Marlins Sign Chris Paddack
Feb. 12: Miami has officially announced the Paddack signing. Right-hander Ronny Henriquez was placed on the 60-day IL to open up room on the 40-man. Henriquez had internal brace surgery in December and is expected to miss the 2026 season.
Feb. 9: The Marlins are reportedly in agreement on a one-year, $4MM guarantee with back-end starter Chris Paddack. The Boras Corporation client can earn an additional $500K in performance bonuses. Miami, which had been looking to add an affordable starter after trading Edward Cabrera and Ryan Weathers, will need to open a spot on the 40-man roster once the signing is official.
Paddack returns to the organization that drafted him in the eighth round in 2015. He hadn’t advanced beyond Low-A before the Marlins traded him to the Padres for closer Fernando Rodney at the following summer’s deadline. It ended up being a win for San Diego, albeit not as convincing as it once seemed to be. Rodney struggled to a 5.89 ERA over 39 appearances with Miami. Paddack’s climb to the big leagues was set back by Tommy John surgery that occurred almost immediately after the trade, but the righty reemerged as a strong prospect and broke camp in 2019.
He had a very good rookie season, pitching to a 3.33 earned run average across 26 starts. Paddack looked like a mid-rotation arm at the time, but his numbers quickly regressed. He struggled between 2020-21, and the Padres traded him to Minnesota in a deal for reliever Taylor Rogers on Opening Day 2022. Paddack blew out a few starts into his debut season with the Twins, requiring his second Tommy John surgery in the process. He was limited to two relief outings at the tail end of the ’23 campaign.
Paddack’s 2024 return season was again hampered by arm issues, most notably a forearm strain that shut him down shortly after the All-Star Break. He avoided the injured list last year for the first time in five seasons but simply didn’t pitch well. Paddack had an ERA pushing 5.00 over 21 starts when the Twins traded him to the Tigers at the deadline. He was hit hard in three of his first five outings in Detroit and moved to the bullpen in early September. Paddack returned to the rotation for two starts to close the regular season and was scratched from the Tigers’ playoff rosters.
The 30-year-old finished the season with a 5.35 earned run average across 33 outings. He logged a career-high 158 innings but allowed 94 earned runs, the most in the American League. Paddack’s formerly above-average strikeout rates dropped to a disappointing 16.7% as his swinging strike percentage fell below 10% for the first time. He has always struggled with the home run ball and hasn’t had the swing-and-miss stuff to make up for that in recent years.
Paddack’s four-seam fastball averaged 93.7 mph last season. That’s down a touch from its peak in 2021 but a near match for the velocity he showed during his career-best rookie year. The bigger issue is that opponents teed off on the changeup — a .263 average and .491 slugging mark — that had been his best pitch. Paddack has never had a good breaking ball or an overpowering heater, so he’ll need the changeup to be much more effective if he’s to recapture mid-rotation form.
The righty has always had excellent control. He has never walked even 6% of opponents in a season. Paddack continues to attack the strike zone but the stuff was far too hittable last season. Pitching his home games at loanDepot Park could help mitigate some of the home run issues. Paddack enters camp with a strong chance to open the year as Clayton McCullough‘s fifth starter.
Eury Pérez and Sandy Alcantara are locked into the top two spots. Max Meyer and Braxton Garrett are each entering camp healthy, though both pitchers are coming back from surgeries. Janson Junk, Ryan Gusto and Adam Mazur are depth options on the 40-man roster, while top prospects Thomas White and Robby Snelling loom in the upper minors. Snelling pitched very well over 11 Triple-A starts last year and could break camp. White only made two starts at the top minor league level and seems destined to begin the season in Triple-A.
Those pitchers all have a higher ceiling, but everyone in the back-end mix has questions about their injury history or lack of MLB experience. That’s also the case for Paddack, but it’s an affordable move to add another starter after the Cabrera and Weathers trades. It’s a similar move to last year’s $3.5MM signing of Cal Quantrill shortly before camps opened.
The signing brings Miami’s payroll estimate to $72MM, as calculated by RosterResource. That’s a little above last year’s $65MM Opening Day mark, but Miami ranked dead last in spending. They’re again projected for the lowest team payroll in the majors, although they’re probably ahead of the Guardians in actual 2026 salary given the deferrals on Cleveland’s recent José Ramírez extension.
Jon Heyman of The New York Post first reported the agreement and $4MM salary plus $500K in bonuses. Craig Mish of SportsGrid confirmed it was a one-year major league deal.
Image courtesy of Matt Krohn, Imagn Images.
Dodgers Trade Anthony Banda To Twins
1:17pm: The Twins sent $500K of pool space to the Dodgers in the deal, per Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com. (International pool space must be traded in $250K increments.) For clarity’s sake, no actual money exchanged hands; rather, the Twins shrunk their league-allotted spending limit by $500K, while the Dodgers’ limit correspondingly increases by $500K.
12:27pm: The Twins have acquired veteran left-hander Anthony Banda from the Dodgers, per announcements from both clubs. Minnesota is sending international bonus space back to L.A. in return. Banda had been designated for assignment by the Dodgers last week. Righty Jackson Kowar has been designated for assignment to open a 40-man spot for Banda.
The Dodgers originally acquired Banda, now 32, in a cash deal early in the 2024 season. He quickly emerged as a quality bullpen option for them and spent the next season-plus as a frequently used southpaw for manager Dave Roberts. From 2024-25 in L.A., Banda logged a tidy 3.14 ERA with a 23.3% strikeout rate, 10.9% walk rate and 41.6% ground-ball rate. He averaged 96 mph on both his four-seamer and sinker while recording a 13.2% swinging-strike rate that suggests he could have a few more punchouts in the tank. Banda tallied 19 holds and two saves in 114 2/3 innings as a Dodger.
Banda’s 2025 season, however, wasn’t as sharp as his 2024 campaign. He lost a percentage point off his strikeout rate while his walk rate climbed by four points, from 8.6% to 12.7%. He still notched a 3.18 ERA in a career-high 65 innings, but his rate stats understandably gave the Dodgers some cause for concern.
The discrepancy between the bullpens in Los Angeles and Minnesota is underscored by the fact that this trade came together. The Dodgers deemed Banda expendable and jettisoned him and his $1.625MM salary. The Twins, meanwhile, traded some actual value to acquire him and will now count him among the most reliable arms in a bullpen that was torn all the way down at last year’s trade deadline. Minnesota traded five relievers — Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, Louis Varland, Brock Stewart and Danny Coulombe — dismantling what had been one of the league’s top relief units in order to scale back payroll and bring in some more controllable and affordable young talent in the process.
Where Banda was near the bottom of the pecking order in the L.A. bullpen, he now figures to be an option in high-leverage spots. That’s all the more true given his familiarity with new Twins skipper Derek Shelton, who managed Banda as a member of the Pirates back in 2021-22.
If Banda pans out in Minnesota, he can provide value to the Twins for multiple seasons. He currently has 4.135 years of MLB service, meaning he’ll be controllable through the 2027 season. He’ll be eligible for a raise in arbitration next winter, but his modest $1.625MM salary for the 2026 season means he won’t break the bank regardless of how well he pitches in what’ll be his debut campaign for Minnesota.
Banda joins the re-signed Taylor Rogers, Justin Topa and Cole Sands as the only members of the Twins’ bullpen with even three years of major league experience. The Twins also picked up righty Eric Orze in a small trade with the Rays early in the winter, and they got good work out of southpaw Kody Funderburk following that July fire sale in the bullpen (0.75 ERA, 28-to-10 K/BB ratio in 24 innings).
Veterans Liam Hendriks and Julian Merryweather joined up on minor league deals just yesterday and could factor into the group, as could any young starters who don’t crack a relatively crowded rotation picture. Pablo Lopez, Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober and out-of-options Simeon Woods Richardson all seem like rotation locks, health permitting. Former top prospects Taj Bradley, David Festa, Zebby Matthews and Mick Abel are among the candidates who’ll vie for the fifth spot (and possibly the fourth, if Woods Richardson is outpitched and heads to the bullpen himself).
Twins general manager Jeremy Zoll has been on the lookout for bullpen help throughout camp, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him further add to a perilously thin group of relievers in the days or weeks to come.
Kowar, 29, was claimed off waivers from the Mariners just eight days ago. The former first-round pick and top prospect has been derailed by injuries in his career but sits in the upper 90s with his four-seamer and sinker. He’s shown the ability to miss bats at times but struggles with sub-par command and too much hard contact allowed.
In parts of four MLB seasons (91 innings) between the Royals (his original club) and Mariners, the former Florida Gators star has been rocked for an 8.21 ERA. He posted a more palatable 4.24 ERA in 17 innings with Seattle last year, however, and notched a sharp 2.81 ERA in an additional 16 innings of Triple-A ball.
Kowar is out of minor league options. The Twins will hope to pass him through waivers and retain him as bullpen depth who’d be invited to big league camp and potentially stashed in the upper minors. If another club claims him, Kowar would need to stick on that team’s 40-man roster or else once again be exposed to waivers. The Twins can trade Kowar or place him on waivers at any point in the next five days. Waivers are a 48-hour process, so within a week’s time, we’ll know the outcome of Kowar’s DFA.
Dan Hayes of The Athletic first reported the trade and the Kowar DFA.
Dodgers Re-Sign Kiké Hernández
1:10pm: The Dodgers have formally announced the deal. Phillips was indeed moved to the 60-day IL to open roster space.
12:06pm: The Dodgers are bringing Kiké Hernández back for the 2026 season. The utilityman first announced the agreement on social media. It’s a one-year, $4.5MM deal for the Wasserman client, reports Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. The Dodgers will need to open a spot on the 40-man roster once the signing is final, though they can do so by placing newly re-signed reliever Evan Phillips on the 60-day injured list.
Hernández has spent the past two and a half seasons in L.A. He sandwiched a few seasons in Boston in between but has spent the majority of his career with the Dodgers. Hernández was a high-end utility player earlier in his career, playing plus defense everywhere on the diamond while hitting left-handed pitching well. His offensive production has tailed off over the past few years, but the Dodgers love him as a clubhouse presence and he remains a versatile defender.
The 34-year-old Hernández is coming off a .203/.255/.366 showing across 256 regular season plate appearances. He popped 10 home runs in 93 games but struck out at a career-high 26.6% clip. Since returning to L.A. at the 2023 trade deadline, he’s a .228/.279/.382 hitter in a little over 800 trips to the plate. His .220/.278/.393 line against left-handed pitching is well below what he did against southpaws earlier in his career.
Hernández does have a strong postseason track record, compiling an .826 OPS over 103 games in October. That didn’t really materialize last season, when he hit .250/.290/.359 with one homer in 69 plate appearances. He nevertheless clearly had the trust of skipper Dave Roberts, who penciled Hernández into the lineup for every game of their World Series run. He played mostly left field as the Dodgers lost faith in the slumping Andy Pages. That ended in triumph with the third World Series of his career, as he was also part of the 2020 and ’24 clubs.
There’s no room in the starting lineup entering the season. They signed Kyle Tucker to play right field, pushing Teoscar Hernández to left. Kiké Hernández can take some center field reps but hasn’t been a regular there since 2022. That’ll probably fall to Pages and potentially Tommy Edman, depending on how the Dodgers feel about him covering a lot of ground coming off ankle surgery. Hernández will be available off the bench and can take a few at-bats from Max Muncy at third base against left-handed pitching. He’ll offer a more defensively minded alternative to Teoscar Hernández as a late-game substitute.
Hernández and Miguel Rojas are locks for bench roles, as is a backup catcher (very likely Dalton Rushing). That’d leave one spot which will probably go to Hyeseong Kim if Edman is ready for Opening Day. Should Edman require an IL stint, Kim will draw in at second base and there’d be one spot available for Alex Call, Ryan Ward or Alex Freeland.
The Dodgers are taxed at a 110% rate as third-time payor with a CBT number above $304MM. RosterResource calculates their luxury tax payroll above $400MM. The Hernández signing will cost them $9.45MM between his salary and the accompanying $4.95MM tax bill.
Image courtesy of Michael McLoone, Imagn Images.
A’s Trade Mitch Spence To Royals
The Athletics have traded right-hander Mitch Spence to the Royals in exchange for minor league righty AJ Causey, per announcements from both clubs. Spence was designated for assignment by the A’s earlier this week. Kansas City placed righty Alec Marsh on the 60-day IL to open a roster spot for Spence.
The 27-year-old Spence didn’t have to wait long to find a new home after getting DFAed on Tuesday. He’ll head to Kansas City as a depth option behind a fairly set rotation. Marsh had labrum surgery in November and is set to miss the 2026 season. His placement on the 60-day was a formality.
The Athletics added Spence as a Rule 5 pick from the Yankees ahead of the 2024 season. He emerged as a mainstay in the rotation that year, piling up 151 1/3 innings across 35 appearances (24 starts). Spence posted an ERA in the mid-4.00s with subpar strikeout numbers. He did well to limit walks and got ground balls at an above-average clip.
The offseason additions of Jeffrey Springs and Luis Severino squeezed Spence out of the rotation. He made 32 appearances with the club, mostly out of the bullpen. Spence briefly returned to the rotation in June. His performance as a starter (5.05 ERA, 11 home runs allowed) led to a demotion to the minors. Spence returned to the A’s in September. He was hammered for nine earned runs in 10 innings to close the season.
Spence will be built up as a starter with Kansas City, but the club likes that he has experience in both roles, notes Anne Rogers of MLB.com. The Royals currently have Bailey Falter penciled into the swingman spot.
Kansas City took Causey in the fifth round of the 2024 draft out of Tennessee. The 23-year-old right-hander began his pro career at High-A this past season. After 40 1/3 innings of a 1.56 ERA with Quad City, he made the jump to Double-A. Causey maintained a sub-2.00 ERA in 21 games with Northwest Arkansas. He compiled a 1.72 ERA with more than a strikeout per inning in 48 appearances across the two levels. Scouting grades laud Causey’s slider and changeup. His sidearm delivery helps his 90 mph fastball play up.
Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images
Brewers, William Contreras Avoid Arbitration
The Brewers and star catcher William Contreras avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year deal with a club option for the 2027 season, per a team announcement. The Octagon client will earn $9.4MM in 2026, and the 2027 option is valued at $14.5MM, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Contreras’ camp had filed for a $9.9MM salary. The team filed at $8.5MM.
Contreras wasn’t eligible for free agency until the 2027-28 offseason, so the option doesn’t give the Brewers any additional club control. It does provide some potential cost certainty, however, while ensuring that this deal to avoid arbitration can’t be used as a data point in future arbitration cases; one-year arrangements with option years are considered multi-year deals for arbitration purposes and thus aren’t eligible to be cited as comps (by the Brewers or other clubs).
If Milwaukee ends up declining that option, Contreras would still be under club control. He’d simply be arbitration-eligible again. The Brewers declined a $12MM club option on Contreras for the upcoming season back in November. The two parties went back to negotiations, exchanged figures, and narrowly avoided a hearing.
Contreras’ $9.4MM salary lands just above the $9.2MM midpoint between the figures exchanged by team and player. If he has a big season and projects for a salary in the $14-15MM range, that 2027 option may end up being exercised, but if not, he’ll likely find himself in a similar boat next winter.
The 2025 season was a solid one but still a down year by Contreras’ lofty standards. After slashing .283/.363/.472 in three seasons from 2022-24, he hit “just” .260/.355/.399 in 659 trips to the plate this past season. Health was a factor, to be sure; Contreras played through a fracture in his left middle finger for the majority of the season — an injury originally revealed in May but not addressed in full until he underwent surgery following the season. In that sense, suiting up for 150 games, including 128 behind the plate, and delivering above-average offense is an impressive feat in and of itself.
The 2026 season will be Contreras’ penultimate year of club control. He’ll head into the year with a cleaner bill of health and look to get back to that 2022-24 form as the Brewers defend their NL Central crown. The general expectation is that Milwaukee will be in the thick of the division race — or at least the Wild Card chase — once again this season, even after trading ace Freddy Peralta and 2025 breakout rookies Isaac Collins and Caleb Durbin.
If that doesn’t come to pass, Contreras could well see his name surface in trade rumors this summer. Milwaukee tends to listen to offers on its best players as those players approach free agency. Josh Hader was traded at the deadline in his own penultimate season with the Brew Crew. This offseason, Peralta joined Corbin Burnes, Devin Williams and others as the latest Brewers star to be traded as his control window waned. It’s likelier than not that Contreras will stick in Milwaukee through the current season, but his name will assuredly pop up on the rumor mill next offseason, regardless of what happens with that club option.
Mets Sign MJ Melendez
Feb. 12: The Mets formally announced Melendez’s signing. Right-hander Tylor Megill moves to the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man roster spot. Megill will miss most or all of the 2026 season following last summer’s Tommy John surgery.
Feb. 8, 4:25pm: The deal is a split contract that will pay Melendez a lesser salary for time spent in the minors, as per Will Sammon and Tim Britton of The Athletic. The Mets view Melendez as primarily an outfielder, but with the potential to chip in at first base, and act as an emergency catcher.
2:47pm: The Mets have agreed to a one-year deal with MJ Melendez, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. It’s a $1.5MM pact that includes $500K in incentives. Melendez is a Boras Corporation client.
Melendez broke camp with the Royals last season, but was sent to Triple-A midway through April. He spent another week with the big-league club in July, and finished his 2025 season with just five hits in 65 MLB plate appearances. Kansas City non-tendered Melendez after the season rather than pay him a projected $2.65MM in arbitration, and he wraps up his time in the organization with an 88 wRC+ over 1652 PA across parts of four seasons — a disappointment for a player once considered one of the Royals’ top prospects.
The 27-year-old Melendez did well to garner a guaranteed deal after the rough showing in not just 2025, but for the bulk of his big league career. The Mets are likely intrigued by his numbers at Omaha last season (.261/.323/.490 with 20 homers and 20 steals over 480 plate appearances) and his past top-100 prospect pedigree. Melendez is also arbitration-controlled through the 2029 season, due to Super Two status.
While the Royals were ready to part ways with Melendez, there is some change-of-scenery potential as he heads to Queens. For a relatively inexpensive one-year deal, it’s a risk the Mets are willing to take, though it should be noted that Melendez’s overall price tag is boosted by New York’s luxury tax overages. Because the Mets have exceeded the top tax threshold in each of the last four seasons, Melendez will really cost the team $3.15MM, between Melendez’s salary and then the 110% tax bill.
On paper, Melendez provides some outfield depth for a team planning to give star prospect Carson Benge a full shot at the everyday left field job. Benge has yet to make his Major League debut, so having another experienced outfielder like Melendez on hand gives the Mets some coverage if Benge isn’t yet ready for the Show. That said, Melendez (a converted catcher) has been a subpar defender as a left fielder, so he remains a question mark with both his glove and his bat.
Guardians, Ben Lively Finalizing Minor League Deal
The Guardians are finalizing a two-year minor league contract with right-hander Ben Lively, per Zack Meisel of The Athletic. Lively, who underwent Tommy John surgery last June, is already at the team’s spring complex in Arizona, suggesting the deal should be wrapped up soon. He’s represented by Meister Sports Management.
A fourth-round pick by the Reds back in 2013, Lively struggled in a handful of major league opportunities with the Phillies and Royals in 2017-19 before heading over to the Korea Baseball Organization, where he enjoyed a nice two-and-a-half year run with the Samsung Lions. The Reds brought him back to North American ball ahead of the 2023 season, but he struggled in 88 2/3 frames (5.38 ERA) before being cut loose. Cleveland saw enough in his raw stuff and underlying metrics to bring him aboard on a major league deal in the 2023-24 offseason, and it proved to be a major bargain.
In 2024, Lively tossed 151 innings with a 3.81 earned run average, an 18.7% strikeout rate and a 7.8% walk rate over the life of 29 starts. He entered the 2025 season locked into a rotation spot for manager Stephen Vogt and posted a sharp-looking 3.22 ERA in nine starts, but the under-the-hood numbers were less encouraging. Lively’s strikeout rate dipped to 16.3% while his walk rate rose to 8.4%. His chase rate, swinging-strike rate and opponents’ contact rate all went in the wrong direction. Metrics like SIERA (5.30) and FIP (4.59) were far more bearish than his baseline earned run average.
Lively hit the injured list after just nine starts in 2025. He was originally diagnosed with a strained flexor tendon, but further imaging revealed significant damage to the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow as well. The Guardians announced in late May that Lively was headed for Tommy John surgery and would also have that flexor tendon repaired in the process. The procedure came with a recovery period of 12 to 16 months, per the club.
Given that timetable, the two-year nature of this new arrangement makes sense. There’s at least a chance Lively could be back in the fold midseason, but his rehab could extend into September, effectively eating up the entire 2026 campaign. In that case, Cleveland would still retain the right-hander as a non-roster player over the course of the 2026-27 offseason, and he could compete for a spot in the rotation ahead of the ’27 campaign.
Lively obviously won’t be in Cleveland’s rotation mix heading into the season. The Guardians will rely on Gavin Williams, Tanner Bibee, Parker Messick, Slade Cecconi and Logan Allen, perhaps with left-hander Joey Cantillo also factoring into the equation.
Twins To Sign Julian Merryweather To Minor League Deal
The Twins are bringing in reliever Julian Merryweather on a minor league contract, reports Dan Hayes of The Athletic. The client of Warner Sports Management will be in camp as a non-roster invitee. Minnesota also agreed to a minor league deal with Liam Hendriks this evening.
Merryweather made 21 appearances for the Cubs last season. He was hit hard, surrendering 13 runs (12 earned) across 18 2/3 innings. Merryweather struck out 15 while issuing 11 walks. Chicago released him at the end of May. Merryweather finished the season on successive minor league contracts with the Mets and Brewers. He didn’t find much more success in Triple-A, where he was tagged for a 5.87 ERA across 23 innings.
The 34-year-old righty has pitched parts of six MLB seasons between the Blue Jays and Cubs. He had one above-average season, firing 72 frames of 3.38 ERA ball in 2023. The past two years have been a struggle, and he holds a 4.72 mark over 158 1/3 career innings. Merryweather has a 96 mph fastball with a good slider but has never had strong command. He’s also battled various injuries, including 2018 Tommy John surgery and oblique/abdominal issues in 2020 and ’22, respectively.
As was the case for Hendriks, it’s easy to see the appeal for Merryweather in signing with Minnesota. There’s a strong opportunity for non-roster bullpen arms. Minnesota has a patchwork bullpen that probably only has four locks: Taylor Rogers, Justin Topa, Cole Sands and Kody Funderburk. Trade pickup Eric Orze should enter camp with a good chance to win a job. Jackson Kowar is out of options and needs to make the team or be designated for assignment. Kowar has a career 8.21 ERA, while everyone else aside from Rogers and Topa have a minor league option remaining. Dan Altavilla, Matt Bowman and Grant Hartwig are also in camp as non-roster invitees.
Twins, Liam Hendriks Agree To Minor League Deal
The Twins have an agreement to bring veteran reliever Liam Hendriks back to Minnesota, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. It’s a minor league deal with an invite to MLB camp for the client of ALIGND Sports Agency, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post.
It’s a homecoming for Hendriks, who signed with the Twins as an amateur out of Australia and made his MLB debut at Target Field in September 2011. Hendriks spent parts of three seasons with the club, struggling to a 6.06 ERA in 30 appearances (28 starts). The Twins designated him for assignment over the 2013-14 offseason and lost him on waivers.
Hendriks bounced around the league for a few years before a full-time move to the bullpen and accompanying velocity spike took him to a much higher level. The righty broke out as an elite closer in Oakland and continued on that pace after signing a four-year free agent deal with the White Sox. He earned three All-Star nods, finished top 10 in Cy Young balloting in consecutive seasons (2020-21) and led the American League in saves.
The past couple seasons have been far more challenging. Hendriks famously was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in the 2022-23 winter, though he quickly beat the disease. His return to the field was unfortunately cut short by an elbow injury. Hendriks underwent Tommy John surgery and has barely pitched over the last three seasons split between Chicago and Boston. He missed all of ’24 and was limited to 14 MLB appearances last year by a series of setbacks.
Elbow inflammation shelved him early in the year. He landed on the injured list at the end of May with an abdominal strain. Hendriks attempted to ramp up in September but felt renewed forearm discomfort and underwent ulnar surgery that ended his season. The Red Sox bought him out after just 13 2/3 innings of 11-run ball.
Although he settled for a minor league contract, Hendriks has a good chance to make the team. Minnesota has a patchwork bullpen that probably only has four locks: Taylor Rogers, Justin Topa, Cole Sands and Kody Funderburk. Trade pickup Eric Orze should enter camp with a good chance to win a job, while Jackson Kowar is out of options and needs to make the team or be designated for assignment. Kowar has a career 8.21 ERA, while everyone else aside from Rogers and Topa have a minor league option remaining.
As a player with six years of service time who finished last season on Boston’s major league roster, Hendriks hit the market as an Article XX(b) free agent. That means this deal comes with a trio of automatic opt-out dates under the collective bargaining agreement. He can trigger an out clause five days before Opening Day, on May 1, or on June 1. If he does, the Twins would have two days to either promote him or grant him his release.
Pirates Sign José Urquidy
February 11: Pittsburgh officially announced Urquidy’s one-year deal on Wednesday evening. Jones was placed on the 60-day injured list in a corresponding move. He’ll miss at least the first two months of the regular season but could be back before the All-Star Break as he rehabs from the elbow procedure. Pittsburgh will need to make another 40-man roster move — likely designating someone for assignment — once they finalize their agreement with DH Marcell Ozuna.
February 5: The Pirates and right-hander José Urquidy are reportedly in agreement on a one-year, $1.5MM contract. Urquidy, an Octagon client, can boost that salary further via incentives.
Pittsburgh generated headlines yesterday when they jumped in as a late entrant in the Framber Valdez bidding before he ultimately went to the Tigers last night. They’ll still add a former Astros hurler to reunite with new pitching coach Bill Murphy, though on a much smaller scale. Murphy coached Urquidy with Houston from 2021-24.
From 2021-22, Urquidy was an unheralded but quality member of the Houston rotation, starting 48 games and pitching to a solid 3.81 ERA with a 20.3% strikeout rate and a tiny 5.2% walk rate. Injuries began to slow him down in 2023. He missed three months with a shoulder injury that season, and his entire 2024 campaign was wiped out by an elbow injury that ultimately required Tommy John surgery over the summer. The 2025 season had been scheduled to be Urquidy’s final year of club control, so the Astros unsurprisingly cut him loose following the season.
Urquidy latched on with the Tigers on a one-year, $1MM contract that included a 2026 club option valued at $4MM. He returned from the injured list in September but pitched only 2 1/3 innings in the majors before consenting to be optioned. He pitched well in the minors last year (2.91 ERA, 22.2 K%, 6.2 BB% in 21 2/3 frames) but was hit hard in his small big league sample. The Tigers opted to decline their 2026 option and send Urquidy back to the open market.
With the injury troubles ostensibly behind him, Urquidy heads to the Pirates as an interesting buy-low candidate with some upside. Because he favors a changeup as his go-to offspeed pitch, he has substantial reverse splits in his career. Lefties have posted an awful .203/.257/.362 slash against him, whereas righties — with some help from the short left-field porch in Houston — have tagged him for a .267/.314/.468 batting line. Moving from one of the best environments for right-handed home runs to perhaps the worst in MLB will surely benefit his skill set.
Exactly what role the Pirates have in store for Urquidy, who turns 31 in May, remains to be seen. The Bucs are as deep as nearly any team in the sport when it comes to starting pitching but seem to add a low-cost veteran around this time of the offseason every year. In the past, that’s meant short-term pickups of Tyler Anderson, Jose Quintana, Martín Pérez and Andrew Heaney. Urquidy isn’t a lefty like that quartet but still seems to meet general manager Ben Cherington’s annual bargain starter quota.
Reigning NL Cy Young winner Paul Skenes will, of course, be the Pirates’ Opening Day starter. He’ll be followed in some order by veteran Mitch Keller and young flamethrowers Bubba Chandler and Braxton Ashcraft, both of whom impressed as rookies in 2025. Urquidy will join a competition for the fifth spot that includes Carmen Mlodzinski, Hunter Barco, Thomas Harrington and Jared Jones, who’ll be returning from 2024 Tommy John surgery. Mlodzinski fared better as a reliever than a starter last season, so this move could push him to the ‘pen. If Urquidy is outshined by Jones, Barco or Harrington in camp, he could open the season in a swingman capacity.
Will Sammon of The Athletic first reported that the sides had an agreement. Jon Heyman of The New York Post reported that it was a $1.5MM base with incentives.