Giants Sign Adrian Houser
December 19th: The Giants have officially announced the Houser signing but haven’t yet announced a corresponding move.
December 16th: The Giants and righty Adrian Houser are in agreement on a two-year, $22MM contract, reports ESPN’s Jeff Passan. There’s a club option for a third season. Houser, a client of the BBI Sports Group, will presumably step right into San Francisco’s rotation next season after a rebound showing in 2025. The Giants, who also announced a one-year deal with former Tigers closer Jason Foley less than an hour ago, will need to free up a pair of 40-man roster spots, as they were already at capacity prior to either of those two agreements.
Houser, who’ll turn 33 in February, was a steady presence in the Milwaukee rotation for several years. From 2021-23, Houser started 68 games for the Brewers (in addition to five relief outings) and logged a 3.94 ERA. His 17.6% strikeout rate and 9.4% walk rate were both worse than average, but Houser piled up grounders at a 51.3% rate and managed to consistently avoid the long ball (0.83 HR/9).
The Brewers traded Houser to the Mets in the 2023-24 offseason, ahead of what was set to be his final season of club control. He struggled through his lone year in Queens (5.84 ERA in seven starts and 16 relief outings) before being designated for assignment and cut loose. He wound up settling for a minor league contract with the Rangers in free agency last winter. Texas didn’t bring him up to the big leagues prior to an opt-out date, so Houser returned to the market and signed a big league deal with the White Sox — a decision that now stands as a turning point in his career.
Houser hit the ground running and never looked back. In 11 starts with the ChiSox, he pitched 68 2/3 innings of 2.10 ERA ball. As was the case in Milwaukee, Houser posted a strikeout rate well shy of the 22% league average (17.1%), but he did so with better command (8% walk rate) and even fewer round-trippers (0.39 HR/9). Houser’s home run suppression didn’t seem sustainable; only 4.6% of the fly-balls he surrendered with the Sox turned into homers — miles south of the league-average 11.9% mark and his own career mark of 11.5%.
Following a trade to Tampa Bay, Houser indeed saw his home run luck run out. His homer-to-flyball rate jumped to 11.9%, and he averaged 1.12 homers per nine frames. The resulting 4.79 ERA was pretty closely in line with his 4.62 SIERA with Chicago. Still, Houser proved a durable source of innings down the stretch for the Rays, pitching 56 1/3 frames across 10 starts. Overall, he finished out the season with a 3.31 ERA, 17.8% strikeout rate, 7.3% walk rate, 48.9% ground-ball rate and 0.73 HR/9.
Houser will slot into new skipper Tony Vitello’s rotation behind Logan Webb, Robbie Ray and Landen Roupp. The Giants have a host of candidates for the fifth and final spot on the staff, including (but not limited to) Blade Tidwell, Carson Seymour, Kai-Wei Teng, Trevor McDonald, Hayden Birdsong and well-regarded prospect Carson Whisenhunt.
The Giants have been on the hunt for rotation help this winter, and while they’ve been connected to some of the more prominent names on the market, ownership has publicly expressed a reluctance to commit long-term to a starting pitcher. That’s made fits with pitchers like Tatsuya Imai, Framber Valdez and Ranger Suarez seem unlikely, though it’s at least plausible that the Giants could look to further augment their starting staff via the trade market or another shorter-term deal such as today’s Houser agreement.
Given Houser’s inconsistent track record, lack of missed bats and generally unsustainable level of home run suppression with the White Sox, it’s a fairly steep price for the Giants to pay. Then again, San Francisco’s Oracle Park is one of the most pitcher-friendly venues in the sport. Oracle Park is particularly tough on left-handed home run power, which dovetails nicely with Houser’s skill set. He held right-handers to an awful .249/.293/.320 batting line in 2025 (.234/.296/.339 career) but was tagged by lefties for a .274/.356/.456 batting line last season (and .282/.367/.456 for his career).
The addition of Houser pushes San Francisco to about $203MM of luxury tax obligations, per RosterResource. The Giants are more than $40MM shy of the $244MM first-tier threshold. However, while they’ve paid the tax in the past — doing so as recently as 2024 — it’s not clear whether they’re comfortable doing so in 2026. Ownership comments downplaying the possibility of adding additional long-term deals would suggest at least some trepidation about spending to those heights.
The Giants are still looking for help in the outfield, at second base and/or in the bullpen. While the top-end free agents to whom they were loosely linked earlier in free agency (e.g. Imai, Valdez) don’t seem like realistic targets, barring an about-face from ownership on the team’s stance regarding long-term commitments, there are still various avenues to pursue. Free agency offers no shortage of veteran hitters and relievers available on short-term deals, and San Francisco is reportedly among the teams most aggressively pursuing Cardinals infielder/outfielder Brendan Donovan.
President of baseball operations Buster Posey presumably has several more moves up his sleeve, and while the addition of Houser doesn’t necessarily raise the team’s ceiling much, it does boost the floor of a rotation that was pretty rife with question marks beyond the veteran Webb/Ray tandem up top.
Royals To Sign Abraham Toro To Minor League Deal
The Royals and infielder Abraham Toro have agreed to a minor league deal, reports Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase. The Republik Sports client also receives an invite to big league camp in spring training.
It’s an early birthday present for Toro, who turns 29 tomorrow. The trilingual Québécois infielder has appeared in the past seven big league seasons as a part-time, multi-positional player. He was with the Red Sox in 2025 but he was outrighted off the roster in August. He became a free agent at season’s end, which allowed the Royals to sign him to this deal.
He has 1,582 plate appearances over those seven campaigns. His 17.1% strikeout rate is a few ticks better than average but his 6.4% walk rate is on the low side. He has a combined .223/.285/.356 line over that time, which translates to an 81 wRC+, indicating he’s been 19% worse than league average.
It’s possible there’s a bit more in the bat, as he’s put up more intriguing numbers in the minors. Dating back to the start of 2021, he has 799 minor league plate appearances with a 12.6% walk rate, 19.1% strikeout rate, .286/.380/.474 line and 120 wRC+.
Defensively, he has logged hundreds of big league innings at the non-shortstop infield positions, with brief looks in the outfield corners as well. The Royals are set on the left side of the infield with Bobby Witt Jr. at shortstop and Maikel Garcia at third. On the other side of the dirt, Vinnie Pasquantino has first base locked down. Second base is a bit less settled since Jonathan India and Michael Massey both struggled in 2025.
Kansas City currently has Nick Loftin and Tyler Tolbert on the roster as potential bench infielders but both are still optionable. If the Royals would prefer those guys to get regular playing time, they could be sent to Triple-A. The Royals have added Kevin Newman and now Toro as veteran infielders on non-roster pacts who could potentially take over a bench role. If Toro cracks the roster, he is out of options. If he’s holding a roster spot at the end of the year, he can be retained beyond 2026 via arbitration.
Photo courtesy of Brian Fluharty, Imagn Images
Tigers Sign Four Pitchers To Minor League Deals
December 19th: Guenther will make $787K if he cracks the roster, per Petzold.
December 18th: The Tigers have made a handful of depth additions in the past few days. Relievers Jack Little and Sean Guenther return on minor league contracts after being non-tendered, according to the MLB.com transaction tracker. They’re adding left-hander Enmanuel De Jesus on a minor league deal that’d pay him at a $1.3MM rate if he makes the big league roster, reports Evan Petzold of The Detroit Free-Press. Righty reliever Cole Waites will also be in camp as a non-roster invitee after signing a minor league deal last week, as first reported by Ari Alexander of 7 News Boston.
Guenther is the only of the four pitchers who has appeared in a game for the Tigers. The left-hander has pitched 31 1/3 innings of 2.30 ERA ball over the past two seasons. He didn’t miss enough bats to support the excellent run prevention mark and has been an up-and-down middle reliever. Guenther missed the final three months of the ’25 season working back from hip surgery. Detroit used the non-tender deadline to drop him from the 40-man roster with an eye towards bringing him back on a minor league contract.
They did the same thing with Little, whom they’d claimed off waivers from Pittsburgh a couple weeks earlier. The 27-year-old righty (28 in January) debuted with two appearances for the Dodgers this year. He spent the rest of the season in Triple-A, where he turned in a 4.06 ERA with a modest 20.2% strikeout percentage over 62 innings.
De Jesus, 29, returns to affiliated ball after two seasons in Korea. He spent a year apiece with the Kiwoom Heroes and the KT Wiz. De Jesus worked out of the rotation and posted a sub-4.00 ERA while starting 30 games in both seasons. He struck out 24% of opponents with a 3.81 earned run average in 335 combined frames. The Venezuela native pitched in two MLB games for the Marlins in 2023.
Waites also most recently appeared in the big leagues two years ago. He allowed seven runs in eight innings for the Giants between 2022-23. He underwent elbow surgery late in the ’23 season and has missed most of the past two seasons. The 27-year-old Waites owns a 4.46 ERA in 43 career appearances at the Triple-A level.
Mets Re-Sign Kevin Herget To Minor League Deal
The Mets are in agreement with reliever Kevin Herget on a minor league contract, reports Will Sammon of The Athletic. The Paragon Sports International client will be in camp as a non-roster invitee.
Herget returns to the organization after electing minor league free agency at the start of the offseason. The New Jersey native was on and off the roster a few times throughout the season. Herget pitched in six games as a Met and made one appearance for the Braves. He tossed 12 innings of five-run ball (four earned) with six strikeouts and three walks. The 34-year-old righty has worked 55 2/3 frames of 4.20 ERA ball over parts of four seasons.
A former 39th-round draftee, Herget has spent eight seasons in Triple-A. He turned in a 3.09 earned run average across 46 2/3 innings there between the New York and Atlanta affiliates in 2025. He struck out an above-average 26.1% of opponents with a sub-6% walk rate. He’s a sensible depth pickup who can compete for a long relief role in camp.
Herget has exhausted his minor league option years. If the Mets call him up at any point, they’d need to keep him on the MLB roster or designate him for assignment.
Blue Jays To Sign Jorge Alcala To Minor League Deal
The Blue Jays and right-hander Jorge Alcala have agreed to a minor league deal, reports Ari Alexander of 7News Boston WHDH. The Nova Sports Agency client will also receive an invite to big league camp in spring training.
The Jays and Alcala will be looking for a bounceback. He has had some major league success but 2025 was a poor season for him. He bounced from the Twins to the Red Sox and Cardinals this year, tossing 55 innings between those three clubs, allowing 6.22 earned runs per nine. His 23.7% strikeout rate was decent but he walked 11.7% of batters faced and allowed 13 home runs.
The Cards could have retained him for 2026 via arbitration, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting Alcala for a $2.1MM salary next year. Unsurprisingly, his poor campaign prompted them to move on. He was non-tendered and became a free agent, which allowed the Jays to get him on this deal.
Looking further into the past, there are more reasons for optimism. Over 2020 and 2021, he tossed 83 2/3 innings for the Twins with a 3.55 ERA, 27.2% strikeout rate and 6.5% walk rate. He averaged over 97 miles per hour on his four-seamer. He recorded one save and 11 holds for the Twins.
The next two seasons were mostly washed out. Alcala spent significant time on the injured list due to various arm issues in 2022 and 2023. He only tossed 19 2/3 big league innings over those two years combined. He bounced back in 2024 by pitching 58 1/3 innings for the Twins with a 3.24 ERA, 24.7% strikeout rate, 8.5% walk rate. His four-seamer averaged 98 mph as he recorded another 15 holds.
The Jays have made a few moves to add to their bullpen this offseason. They signed Tyler Rogers, acquired Chase Lee from the Tigers and selected Spencer Miles from the Giants in the Rule 5 draft. Alcala gives them a bit of extra depth without taking up a roster spot.
Photo courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn, Imagn Images
Padres To Sign Triston McKenzie To Minor League Deal
The Padres and right-hander Triston McKenzie have agreed to a minor league deal, reports Aram Leighton of Just Baseball. The Octagon client will receive an invite to big league camp in spring training.
McKenzie, 28, joins a new organization for the first time. He had spent his entire career with the Guardians until he became a free agent at the end of the most recent season. With Cleveland, he once looked like a budding ace. In 2022, he tossed 191 1/3 innings with a 2.96 earned run average. He struck out 25.6% of batters faced and only gave out walks at a 5.9% clip.
But he’s unfortunately been on a downward trajectory since then. In March of 2023, he was shut down due to a teres major strain. He returned a few months later but then was diagnosed with a sprain of the ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing elbow. He avoided surgery but hasn’t been able to get back to that 2022 form.
After missing most of 2023, he was back on the hill in 2024, but he averaged just 91.1 miles per hour on his fastball. That was a notable drop from the 92.5 he averaged two years prior. He posted a 5.11 ERA over 16 starts and spent the final few months of the season on optional assignment, posting a 5.23 ERA at the Triple-A level.
He came into 2025 out of options but the Guards didn’t want to give up on him. He and the club avoided arbitration in November of 2024 with a $1.95MM deal for 2025, a very slight bump over the $1.6MM he made in 2024. He held a bullpen spot to open this year but allowed seven earned runs in 5 2/3 innings before being designated for assignment. The other 29 clubs passed on the chance to grab him off waivers.
After he was off the roster, the Guards sent him to the Complex League, presumably to try to unlock something that would get him back on track. He was sent to Triple-A Columbus in August. He tossed seven innings over eight relief appearances there, allowing six earned runs. He did strike out 11 opponents but also walked 17, hit one batter and threw five wild pitches.
For the Padres, there’s little harm in a minor league deal. They can’t bank on him providing anything of value but there’s nothing but upside on this kind of arrangement. He will presumably be making a very modest salary if he even makes the roster at some point. If things go especially well and he’s holding a roster spot at season’s end, he could be retained via arbitration for 2027 as well.
It’s unclear what role the Padres have in mind for McKenzie. He was mostly a starter until 2025. He was in relief this year but that may have been more due to circumstances, since he was out of options at the beginning of the year and then spent the summer just trying to find some kind of path out of his spiral.
The Padres have an excellent bullpen, even after losing Robert Suarez. They have bigger needs on the rotation side. Over a long season, injuries will pop up and fresh arms will be needed in both groups. Given how things have gone for McKenzie lately, he and the Padres would surely be happy with any kind of success, regardless of whether it’s out of the rotation or the bullpen.
Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images
Phillies Sign Brad Keller
December 18th: The Phils have officially announced their signing of Keller. According to The Associated Press, he receives a $4MM signing bonus and a $7MM salary for 2026, followed by an $11MM salary in ’27.
December 17th: The Phillies and right-handed reliever Brad Keller are in agreement on a two-year, $22MM contract, reports ESPN’s Jesse Rogers. The deal is pending a physical. Fansided’s Robert Murray first reported that the two parties were nearing an agreement. Keller, who is represented by Excel Sports Management, received some interest as a starter but will be used as a reliever in Philadelphia, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
Keller, 30, was a solid starter with the Royals early in his career after being picked up from the D-backs in the 2017 Rule 5 Draft. After a nice run of three seasons, his numbers took a sharp decline, due largely to the complete erosion of his command.
Keller walked a staggering 45 batters in 45 1/3 innings in 2023 and was subsequently diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome. He underwent surgery to alleviate the issue. A comeback effort in 2024 didn’t pan out well, as he pitched to a 5.44 ERA in 41 1/3 frames between the Red Sox and White Sox, but Keller completely remade himself as a high-end bullpen weapon with the Cubs in 2025 after signing a minor league contract.
In 69 2/3 innings this past season, Keller was dominant. His 2.07 ERA tied him for 13th-best among 147 qualified relievers. The 6’5″, 255-pound righty set down 27.2% of his opponents on strikes and notched a sharp 8% walk rate. Keller had sat 92-94 mph as a starter and even in bullpen work with the White Sox and Red Sox in ’24, but his sinker averaged a career-best 96.7 mph in 2025 and his four-seamer clocked in even higher at 97.2 mph. His 56.1% ground-ball rate was a career-best mark, and opponents had an extremely rough time squaring up any of his pitches. His 86.7 mph average exit velocity and 30.6% hard-hit rate were far and away the lowest marks of his career.
There are at least some modest red flags with regard to Keller. His 10.8% swinging-strike is actually below the league average and doesn’t support his well above-average strikeout rate. The quality of his stuff clearly improved, just as the quality of his opponents’ contact deteriorated, but it’s still unlikely that he’ll sustain a .243 average on balls in play over the course of a full season. However, even with some regression in terms of BABIP and strikeout rate, Keller still looks the part of a quality bullpen arm who’ll support an improved late-inning relief contingent for the next two seasons.
Keller should operate as a setup man to deadline acquisition Jhoan Duran, who came over from Minnesota in exchange for top prospects Eduardo Tait and Mick Abel. He’ll join righty Orion Kerkering and southpaws Jose Alvarado, Matt Strahm and Tanner Banks in what should be a formidable setup corps for manager Rob Thomson. There’s still room for the Phils to add another reliever if a deal to their liking presents itself, but they’re six-deep in largely established relief arms with Keller now in the fold.
The $11MM annual value of the contract pushes the Phillies from the third tier of luxury tax penalization to the fourth and final bracket, per RosterResource’s projections. They were already paying a 95% tax on subsequent additions and were about $7MM from the top tier. Keller places them about $4MM over that line. They’ll pay about $22MM for him this season (assuming an even $11MM per year distribution) rather than that $11MM surface value. Any subsequent additions to the payroll at this point will be taxed at the maximum 110% rate.
The Phillies have done a fair bit of offseason work already. They added outfielder Adolis Garcia on a one-year contract just yesterday and, prior to that, re-signed slugger Kyle Schwarber on a huge five-year, $150MM contract. The Phils could still poke around the bullpen market or look for a complementary right-handed bat to pair with Brandon Marsh in left field. Rotation depth could be an issue as well, depending on Zack Wheeler‘s recovery from his own thoracic outlet procedure, so some modest depth adds could be on the horizon. The most notable issue for the club, however, is at catcher, where they’re still hoping to retain longtime backstop J.T. Realmuto. That’ll be top of mind until Realmuto signs, be it in Philadelphia or elsewhere.
Marlins Sign Christopher Morel
December 18th: The Marlins have officially announced the Morel signing.
December 13th: Morel’s deal pays him $2MM, the New York Post’s Jon Heyman reports.
December 12th: The Marlins and infielder/outfielder Christopher Morel have agreed to a major league deal, according to reporter Mike Rodriguez. It’s a one-year deal, per Christina De Nicola of MLB.com, though Morel can be controlled beyond 2026 via arbitration. The salary for the ISE Baseball client hasn’t yet been publicly reported. Morel is expected to mostly play first base for the Fish, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The Marlins have an open roster spot but this will fill the 40-man once it’s official.
Morel, 26, has occasionally thrust himself into the spotlight with his ability to put the ball over the fence. However, he also strikes out a lot and hasn’t been able to find a true defensive home. The end result has been a clearly talented player struggling to fully establish himself as a viable big league regular.
Coming up as a prospect, Morel played a lot of shortstop and third base, with some time in the outfield and at second base also mixed in. He debuted with the Cubs in 2022 and showed off his power by hitting 16 home runs in 425 plate appearances. However, he also struck out in 32.2% of those trips to the plate. In 2023, he added another 26 homers in just 429 plate appearances, an even better rate than the previous year. His strikeout rate dropped a bit but stayed quite high at 31%.
Defensively, the Cubs bounced him around the diamond but without him fully taking hold of any one spot. His glovework was graded as subpar at shortstop, third base and in the outfield. He was more passable at second but the Cubs didn’t have regular playing time there due to the presence of Nico Hoerner and Dansby Swanson up the middle.
At last year’s deadline, the Cubs acquired Isaac Paredes from the Rays, with Morel being one of three players going back to Tampa. The Cubs later flipped Paredes to the Astros as part of the Kyle Tucker deal. The Rays still have Ty Johnson and Hunter Bigge from that swap but the Morel pick-up did not work out for them.
From the time of the trade through the end of 2025, Morel took 495 plate appearances as a Ray. He was punched out in 165 of those, exactly one third, also known as 33.3%. He hit just 14 home runs and produced a .208/.277/.355 batting line. That translated to a 78 wRC+, indicating he was 22% worse than the league average hitter in that time. The Rays mostly kept him in left field, where he received poor grades for his defense.
Morel crossed three years of service time in 2025, qualifying him for arbitration for the first time. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected him for a $2.6MM salary next year. The Rays decided to move on and non-tendered him, sending him to free agency.
It was reported back in October that the Marlins would be looking for a lineup upgrade this winter. The team had some positive developments in their position player group in 2025 but no one took hold of the first base position. Seven different players lined up at the position during the season but Eric Wagaman was the only one to get more than 100 plate appearances at a first baseman. He finished the year with a .250/.296/.378 line and 85 wRC+.
Upgrading at first base was a sensible goal for the offseason. No one expected them to make a run at Pete Alonso but there had been some rumblings that the club could be more aggressive in free agency than in years past. Going after someone like Ryan O’Hearn or Rhys Hoskins seemed within the realm of possibility.
Instead, they are taking a shot on Morel, who has no professional experience at the position. First base is generally considered the least-demanding position on the diamond, so perhaps Morel can be more viable there than at the other spots he has tried, but there’s still risk in going with an unproven option.
There’s also risk within the bat, as mentioned. Though Morel has power, he has yet to prove he can strike out at rate less than 30% for a meaningful stretch of time. It is possible to strike out that much and still be good. Guys like James Wood and Riley Greene did so in 2025. Morel himself had a combined 115 wRC+ with the Cubs in the 2022-23 seasons, but his production tailed off more recently.
It’s a fairly low-risk move for the Marlins. Salary figures haven’t been reported but he’s surely not being paid much above the league minimum. It was reported yesterday by Edwin Hernández Jr. that Morel was getting interest from clubs in Japan. It’s unclear if he gave serious consideration to going overseas but the calls coming from Asia are perhaps a sign that his MLB interest was muted.
Though the Fish aren’t going to break the bank with this move, it’s perhaps disappointing for any fans who may have dreamt bigger after a somewhat encouraging 2025 campaign. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes that no significant payroll increase is likely forthcoming. He adds that the Marlins will be looking to add another bat this winter but most likely via the trade market.
Morel is probably not guaranteed anything in terms of playing time. If he doesn’t thrive with his chance in Miami, they could go back to Wagaman and also have guys like Connor Norby, Agustín Ramírez, Liam Hicks, Griffin Conine, Graham Pauley, Deyvison De Los Santos and others in the mix. If Morel doesn’t pan out, he is out of options. If it does work, he could theoretically be retained through 2028 via arbitration.
It’s a defensible enough signing in a vacuum but seems to be an omen of another frugal offseason for the Marlins, which has become a habit under president of baseball operations Peter Bendix. Two years ago, their biggest deal was $5MM for Tim Anderson. Last winter, it was $3.5MM for Cal Quantrill. This is their first free agent deal of the 2025-26 offseason. Time will tell if they have anything bigger in the works.
Photo courtesy of John E. Sokolowski, Katie Stratman, Imagn Images
Cubs Sign Tyler Austin To Major League Deal
The Cubs announced the signing of first baseman Tyler Austin to a one-year contract. It’s reportedly a $1.25MM guarantee for the Ballengee Group client, who has spent the past six seasons playing in Japan. The Cubs had seven vacancies on the 40-man roster, so no corresponding move was necessary.
Austin, now 34, played in the big leagues from 2016 to 2019. He suited up for the Yankees, Twins, Giants and Brewers without being able to cement himself as a big league regular. He hit 33 home runs in 583 plate appearances over four seasons but also struck out at a 36.9% clip.
Milwaukee passed him through waivers in November of 2019. He elected free agency and signed with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. Since then, he has been mashing pretty consistently for that club, when healthy. He only played 65 games in 2020 but hit 20 home runs in his 269 plate appearances. In 2021, he got that up to 28 home runs over 107 games and 439 plate appearances.
Then came an injury spell, as he only played 60 games total over the 2022 and 2023 seasons due to various ailments. He underwent shoulder surgery in September of 2023, according to Sanspo Sports, but was back in form in 2024. He hit another 25 home runs last year in 445 plate appearances. He struck out 19.8% of the time while drawing walks at a 10.1% clip. His .316/.382/.601 line translated to a 197 wRC+, indicating he was 97% better than the average NPB hitter.
This year, he only got into 65 games. According to Yahoo Japan, he dealt with pain in his right knee. The BayStars decided not to bring him back for 2026. However, he did still hit well when on the field. He launched 11 home runs in just 246 plate appearances, with an 18.3% strikeout rate and 10.6% walk rate. His .269/.350/.484 line may look only decent at first blush but the NPB has had some issues with dead balls lately, so that line actually translated to a big 147 wRC+.
The Cubs are clearly intrigued by the big offensive numbers. It’s a bit of a risky pick-up, in the sense that Austin hasn’t played in the majors since 2019 and has had some health issues. But $1.25MM is barely above the league minimum, which will be $780K next year. The Cubs are also giving up a roster spot but they came into today with a 40-man count of 33, so it’s not as though they have a squeeze at the moment.
Chicago already has a first baseman in Michael Busch but he is a lefty swinger who needs a platoon partner. He’s coming off a huge 34-homer season with a .261/.343/.523 line and 140 wRC+. However, he slashed just .207/.274/.368 against southpaws for an 81 wRC+.
The Cubs also have some lefty bats in their designated hitter mix. Seiya Suzuki was the primary DH in 2025 but he might take over right field with the departure of Kyle Tucker. The Cubs would then have guys like Moisés Ballesteros and Owen Caissie, both lefties, battling for DH time.
Last year, the Cubs gave 40-year-old Justin Turner $6MM to be their righty-swinging first base/DH type. He did his job with the platoon advantage, hitting .276/.330/.429, but hit just .141/.232/.155 otherwise. That led to a combined .219/.288/.314 line and 71 wRC+ for the year.
Presumably, the Cubs are hoping that Austin can be a younger, cheaper and more successful version of their Turner signing. It may not work out but they are barely paying him over the league minimum, as mentioned, so it’s not much of a risk financially. If he can produce anything like his NPB stats, he’ll be a bargain.
Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported the Cubs were signing Austin to a big league deal. Jon Heyman of The New York Post had the $1.25MM salary. Photo courtesy of Michael McLoone, Imagn Images
Rockies, Brett Sullivan Agree To Minor League Contract
The Rockies are in agreement with catcher Brett Sullivan on a minor league deal, reports Thomas Harding of MLB.com. He’ll be in camp as a non-roster invitee.
Sullivan is a depth option behind the plate. He has appeared in the big leagues in each of the past three seasons. He made it into 33 games for the Padres in 2023 but has been limited to 10 combined appearances in the last two years. The 31-year-old (32 in February) has hit .204 with a .250 on-base percentage and two home runs in 112 career plate appearances.
San Diego ran Sullivan through waivers at the end of Spring Training. They traded him to the Pirates a couple weeks later. Pittsburgh briefly called him up in June while Joey Bart and Endy Rodríguez were each on the injured list. He was designated for assignment once Bart made it back a week later. Sullivan spent the rest of the season in Triple-A, where he slumped to a .203/.265/.328 slash in 253 plate appearances.
While this wasn’t a good year, Sullivan has a more serviceable .261/.332/.432 mark in five Triple-A seasons. Colorado only has two catchers on the 40-man roster: Hunter Goodman and Braxton Fulford. Goodman is the clear starter after a 31-homer campaign, but the 27-year-old Fulford hit .213/.267/.324 over his first 38 career games. He still has minor league options if the Rox wanted him to get more playing time in Triple-A. Sullivan is the only catcher in the organization who has any MLB experience. Colorado could add a veteran depth option, either on a cheap big league contract or another non-roster invite.