Higashioka were making progress on an agreement. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News confirmed the deal was in place. Jeff Wilson of DLLS Sports reported the salary breakdown. Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Diamondbacks Interested In Re-Signing Joc Pederson

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Free agent Joc Pederson is one of the better left-handed bats available and the Diamondbacks are interested in bringing him back, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Rosenthal also mentions the Rays and Rangers as possible landing spots, though those seem more speculative, so it’s unclear to what degree those clubs are interested.

Pederson, 33 in April, is a limited player but does one thing very well. He doesn’t run well nor provide much of anything defensively. He’s also been a liability when a left-hander is on the mound, but he does crush righties.

Last winter, the Diamondbacks signed Pederson to a one-year deal with a $12.5MM guarantee. He got into 132 games for the Snakes this year but didn’t take the field at all. On account of his poor defensive track record, he was used exclusively as a designated hitter or pinch hitter. Of his 449 plate appearances on the year, only 42 of them were against southpaws. He actually produced a strong .219/.405/.344 line and 124 wRC+ in that split thanks to a 16.7% walk rate, and in spite of a 42.9% strikeout rate. But for his career, he has a .210/.300/.330 line and a 76 wRC+ without the platoon advantage.

In his 407 plate appearances against righties this year, his strikeout rate was a far more palatable 21.4%. His 11.8% walk rate was quite a strong, a few ticks above league average. He also hit 22 home runs, which helped him produce a slash of .281/.392/.531 and a 154 wRC+.

Overall, Pederson hit .275/.393/.515 on the year for a 151 wRC+, the second of the past three years with very strong offensive production. He hit .274/.353/.521 with the Giants in 2022 for a 144 wRC+. San Francisco gave him a $19.65MM qualifying offer on the heels of that showing, which he accepted. His batting line dropped to .235/.348/.416 in 2023, for a 109 wRC+, but the Snakes may have had a hunch that was bad luck. His batting average on balls in play went from .310 in 2022 to .268 in 2023, despite his batted ball metrics staying strong. His BABIP corrected to .322 in 2024 and his overall offense climbed back up along with it.

Even with that unlucky dip last year, Pederson has still managed to produce a 135 wRC+ over the past three years combined. Among players with at least 1200 plate appearances in that time frame, that figure is one of the top 15 in the majors, just ahead of guys like José Ramírez, Matt Olson and Rafael Devers. Pederson’s deficiencies put limits on his ability to contribute, but he’s a huge difference maker at the plate. MLBTR predicted him for a two-year, $24MM contract as part of the annual Top 50 Free Agents post.

It’s understandable that the Diamondbacks would want Pederson back, as they saw first-hand what a huge impact he can make at the plate. General manager Mike Hazen has said that he expects the 2025 payroll to be in the same range as 2024. RosterResource currently projects the club for $149MM in spending next year, which is about $14MM shy of last year’s Opening Day figure. Re-signing Pederson would eat up most of that but trading some of Jordan Montgomery’s salary could perhaps create some extra wiggle room for further offseason moves.

For the Rays, they usually aren’t big players in free agency but it wouldn’t be unprecedented to do something like this. Just two years ago, they gave Zach Eflin a $40MM guarantee. RosterResource pegs them at $79MM for next year’s payroll, about $20MM shy of where they started 2024. That could give them some room to work with this offseason, depending on how their ongoing stadium uncertainty is going to impact their spending plans.

In terms of the roster construction, it would be a bit of a pivot for the Rays, as they usually place a high value on defensive versatility. The last time they had one player take more than 400 plate appearances as a designated hitter was Johnny Damon in 2011. But if they view Pederson as the best bat available in their price range, perhaps they would be willing to have him lock up the DH spot, at least against righties.

For the Rangers, as mentioned by Rosenthal, squaring up right-handed pitching was a struggle this year. They put up a collective line of .238/.304/.379 for a wRC+ of 95, putting them in the bottom third of the league. Installing Pederson in their lineup would be the most straightforward way of improving that line in 2025. The club didn’t have a strict designated hitter in 2024, so fitting Pederson in shouldn’t be too hard. 11 different players took at least 22 trips to the plate in that spot in 2024, with Wyatt Langford leading the pack with 105 plate appearances. Pederson’s presence would make it more difficult to spread around the DH time to so many guys, but it could be viewed as worth it, given how good he’s been at the plate recently.

Rangers Finalize 2025 Coaching Staff

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The Rangers formally announced their coaching staff for the upcoming season today, including the additions of bench coach Luis Urueta, assistant pitching coach Dave Bush, bullpen coach Jordan Tiegs and hitting coach Justin Viele.

The 43-year-old Urueta served as the Marlins’ bench coach under Skip Schumaker and also held a bench coach position with the Diamondbacks prior to his time in Miami. The Rangers hired Schumaker as a senior advisor to president of baseball operations Chris Young earlier this month, and it was reported at the time that Urueta was expected to be named bench coach to manager Bruce Bochy. In addition to his time as a bench coach in Miami and Arizona, Urueta spent more than a decade coaching and managing in the D-backs’ minor league system.

Bush, 45, was the Red Sox’ pitching coach from 2020-23 and joined the Rangers as the organization’s director of pitching strategy back in January. He worked with both the coaching staff and front office in that role, and Bush even stepped in as interim pitching coach during the 2024 season when pitching coach Mike Maddux was briefly away from the club.

Tiegs, 37, will be suiting up on a big league coaching staff for the first time but has spent six years in the Rangers organization already. He’s been a pitching coach at multiple minor league levels and worked with the Rangers’ player development staff as the team’s minor league pitching coordinator. He’s also coached college ball at two different schools in his native Indiana (University of Indianapolis and Indiana State University).

Viele’s hiring was first reported back on Nov. 1. The 34-year-old had been an assistant hitting coach with the Giants and overlapped with current Rangers offensive coordinator Donnie Ecker on San Francisco’s staff in 2020-21.

Bochy will be returning to the Rangers for his third year as manager. In addition to Urueta, Bush, Viele and Tiegs, the Rangers will welcome back Ecker, first base coach Corey Ragsdale, third base coach Tony Beasley, catching coach Bobby Wilson, assistant hitting coach Seth Conner and quality control coach Brett Hayes.

Rico Carty Passes Away

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Former All-Star Rico Carty passed away yesterday, according to a report from Dominican newspaper Listin Diario. The 15-year MLB veteran was 85 years old.

Born in San Pedro de Macoris, Carty signed with the then-Milwaukee Braves prior to the 1960 season as a catcher. During his time in the minor leagues, he converted to the outfield and, after a brief cup of coffee in 1963, emerged as the Braves’ regular left fielder during the 1964 season. In 133 games, Carty slashed an excellent .330/.388/.554 with 22 homers and 28 doubles. That excellent season earned him a second place finish behind Phillies infielder Dick Allen in Rookie of the Year voting. Back issues limited Carty to just 83 games the following year, though he continued to hit well when healthy enough to take the field.

Following the Braves’ relocation to Atlanta in 1966, Carty remained a fixture of the club’s lineup. He hit well during the club’s first year in Atlanta but slumped somewhat the following year as he slashed a relatively tepid .255/.329/.401 that, while decent, fell well short of his typical standards as a hitter. Carty then proceeded to miss the 1968 season due to a tuberculosis diagnosis. The ailment wiped out his entire season, but the slugger managed to recovery in time to return to the Braves early in May of 1969. Upon his return, he enjoyed the best offensive season of his career to that point with an excellent .342/.401/.549 slash line in 104 games.

After impressing in his return from illness the previous year, the 1970 season saw Carty reach his peak in his first full season back after recovering from tuberculosis. Then in his age-30 season, the slugger slashed an incredible .366/.454/.584 as he slugged 25 homers and 23 doubles while leading the league in both batting average and on-base percentage across 136 games. The superlative season saw Carty named an All-Star for the first and only time in his career and led him to a tenth-place finish in NL MVP voting behind titans of the game such as Johnny Bench, Billy Williams, Bob Gibson, and Willie McCovey.

Before Carty could follow up on that excellent season, however, he suffered a disastrous knee injury while playing winter ball in the Dominican Republic. He underwent surgery and tried to return to action in time for Spring Training 1971, but ultimately missed the entire season due to the injury. He returned to the lineup in 1972 but struggled to stay healthy once again and found himself limited to 86 games as he hit .277/.378/.408 with just six homers. That was Carty’s final season in a Braves uniform, as he was traded to the Rangers in October 1972.

The 1973 season was a tumultuous one for Carty. After suffering a fractured jaw while playing winter ball in the offseason, he began the season as the first regular DH in Rangers history but hit just .232/.311/.301 in 86 games with the club and bounced from the Cubs to the A’s throughout the remainder of the season after being placed on waivers. Those struggles seemed as though they may be the end of Carty’s career, but he caught fire after signing with the Mexican League’s Cafeteros de Cordoba. That excellent play in Mexico earned him another chance in the big leagues, as Cleveland brass decided to sign him to return to the big leagues.

It’s a gamble that wound up paying off, as Carty would spend four seasons in Ohio. From his signing in 1974 to his departure following the 1978 season, Carty slashed an excellent .303/.372/.455 with 47 homers and 81 doubles as the club’s regular DH. His best season in Cleveland came in 1976, when he slashed .310/.379/.442 and earned some down ballot consideration for the AL MVP award. Carty was traded to the Blue Jays (who had briefly selected him in the 1976 expansion draft before quickly trading him back to Cleveland that same offseason) prior to the 1978 season, and he continued to provide value as he slashed .282/.348/.502 with a career-best 31 homers at the age of 38 in a season split between Toronto and Oakland.

Carty’s big league career came to a close in 1979, when he hit .256/.322/.390 in 132 games for the Blue Jays. He later worked for Toronto as a scout in Latin America and was inducted to the Braves Hall of Fame in 2023. Overall, the 15-year veteran was a career .299/.369/.464 hitter in the big leagues and collected 1677 hits, including 204 home runs, during his time as a major leaguer. MLBTR joins the rest of the baseball world in extending our condolences to Carty’s family, friends, loved ones, and fans.

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