The Opener

With the deadline for players and teams to exchange figures to file for arbitration now behind us, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on this weekend:

1. Orioles 40-man roster move incoming:

The Orioles made a move on the relief market last night, agreeing to terms with right-hander Andrew Kittredge on a one-year, $10MM deal that includes a club option for 2026. The move adds a veteran reliever with late-inning experience who can help set up for Félix Bautista alongside Yennier Cano, Seranthony Domínguez, and Gregory Soto. In order for the signing to be made official, however, the Orioles will have to first clear a 40-man roster spot that can then be given to Kittredge. Typically, that will involve a club designating a player for assignment, though occasionally clubs will work out a trade to create the necessary vacancy.

Speaking of Orioles 40-man moves, they’ll get clarity on their recent DFA of catcher René Pinto at some point today. Baltimore signed right-hander Charlie Morton to a one-year deal seven days ago and designated the 28-year-old Pinto for assignment to open a spot on the 40-man roster. Pinto appeared in each of the last three seasons with the Rays but was claimed off waivers by the Orioles in early November. Now that a full week has passed he’ll either be claimed by another club or outrighted to Triple-A Norfolk, where the Orioles would be able to stash him as non-roster depth for the 2025 campaign.

2. Multi-year talks for players who exchanged figures?

Seventeen players exchanged salary arbitration figures with their teams yesterday after failing to come to terms on a deal prior to yesterday’s filing deadline. Those teams and players can continue to negotiate, as the figures exchanged merely set the potential price outcomes to be determined in an arbitration hearing. A deal can still be hammered out for any and all of those 17 players before hearings begin next month. Most clubs, however, employ a file-and-trial approach, meaning they no longer discuss straight one-year agreements once figures are exchanged.

That leaves open the possibility of negotiating a multi-year deal (or a one-year deal with an option, as the option year effectively renders it a multi-year deal and makes that agreement irrelevant as a data point/comp for arbitration negotiations in future offseasons). In all likelihood, at least a few of the players who exchanged figures will come to terms either on a true multi-year deal or on a one-year deal with an option — eliminating the need for a hearing. The Cardinals at least discussed multi-year deals with Brendan Donovan and Lars Nootbaar this week, for instance. Just logically speaking, a two-year deal for someone like Washington’s Nathaniel Lowe — locking in his final two arbitration seasons — could make sense for both the team and player.

High-profile impending free agents like Kyle Tucker and Michael King seem quite unlikely to sign extensions (Tucker in particular) and seem destined for a hearing. However, talks for the majority of the players in this group of 17 figure to continue as clubs and players look to avoid a hearing.

3. Red Sox to host Fenway Fest this weekend:

The Red Sox are hosting Fenway Fest, the club’s winter fan event, tomorrow from 9am to 5pm local time at Fenway Park. Tomorrow will mark the first installment of Fenway Fest, which was announced last month as a replacement for the club’s previous two-day Winter Weekend event that began in 2015. Notably, chief baseball office Craig Breslow, team president Sam Kennedy, and team owner John Henry are not scheduled to appear at tomorrow’s event after appearing at previous Winter Weekend events (perhaps unsurprisingly so; Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic notes that ownership was roundly booed at each of the past two winter fan fest events).

This year’s event includes appearances by manager Alex Cora and a number of coaches as well as a long list of players and prospects that includes recently-acquired starter Garrett Crochet. Aside from player and personnel appearances, the event also includes a preview of the upcoming Netflix documentary covering the 2024 Red Sox. More details regarding the event, including ticket pricing, can be found here via MLB.com.

Here are three things we’ll be paying attention to around baseball this Thursday:

1. Arbitration filing deadline:

By noon CT this afternoon, all arbitration-eligible players must either agree on a contract for the 2025 season or both player and team must file for arbitration. The deadline for both sides to submit arbitration figures is later this evening at 7:00 PM CT. That means you can expect a significant number of players to sign their deals for the upcoming season today. While teams and players can continue negotiations after the filing deadline, many teams take what is known as a “file-and-trial” approach. In other words, they shut down contract discussions after the filing deadline and take all undecided cases to arbitration hearings.

You can find every arbitration-eligible player’s projected salary (from MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz) here.

2. Brent Rooker press conference:

After officially announcing Brent Rooker’s five-year, $60MM contract extension on Wednesday, the Athletics will hold a press conference to discuss the move today in Sacramento (per Martín Gallegos of MLB.com). Rooker, 30, is coming off of a phenomenal year for the A’s. He ranked fifth in the American League in home runs, third in RBIs, and sixth among qualified AL batters in OPS and wRC+. At season’s end, he was awarded the AL Silver Slugger at DH and finished 10th in AL MVP voting. With the A’s forced to increase payroll this winter, it makes perfect sense they chose to extend their best hitter on a deal that buys out all three of his arbitration seasons and at least two free agent years.

3. Another 40-man move incoming from the White Sox:

The White Sox have already made a handful of 40-man roster moves in the past few weeks, such as DFAing Corey Julks, Braden Shewmake, and Jacob Amaya to make room for Cam Booser, Tyler Gilbert, and Josh Rojas, respectively. Soon, Chicago will have to make another transaction before finalizing the team’s biggest (relatively speaking) offseason addition yet: Martín Pérez.

The veteran starting pitcher agreed to a one-year, $5MM contract with the White Sox on Wednesday. Before officially announcing the deal, the club must open a space for Pérez on the 40-man roster. The last several players the White Sox have DFA’d have all been position players, making it increasingly likely they will part with a pitcher to add the southpaw Pérez.

With the offseason back in full swing after the holidays, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world today:

1. Giants 40-man roster move incoming:

Yesterday, the Giants reportedly brought future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander into the fold on a one-year deal. The club is rolling the dice on a return to form for Verlander after the first truly poor season of the right-hander’s career; Verlander mustered only a 5.48 ERA with a 4.78 FIP across 17 starts with the Astros last year. There’s certainly risk involved in expecting Verlander, who is more than four years older than San Francisco’s new president of baseball operations Buster Posey, to turn back the clock even by just a year or two. However, the 2022 AL Cy Young Award winner pitched like a starter that belonged in the front half of a playoff rotation as recently as 2023, and it’s hard to bet against Verlander’s pedigree.

Before Verlander can get to work with San Francisco, he’ll need to be officially added to the 40-man roster. That could happen as soon as today, and when it does the Giants will need to clear a roster spot. The most common way for clubs to do this is by simply designating a player for assignment, though occasionally clubs will work out a trade to clear that 40-man spot.

2. Are more extensions on the way?

Yesterday, the Rays hammered out an extension with right-hander Drew Rasmussen. The deal, which guarantees Rasmussen $8.5MM, covers his final two years of arbitration and includes a club option for the 2027 season — what would’ve been his first free-agent season. It’s a deal that was surely helped along by the impending deadline for players and teams to exchange figures ahead of arbitration hearings. The majority of arbitration-level players typically agree to deals before that deadline in order to a hearing, which makes the days leading up to that deadline a natural time for clubs to discuss longer-term extensions with players. With that deadline set to arrive tomorrow, it’s possible — if not likely — that we’ll see other extensions over the next day and a half. At the very least, there should be some early one-year agreements today.

3. Players in DFA Limbo:

We’re officially one week into 2025, which means that players who were designated for assignment while the MLB league offices were closed for the holidays should finally reach their long-awaited conclusion (though it’s worth noting that the rules surrounding the holiday freeze for players in DFA limbo are fairly nebulous in nature). It’s a situation that currently applies to three players: infielder Braden Shewmake, who was DFA’d by the White Sox on New Year’s Day; righty Hagen Danner*, who was designated by the Blue Jays back on Dec. 20; and left-hander Bailey Horn, who was DFA’d by the Tigers over the holidays to make room for the Gleyber Torres signing. At this point, the window for these players to be traded appears to have passed. Each figures to have already been exposed to waivers. The next step in the process for is to either clear waivers, providing their clubs the opportunity to outright them to the minors as non-roster depth, or be claimed by a new club and retain a 40-man roster spot in another organization.

*We initially and mistakenly omitted Danner from the original list of players in limbo. 

With the hot stove roaring back to life after going dormant over New Year’s, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world today:

1. What’s next for the A’s?

The Athletics have engaged in their busiest winter in recent memory as they head from Oakland to West Sacramento. In December, the club added Luis Severino and Gio Urshela in free agency while swinging a trade for Jeffrey Springs. Last night, they kicked off 2025 by working out a five-year extension with current face of the franchise Brent Rooker. That extension also has the side effect of boosting the roster’s payroll for luxury tax purposes, with RosterResource now estimating the club’s tax payroll to be in the range of $97MM.

The A’s reportedly need to get that number into the $105MM range in order to avoid risking a grievance from the MLBPA. That likely leaves just over $8MM in spending for the A’s to do this winter, at minimum. Club brass hasn’t ruled out the addition of another starting pitcher, and a reliever to serve as a veteran setup option for closer Mason Miller could also make plenty of sense.

2. Is the relief market coming to life?

Speaking of the relief market, that’s been by far the quietest corner of free agency this winter. Aroldis Chapman, Blake Treinen, and Yimi Garcia standing as the only notable signings, though there have been some notable trades (headlined by the trade of Devin Williams to the Yankees). The latest major free agent relief signing of the offseason took place yesterday, when the Rangers agreed to a one-year deal with veteran setup man Chris Martin. Meanwhile, the Braves became the latest team to be connected to top free agent reliever Tanner Scott as he reportedly seeks a deal that could guarantee him an annual salary in the $20MM range. It’s unclear how close Scott might be to signing, but with a glut of late-inning talent still available it’s difficult to imagine the dam not breaking sooner rather than later.

3. MLBTR Chat Today:

It’s time for the first weekday chat of 2025. Twenty-six of the players on MLBTR’s Top 50 Free Agents list for the winter have signed, putting us just beyond the halfway point in the offseason by that metric. Whether you have questions about what’s left for your team to do this winter or a trade proposal in the back of your mind, MLBTR’s Steve Adams will be here to answer your questions during a live chat scheduled for noon CT. You can click here to ask a question in advance, join in live once the chat begins, or read the transcript once the chat is complete.

As the 2024-25 offseason continues, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. Could Santander’s market be heating up?

Over the weekend, reports surfaced that seemed to indicate the market for outfielder Anthony Santander could be heating up. The slugger has at least one offer on the table from the Blue Jays, and the Angels are also reportedly considered “frontrunners” for his services. He’s also been connected to each of the Tigers, Red Sox, and Yankees, though New York seems to be the least likely destination given that their reported interest stems from before Cody Bellinger was brought into the fold. The Dodgers’ recent move to re-sign Teoscar Hernandez may help to get Santander’s market moving further, seeing as it took a major alternative to the switch-hitter’s services off the board.

That’s not necessarily a guarantee, however. Santander is joined by first baseman Pete Alonso and third baseman Alex Bregman as the best remaining hitters on the market, and it’s fair to note that while Nolan Arenado’s availability on the trade market appears to be a factor holding up Bregman’s free agency, the market for Alonso did not heat up much following Christian Walker’s deal with the Astros. Santander’s reported asking price of $100MM over five years may serve as a sticking point in negotiations that drags things out a bit longer, particularly after Hernandez signed for just three years and $66MM.

2. Infielders coming off the board:

The hottest market in baseball right now is surely that for infielders—though not for top-tier options like Bregman or Arenado. Rather, recent days have seen a number of utility infielders come off the board. The Dodgers adding Hyeseong Kim on Friday stands out as the most notable transaction in this corner of the market, but Josh Rojas also inked a big league deal with the White Sox on Thursday while the Royals and Yankees both added players in this part of the market (Cavan Biggio and Andrew Velazquez, respectively) on minor league pacts. Could the next domino to fall be switch-hitting third baseman Yoán Moncada, who it was reported yesterday has received interest from the Cubs, Mariners, and Blue Jays? Jose Iglesias, Whit Merrifield, Amed Rosario, and Jorge Polanco are among the other hitters available in this tier of free agency.

3. Cartaya on the trade block:

The Dodgers made a somewhat surprising move on Friday when they opted to designate former top catching prospect Diego Cartaya for assignment. The 23-year-old was a consensus top-20 prospect in the sport as recently as the 2023 season but hit just .208/.293/.350 at Triple-A last year and is entering his final minor league option year. With Will Smith already in L.A. on a long-term deal and Dalton Rushing having leapfrogged Cartaya on the organization depth chart, it’s easy to see why that sort of performance made Cartaya expendable for the Dodgers. Even so, his status as a former top prospect and the ever-present need around baseball for upper-level catching depth could make Cartaya an attractive potential option on the trade market for rival clubs, to the point where it’s easy to imagine Cartaya not making it to the waiver wire. The Dodgers have only a few days to work out a trade before they’ll need to expose the catcher to waivers—could a deal come together today?

As the first weekend of 2025 approaches, here are three things we will be keeping an eye on around baseball:

1. Hyeseong Kim’s deadline to sign is fast approaching:

We don’t mean to sound like a broken record, but there’s a good reason why Hyeseong Kim is back at the top of The Opener for a second day in a row. The KBO star was posted last month, and his negotiating window officially opened on December 5, giving him 30 days to sign a contract with an MLB team. He now has less than eight hours remaining before his posting window closes this afternoon at 4:00 PM CT.

MLBTR ranked Kim at no. 26 on our Top 50 Free Agents list this winter, predicting he’d sign a three-year, $24MM deal. However, his name hasn’t come up in many rumors or reports since he was posted. If Kim does not sign today, he will return to his KBO team, the Kiwoom Heroes, for the 2025 season. As Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News points out, Kim will be an unrestricted free agent next offseason, which means he won’t need to be posted a second time if he wants to pursue an MLB career. That could improve his chances of inking a deal. Not only will he have more time to negotiate, but his new team won’t be forced to pay a release fee to sign him.

2. White Sox 40-man move incoming:

The White Sox have a full 40-man roster, which means they’ll need to make space for Josh Rojas before they can finalize his signing. The free agent infielder reportedly agreed to terms on a one-year contract with Chicago on Thursday, but the team has yet to confirm the news. Financial details of the deal are something else to keep an eye out for this weekend – as of today, they have not been reported.

Earlier this week, the White Sox traded for left-handed Tyler Gilbert and designated infielder Braden Shewmake for assignment to make room on the roster. Thus, their 40-man is currently quite pitching heavy, featuring 24 arms and just 16 position players. With that in mind, it seems more likely the White Sox will cut a pitcher to free up space for Rojas.

3. Owen White’s DFA resolution:

After signing free agent reliever Hoby Milner, the Rangers DFA’d former top prospect Owen White to make room on the 40-man roster. Since then, White has been waiting in limbo. Typically, teams have seven days to resolve a DFA, but that timeline can be extended during the period between Christmas and New Year’s Day. Now that the holiday season is over, however, the Rangers will have to trade White or place him on waivers, presumably before the end of the weekend.

As the MLB offseason continues, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. Kim’s posting window draws closed:

KBO infielder Hyeseong Kim has just under 32 hours remaining in his posting window, which is set to close at 4pm CT tomorrow. MLBTR ranked Kim as the #26 free agent available in our annual Top 50 MLB Free Agents list, where we predicted a three-year, $28MM deal for Kim at the outset of the offseason. With that being said, it’s worth noting that the earning power of international free agents can be difficult to predict as Kim’s fellow countryman Jung Hoo Lee demonstrated last winter when he signed a nine-figure deal with the Giants that blew past all expectations at the time of his posting.

There’s been few concrete rumors regarding Kim’s free agency to this point in the offseason, and with so little known about Kim’s free agency it’s difficult to predict which teams may be interested in the infielder or if he could consider returning to the Kiwoom Heroes in 2025 if he’s unable to find a contract to his liking. Kim is primarily a second baseman but has plenty of experience at shortstop as well and is generally regarded as a strong defender who should have little trouble handling third base if needed. The Mariners, Yankees, Angels, Cubs, Padres, and Brewers are among a number of teams who could make sense as potential suitors for a versatile infielder like Kim.

2. Arbitration filing deadline approaches:

Arbitration-eligible players around the league have to either reach an agreement with their club or face an arbitration hearing each winter, and decision day is rapidly approaching for those players this winter. The deadline to file for arbitration is one week from today on January 9. While teams and players are free to negotiate even after filing, clubs have increasingly used next week’s deadline as a cutoff for negotiations, taking what’s been termed a “file-and-trial” approach to arbitration. The majority of arb-level players typically sign before the deadline in order to avoid arbitration, as Royals right-hander Kyle Wright did last month. Many more players figure to follow in Wright’s footsteps over the next week, including what’s sure to be a rush of deals on the day of the deadline.

3. Scherzer’s market heating up?

Reporting yesterday indicated that four teams are involved in the market for future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer, though no specific clubs have been connected to the veteran hurler. At age 40, Scherzer is coming off an injury-marred season and is no longer the perennial contender for Cy Young awards that he was during his peak. Even so, the right-hander has remained valuable when healthy, with a 3.81 ERA (109 ERA+) and a 26.8% strikeout rate over the past two seasons. The eight-time All-Star is among the highest upside players still on the market and offers a relatively low-cost alternative to the top hurlers remaining on the market, Jack Flaherty and Nick Pivetta, while standing out in a crowd of veterans searching for one-year deals as the most impactful option at that level of the market now that Walker Buehler is off the board.

Happy New Year from MLBTR! Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world headed into 2025:

1. Thielbar terms to be publicized:

The Cubs wrapped up 2024 with one last signing: left-hander Caleb Thielbar on a one-year deal. Thielbar, 38 later this month, struggled to a 5.32 ERA in 47 1/3 innings of work with the Twins last year but had pitched much better for Minnesota from 2020 to 2023, when he posted a 3.21 ERA (130 ERA+) with a 3.16 FIP in 174 innings of work. The southpaw figures to feature in Chicago’s middle relief mix, joining other left-handed options such as Rob Zastryzny and Luke Little. Notably, the terms of Thielbar’s deal with the Cubs have not yet been reported. Even heading into his age-38 season following a down season, it wouldn’t be a shock if Thielbar garnered significantly more than the major league minimum given his past track record of success. It’s likely that more clarity regarding the specifics of Thielbar’s contract will be made available in the coming days.

2. Players in DFA limbo:

The timer for clubs to make decisions regarding players in DFA limbo was paused over the holidays, but figures to restart now that 2025 has begun. A number of players including Phillies left-hander Tyler Gilbert, Astros infielder Grae Kessinger, and Rangers catcher Sam Huff have been facing uncertain futures that will be resolved in the coming days. Within the next week, all players currently in DFA limbo figure to either be placed on waivers or traded. Clubs will have the opportunity to outright any of their players who clear waivers during this time to the minor leagues, but players who have previously been outrighted or have at least three years of MLB service time can reject that assignment in favor of free agency if they so choose.

3. Will these teams spend in 2025?

As 2024 came to a close, MLBTR’s Anthony Franco took a look yesterday at each club’s spending to this point in the offseason. The Mets, naturally, led the way by a significant margin thanks to the $765MM commitment they made to Juan Soto last month, but the other end of the list is far more interesting. Five clubs have yet to spend a dime in free agency, though that number drops to four if you consider right-hander Michael Wacha re-upping with the Royals in the days leading up to free agency to be a fresh signing rather than an extension. Joining the Royals at the bottom of the spending barrel are the Mariners, Twins, Padres, and Cardinals. Each team finished with an above .500 record last year, but at the very least Minnesota, San Diego, and St. Louis all appear to face stiff payroll limitations this winter. Will these clubs become more active in free agency now that we’ve moved into 2025, with just six weeks until pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training?

The Opener is back after a brief hiatus. Here are three things to watch for around baseball today:

1. Jesús Luzardo media availability:

Jesús Luzardo will speak with media members today for the first time since the Phillies acquired him in a trade with the Marlins. The left-hander was excellent in 2023 but struggled in 2024 before suffering a season-ending lumbar injury. He also spent a couple of weeks on the IL in April and May with tightness in his throwing elbow. However, the 27-year-old told reporters (including Christina De Nicola of MLB.com) earlier this winter that he has been able to perform his “normal offseason progression,” suggesting his elbow and back are “feeling really good.” Presumably, Luzardo will further discuss his health and offseason program with reporters from the Phillies beat this afternoon.

2. Craig Breslow to discuss Walker Buehler signing:

After coming to terms with free agent right-hander Walker Buehler last week, the Red Sox officially announced his one-year, $21.05MM contract over the weekend. Today, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow will meet with reporters to take questions about Buehler (per Chris Cotillo of MassLive). Cotillo adds that there are currently no plans for the pitcher himself to hold an in-person press event.

Breslow is likely to address how Buehler will slot into a starting rotation that also includes Garrett Crochet, Tanner Houck, Lucas Giolito, Brayan Bello, Kutter Crawford, and potentially/eventually Garrett Whitlock, Patrick Sandoval, and Quinn Priester. In addition, expect Breslow to answer questions about what comes next. He has made several moves to bolster Boston’s pitching staff this winter but next to nothing to upgrade the offense.

3. Free agent contracts yet to be finalized:

A handful of reported free agent deals from December have yet to be officially announced. Those include Paul Goldschmidt’s one-year, $12.5MM deal with the Yankees; Joc Pederson’s two-year, $37MM deal with the Rangers; Teoscar Hernández’s three-year, $66MM deal with the Dodgers; and Corbin Burnes’s six-year, $210MM deal with the Diamondbacks. While the Hernández and Burnes deals were reported relatively recently (Dec. 27 and Dec. 28, respectively), it’s been more than a week since Goldschmidt (Dec. 21) and Pederson (Dec. 23) agreed to terms with their new clubs. Barring any surprising developments, both deals will most likely be finalized imminently.

As the offseason continues, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world today:

1. Slammin’ Sammy back at Wrigley?

Seven-time All-Star and 1998 NL MVP Sammy Sosa was one of baseball’s biggest stars over a 13-year stretch with the Cubs and is one of the most famous players to come out of the North Side in the past 40 years. You wouldn’t have known all that from taking a trip to Wrigley Field in the 20 years since he left the team following the 2004 season, however, as Sosa has been persona non grata on the North Side ever since he left the team due to his widely suspected use of steroids during his time in Chicago. Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts addressed the schism between his team and one of its biggest stars nearly seven years ago, telling fans and reporters at the 2018 Cubs Convention that “players from that era owe us a little bit of honesty” as noted by Jesse Rogers of ESPN at the time.

Sosa offered that bit of honesty in a statement yesterday (link via MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy). Within a lengthier statement regarding his time with the Cubs and love for the fans/organization, Sosa stated: “There were times I did whatever I could to recover from injuries in an effort to keep my strength up to perform over 162 games. I never broke any laws, but in hindsight, I made mistakes and I apologize.”

Following that tacit acknowledgment and subsequent apology, Ricketts released a statement of his own, extending Sosa an invitation to the 2025 Cubs Convention, which takes place next month. Yesterday’s thaw in relations between the Cubs and one of the biggest stars in the club’s history should give longtime fans the opportunity to see Sosa back at Wrigley Field in the future as a guest of honor, just as has been the case for other former Cubs stars ranging from Jon Lester and Aramis Ramirez to Fergie Jenkins and Ryne Sandberg in recent years.

2. Rangers 40-man move incoming:

Yesterday, the Rangers made a move to add to their bullpen by agreeing to terms with southpaw Hoby Milner on a one-year deal. Milner, who posted a 3.44 ERA and 3.14 FIP with the Brewers over the past three seasons, offers Texas a solid relief option from the left side and helps to patch up a relief corps that has lost Jose Leclerc, David Robertson, and Kirby Yates to free agency this winter. Milner’s deal with the Rangers has not yet been made official, however, and before it can be the club will need to make room for the lefty on its 40-man roster.

That can be achieved simply by designating a player for assignment, and that’s how the vast majority of 40-man roster crunches are addressed. That said, teams will occasionally line up a small trade that allows them to free up 40-man space for an impending signing. More clarity on the Rangers’ roster should arrive sooner than later.

3. Urshela to West Sacramento?

The A’s and third baseman Gio Urshela reportedly agreed to a one-year deal yesterday. While the Athletics won’t need to make room for Urshela on their 40-man roster, the financial terms for the deal have not yet been reported. Those terms hold particular weight given the fact that the club needs to significantly ramp up payroll this winter in order to avoid a potential grievance from the MLBPA. They’ve made good headway in that goal by signing Luis Severino and swinging a trade for Jeffrey Springs already this winter, deals which have left them with $88.5MM on their luxury tax ledger according to RosterResource. Urshela’s deal should help push that figure further north, but likely not by much. He played last year on a $1.5MM salary and hit .250/.286/.361 between Detroit and Atlanta.