KBO’s Samsung Lions Sign Matt Manning
The Samsung Lions of the Korea Baseball Organization announced the signing of right-hander Matt Manning to a one-year, $1MM contract. Manning was outrighted off the Phillies roster in September, and he elected minor league free agency earlier this month.
Manning was once one of baseball’s top pitching prospects, and he was a fixture of top-100 prospect rankings in the years following his selection as the ninth overall pick of the 2016 draft. He posted solid numbers on his way up the Tigers’ minor league ladder until his MLB debut in June 2021, but the strikeout ability Manning displayed in the minors didn’t translate to his work in the Show. Over 254 innings and 50 starts with Detroit from 2021-24, Manning posted a 4.43 ERA, 7.8% walk rate, and only a 16.4% strikeout rate.
Some injuries hampered Manning during this time, but the Tigers eventually decided to move on entirely from the right-hander. Manning spent the entire 2025 season in the minors, first with Triple-A Toledo and then with the Phillies’ Double-A affiliate in Reading after the Tigers designated Manning for assignment and traded him to Philadelphia just before the trade deadline.
Manning turns 28 in January, so between his relative youth and his past pedigree as a top prospect, it is a little surprising that he didn’t draw interest from any MLB teams on a minor league contract. The fact that Manning inked his deal with the Lions relatively early in the offseason, however, perhaps suggests that he wasn’t interested in waiting perhaps several more weeks to land a non-guaranteed deal, and then going through the grind of another season in the minor leagues. Manning is also now out of minor league options, so even if he did make a big league roster, he might’ve been facing more DFAs and outrights, plus potential moves to other teams on waiver claims or trades.
Rather than ride this carousel, Manning will get a $1MM payday from the Lions. The KBO League is generally a hitter-friendly league, yet the lesser level of competition might help Manning get his career on track. There have been several instances of pitchers who have used stints in the KBO to rework their pitching repertoire, post some strong numbers, and get back onto the radar of big league teams, so chances are we haven’t seen the last of Manning in a Major League organization.
NPB’s Chiba Lotte Marines Sign Jose Castillo
The Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball announced the signing of left-hander Jose Castillo. The Mets chose to non-tender Castillo earlier this month, passing on the southpaw’s projected $1.7MM arbitration salary.
The move overseas to Japan may seem like small potatoes given the transactional maelstrom that was Castillo’s 2025 season. He saw big league action for four different teams (the Diamondbacks, Mets, Mariners, and Orioles) while compiling a 3.94 ERA over 32 innings. Beginning the season on a minor league deal with Arizona, Castillo was designated for assignment in May and then traded to the Mets, and he subsequently bounced around on a series of waiver claims. Castillo actually had three separate stints with the Mets, with the latest coming in early November when he was claimed off Baltimore’s waiver wire.
Castillo is out of minor league options, making him a necessary DFA candidate whenever a team wants to move him off its active roster. He would probably be facing another round of designations, outright assignments, and waiver wire visits if he’d signed a minor league deal with a Major League team this winter, so it perhaps isn’t surprising that Castillo has opted for the relative security (and a guaranteed salary) of this deal with the Marines.
Though Castillo has pitched in parts of five MLB seasons, that resume consists of his 32 innings in 2025, 38 1/3 innings with the Padres in his 2018 rookie season, and just two innings spread over a single game with the Padres in each of the 2019, 2022, and 2023 campaigns. Multiple injuries (including a Tommy John surgery) shelved Castillo for almost the entirety of the 2019-21 seasons, and he pitched primarily in the minors with the Padres, Marlins, and Diamondbacks from 2022-24.
While a small sample size of big league work, Castillo’s career 4.11 ERA, 27.1% strikeout rate, and 9.6% walk rate are all respectable for a pitcher with such a journeyman resume. He also has a 4.21 ERA over 130 1/3 career innings at the Triple-A level. Control has been an issue for Castillo, but he has always been able to rack up strikeouts and generate grounders. Castillo doesn’t turn 30 until January, so there’s still plenty of time for the left-hander to explore a future move back to North American baseball depending on how things work out during his Marines tenure.
Kohei Arihara Considering MLB Return
Former Rangers right-hander Kohei Arihara is interested in returning to MLB, per a report from Yahoo Japan (h/t to Yakyu Cosmopolitan). Arihara is set to become a free agent on December 2. He’s been with the SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball for the past three seasons.
Arihara began his career in NPB, spending six seasons with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. His solid work at Japan’s highest level earned him a two-year, $6.2MM deal with the Rangers in December 2020. Arihara pitched in parts of two seasons for Texas from 2021 to 2022. He struggled to a 6.64 ERA across 10 starts with the Rangers in his first season. The results were even worse the following year, when Arihara posted a 9.45 ERA over five appearances. He was designated for assignment in September 2022 and elected free agency at the end of the year.
The righty’s stateside debut was marred by a serious injury early in the season. The team discovered an aneurysm in Arihara’s shoulder, leading to surgery that sidelined him until September. Arihara was crushed for nine earned runs over 12 innings after coming back from the injury.
Arihara excelled in his return to NPB, putting together three productive seasons with the Hawks. He posted a pristine 2.31 ERA in 17 starts with the team in 2023. Arihara nearly matched that mark across a longer sample the following season, recording a 2.36 ERA over 26 starts on his way to 14 wins. He won another 14 games this past season, though his ERA did creep over 3.00.
The 33-year-old Arihara seems to be past the health issues that plagued his previous MLB stint, tossing at least 175 innings in back-to-back seasons. He’s certainly built some momentum toward a possible return to the big leagues. The Yahoo Japan report noted that the Yomiuri Giants are also interested in Arihara’s services.
Photo courtesy of Eric Canha, Imagn Images
Dayan Viciedo Signs With Yokohama DeNA BayStars
Veteran infielder Dayan Viciedo has signed a contract with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars for the 2026 season, per an announcement from the BayStars.
Viciedo, now 36, is a Cuban slugger who played in parts of five seasons in the majors with the White Sox from 2010 to 2014. Considered to be among the league’s best prospects after hitting well in the Cuban National Series as a teenager before defecting to play in the majors, Viciedo impressed in a 38-game cup of coffee when he hit .308/.321/.519 across 106 plate appearances for the White Sox in 2010. That seemed to portend a promising future, but Viciedo wouldn’t enjoy a full season at the big league level in 2012. In parts of three seasons as a big league regular for the White Sox, he hit just .250/.294/.425 with a wRC+ of 95.
While he did flash consistent 20-homer pop with the bat, Viciedo was held back by a free-swinging approach that led him to walk in just 5.3% of his trips to the plate during his years as a regular. A 95 wRC+ is hardly unplayable at the big league level, but Viciedo primarily played the outfield corners during his time with the White Sox and received poor grades for his fielding on the grass. Given that, it was hardly a surprise when the White Sox cut him loose prior to the 2015 season. He spent 2015 in the A’s and White Sox farm systems before making the jump to NPB’s Chunichi Dragons in 2016.
Viciedo has done quite well for himself overseas. In 1001 NPB games over the years, he’s managed to hit .287/.352/.458 with 141 career homers. Things began to take a turn for the worse for Viciedo in recent years, however, as he began to struggle in Central League play. After difficult back-to-back seasons for the Dragons in 2023 and ’24, Viciedo actually departed Japan and signed with the Mexican League’s Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos. In 38 games for his new club, Viciedo looked like his old self and slashed .276/.359/.462 with eight homers.
That was enough to catch the attention of the BayStars, and he signed with them back in July to finish out the 2025 season in Japan. He hit .259/.322/.383 in 43 Central League games last year and now will return to the BayStars for a full season in 2026 as he looks to re-establish himself in NPB. He was joined by former big leaguers Mike Ford, Tyler Austin, and Yoshi Tsutsugo in the BayStars’ lineup during the 2025 season. While Viciedo played primarily the outfield corners during his time in the majors, he’s primarily been a first baseman in NPB and will likely fill a first base/DH role for the BayStars in 2026.
Jo Hsi Hsu Signs With NPB’s Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
Taiwanese right-hander Jo Hsi Hsu has signed with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. It’s a three-year deal with incentives worth more than $9.6MM USD. Yihsuan Wang of Yahoo Taiwan relayed the club announcement. Hat tip to CPBL Stats for relaying the details in English.
The 25-year-old righty has turned some heads with his results in the CPBL. He has thrown 305 innings for the Wei Chuan Dragons, including 114 innings in 2025 with a 2.05 earned run average. He struck out 28% of batters faced this year while limiting walks to a tiny 3.3% rate.
It was reported last week that the Dragons would make him available via the posting system and that Hsu was considering a jump to Major League Baseball, though a move to NPB seemed more probable.
A scouting report from Eric Longenhagen and James Fegan of FanGraphs suggested that many MLB clubs would likely view Hsu as a reliever. They then wondered if that would lead him to Japan in an attempt to further prove himself as a capable starter against a higher level of competition.
Hsu’s motivations aren’t known but he will indeed head to Japan. He is still quite young, so perhaps a move to North America will become viable down the road if he puts up good numbers for the Hawks.
Photo courtesy of Jasen Vinlove, Imagn Images
Yankees Re-Sign Michael Arias To Minor League Deal
The Yankees are bringing back right-hander Michael Arias on a minor league deal, according to his MLB.com transactions log. New York acquired the reliever in a trade with the Cubs last offseason after Chicago designated him for assignment.
Arias put together a strong season across several minor league levels in the Yankees’ system, posting a 2.73 ERA with a 27.1% strikeout rate. While he began the year in the Florida Complex League, the righty didn’t pile up stats against overmatched competition. Arias did his best work at Double-A, pushing his strikeout rate over 30% and limiting hitters to a .205 batting average.
Control is always going to be the question with Arias. He compiled his “best” walk rate this past season, but it was still an unsatisfying 12.8% mark. Arias has racked up 152 walks over 211 2/3 professional innings. The struggles with walks make sense, given Arias was drafted as a shortstop and converted to pitching in 2021.
Toronto signed Arias as an international free agent in 2018. He was released before appearing with the team and latched on with the Cubs in 2021. Arias worked primarily as a starter through 2023, reaching High-A. He began the 2024 campaign as a reliever in Double-A. He recorded 24 innings with a solid 3.75 ERA at that level, then moved up to Triple-A. Arias scuffled to a 5.45 ERA over 33 appearances with Iowa. He walked 36 opposing hitters in 36 1/3 innings. Chicago DFAed Arias in January.
The infielder-turned-reliever is still only 24 years old. His relative lack of pitching experience suggests there’s still time to clean up the control problems. FanGraphs ranked Arias at 11th in the Cubs’ farm system at the end of the 2024 season. MLB.com had him at 14th in 2024. Arias’ strikeout numbers and three-pitch arsenal could allow him to function as an effective multi-inning reliever in the early Jonathan Loaisiga mold. He’ll have to take a big step forward in the command department to become a major-league asset, though.
Photo courtesy of Dave Nelson, Imagn Images
Marlins Re-Sign Tyler Zuber To Minor League Deal
Right-hander Tyler Zuber is heading back to the Marlins on a minor league deal, according to the transaction log on his MLB.com profile page. Zuber was outrighted off the 40-man roster in early November. Since he had been outrighted before in his career, he had the option to elect free agency, which he exercised.
Miami grabbed Zuber off waivers from the Mets in early July. He gave up two runs over two innings in his lone appearance with New York. Zuber spent a month at Triple-A when he first joined the Marlins organization. He was recalled in August, but struggled to an 11.70 ERA over nine appearances. As has been the case for much of his career, Zuber posted solid strikeout numbers while struggling with control. He also gave up three home runs in 10 innings, which is especially treacherous for a pitcher with walk issues.
Zuber made some arsenal tweaks in his limited MLB action this past season. He led with the sweeper for the first time in his career, while adding a sinker and changeup. The sweeper’s overall usage didn’t change much from 2024, rising from 32% to 34.3%, but it jumped ahead of the four-seamer as Zuber’s most-used pitch. The veteran had thrown his fastball at least 42.7% of the time in his previous three major league seasons, before using it just 27.8% of the time in 2025. Zuber’s strike rate reached a career-best 64.9%, so perhaps the adjusted mix helped him be in the zone more often.
Kansas City took Zuber in the sixth round of the 2017 draft. He ripped through the Royals’ minor league system, recording a strikeout rate above 30% in each of his first three professional seasons. Zuber worked in a late-inning role at the majority of his minor-league stops, earning 18 saves across two levels in 2018 and 21 saves between High-A and Double-A in 2019.
Zuber debuted with the Royals in the shortened 2020 season. He notched an elite 30.3% strikeout rate in his first taste of the highest level, but it came with a massive 20.2% walk rate. Opposing batters hit just .192 against Zuber, yet the frequent free passes led to a FIP and SIERA over 5.00. Zuber made a career-high 31 appearances out of the Kansas City bullpen in 2021. He scuffled to a 6.26 ERA with less than a strikeout per inning and a bloated 13.8% walk rate.
A shoulder injury cost Zuber the entire 2022 season. He was claimed off waivers by the Diamondbacks ahead of the 2023 campaign. After a season at Triple-A Reno, he landed with Cleveland on a minor league deal. The Guardians cut him loose before the season started, and Zuber ended up with Tampa Bay midway through the year. He pitched in two games with the Rays before heading to the Mets in a trade for reliever Paul Gervase.
Photo courtesy of Bob DeChiara, Imagn Images
Angels Re-Sign Gustavo Campero To Minor League Deal
The Angels have re-signed outfielder Gustavo Campero to a minor league deal, according to the transactions tracker on Campero’s MLB.com profile page.
Campero, 28, signed with the Yankees out of Colombia back in 2017. He was selected by the Angels in the minor league phase of the 2020 Rule 5 Draft and joined the organization for the 2021 season. He’s played for the Angels exclusively in the half decade since then, gradually climbing the minor league ladder before reaching the majors for a brief cup of coffee in 2024. Campero has served as a reserve outfielder for the Angels in each of the past two seasons, hitting .202/.272/.346 across 41 games and 114 plate appearances, but was non-tendered by Anaheim earlier this month.
He now returns to the club on a minor league pact as a non-roster depth piece. Following the trade that sent Taylor Ward to Baltimore in exchange for Grayson Rodriguez, the Angels lack much certainty in their outfield. Jo Adell, Jorge Soler, and Mike Trout appear likely to split the outfield corners and DH between themselves next year, but that leaves a hole in center that would likely be filled by Bryce Teodosio and Kyren Paris if the season began today. An external addition seems likely, with players like Cody Bellinger and Cedric Mullins standing out as obvious fits in free agency, but the team would likely remain thin on outfield depth even after making that sort of addition.
That’s because Soler and Trout both battled injuries throughout the 2025 season and have checkered injury histories that make it hard to pencil either one in for anything close to 162 games next year. Adell, for his part, hasn’t faced significant injury woes over the years but just enjoyed his first above average season by wRC+ in 2025. That leaves the possibility of regression on the table, and having more outfield depth could help the Angels protect against both a step back from Adell and injuries to Soler and Trout.
Campero figures to be part of that depth, though the career .311/.394/.440 hitter across two seasons at Triple-A has not yet proven himself a capable hitter at the big league level. While pieces like Campero and Teodosio are decent enough depth options, it seems sensible to expect the Angels to continue searching for additional depth for their outfield mix as the winter progresses. That could come with a particular focus on left-handed bats; Campero and Teodosio are both switch-hitters, but Adell, Trout, and Soler are all right-handed bats and could certainly use a left-handed complement in the outfield.
Pirates Re-Sign Beau Burrows To Minor League Deal
The Pirates have signed right-hander Beau Burrows to a minor league deal, according to the transactions tracker on Burrows’s MLB.com profile page. Burrows had already spent the 2025 season in the organization on a minor league deal.
Burrows, 29, last pitched in the majors back in 2021. A first-round pick by the Tigers in the 2015 draft, Burrows was a one-time top 100 prospect in the sport who made his big league debut during the shortened 2020 season. The right-hander has just 11 MLB appearances on his resume between the 2020 and ’21 seasons. He posted an 8.64 ERA in six appearances for the Tigers at the big league level before being plucked off waivers from the Twins in 2021 and turning in a 12.54 ERA across 9 1/3 frames for Minnesota. Burrows has identical 12.5% strikeout and walk rates for his career and has allowed eight home runs in 17 2/3 career innings of work.
It’s an ugly big league resume, brief as it may be. Burrows hasn’t appeared in the majors since, but spent the next few years shuffling between various minor league systems. He pitched for the Dodgers’, Braves’, and Phillies’ Triple-A affiliates between 2022 and ’24 before he found himself released by the Phillies in June of 2024. He caught on in the independent American Association for the remainder of the 2024 campaign but struggled even at that level, leaving him with an uncertain path as 2025 began. Burrows managed to find an opportunity in the Mexcian League and signed on with the Tecos de los Dos Laredos for the 2025 campaign.
Burrows didn’t perform especially well in the Mexican League, but scouts at the time suggested that his velocity and quality curveball caught the attention of MLB clubs. That was enough to get Burrows a path back into affiliated ball, and he signed a minor league deal with the Pirates back in May. He pitched to a 2.94 ERA in 49 innings of work across four levels of the minors for Pittsburgh. While he struggled in his 16 appearances at Triple-A late in the season, he was utterly dominant at Double-A with a 0.44 ERA and a 28.4% strikeout rate. Now, Burrows is set to rejoin the Pirates and continue the development work he spent 2025 in the organization working on.
Burrows’s first task in 2026 will surely be to finally conquer the Triple-A level, where he’s posted a career 6.10 ERA. If the 29-year-old can show some mastery over the highest level of the minors this year, it wouldn’t be a shock if the Pirates found a way to get him back into the big leagues for the first time in half a decade given how good he looked throughout the lower levels of the minors this year, as well as the tantalizing ability scouts felt Burrows flashed during his time in the Mexican League earlier this year. Joe La Sorsa, Noah Murdock, and Michael Darrell-Hicks are among the other non-roster relief arms the Pirates have in the organization at Triple-A headed into next year.
Red Sox Sign Vinny Capra To Minor League Deal
The Red Sox have signed infielder Vinny Capra to a minor league deal, according to the transactions tracker on Capra’s MLB.com profile page.
Capra, 29, has played in the majors in parts of four seasons since making his big league debut back in 2022. A 20th-round pick by the Blue Jays in the 2018 draft, Capra climbed the minor league ladder until he made an eight-game cameo in Toronto throughout the 2022 campaign. He was non-tendered shortly thereafter, and while he re-signed with Toronto on a minor league deal he was traded to Pittsburgh in exchange for catcher Tyler Heineman in April of the 2023 campaign. Capra has been riding the waiver wire ever since, with brief stints in the majors and longer track records at Triple-A for each of the Pirates, Brewers, and White Sox organizations.
He spent the 2025 campaign with Milwaukee, Chicago, and the White Sox Triple-A affiliate in Charlotte. This season was by far Capra’s largest opportunity in the majors, as he appeared in 47 MLB games with 105 trips to the plate between the Brewers and White Sox after topping out at nine games and 21 trips to the plate across his three previous years as a big leaguer. Unfortunately, Capra didn’t do much with the opportunity as he hit just .125/.157/.177 in that time, with a 23.8% strikeout rate against a microscopic 2.9% walk rate and just three extra-base hits.
It wasn’t exactly a strong impression, but Capra’s ability to capably handle second and third base as well as shortstop and even occasional work in the outfield still makes him a solid depth piece for virtually any team on a minor league deal like this one. While he’s yet to break through in the majors, his numbers at Triple-A are quite respectable, including a .286/.384/.440 slash line with Charlotte this year. That lifted his career line at Triple-A to .272/.368/.389 across 257 games.
For the Red Sox, Capra is unlikely to be much of a consideration for a big league bench job headed into Spring Training. The team seems likely to add at least one infielder, whether that be a reunion with Alex Bregman or the addition of a new bat like Kazuma Okamoto. That new addition will likely join Trevor Story and Marcelo Mayer as regulars on the infield, with players like Kristian Campbell, David Hamilton, Romy Gonzalez, Nate Eaton, Vaughn Grissom, Nick Sogard and Tristan Gray all also in the mix for time on the infield among players on the club’s 40-man roster. If injuries or a 40-man roster crunch thin out that group, perhaps then Capra could enter Spring Training in competition for a bench spot alongside players like Gray, Sogard, Grissom, and Eaton.