Braves Outright Ian Hamilton
The Braves announced that right-hander Ian Hamilton has been sent outright to Triple-A Gwinnett. There wasn’t any previous indication he was on waivers but it appears he was quietly passed through unclaimed in recent days. The move drops Atlanta’s 40-man roster count from 39 to 38.
Hamilton was non-tendered by the Yankees after the 2025 season. Atlanta gave him a roster spot in December. Hamilton’s deal has a non-guaranteed $1.05MM salary, per the Associated Press. By cutting him from the roster before Opening Day, Atlanta will only owe him 45 days’ prorated termination pay, or about $254K.
The righty has at least three years of service time, meaning he has the right to elect free agency. Since he has fewer than five years of service, he would have to forfeit any remaining salary commitments on his deal by exercising that right. It’s unclear what kind of salary he would be paid as a minor leaguer, which would impact his decision.
Hamilton had some good seasons in the Bronx. He gave the Yanks 95 2/3 innings over 2023 and 2024, allowing 3.10 earned runs per nine. His 10% walk rate was a bit high but he struck out 27.4% of batters faced and induced ground balls at a 50.4% clip. His results backed up last year, as he posted a 4.28 ERA. His 25.3% strikeout rate was still good but a drop of a few ticks. He also saw his ground ball rate fall to 37.8% as his walk rate climbed to 13.3%. He was optioned to the minors for the final two months of the season.
That exhausted his final option year, so he will now be out of options going forward. That probably contributed to him getting pushed off the Yankee roster. He could have been retained for 2026 via arbitration, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting him for a $941K salary, barely above this year’s $780K minimum. The Yankees decided to non-tender him instead, sending him to free agency.
Atlanta now has a couple of roster spots to play with. They are likely to use one on Dominic Smith, whose path to playing time was opened by the Jurickson Profar suspension. The club might also select Martín Pérez or JR Ritchie to the roster. Atlanta also has several candidates to move to the 60-day injured list, with Joey Wentz, AJ Smith-Shawver, Hurston Waldrep and Danny Young all possibilities. With that flexibility, this Hamilton move was probably less about opening a 40-man spot and more just a reflection of the fact that he wasn’t going to crack the Opening Day active roster.
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White Sox Return Rule 5 Pick Alexander Alberto To Rays
March 19: Alberto has been returned to the Rays after clearing waivers, the White Sox announced. Chicago’s 40-man roster drops to 39 players. Alberto does not have to be added to Tampa Bay’s 40-man roster. He’ll be assigned to a minor league affiliate to begin the season.
March 16: The White Sox have placed Rule 5 pick Alexander Alberto on waivers, reports James Fegan of Sox Machine. Another club could claim the right-hander but would be subject to the standard Rule 5 restrictions, meaning Alberto would not be eligible to be optioned to the minors. If he clears waivers, he will have to be offered back to the Rays.
This effectively means that Alberto isn’t breaking camp with the Sox. Chicago made two Rule 5 picks in December, taking right-hander Jedixson Paez from the Red Sox and Alberto from the Rays. Alberto has tossed 6 2/3 innings over seven spring appearances, having allowed ten runs, eight of them earned. He struck out seven batters but allowed 12 hits, issued four walks and threw one wild pitch.
Under the regulations of the Rule 5, the selecting team must pay $100K to the club they take the player from. The player cannot be optioned to the minors and must therefore stay on the active roster or injured list. If he survives a full season with his new club, including at least 90 days on the active roster, then his rights fully transfer over to the drafting club.
With Alberto’s rough spring showing, it seems the Sox aren’t going to break camp with him. It was always a long shot pick, as Alberto’s career topped out at High-A last year. To skip over Double-A and Triple-A and stick in the big leagues, even with a rebuilding club, would be a tall order.
It’s possible some other club takes a chance on the stuff. Last year, Alberto tossed 48 2/3 innings on the farm, allowing 2.59 earned runs per nine. His 10% walk rate was a bit high but he struck out 30.6% of batters faced and induced grounders on 54.4% of balls in play. His cut fastball sits in the upper 90s while his upper 80s slider is considered a strong pairing. If no other club grabs him via waivers, he must be offered back to the Rays for $50K, half of the initial selection fee. The Rays would not need to carry Alberto on their 40-man roster.
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Dylan Moore Triggers Opt-Out In Phillies Deal
Veteran infielder/outfielder Dylan Moore has triggered the uniform opt-out clause in his minor league deal with the Phillies, reports Will Sammon of The Athletic. Philadelphia now has 48 hours to add him to the 40-man roster. If he’s not added to the roster, he’ll become a free agent who can sign with any other club.
The 33-year-old Moore has logged 689 big league games, all but 18 coming with the Mariners. He’s a right-handed hitter with a lifetime .206/.310/.383 batting line, 63 homers and 118 stolen bases in 1922 plate appearances. He hits for low averages against lefties and righties alike, but Moore has above-average pop against opponents of either handedness and walks at better than a 12% clip against lefties. His .216/.327/.400 slash against lefties in his career is about 10% better than average overall, by measure of wRC+.
Moore hasn’t fared all that well this spring, tallying 37 plate appearances and batting .226/.324/.258 with a double and a pair of steals. Be that as it may, he’s a plus runner with solid pop who can play virtually anywhere on the diamond — all of which could appeal to the Phillies or another club. Moore has played every position on the diamond other than catcher, including 1308 innings at second base, 900 at shortstop, 885 in left field, 605 in right field, 431 at third base, 155 at first base and 105 in center field. He’s drawn outstanding defensive grades at second base (14 Defensive Runs Saved, 8 Outs Above Average) and left field (14 DRS, 11 OAA) in particular.
The Phillies have one bench spot up for grabs. Either Rafael Marchán or Garrett Stubbs will be the backup catcher behind J.T. Realmuto, filling one spot. (Both are out of minor league options.) Edmundo Sosa has a utility job locked down, and righty-swinging Otto Kemp is likely to make the club as a platoon option for left fielder Brandon Marsh. With outfielder Johan Rojas facing an 80-game PED suspension, Moore could be a backup center field option behind rookie Justin Crawford while providing some versatile depth for just about every other starter in the lineup. His primary competition is fellow outfielder Bryan De La Cruz, who offers far less defensive flexibility and has consistently graded out as a poor corner outfield defender.
Given the lack of competition, there’s a good case for the Phils to select Moore’s contract rather than let him become a free agent on Saturday. Of course, Philadelphia could also find some other candidates for that final bench job as other veterans with this same uniform out clause in their minor league contracts become available. MLBTR recently profiled 33 players (Moore included) with opt-out opportunities in their minor league contracts prior to Opening Day.
Dodgers Select Santiago Espinal
The Dodgers announced that they have selected the contract of infielder/outfielder Santiago Espinal. They opened a 40-man roster spot earlier this month when outfielder Jack Suwinski was outrighted, so no corresponding move is necessary today.
Opening Day is still over a week away. With the Dodgers selecting Espinal’s contract now, it’s possible he had some sort of opt-out in his minor league deal. At any rate, there wasn’t much mystery regarding his status. A couple of weeks ago, manager Dave Roberts said that Espinal was trending towards making the team.
Espinal should provide the club with defensive versatility, while ideally helping against lefty pitching. In his career, Espinal has played all four infield spots as well as the outfield corners. Offensively, his right-handed bat is best deployed as part of a platoon. He has a career .291/.344/.409 line and 107 wRC+ against southpaws, compared to a .245/.300/.316 line and 73 wRC+ against righties.
He’s a few years removed from his best years at the plate, which were with the Blue Jays in 2021 and 2022. He slashed .282/.340/.382 for a 105 wRC+ over those two seasons. Since then, he has a .245/.298/.325 line over three seasons, a period which saw him get flipped to the Reds. That includes a rough .243/.292/.282 line and 58 wRC+ in 2025. The Reds outrighted him off the roster at season’s end and he elected free agency.
Tommy Edman and Enrique Hernández are going to open the season on the injured list. That leaves the second base spot fairly open, with guys like Hyeseong Kim and Miguel Rojas in the mix there. Kim is a lefty hitter but he was better against southpaws in 2025, so perhaps a platoon with Espinal isn’t perfect. In any case, Espinal can add some depth on the bench.
The Dodgers have a relatively old roster, as guys in their mid-30s like Mookie Betts, Max Muncy, Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernández should have regular roles. If anyone in that group is banged up or just needs a day off, Espinal can move around as needed.
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Nationals Option Harry Ford
The Nationals announced today that catcher Harry Ford has been optioned to Triple-A Rochester while fellow backstop Riley Adams has been reassigned to minor league camp. That seems to set the stage for Keibert Ruiz and Drew Millas to be the club’s catching tandem at the beginning of the season.
The Nats have an interesting long-term catching mix. They acquired Ruiz from the Dodgers as part of the 2021 deal sending Max Scherzer and Trea Turner to the Dodgers. He and the club agreed to an extension in 2023, a deal which runs through 2030 and has club options for 2031 and 2032.
But since the start of 2024, he has poor defensive numbers and a .235/.266/.345 batting line. FanGraphs has considered him to be 1.3 wins below replacement level in that span. He was acquired and extended by the previous front office regime. President of baseball operations Mike Rizzo was fired last year as the club’s rebuild failed to proceed as hoped.
Paul Toboni was hired to replace Rizzo. One of the first significant moves of his tenure was to trade reliever Jose A. Ferrer to the Mariners, with Ford being the headliner of the return. Ford is one of the top catching prospects in the league. Seattle drafted him 12th overall in 2021 and signed him to a bonus of $4.4MM. With Cal Raleigh locked in as the catcher in Seattle, it made sense for the Mariners to put Ford on the trade block. Presumably, the Nats hope Ford is their primary catcher in the long term.
Ford’s major league track record consists of just eight games so far. He got into 97 Triple-A games last year and put up a .283/.408/.460 line. Even in the hitter-friendly environment of the Pacific Coast League, that was 25% better than league average, by measure of wRC+. His defense was once considered questionable but he has made enough progress that he is expected by many evaluators to stick behind the plate for the long term.
Though Ford is still only 23 years old and lacking in experience, the Nats could have considered carrying him on the Opening Day roster due to the Prospect Promotion Incentive. He would have been PPI eligible if the Nats kept him on the active roster for long enough to earn a full year of service time. He could have then earned them an extra draft pick if he won Rookie of the Year or Most Valuable Player in his pre-arbitration seasons.
The Nats didn’t get a long look at him during Spring Training, as Ford joined the Great Britain team in the World Baseball Classic. He has only appeared in seven Grapefruit League contests, with a lackluster .214 /.353/.286 line in those.
For now, it seems the Nats will have Ford getting regular reps in the minors. That will give Ruiz a chance to continue as the regular catcher in the big leagues. Despite his recent struggles, it’s not out of the question for Ruiz to get back on track. He is only 27 years old and was able to be a league average hitter as of a few years ago.
If that doesn’t come to fruition, then it’s possible a time will come where Ford pushes for a regular role, which will get Ruiz bumped into being an overpaid backup. His contract isn’t especially onerous on an annual basis but there’s still quite a ways to go. He will make $5MM this year and next, followed by a salary of $7MM in 2028 and then $9MM in each of the final two years. That means he is still guaranteed $35MM over the next five years. The club options are valued at $12MM and $14MM, with no buyouts.
The timing of Ford’s eventual recall to the majors will impact his future earning power. He currently has 28 days of service time. If he spends about six weeks or more on optional assignment this year, he won’t be able to reach the one-year mark, which will push his path to free agency by a year. It also could impact when he qualifies for arbitration, depending on where the Super Two cutoff lands in future seasons.
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Red Sox, Tommy Kahnle Agree To Minor League Deal
March 18th: Chris Cotillo of MassLive reports that there are no short-term opt-outs in the Kahnle deal, though is an assignment clause on May 1st and then an opt-out on June 1st.
March 17th: The Red Sox reached agreement with veteran reliever Tommy Kahnle on a minor league contract, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. The Covenant Sports Group client will presumably be in camp as a non-roster invitee. Ari Alexander of Boston 7 News reports that the deal comes with a $1.5MM base salary and $250K in bonuses if he reaches the MLB roster.
Kahnle spent the 2025 season in Detroit on a $7.75MM free agent deal. It didn’t pan out as the Tigers envisioned. The right-hander allowed a 4.43 earned run average while striking out only 18.7% of opponents, easily a career low. The drop in production really came in the second half. Kahnle took a 1.77 ERA and solid 23.3% strikeout rate into July. He was blitzed for nearly eight runs per nine innings while walking more batters than he struck out the rest of the way.
There wasn’t any kind of dramatic drop-off in Kahnle’s stuff — not that hitters weren’t fully aware what was coming either way. Kahnle throws his changeup more than 85% of the time. That’s the highest rate in MLB by a mile. Devin Williams was the only other pitcher to throw a changeup (which is how Statcast buckets his trademark “Airbender”) at least half the time. Williams went to that pitch at a 52% clip.
Kahnle has had success with this approach for years, so it’s not as if hitters suddenly caught onto the pattern at last season’s All-Star Break. They did a better job laying off when he threw it out of the zone, though, leading to a drop in whiffs and a spike in walks down the stretch. The Tigers continued to use Kahnle in reasonably high-leverage spots and pitched him four times in eight playoff games. He gave up three runs (one earned) on five hits and two walks across 2 1/3 innings in October.
Although he’s signing just over a week from Opening Day, the 36-year-old Kahnle should be ready for the beginning of the season. He pitched in the World Baseball Classic for Israel, tossing two scoreless innings with a pair of strikeouts. The Sox have seven more Spring Training contests before heading to Cincinnati to open the regular season on March 26.
The timing of the signing probably isn’t a coincidence. Kahnle was an Article XX(b) free agent because he finished last season on Detroit’s major league roster. Those players receive automatic opt-out chances five days before Opening Day, May 1 and June 1 if they sign a minor league contract at least 10 days before the start of the regular season. Assuming Kahnle’s deal didn’t become official until today, he won’t meet that criteria. His camp could have negotiated separate opt-out dates into the contract, but there’s a decent chance he’ll open the season at Triple-A Worcester.
Guardians Release Pedro Avila
Right-hander Pedro Avila is heading back to the open market. Per Tim Stebbins of MLB.com, the righty was informed he would not be making the Opening Day roster with the Guards and was granted his release, perhaps indicating he had some kind of opt-out in his deal.
Avila, now 29, has 146 1/3 big league innings under his belt. Most of that action was out of the Padres’ bullpen but he was flipped to Cleveland a couple of years ago. At the end of the 2024 season, he had a 3.51 earned run average in his career. His 10.6% walk rate was a bit on the high side but he struck out 23.8% of batters faced and induced grounders on 49.2% of balls in play. He tossed four scoreless innings for the Guards in the 2024 postseason.
Despite those pretty decent numbers, Avila was nudged off Cleveland’s roster in the 2024-25 offseason. He then signed with the Yakult Swallows of Nippon Professional Baseball and got stretched out in Japan. He tossed 82 1/3 innings over 15 appearances with a 4.04 ERA. His 17.8% strikeout rate and 43.9% ground ball rate were both a few ticks lower than his MLB work but his walk rate dropped to 8.7%.
Avila returned to the Guards this winter via a minor league deal. He made six appearances in Cactus League action, logging 8 1/3 innings, allowing three earned runs via ten hits and a walk while striking out four.
The Cleveland bullpen has Cade Smith, Hunter Gaddis and Shawn Armstrong projected for three leverage roles. Matt Festa and Connor Brogdon seem likely to get spots and both are out of options. Erik Sabrowski and Tim Herrin are optionable but are the top two left-handed options. Peyton Pallette is a Rule 5 pick and can’t be sent down if the Guards plan to hang onto him.
The Guards evidently didn’t want to squeeze Avila in there, so he’s been cut loose. He’ll now have a chance to suss out opportunities with other clubs as Opening Day looms next week. There should be a decent amount of roster shuffling as teams make their final roster decisions. Some players will trigger opt-outs or end up on waivers, which will lead to a few transactions.
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Braves Sign Kyle Nelson To Minor League Deal
The Braves have signed left-hander Kyle Nelson to a minor league deal, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America. It’s unclear if the Beverly Hills Sports Council client will be in major league or minor league camp.
Nelson, now 29, had his best stretch in the majors in 2022 and 2023. He tossed 93 innings for the Diamondbacks over those two seasons, primarily as a reliever though with a few starts as an opener. He allowed 3.39 earned runs per nine frames in that time, with a 24.9% strikeout rate and 7.2% walk rate that were both a bit better than league average.
Unfortunately, he hasn’t been at that level since. He required thoracic outlet syndrome surgery in April of 2024 and missed most of that season. He was back on the mound in 2025 but with diminished stuff and results. His fastball averaged around 92 miles per hour in 2022 and 2023 but was down to around 90 mph last year. He was mostly kept in the minors. He only made three big league appearances and posted an ugly 9.09 ERA in Triple-A. The Snakes outrighted him off the roster in July. He was selected back to the roster in August but was outrighted again in November. He elected free agency after that second outright.
For Atlanta, there’s no harm in bringing Nelson aboard via a non-roster pact. They project to have Dylan Lee and Aaron Bummer as their top two lefty relievers. José Suarez may be in the bullpen but likely as a long reliever/swingman. Dylan Dodd and Hayden Harris are on the 40-man but they are optionable and still have fairly limited big league track records, so they may oscillate between Triple-A and the majors this year. If Nelson can get back on track and onto the roster, he still has one option season remaining.
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Mike Tauchman Has March 25 Opt-Out In Mets Deal
Outfielder Mike Tauchman is in camp with the Mets on a minor league deal. If the club doesn’t give him a roster spot at the end of camp, he can seek out opportunities elsewhere. Will Sammon of The Athletic reports that Tauchman has a March 25th opt-out in that deal. The Mets start the season on March 26th.
The Mets have two outfield spots spoken for. Juan Soto will be in left field and Luis Robert Jr. in center. The right field job was seemingly left open by design, as the Mets wanted to give prospect Carson Benge a chance to earn a spot. Benge has not yet made his major league debut, so the club needed to have some contingency plans. Tyrone Taylor is on the roster and could step up but he also would be a good fit as a glove-first fourth outfielder. Brett Baty is going to be in a super utility role and will be in the mix as well. Tauchman was brought in to give the Mets another option without taking up a roster spot. MJ Melendez was added to the roster but he has an option remaining and could be sent to Triple-A.
Benge is doing what he can to get the job, with a .367/.406/.433 line in spring so far. That’s held up by an unsustainable .440 batting average on balls in play but it’s encouraging nonetheless. Tauchman is putting up even better numbers. With a .400 BABIP, he has a .333/.481/.619 line in spring action so far.
Sammon floats the idea of both players cracking the roster but also notes it may not be realistic. With Francisco Lindor trending towards being ready on Opening Day, the roster is tight. Backup catcher Luis Torrens will have one of the four bench spots. Taylor and Mark Vientos are out of options and should have two more. The final spot could go to a backup infielder like Ronny Mauricio.
Mauricio does still have an option remaining, so the Mets could send him to Triple-A and add Tauchman to the bench. Doing so would leave them without a bench infielder, so the Mets would have to be comfortable with the versatility of their starters. Second baseman Marcus Semien and third baseman Bo Bichette are both former shortstops, with Bichette being an everyday guy there as recently as last year. Baty can play second and third. Vientos give them some cover at the hot corner. Jorge Polanco is expected to play a lot of first base but he also has recent experience at second and third.
It’s unknown how the Mets feel about that jumble but it’s theoretically possible they could feel comfortable without Mauricio in the mix. If he were sent to Triple-A, he could get some regular playing time, which he hasn’t had for a while. He missed 2024 due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. Last year, he was still rehabbing that knee to start the year and then was mostly kept in a bench role once he was healthy. Vidal Bruján is only on the roster and out of options but the Mets may try to get him through waivers.
If the Mets don’t find a spot for Tauchman, he could find one somewhere else. He’s not a star but has been pretty solid for the past three years. Since the start of 2023, he has a combined .255/.359/.381 line, which translates to a 111 wRC+. He doesn’t have huge power but he has drawn walks at a strong 13% clip, while keeping his strikeouts down to a 21.3% clip. His defensive grades have been strong as well. FanGraphs credited him with 4.1 wins above replacement in 310 games over that span.
Despite the solid production, teams have somewhat surprisingly been averse to investing in him. The Cubs non-tendered him after 2024 despite a fairly modest $2.9MM projected salary from MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz. He spent 2025 with the White Sox and had another decent campaign but he was once again non-tendered, with Swartz projecting a $3.4MM salary.
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Diamondbacks Sign Luis Urías To Minor League Deal
The Diamondbacks have signed infielder Luis Urías to a minor league deal, according to the Reno Aces, the club’s Triple-A affiliate. It’s unclear if the Wasserman client will report to major league or minor league camp.
Urías, 29 in June, was once a solid regular for the Brewers. He hit 39 home runs over the 2021 and 2022 seasons, producing a combined .244/.340/.426 line and 111 wRC+. He bounced around the dirt, making at least 49 starts at each of shortstop, second base and third base. FanGraphs credited him with 4.7 wins above replacement in that span.
Unfortunately, his production tailed off in 2023 and he’s been more of a role player in recent years. He has 616 plate appearances since the start of 2023 with a .213/.319/.337 line and 88 wRC+. He signed with the A’s last year and hit .230/.315/.338 for an 84 wRC+ in 96 games before being released in August. He spent the final few weeks of 2025 back with the Brewers on a minor league deal.
Arizona has Geraldo Perdomo at short, Ketel Marte at second and Nolan Arenado at third. They have Tim Tawa and Jose Fernandez also on the roster as potential bench infielders, though Fernandez has options and hasn’t yet played at the Triple-A level, so he’ll almost certainly start the season in the minors. Tawa has 74 big league games under his belt and could be on the major league bench but he also has options and could be sent to the farm.
The Snakes have Ildemaro Vargas and Jacob Amaya around as infielders with some major league experience who are signed to minor league deals. Urías will jump into that group and provide the Diamondbacks with some more non-roster veteran depth on the dirt.