Tigers Trade Justyn-Henry Malloy To Rays
The Tigers and Rays announced a trade that sends Justyn-Henry Malloy to Tampa Bay for cash considerations. Detroit had designated him for assignment before the holiday DFA freeze when they officially re-signed reliever Kyle Finnegan. Tampa Bay had two openings on the 40-man roster and didn’t need to make a corresponding move.
A sixth-round pick by the Braves in 2021, Malloy was traded to Detroit after his first full minor league season in exchange for reliever Joe Jiménez. Prospect evaluators praised the righty-hitting Malloy’s plate discipline but questioned whether he’d find a home defensively. The positional fit remains the biggest issue. Malloy was drafted as a third baseman but was well below average there. Detroit used him as a full-time corner outfielder in 2024 and split his time between the corner outfield and first base last season.
Malloy, 26 in February, is a below-average runner and athlete, so the hope is that he’ll be merely adequate somewhere. There’s a high bar to clear offensively if he’s limited to first base or a full-time designated hitter role. Malloy hasn’t been close to clearing that in his scattered MLB opportunities, as he’s a .209/.311/.346 hitter over 357 career plate appearances.
The big league numbers are probably weighed down by his lack of consistent playing time. Malloy has been a fantastic offensive player in the minor leagues. He has a near-.900 OPS in his minor league career, including a .296/.424/.478 line in more than 1200 plate appearances against Triple-A pitching.
Malloy has decent power and popped 23 homers in Triple-A a couple seasons ago. The calling card is an extremely patient offensive approach that has allowed him to work walks at a massive 17.2% rate in the minors. Major league pitchers are going to do a better job challenging him within the strike zone, yet Malloy has still managed a 12% walk rate over his MLB work. That has come alongside an elevated 32.8% strikeout rate that he’ll need to bring down if he’s to carve out a long-term role.
Tampa Bay has Yandy Díaz and Jonathan Aranda lined up for the first base and DH playing time. There’s more opportunity in the outfield if the Rays feel Malloy can be a passable defender on the grass. He’d otherwise be ticketed for a depth role, either as a bench bat or stashed at Triple-A Durham. Malloy still has two minor league options remaining, which gives the team some roster flexibility, though he doesn’t have much to prove against minor league pitching.
Red Sox, Kutter Crawford Avoid Arbitration
The Red Sox announced they’ve avoided arbitration with right-hander Kutter Crawford. Although the team did not disclose salary figures, Chris Cotillo of MassLive reports that it’s a $2.75MM deal. That matches last year’s salary and the projection from MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz.
Crawford’s salary was easy to predict. Arbitration prices generally climb each season, but that doesn’t often happen when a player misses an entire year. In those situations, they’ll typically sign for the same amount they made year before. Crawford follows that path and gets an easy bit of business complete before teams and players exchange filing figures on Thursday.
A swingman over his first couple seasons, Crawford made 25 starts three years ago and took all 33 turns through the rotation during his last healthy season. He turned in a 4.36 earned run average over a team-leading 183 2/3 innings in 2024. He posted better than average strikeout and walk numbers but was undone to an extent by a late-season home run spike. Crawford carried a flat 3.00 ERA into the All-Star Break but was tagged for 6.59 earned runs per nine in the second half. He would up leading the majors with 34 homers surrendered overall.
Despite the shaky finish, Crawford was a lock for a season-opening rotation job had he gotten through Spring Training healthy. The Sox revealed that he had been pitching through right knee discomfort for most of the ’24 campaign. Crawford entered camp behind schedule and started the season on the injured list. While working back from the knee issue in June, he sustained a right wrist injury that proved even more serious. Crawford underwent surgery that shut him down for the year.
The salary is modest, so there was no doubt the Sox would tender him a contract. He may need to compete for a rotation spot in camp this time around. Garrett Crochet, Sonny Gray and Brayan Bello are locked into the top three spots. The final two jobs are up for grabs among a number of pitchers.
Patrick Sandoval will be back after missing last season rehabbing elbow surgery. Boston liked Johan Oviedo enough as a back-end arm to part with well-regarded rookie outfielder Jhostynxon Garcia. Top prospects Payton Tolle and Connelly Early debuted late in the season. Kyle Harrison is still in the mix after coming over in the Rafael Devers trade. Most of those pitchers, Crawford included, have minor league options remaining. He could head to Triple-A Worcester or begin the season in long relief if he doesn’t win a rotation spot. Injuries are inevitable, so there’ll be opportunity at some point.
The Red Sox avoided arbitration with Jarren Duran and Connor Wong earlier in the offseason. They’re awaiting resolution on Tanner Houck, Triston Casas, Romy Gonzalez, and Oviedo. There’ll be plenty of settlements over the next two days as teams and players look to avoid filing for hearings.
Red Sox Sign Devin Sweet To Minor League Deal
The Red Sox have signed right-hander Devin Sweet to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He has been assigned to Triple-A Worcester but may get an invite to big league camp in spring training.
Sweet, 29, has a limited big league track record. He tossed 8 2/3 innings in 2023, split between the Mariners and Athletics. He allowed ten earned runs, giving him an unsightly 10.38 earned run average in that small sample.
The M’s called him up in July of 2023 but he was designated for assignment the following month and went to the A’s via waivers. In the 2023-24 offseason, he went to the Giants and Tigers via waiver claims. Detroit later passed him through waivers unclaimed in February of 2024. In November of 2024, the Phillies acquired him and added him to their 40-man, preventing him from becoming a minor league free agent. He was outrighted in August of 2025 and then became a minor league free agent at season’s end.
Despite his limited track record, the interest from all those clubs demonstrates his appeal. From 2021 to 2024, he tossed 257 2/3 innings on the farm, with a 4.19 ERA. His 9.2% walk rate was a bit high but he struck out 30% of batters faced. Unfortunately, he had a downturn in results in 2025. He logged 51 1/3 Triple-A innings with a 5.08 ERA, 21.2% strikeout rate and 11.7% walk rate. That’s why the Phillies bumped him from the roster last summer and no one claimed him.
For Boston, there’s no harm in a non-roster deal for some extra bullpen depth as they see if Sweet can bounce back. If he eventually earns his way onto the roster, he still has an option year remaining and less than a year of service time, meaning he can provide roster flexibility and is still years away from qualifying for arbitration.
Photo courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel, Imagn Images
Phillies Sign Zach Pop To Major League Deal
January 5th, 2026: According to the Associated Press, Pop will make $900K in the majors and $250K in the minors.
December 22nd, 2025: The Phillies announced that they have signed right-hander Zach Pop to a major league deal. Their 40-man roster count jumps to 39. Salary figures haven’t been reported.
It’s a bit surprising to see Pop command a big league deal. He bounced around during the 2025 season. He opened the year with the Blue Jays but was released shortly after Opening Day. Pop got to the big leagues for four appearances with the Mariners and pitched one time as a member of the Mets. He allowed 12 runs (11 earned) in just 6 2/3 MLB innings. That pushed his career earned run average to 4.88 over 162 1/3 frames spanning five seasons.
The Canadian-born righty made 20 appearances in the minors this year. He allowed a 4.19 ERA over 19 1/3 innings. His underlying numbers were more encouraging. Pop fanned more than a quarter of opponents against a manageable 8.9% walk rate. He got ground-balls at a massive 75% clip while sitting in the 96-97 MPH range with his sinker. Pop has always done a good job keeping the ball down, running a career 55% grounder percentage in the big leagues.
Philadelphia was intrigued enough by the stuff to give Pop one of their two vacant roster spots. Assuming he remains on the 40-man into Spring Training, he’ll get an opportunity to battle for a middle relief job in camp. Pop has exhausted his minor league option years, so the Phils cannot send him down without running him through waivers.
Philly has six bullpen spots accounted for if everyone gets through camp healthy. Jhoan Duran, Brad Keller, José Alvarado, Tanner Banks and the out-of-options Jonathan Bowlan are locks. Right-hander Orion Kerkering should pretty safely be in there as well unless he has a terrible Spring Training. Pop and Rule 5 pick Zach McCambley either need to stick in the big leagues or be taken off the 40-man (and offered back to the Marlins after clearing waivers, in McCambley’s case).
Mets To Sign Christian Arroyo To Minor League Deal
The Mets have agreed to a minor league deal with infielder Christian Arroyo, reports Mike Puma of The New York Post. The O’Connell Sports Management also receives an invite to big league camp in spring training.
Arroyo, 31 in May, was once a notable prospect but he hasn’t been able to do much with scattered big league opportunities. In seven seasons from 2017 to 2023, he appeared in 295 games split between the Giants, Rays, Guardians and Red Sox. In his 992 plate appearances, his 21.7% strikeout rate was decent but he only walked 5.1% of the time and hit just 24 home runs. That led to a combined .252/.299/.394 line and 86 wRC+.
He did at least provide defensive versatility. He has experience at all four infield spots as well as right field. But the lack of offensive output has kept him in the minors for the past two years. He signed a minor league deal with the Brewers for the 2024 season and the Phillies for 2025, without getting called up by either club.
With the Phils last year, he went on and off the minor league injured list throughout the season. He got into just 45 Triple-A games on the year. His .314/.384/.485 line in those was quite strong but aided by a .375 batting average on balls in play.
For the Mets, there’s no harm in a non-roster deal to add some more depth. They have the middle infield spots settled with Francisco Lindor at shortstop and Marcus Semien at second base. At first base, Pete Alonso has departed for the Orioles. Jorge Polanco has signed with the Mets and could take over at first but he could also spend significant time in the designated hitter spot. That could allow Mark Vientos to spend time at first and leave Brett Baty as the regular at third. Ronny Mauricio, Luisangel Acuña and Jared Young are also on the roster and could be in the mix.
It’s a fairly crowded group but Mauricio and Young still have options, meaning the Mets could send them to Triple-A for regular at-bats, which could open up room on the bench. It’s also possible that another swap shakes things up, as the Mets are reportedly open to talking Vientos, Mauricio and Acuña in trade talks. If Arroyo is eventually able to earn a roster spot as a veteran bench/utility player, he is out of options.
Photo courtesy of Kim Klement, Imagn Images
Athletics Sign Brian Serven, Cade Marlowe To Minor League Deals
The Athletics have signed catcher Brian Serven and outfielder Cade Marlowe to minor league deals, according to each player’s respective transaction tracker at MLB.com. The Prime Agency clients have both been assigned to Triple-A Las Vegas for now but may be invited to big league camp in spring training.
Serven, 31 in May, spent 2025 with the Tigers on a minor league deal. He got into 62 contests for Triple-A Toledo with a .232/.335/.313 batting line. The Tigers didn’t call him up during the campaign and he returned to free agency at season’s end.
He does have 101 big league games on his track record from previous seasons, having suited up for the Rockies and Blue Jays. He only mustered a .187/.247/.293 line in his 299 plate appearances for those clubs but he got strong reviews for his work behind the plate. Outlets like FanGraphs, Statcast and Baseball Prospectus all considered him adequate in terms of blocking and controlling the running game and very strong in terms of pitch framing.
The A’s currently have just two catchers on their 40-man roster. Shea Langeliers is slated to be the regular with Austin Wynns projected to be the backup. Bringing Serven aboard gives them some experienced non-roster depth. If Serven is eventually needed in the big leagues, he may not hit very much but he will at least be a glove-first option for the A’s. If he’s added to the roster at some point, he still has an option and less than two years of service time. That means he can provide roster flexibility and hasn’t yet qualified for arbitration.
Marlowe, 29 in June, joins a new organization for the first time. He was drafted by the Mariners in 2019. He was added to that club’s 40-man roster in November of 2022 to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft.
He has shown some potential with the bat but also with big strikeout numbers. In his 109 big league plate appearances, his .240/.330/.406 line is decent but he has been punched out at a 31.2% rate. He also struck out 29.4% of the time at the Triple-A level over 2023 and 2024. His .246/.340/.419 line for Tacoma over those two seasons isn’t bad at first blush but actually translates to an 89 wRC+ in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.
In February of 2025, the Mariners passed him through waivers unclaimed. He spent last year still in the system but in a non-roster capacity. He began the season on the injured list and didn’t make it into game action until July. He finished the year having played 46 Triple-A contests with a strong .316/.401/.474 line and 123 wRC+. He got some help from a .400 batting average on balls in play but his 23.6% strikeout rate was an encouraging improvement.
The A’s have a strong group of outfielders but there’s no harm in adding some extra non-roster depth. If Marlowe eventually gets a roster spot, he has a minor league option remaining and less than a year of big league service time.
Photo courtesy of Dan Hamilton, Imagn Images
Orioles Claim Jhonkensy Noel, Designate George Soriano For Assignment
The Orioles have claimed outfielder Jhonkensy Noel from the Guardians, according to announcements from both clubs. Noel was designated for assignment last month. To open a spot for Noel, the O’s designated right-hander George Soriano for assignment.
Noel, 24, changes organizations for the first time. The Guards signed him as an international amateur back in 2017 and he has been part of that system until today. Over the past two years, he has shown some big power ability but also a poor approach. In 351 big league plate appearances, he has 19 home runs but his 4.8% walk rate and 32.8% strikeout rate are both awful figures. That’s led to a lopsided .193/.242/.401 slash line thus far.
He exhausted his final option season in 2025, which pushed him off Cleveland’s roster. He was designated for assignment December 17th when Cleveland acquired Justin Bruihl from the Blue Jays. DFA limbo is normally capped at one week but there are clearly different rules around the holidays, as “Big Christmas” just spent close to three weeks in that liminal space.
The O’s have grabbed him today, though Noel won’t have a great path to playing time. Baltimore has a fairly crowded group for their outfield corners, as well as the first base and designated hitter spots. Pete Alonso should be the regular at first, with Coby Mayo and Ryan Mountcastle also in the mix there. Those guys could spill over into the DH slot, though the O’s might also want at-bats for their catching tandem of Adley Rutschman and Samuel Basallo. The outfield group includes Colton Cowser, Taylor Ward, Tyler O’Neill, Dylan Beavers, Leody Taveras, Heston Kjerstad and others.
Alonso, Mayo, Mountcastle, Ward and O’Neill are all right-handed power bats. The same is true of Noel, though he has a lesser track record of major league success than everyone in that group. The O’s tend to be very aggressive at claiming players off waivers and then putting them back on the wire later, hoping to keep them as non-roster depth. It’s possible that is the plan here, as Noel currently faces a steep path to a big league role.
His numbers in the minors are more encouraging than his major league work. Over the past two years, he has stepped to the plate 536 times at the Triple-A level with 30 home runs. His 7.5% walk rate and 23.7% strikeout rate were still not amazing but much better than his big league work. His .285/.349/.538 line in that sample translates to a 130 wRC+.
Being out of options will make it challenging for him to carve out a lengthy amount of big league playing time. But if he gets a chance and runs with it, he can be affordably controlled for years to come. His service time clock is at one year and 29 days, meaning he is still five years from free agency and two years from qualifying for arbitration.
Soriano, 27 in March, has never pitched for Baltimore. He spent his entire career with the Marlins until the Orioles grabbed him off waivers in early November. Over the past three years, he tossed 118 innings for Miami, allowing 5.95 earned runs per nine. He struck out 22% of batters faced and gave out walks at a 10.3% clip.
Like Noel, Soriano exhausted his final option season in 2025 and got pushed to the waiver wire. As mentioned, the O’s like to make claims and then try to pass guys through waivers later to keep them as non-roster depth. Soriano flashed some intriguing potential in Triple-A last year, tossing 42 2/3 innings with a 2.32 ERA, 28.8% strikeout rate, 8.8% walk rate and 55.7% ground ball rate.
His service time clock is at 1.095, so he also has years of potential cheap control. That could entice another club to acquire him but the O’s would surely be happy if they can get him through waivers and hang onto him in a non-roster capacity.
Photo courtesy of Ken Blaze, Imagn Images
Royals, Jorge Alfaro Agree To Minor League Deal
The Royals and veteran catcher Jorge Alfaro are in agreement on a minor league contract, reports Aram Leighton of Just Baseball. Presumably, there’s an invitation to major league camp included in the CAA client’s deal.
Now 32 years old, Alfaro was one of the top catching prospects in the game when the Phillies sent him to Miami alongside right-hander Sixto Sanchez in the trade that sent star backstop J.T. Realmuto to Philadelphia. Alfaro had a decent run between the Phils and the Fish from 2017-19 when he slashed .269/.322/.429 with 33 homers in 956 plate appearances. That output came with a sky-high 34% strikeout rate, however.
While the bloated strikeout rate made it hard to imagine Alfaro continuing his success at the plate, his plus raw power and accurate rocket of an arm gave him a chance to stick around in at least a part-time role, but Alfaro has slipped into journeyman status as his strikeout woes have escalated and his framing/blocking grades have dwindled. Over his past 736 MLB plate appearances dating back to 2020, Alfaro is a .237/.277/.352 hitter. He’s walked in just 3.6% of his plate appearances during that time and fanned nearly 10 times as often. Even in Triple-A with the Brewers in 2025, Alfaro swatted 15 homers and slashed .244/.285/.430 … but did so with a 36.5% strikeout rate.
The Royals don’t need immediate help behind the plate. Alfaro is likely being viewed as a depth option for Triple-A Omaha, but injuries or trades could always impact the depth chart. Team captain Salvador Perez, of course, isn’t going anywhere and will again see plenty of time behind the plate.
That said, Perez has seen more time at first base and at designated hitter in recent seasons, and with prospect Carter Jensen looking ready for a real audition, Perez could spend even less time behind the dish. Blake Mitchell is another well-regarded catching option in the upper minors, and 20-year-old Ramon Ramirez gives them a third catching prospect of note (although he’s yet to play above High-A).
Tigers Sign Scott Effross To Minor League Contract
January 5th: Effross will indeed get an invite to big league camp and will also make a salary of $950K in the majors, reports Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press.
January 4th: The Tigers signed right-hander Scott Effross to a minor league contract in December, as per Effross’ MLB.com profile page. Effross has been assigned to Triple-A Toledo, and will presumably be a non-roster invite to the Tigers’ big league spring camp.
The 32-year-old sidearmer is looking to rebound from three straight injury-marred seasons. A Tommy John surgery entirely wiped out Effross’ 2023 campaign, and a back surgery during that TJ rehab period kept Effross out of any game action until June 2024, and he ended up tossing 35 1/3 minor league innings that season as well as 3 1/3 MLB frames with the Yankees. During Spring Training 2025, Effross then suffered a Grade 2 hamstring strain that led to three more months on the shelf, and he amassed only 10 2/3 innings for New York while being frequently shuffled up and down from the minors.
While Effross was projected for just an $800K salary in his first year of arbitration eligibility, the Yankees chose to non-tender the righty in November. It wasn’t an unexpected decision given Effross’ injury woes, and he’ll now look to try and re-establish himself and win a job in Detroit’s bullpen. He has a minor league option remaining, as well as two more arb-eligible years if he can make the roster and recapture some of his early-career form.
Before the Tommy John surgery, Effross looked to be establishing himself as a bullpen weapon in his first two Major League seasons. He debuted in 2021 as a member of the Cubs, and posted a 2.78 ERA, 27.9% strikeout rate, 5.6% walk rate, and 45.1% grounder rate over 71 1/3 combined innings with the Cubs and Yankees during the 2021-22 seasons. New York was intrigued enough to acquire Effross in a one-for-one swap for Hayden Wesneski at the 2022 deadline, in what ended up being a nice trade for Chicago.
Effross’ few cups of coffee in the majors over the last two seasons have yielded only a 7.71 ERA and a 12.3% strikeout rate across 14 innings. His K% was also diminished (through not to that extent) during his minor league work in 2024-25, and Effross struggled to a 6.37 ERA in 29 2/3 frames with at the Triple-A level last year.
Athletics Sign Tyler Soderstrom To Seven-Year Extension
Jan. 5: Some details on the breakdown are provided by Jon Heyman of The New York Post. Soderstrom gets a $3MM signing bonus and $1MM salary in 2026. His salary then jumps to $6MM, $10MM, $12MM, $16MM, $17MM and $19MM in the subsequent seasons. The 2033 club option is worth $27MM with a $2MM buyout. His 2032 and 2033 salaries can jump by $1MM or $2MM based on MVP finishing, though specifics of those escalators haven’t been reported. There should also be further escalators, considering Passan’s reporting that the deal can max out at $131MM. Soderstrom also gets some limited no-trade protection for 2032 and 2033, though details are also unreported in that department.
Dec. 29: The Athletics have formally announced the extension.
Dec. 25: The Athletics aren’t taking the holiday off. They’re in agreement with outfielder Tyler Soderstrom on a seven-year, $86MM extension, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. Passan adds that there’s a club option for 2033 and escalators that could push the contract value by another $45MM if the option is exercised. The deal buys out at least three free agent years and potentially a fourth, keeping him under club control through his age-31 season. Soderstrom is represented by Paragon Sports International.
Soderstrom becomes the latest core offensive piece whom the A’s lock up on a long-term deal. They extended Brent Rooker and Lawrence Butler on respective $60MM and $65.5MM guarantees last winter. Soderstrom tops those by a decent margin, becoming the largest contract in club history in the process. Their three-year, $67MM free agent deal with Luis Severino had previously been that high-water mark.
[Related: Largest Contract in Franchise History for Each MLB Team]
The lefty-hitting Soderstrom was a first-round pick in 2020. He’d been an excellent offensive player dating back to high school. The biggest question was where he’d fit on the other side of the ball. While Soderstrom was drafted as a catcher, most scouts felt he’d need to move off the position. That has essentially been borne out, as his only 15 MLB starts behind the dish came during his 2023 rookie season. The fallback for poor defensive catchers is generally first base, and that’s indeed where Soderstrom spent the early part of his big league tenure.
Soderstrom struggled over a 45-game sample as a rookie. His .233/.315/.429 slash across 213 plate appearances in 2024 was a significant step forward but hadn’t yet put him alongside Rooker, Butler and Shea Langeliers as clear members of the A’s core. Soderstrom entered this year with a little pressure in the form of 2024 fourth overall pick Nick Kurtz, a college first baseman who was expected to hit his way to the majors very quickly.
While Kurtz would do just that, Soderstrom’s breakout ’25 campaign ensured the A’s couldn’t afford to take him out of the lineup either. The 24-year-old was one of the league’s best hitters in the first few weeks of the season. He connected on nine home runs with a .284/.349/.560 slash before the end of April. Soderstrom was tied for fourth in MLB (behind only Aaron Judge, Cal Raleigh and Eugenio Suárez) in homers through the season’s first month. By the time Kurtz forced his way to the majors on April 21, Soderstrom was locked into the middle of Mark Kotsay’s batting order.
That presented the A’s with a positional dilemma. Rooker is an everyday designated hitter. The 6’5″, 240-pound Kurtz wasn’t going to be able to play anywhere other than first base. Despite his catching/first base background, Soderstrom is a solid athlete and average runner. The A’s threw him into left field on the fly even though he’d had no professional experience there. They presumably expected to live with some defensive growing pains to keep his bat in the lineup.
Soderstrom dramatically exceeded those expectations. He graded 10 runs better than an average left fielder by measure of Defensive Runs Saved. Statcast graded his range five plays above average. Soderstrom ended the season as a Gold Glove finalist at a position he’d never played five months earlier. He joins Butler as core outfield pieces, ideally in a corner tandem flanking defensive specialist Denzel Clarke in center.
The increased defensive responsibility didn’t impact Soderstrom’s rhythm at the plate. He scuffled between May and June but rebounded with a .305/.359/.530 showing over the season’s final four months. Soderstrom finished with an overall .276/.346/.474 batting line while ranking fourth on the team with 25 homers. He improved his contact rate by six percentage points and held his own against same-handed pitching (.270/.315/.423) while teeing off on righties (.278/.356/.491). The breakout also wasn’t a product of the A’s playing half their games at the hitter-friendly Sutter Heath Park. Soderstrom had an OPS north of .800 both at home and on the road.
As recently as this past summer, there was speculation about the A’s potentially swapping Soderstrom for a controllable starting pitcher. The extension firmly takes that off the table and ensures he’ll remain alongside Kurtz, Rooker, Butler and Jacob Wilson in an excellent offensive corps. The first three are signed through at least 2029. Kurtz and Wilson are under team control for five seasons. Langeliers has another two seasons of arbitration eligibility.
Soderstrom was already under club control for four seasons. He was a year closer to free agency than Butler was at the time of his extension, which explains why the price was a little more than $20MM higher. Soderstrom tops the $57.5MM guarantee which Royals third baseman Maikel Garcia received in the same service class, but that deal only extended K.C.’s control window by two seasons.
The A’s backloaded the Rooker and Butler extensions, with the highest salaries corresponding to their planned move to Las Vegas in 2028. The salary breakdown on Soderstrom’s deal hasn’t yet been reported. The A’s had a projected payroll around $87MM before today, as calculated by RosterResource. That’s $12MM above where they opened the ’25 season. General manager David Forst told MLB.com’s Martín Gallegos last week that the team was looking to upgrade a rotation that ranked 27th in ERA and 25th in strikeout percentage.
Image courtesy of Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images.