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Rangers Trade Marcus Semien To Mets For Brandon Nimmo

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Nov. 24: The two teams have formally announced the swap.

Nov. 23: In an intriguing one-for-one swap of prominent veterans, the Mets and Rangers have agreed to a trade that will send second baseman Marcus Semien to Queens in exchange for outfielder Brandon Nimmo.  New York is also sending $5MM to help Texas offset some of the difference between the two players’ remaining salaries.

Reports emerged earlier this week that the Mets were open to moving Nimmo, though as of Thursday, trade talks reportedly hadn’t developed to the point that the Mets had approached Nimmo about waiving his contract’s no-trade clause.  Mike Puma of the New York Post wrote today that the team raised the subject of the Texas trade with Nimmo on Friday.  After a day’s consideration and a chat with Rangers ace (and his former Mets teammate) Jacob deGrom, Nimmo agreed to approve the deal.

Given the trade buzz this week, it isn’t entirely shocking to see the veteran outfielder’s time in New York come to an end.  That said, a straight-up swap for Semien is eye-opening, given how Semien is coming off a dismal year at the plate and comes with a significant future price tag in his own right.

Semien has $72MM and three seasons remaining on the seven-year, $175MM free agent deal he signed with Texas during the 2021-22 offseason.  Nimmo is owed $101.25MM through the 2030 season, as he has completed three years of the eight-year, $162MM free agent he signed to remain with the Mets in December 2022.  Since luxury tax figures are re-calculated to account for just remaining money owed in the wake of trades, Semien’s tax number is $24MM, and Nimmo has a $19.25MM figure (when factoring in the $5MM Texas is getting from New York).

The Mets are therefore taking on a slightly bigger tax hit while reducing the amount of overall dollars owed, while the Rangers are reducing their tax number but adding more overall money to their books.  That adds an interesting wrinkle for a Texas club that was expected to reduce payroll this winter, though it is worth noting that the Rangers cleared a good chunk of money off the books (a projected $21.1MM) on Friday with four non-tenders.

While the financial elements can’t be overlooked, the trade is also something of an old-school, need-for-need “baseball deal” that allows both the Mets and Rangers to address needs.  Beginning with Texas, the team was prioritizing a different offensive approach based around contact hitting and getting on base.

Nimmo’s strikeout rates have been overall middling throughout his career, though his chase and whiff rates have been consistently above average.  His walk rates had also been strong before suddenly dropping to 7.7% in 2025, in a career-low for the outfielder over a full season.  Still, Nimmo hit .262/.324/.436 with 25 homers over 652 plate appearances, translating to a 114 wRC+ over 652 plate appearances as New York’s everyday left fielder.  Public defensive metrics have also looked a lot more fondly on Nimmo’s glovework since he moved to left field from center field.

Since Adolis Garcia has now been non-tendered, Nimmo can slide into the left field position in Arlington, with Evan Carter or (probably more likely) Wyatt Langford moving into Garcia’s old spot in right field.  Second base is now opened up for Josh Smith or Ezequiel Duran in the short term, and top prospect Sebastian Walcott could also potentially find a home at the keystone depending on how long Corey Seager remains at shortstop.  The Rangers could also now explore the market for trade or free agent options at second base, with Semien no longer in the picture.

Selected 13th overall by the Mets in the 2011 draft, Nimmo has spent his entire career with the Amazins, becoming a fan favorite due to his consistent offense.  Injuries were a major hindrance for Nimmo earlier in his career and he is entering his age-32 season, but he has played in at least 151 games in each of his last four seasons.

In short, it seems like the Rangers feel more comfortable about paying Nimmo a bit of extra money over a longer term than they were paying Semien over his age 35-37 seasons.  A picture of durability throughout his career, Semien suffered a rare serious injury in 2025, as he was limited to 127 games by a Lisfranc sprain and a small fracture in his left foot.  Beyond just the health issue, Texas was perhaps more concerned about Semien’s dropoff at the plate over the last three seasons.

2023 was Semien’s last year as a premium hitter, as he hit .276/.348/.478 with 29 homers over 753 PA for the Rangers’ World Series team.  Semien delivered a 128 wRC+ that year, and his key role in Texas’ first championship will forever make him a beloved figure in Arlington.  After that dream season, however, Semien dropped to a 101 wRC+ in 2024, and then a subpar 89 wRC+ in 2025.  A .251 BABIP over the last two seasons is a partial explanation, yet the bigger culprit is a sizeable decline in power.

A change of scenery could perhaps get Semien’s bat going, even if Citi Field is known as a pitcher-friendly ballpark.  Semien does bring a right-handed hitting element to a Mets lineup that leaned left, and has now subtracted an everyday lefty swinger in Nimmo.  Beyond just Semien’s offense and his reputation as a clubhouse leader, he remains an outstanding defensive second baseman who just won his second career Gold Glove.

Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns stated that run prevention was a chief area of improvement for his team, so installing Semien at second base is a big defensive upgrade.  Removing a solid defender like Nimmo from left field is a hit unto itself, yet Jeff McNeil could make up some of the difference since left field now looks to be McNeil’s primary position with Semien locked into second base.  McNeil could also get part-time work in center field, or it is possible he might also end up on another roster, as rival teams have been discussing McNeil in trade talks.

It is a little surprising to see New York make such a prominent move to address second base, given how first and third base were the far more unsettled infield positions heading into the winter.  Pete Alonso’s free agency leaves first base open, and Brett Baty now looks to be staying at third base with Semien on board.  Top prospect Jett Williams is expected to make his MLB debut in 2026, and the outfield could now be Williams’ future position since Semien and Francisco Lindor have accounted for the middle infield.  Semien’s addition also brings fresh questions about how the Mets will incorporate Mark Vientos, Luisangel Acuna, and Ronny Mauricio into the infield mix, or if any of these players (or Baty) could now be trade chips.

Nimmo’s departure also means that the Mets could make a larger move to address their outfield.  The club was already expected to be looking for center field help, and Juan Soto could possibly be shifted over to left field if the Mets wanted to acquire a new right fielder.  This will probably spark some inevitable Kyle Tucker speculation, but Cody Bellinger is already known to be a player on the Amazins’ radar.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan was the first to report that the two teams were in the final stages of a deal involving Semien and Nimmo, and the New York Post’s Jon Heyman had the additional detail about the $5MM heading to Arlington.  The Athletic’s Will Sammon reported that Nimmo has agreed to waive his no-trade clause. 

Inset pictures courtesy of Jerome Miron (Semien) and Vincent Carchicetta (Nimmo) — Imagn Images

Rangers Non-Tender Adolis Garcia, Jonah Heim

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The Rangers announced Friday that they have chosen not to tender 2026 contracts to outfielder Adolis Garcia, catcher Jonah Heim, and relievers Josh Sborz and Jacob Webb. All four were arbitration-eligible for the final time and were set to enter their final year of club control. They will instead immediately become a free agent without needing to pass through waivers. Both Garcia and Heim were being shopped by the Rangers throughout the early stages of the offseason. Clearly, no takers manifested at their arbitration prices. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected a $12.1MM salary for Garcia and a $6MM salary for Heim. Webb was projected at $2MM and Sborz at $1.1MM.

Garcia’s hold on his roster spot has appeared tenuous for months. While he was a focal point of the offense that helped the Rangers capture their first World Series title in 2023, the slugging right fielder’s bat has cratered over the past two seasons. He’s also become emblematic of the type of undisciplined, boom-or-bust offensive approach that the Rangers have openly voiced a desire to change since the season ended.

Back in 2023, Garcia bashed 39 homers while hitting .245/.328/.508 with plus defense in right field. That alone made him one of the shrewdest DFA pickups in recent memory, but it didn’t set the stage for him to emerge as a core piece like many expected at the time. His 2024 numbers took a major step back (.224/.284/.400), and in 2025 he slashed just .227/.271/.394.

Garcia, 33 in March, still makes thunderous contact when he connects with the ball, averaging 92.1 mph off the bat and logging a stout 46.7% hard-hit rate. However, his chase rate on pitches off the plate has spiked from 29.5% in 2023 to 35.1% in 2025. His overall contact rate in ’25 sat about five percentage points shy of league-average, and his 79.5% contact rate on pitches within the zone is six percentage points shy of average. Swinging through a bit more than one of every five offerings within the strike zone is nothing new for Garcia, but that flaw has been compounded by the manner in which he has increasingly expanded the percentage of pitches at which he’s willing to swing since that peak season.

Heim, who’ll turn 31 next June, broke out with a .258/.317/.438 line (107 wRC+) and career-best 18 home runs back in ’23. For a catcher who already boasted some of the strongest defensive grades in the game, that offensive performance was enough to earn him a spot on the 2023 All-Star team. In 924 plate appearances since, Heim’s bat has evaporated. He’s hitting .217/.269/.334 since Opening Day 2024.

Heim has also gone from an elite pitch framer and thrower behind the dish to more of an average framer and poor thrower. He nabbed 29.3% of thieves in ’23 but has just a 13.7% caught-stealing rate since. His average pop time has crept north of two seconds, and the average velocity on his throws to second base has fallen from 81.1 mph in 2023 (21st among 67 catchers) to 79.5 mph in 2025 (33rd among 63 catchers).

Webb, 32, is a somewhat surprising non-tender. He pitched 66 innings of 3.00 ERA ball and fanned 21.7% of his opponents against a 7.1% walk rate. In 176 1/3 innings between the Rangers and Orioles, dating back to 2023, he’s pitched to a combined 3.22 earned run average with 33 holds and four saves.

Sborz, 31, didn’t pitch this season due to shoulder troubles. The right-hander had a bizarre campaign in 2023, pitching well for much of the season (3.83 ERA through mid-August) before being torched for 13 runs in 7 2/3 frames down the stretch, thereby ballooning his ERA to 5.50. Sborz then bounced all the way back — and then some — in the playoffs, serving as one of then-manager Bruce Bochy’s most trusted relievers. He pitched a dozen innings and allowed only one run (0.75 ERA) on four hits and four walks. He fanned 13.

The following season, Sborz got out to a nice start, logging a 3.86 ERA through 16 1/3 innings before landing on the injured list. He never returned. Sborz wound up undergoing shoulder surgery in the offseason. Originally, the Rangers suggested he’d miss the first two to three months of the 2025 season. Instead, Sborz pitched only 12 minor league innings in 2025, including a 5.79 ERA in 9 1/3 frames of Triple-A work.

Jesse Rogers of ESPN first reported that Garcia was being non-tendered.

American League Non-Tenders: 11/21/25

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Every American League team has officially announced their non-tender decisions. It was a quiet evening in terms of subtractions, with only the Rangers parting with any marquee players. All players who were non-tendered are free agents without going on waivers. A few teams dropped pre-arbitration players from the back of the 40-man roster. It’s possible they preferred not to expose them to waivers and are hopeful of re-signing them to non-roster deals.

Here’s a full list of today’s activity in the AL, while the National League moves are available here. All projected salaries are courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz.

  • The Angels announced they’ve non-tendered outfielder Gustavo Campero and catcher Sebastian Rivero. Campero is a depth outfielder who has hit .202/.272/.346 over the past two seasons. Rivero operated as the club’s third catcher for most of the season but spent the final few weeks on the active roster. Neither player had been eligible for arbitration. All their arb-eligible players were easy calls to retain.
  • The Astros technically made one non-tender, dropping infielder Ramón Urías after he was designated for assignment earlier in the week. He’d been projected at $4.4MM.
  • The Athletics officially non-tendered outfielder JJ Bleday, the club announced. He’d been designated for assignment on Tuesday, so this was inevitable unless they found a trade partner. Bleday had been projected at $2.2MM.
  • The only non-tenders for the Red Sox were first baseman Nathaniel Lowe and reliever Josh Winckowski, each of whom had been designated for assignment on Tuesday. Lowe was projected at $13.5MM, while Winckowski was at $800K.
  • The Guardians non-tendered outfielder Will Brennan and relievers Sam Hentges and Nic Enright. The latter had been designated for assignment on Tuesday. Hentges hasn’t pitched since undergoing shoulder surgery in September 2024. He underwent a right knee procedure a few months ago and will be delayed this offseason. Brennan only appeared in six MLB games this year and underwent Tommy John surgery while in the minors in June. He’d been projected at $900K.
  • The Mariners non-tendered reliever Gregory Santos, reports Francys Romero. He’d only been projected at $800K, narrowly above the MLB minimum, so the move was about dropping him from the 40-man roster. Seattle acquired the 26-year-old righty from the White Sox over the 2023-24 offseason. He has only made 16 MLB appearances with a 5.02 earned run average over the past two years because of lat and knee injuries. Seattle also non-tendered relievers Trent Thornton and Tayler Saucedo (the latter of whom was designated for assignment on Tuesday). Thornton had been projected at $2.5MM and is coming off a 4.68 ERA through 33 appearances. He suffered a season-ending Achilles tear in August.
  • The Orioles non-tendered swingman Albert Suárez, the team announced. Everyone else in their arbitration class was offered a contract, surprisingly including first baseman Ryan Mountcastle (as first reported by ESPN’s Jeff Passan). Suárez, 36, was a solid depth starter in 2024. He was limited to five MLB appearances this past season by a flexor strain but is not expected to require surgery.
  • The Rangers non-tendered each of Adolis García, Jonah Heim, Josh Sborz and Jacob Webb. MLBTR covered those moves in greater detail.
  • The Rays only non-tendered outfielders Christopher Morel and Jake Fraley, each of whom had been designated for assignment earlier in the week. Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times reported last night that the Rays were open to bringing back Fraley at a lower price than his $3.6MM arbitration projection.
  • The Royals non-tendered outfielder MJ Melendez and reliever Taylor Clarke, per a club announcement. Melendez, who’d been projected at $2.65MM, was an obvious decision. The former top prospect never developed as hoped and is a career .215/.297/.388 hitter over parts of four seasons. Clarke isn’t as big a name but comes as the more surprising cut. He’d been projected at just $1.9MM and is coming off a 3.25 ERA with a 21.4% strikeout rate over 55 1/3 innings out of the bullpen.
  • The Tigers are non-tendering utility player Andy Ibáñez, according to Romero. He’d been projected at $1.8MM. The righty-hitting Ibáñez had been a solid short-side platoon bat for Detroit between 2023-24. His production against southpaws dropped this year (.258/.311/.403), limiting his value. The Tigers optioned the 32-year-old to Triple-A in early June and kept him in the minors until shortly before the trade deadline. Detroit also dropped the six pitchers they’d designated for assignment earlier in the week: Tanner Rainey, Dugan Darnell, Tyler Mattison, Jason Foley, Jack Little and Sean Guenther.
  • The only Twins non-tender was outfielder DaShawn Keirsey Jr., who’d been designated for assignment this morning to make room for the Alex Jackson trade. Everyone in the arbitration class was brought back.
  • The White Sox non-tendered outfielder Mike Tauchman, as first reported by Bruce Levine of 670 The Score. The lefty hitter turned in a solid .263/.356/.400 line in 93 games this past season. Tauchman has gotten on base at plus rates in three straight years but was also non-tendered by the Cubs a year ago. The 34-year-old (35 next month) had been projected for a $3.4MM salary. The Sox also announced they’ve dropped lefty reliever Cam Booser and first baseman Tim Elko. Neither had been eligible for arbitration. The former posted a 5.52 ERA in 39 appearances after being acquired from the Red Sox last winter, while the latter hit .134 in his first 23 MLB games despite a 26-homer season in Triple-A.
  • The Yankees announced five non-tenders. Relievers Mark Leiter Jr., Scott Effross, Jake Cousins and Ian Hamilton were all cut loose, as was pre-arbitration righty Michael Arias. Leiter, who’d been projected at $3MM, never clicked in the Bronx after being acquired at the 2024 deadline. He posted a 4.89 ERA in 70 innings as a Yankee. Hamilton, Effross and Cousins were all projected just above the MLB minimum but are cut to clear roster space. Hamilton was on and off the active roster and posted a 4.28 ERA in 40 big league frames this year. Effross was limited to 11 appearances and has been plagued by various injuries for the past three and a half years, while Cousins is working back from Tommy John surgery. Arias has never pitched in the big leagues and could be brought back on a minor league deal.

The Blue Jays tendered contracts to all unsigned players on the 40-man roster.

Players Avoiding Arbitration: 11/21/25

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

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

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

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

Photo courtesy of William Liang, Imagn Images

Rangers Sign Declan Cronin To Minor League Deal

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The Rangers have signed right-hander Declan Cronin to a minor league deal with an invite to MLB Spring Training. Cronin was released by the Marlins in September. He’s set to miss the 2026 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. Texas also added shortstop Richie Martin and right-handers Peyton Gray and Trey Supak on minor league pacts with spring invitations.

Cronin was a fixture in Miami’s bullpen in 2024, making 56 appearances. He had a middling 4.35 ERA with just over a strikeout per inning across 70 1/3 frames. Cronin hit the IL at the end of that season with a knee injury, then was sidelined to open the 2025 campaign with a hip issue. Cronin landed on the Triple-A injured list in August with an unspecified malady, likely related to the injury that led to the surgery.

The White Sox took Cronin in the 36th round of the 2019 draft. Operating almost strictly as a reliever, the righty reached Triple-A by 2022. Cronin debuted with Chicago in 2023, making nine appearances out of the bullpen. He gave up 11 earned runs in 11 innings with nearly as many walks as strikeouts. The White Sox designated Cronin for assignment at the end of the season, and he was scooped up by the Astros. He would spend less than a month with the organization, as Houston DFAed him in January, and he was grabbed by the Marlins.

The upcoming season will likely be a wash for Cronin, but he offered respectable results when healthy with Miami. Texas will take a flier on him with the hope of getting a usable bullpen option down the line.

Martin first came to the organization on a minor league deal in May. He’ll stick around after hitting .258 across 79 games at Triple-A Round Rock. Martin spent parts of 2019, 2021, and 2022 in the big leagues with Baltimore. He slashed .212/.261/.311 in 447 plate appearances as an Oriole.

The Athletics spent a first-round pick on Martin back in 2015. He delivered tepid offensive results over four minor league seasons with the club. Baltimore claimed him off waivers after the 2018 season. He made the big-league roster in 2019 and appeared in 120 games. A broken wrist cost him the entire 2020 season. Martin saw minimal MLB action in 2021 and 2022, totaling 50 appearances with the Orioles.

Texas initially added Gray on a minor league deal this past offseason. He made seven appearances with Double-A Frisco, then earned a promotion to Triple-A. Gray delivered a 3.84 ERA across 61 innings with Round Rock. The 30-year-old has strong strikeout numbers in his minor league career, but injuries have limited his volume.

Supak also joined the Texas minor league system ahead of the 2025 season and split his season between Frisco and Round Rock. The 29-year-old posted a solid 3.55 ERA in 12 starts with the Express to close his season. Supak was drafted by the Pirates in 2014. He’s spent time in the minors with the Brewers, Athletics, and Cubs.

Photo courtesy of Jesse Johnson, Imagn Images

Rangers Select Three Players To 40-Man Roster

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The Rangers announced that they have selected the contracts of right-handers David Davalillo and Leandro Lopez, as well as first baseman/outfielder Abimelec Ortiz. That protects those three from being selected in the Rule 5 draft next month. The club’s 40-man roster count climbs to 38.

Davalillo is the most highly-regarded prospect of the trio. FanGraphs had him at 11th in their midseason update. MLB.com had him at seventh by the end of the year. The Rangers signed Davalillo as an international free agent in 2022. He opened 2025 in High-A, but made the jump to Double-A by the end of the year. Davalillo tossed 56 innings with a 2.73 ERA after joining Frisco. His strikeout rate wasn’t as lofty as it has been at lower levels, but he kept the walks in check and limited hitters to a .195 batting average.

The 23-year-old Davalillo boasts a four-pitch mix, per FanGraphs. His fastball sits in the low to mid-90s, to go with two breaking balls and a splitter. Texas has a handful of other similarly-ranked pitching prospects around Davalillo’s age, so there will be some competition for a callup, but he could be in line to make his major-league debut as soon as 2026.

Lopez joined the organization as an international free agent in 2021. He’s posted lofty strikeout numbers in each season of his pro career, working as both a starter and a reliever. Walks have been an issue, though. Lopez opened this past season at High-A. He recorded a 2.19 ERA over 14 starts, with a solid 28.2% strikeout rate but also a 10% walk rate. Lopez continued to pitch well after being promoted to Double-A, delivering a sub-3.00 ERA with more than a strikeout per inning over nine appearances (eight starts). Lopez had a 10.6% walk rate with the RoughRiders, and he’s now posted a double-digit walk rate in every season since his pro debut in 2021. Lopez snuck onto MLB.com’s top 30 list, landing at 29.

Ortiz was also added via international free agency in 2021. He’s shown prodigious power at each minor league level. Ortiz launched 33 home runs between Single-A and High-A in 2023, then followed it up with 18 dingers at Double-A in 2024. Ortiz was back with Frisco to open this past season, but a 120 wRC+ helped him earn a promotion to Triple-A. He knocked nine home runs in 41 games with Round Rock, pushing his season-long total to 25. While Ortiz might have the pop to earn an MLB roster spot, FanGraphs cited his defensive limitations and excessive chase rate as red flags.

Rangers Shopping Jonah Heim, Adolis Garcia

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The Rangers are shopping catcher Jonah Heim and outfielder Adolis Garcia ahead of the non-tender deadline on November 21st, according to a report from ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Passan adds that both players are candidates to be non-tendered if Texas is unable to work out trades for them.

Both longtime stalwarts of the Texas lineup were featured on MLBTR’s list of the Top 40 Trade Candidates for the 2025-26 offseason. While Heim and Garcia were both key parts of the core that won the 2023 World Series for the Rangers, neither has played especially well since then. Heim was a four-win player and an All-Star in 2023 but since then has slashed just .217/.269/.334 (71 wRC+) in 255 games with sharply declining defensive metrics behind the plate. Garcia has fallen from similar heights, as he garnered MVP votes and won a Gold Glove in 2023 but has hit just .225/.278/.397 (89 wRC+) in 289 games the past two seasons.

Given each player’s past success, it’s not impossible to imagine either one bouncing back to be quality players in 2026. With that being said, the Rangers are facing payroll constraints this winter that will make it difficult for them to roll the dice on either player. That makes the decision to shop them on the trade market an easy one, as they can look to potentially recoup some value for one or both players before they’re forced to either pay the pair hefty arbitration salaries or non-tender them, cutting them from the organization for no return whatsoever.

Of the two, Heim appears to be far more tradable. He’s projected for a salary of just $6MM by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz in 2026 as he heads into his age-31 campaign. That’s not a particularly onerous figure for even teams with real budgetary concerns, and between that light salary and the dearth of quality catching options around the league it would make sense if another club was interested in rolling the dice on Heim. Teams like the Rays, Padres, Astros, and Phillies all could be in the market for catching help this winter and could consider giving Heim a look.

Garcia, by contrast, seems harder to convince a team to take a chance on. He’s entering his age-33 season and is projected for a $12.1MM salary in 2026. While the market for right-handed outfielders is somewhat sparse this winter, players like Austin Hays, Miguel Andujar, and Rob Refsnyder all provided above-average offensive production from a corner outfield spot this past year and would likely be able to be had for much less than Garcia’s arbitration price tag. Teams might even see Garcia as more comparable to a roll of the dice on a player like Randal Grichuk, Lane Thomas, or Starling Marte, any of whom could be had in free agency much more affordably without having to trade anything away.

As for the Rangers, they’ll need to find another complement to Kyle Higashioka behind the plate if they wind up trading or non-tendering Heim. Garcia would be easier to replace internally given the presence of controllable outfielders like Alejandro Osuna and Michael Helman, though the team’s need for more offense could still lead them to peruse external additions to help Wyatt Langford, Josh Smith, and Evan Carter out on the grass as well.

Jacob deGrom, Ronald Acuna Jr. Named Comeback Players Of The Year

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The main event of Thursday’s award revelations came with the BBWAA’s announcement that Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge repeated as MVP winners. Major League Baseball also conducted its award ceremony tonight, revealing a handful of honors that are not decided by the writers.

Most notably, the league named Jacob deGrom and Ronald Acuña Jr. the respective Comeback Players of the Year. deGrom’s comeback from Tommy John surgery technically occurred at the end of the 2024 season. The two-time Cy Young winner made three late-season appearances last year. He took the ball 30 times this past season and worked to a 2.97 earned run average with 185 strikeouts across 172 2/3 innings. He earned his fifth All-Star nod and finished eighth in AL Cy Young balloting in his age-37 season.

Acuña bounced back from the second ACL tear of his career. The 2023 NL MVP had suffered the season-ending left knee injury on May 26, 2024. He made it back almost one year to the day later. The Braves activated Acuña from the injured list on May 23. He’d return to superstar form, hitting .290/.417/.518 with 21 homers in 95 games. Acuña went back on the injured list around the trade deadline with right Achilles tightness. He only missed a couple weeks and came back to hit .268/.402/.437 down the stretch despite an injury-riddled Atlanta team being well out of contention. It’s the second straight season in which a Brave was named NL Comeback Player of the Year. Chris Sale received that honor last season.

MLB announced a few other honors. Ohtani and Judge repeated as the respective Hank Aaron Award winners as the league’s best hitters. Ohtani yet again won the Edgar Martinez Award as MLB’s best designated hitter. Aroldis Chapman and Edwin Díaz won the respective Reliever of the Year honors. Díaz is free agency’s top reliever coming off a 1.63 ERA across 62 appearances. Chapman turned in a 1.17 ERA over 61 1/3 frames in what is arguably the best season of his fantastic career. He re-signed with the Red Sox on a $13MM deal in August. The BBWAA will reintroduce its own Reliever of the Year Award in 2026.

Brewers president of baseball operations Matt Arnold was named Executive of the Year for the second consecutive season. Milwaukee won an MLB-best 97 games and advanced to the NL Championship Series despite having an Opening Day payroll around $115MM. That was the eighth-lowest mark in the majors.

MLB also announced its 1st and 2nd teams. These are not league specific and are designed to honor the best players at each position. Those are as follows:

1st Team

2nd Team

Rangers Hire Travis Jankowski As First Base Coach

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The Rangers announced a few coaching staff hirings this afternoon. Most notably, they’ve named Travis Jankowski their first base coach. That suggests the 34-year-old is retiring after a playing career that spanned parts of 11 big league campaigns.

Jankowski carved out a solid career as a speed and defense depth outfielder. He played in more than 700 MLB contests and tallied nearly 1800 trips to the plate. The lefty batter hit .236/.318/.305 with 366 knocks and 104 stolen bases. Jankowski had very little power and only connected on 11 home runs, but he collected 54 doubles and 10 triples. He drove in 98 runs and scored 220 times.

A former supplemental first-round pick of the Padres, Jankowski spent the first five seasons of his career in San Diego. He’d go on to play for eight teams overall, including the 2023-24 campaigns in Arlington. Jankowski’s best season came in 2023. He had a personal-best .263 average while reaching base at a strong .357 clip for the World Series team. Jankowski picked up another three hits and a pair of RBI in nine postseason at-bats. His numbers tailed off the following season, and he apparently concluded his playing career with 25 games split between the White Sox, Rays and Mets this year.

Jankowski is a known commodity to the Texas front office. While his time as a player in Texas came under Bruce Bochy, he also has ties to new manager Skip Schumaker. The Rangers skipper was the first base coach in San Diego for Jankowski’s final two seasons as a Padre in 2018-19. Jankowski now takes on that role in Arlington, where he’ll presumably also be involved in outfield and basestealing instruction.

Texas also confirmed the previously reported hiring of Alex Cintrón as assistant hitting coach. They’ve added Rod Barajas as a quality control coach, a move that was first announced last week by Rocket City Trash Pandas broadcaster Chris Harris. Barajas coached for that affiliate, the Angels’ Double-A team, in 2025. He has previously spent time on the Padres and Marlins big league staffs with Schumaker.

The Rangers also hired Colby Suggs as bullpen coach. (Dan Hayes of The Athletic had reported last week that the 34-year-old Suggs was likely to take a job in Texas.) He’d held the same role with the Twins since the middle of the 2022 season.

Suggs takes over the bullpen coach role from Jordan Tiegs, who gets a promotion to pitching coach. The 38-year-old was a longtime minor league pitching instructor in the Texas system before getting his first MLB coaching opportunity this past season. The Rangers lost veteran pitching coach Mike Maddux to the Angels, and they’re staying internal with the much younger Tiegs to fill that position.

There are a more few role changes among the holdovers from Bochy’s final coaching staff. Justin Viele is now the lead hitting coach after splitting that job with Bret Boone this year. Texas had already announced that Corey Ragsdale would move from first base to third base coach. Brett Hayes moves from quality control coach to catching coach. Bench coach Luis Urueta and assistant pitching coach Dave Bush are back in the same roles. Texas will make one additional hire in a yet to be determined role to round out the staff.

Rangers Had Interest In Lars Nootbaar Prior To October Surgery

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The Rangers are looking for several new bats as they look to, as GM Ross Fenstermaker indicated at season’s end, improve their on-base percentage and contact skills. Newly installed manager Skip Schumaker has already spoken about finding a new offensive identity. One potential target who had popped up on the Rangers’ radar, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, was Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar. Goold writes that the Cardinals are open to hearing what other clubs will offer on Nootbaar and adds that the Rangers and at least one other AL club had shown interest in the 28-year-old outfielder. That, however, came prior to the public revelation that Nootbaar was undergoing surgery on both heels to address Haglund deformities.

At present, it’s not clear whether Nootbaar will be ready for Opening Day. Newly minted Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom said two weeks ago that Opening Day is neither firmly off the table nor a guarantee for Nootbaar. His readiness (or lack thereof) is still up in the air and hinges on the speed of his recovery. It’s also not clear to what extent (if any) the procedure has cooled the Rangers’ interest.

Even if Texas is out on Nootbaar entirely, the team’s interest in him is telling in some regards. On paper, the Rangers seem to have a full outfield. Wyatt Langford, Evan Carter and Adolis García are currently projected to line up from left to right field. However, García is coming off two consecutive poor seasons at the plate and projected to earn more than $12MM in what’ll be his final trip through the arbitration process. Given his recent struggles, mounting price tag and the Rangers’ desire to improve their on-base and contact skills, García stands as a trade candidate or non-tender candidate. Interest in Nootbaar, whose best defensive grades have come in right field — the same position García occupies in Texas — at least supports the notion that García is on somewhat shaky ground.

Nootbaar’s projected $5.7MM salary in arbitration is less than half that of García. He also sports one of the lowest chase rate on balls out of the strike zone, per Statcast: 26th lowest among (21.5%) among the 215 big league hitters who took at least 400 plate appearances in 2025. García, conversely, has the 26th-highest chase rate at a whopping 35.1%. Nootbaar’s 20.4% strikeout rate isn’t all that far south of league average, but it’s several ticks lower than that of García. Additionally, Nootbaar’s contact rate is about four percentage points higher than average, while his swinging-strike rate is about 3.5 percentage points lower than average.

There’s little sense in reading too heavily into one individual target, but interest in Nootbaar supports the idea that the Rangers, who had the tenth-highest chase rate in MLB as a team and the eight-worst walk rate, are looking for a different type of approach at the plate. Nootbaar, like García, draws strong defensive marks for his corner outfield work. He lacks García’s raw power but still makes hard contact at plus levels.

The salary discrepancy between the two players is of some note, too. When announcing at season’s end that Bruce Bochy would not be returning as the Rangers’ manager, president of baseball operations said that when Bochy was hired in 2022, the team had “a little more certainty in terms of payroll” before adding, “We don’t have that at this point” (link via Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News).

That doesn’t necessarily indicate that Texas will gut payroll in extreme fashion this winter, but Nootbaar’s salary is far more palatable than a projected $12.1MM for García. Texas finished the 2025 season with a payroll north of $224MM and currently is projected for a $198MM payroll in 2026 (per RosterResource) before making a single offseason move.

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