Braves Re-Sign Carlos Carrasco, Darius Vines To Minors Contracts
The Braves have signed right-handers Carlos Carrasco and Darius Vines to new minor league deals, Baseball America’s Matt Eddy reports. Both players were eligible for minor league free agency and apparently elected for the open market, only to both head back to Atlanta’s organization.
After inking a minors deal with the Yankees last February, the righty earned a spot on the Opening Day roster due to some injuries on New York’s pitching staff, giving Carrasco a chance to bank a few starts. Unfortunately, he posted a 5.91 ERA over 32 innings in the pinstripes, and was designated for assignment and outrighted twice during the next four months.
Carrasco twice passed on free agency after those outrights, but found himself changing teams again when the Braves acquired the veteran in a cash trade prior to the deadline. The Braves were looking for all the pitching help they could find in the aftermath of a plague of injuries to their starting rotation, and Carrasco went onto post a 9.88 ERA over 13 2/3 innings in an Atlanta uniform. He was DFA’ed and outrighted again in August and this time did elect free agency, only to quickly re-sign again with the Braves.
A staple of Cleveland’s rotation for most of his 16-year MLB career, Carrasco now heads into his age-39 season as just a depth option. The right-hander has a 6.36 ERA and a 17.6% strikeout rate over 239 1/3 big league frames since the start of the 2023 season, with the highest homer rate (17.5%) of any pitcher in that timespan with at least 230 innings.
Vines has spent his entire pro career with the Braves since Atlanta made him a seventh-round draft pick in 2019. He posted a 5.82 ERA over 34 innings in the Show during the 2023-24 seasons, dimming his potential as a possible rotation candidate for the team going forward. Atlanta designated Vines for assignment and outrighted him off the 40-man roster in August 2024, and Vines then missed the entire 2025 season recovering from an undisclosed injury.
This new minors deal likely reflects the Braves’ confidence that Vines will be healthy in 2026, as he tries to get his career back on track heading into his age-28 season. There’s no risk for the team in bringing Vines back on a minors deal to see what he has to offer, and a relief role could be in his future if he can’t find any consistency as a starting pitcher.
Five Marlins Players Elect Free Agency
TODAY: Tinoco, Zuber, Bellozo, Tarnok, and Navarreto each elected free agency, according to Baseball America’s Matt Eddy (multiple links).
NOV. 5: The Marlins announced that five players have been outrighted off the 40-man roster. They are right-handers Jesús Tinoco, Tyler Zuber, Valente Bellozo and Freddy Tarnok, as well as catcher Brian Navarreto.
There had been no previous indication that the Marlins had designated these players for assignment or put them on waivers. However, roster cleanouts like this are expected at this time of year. The 60-day injured list goes away five days after the World Series, meaning several players need to retake 40-man roster spots. The Marlins opened space with these five moves. They also lost Troy Johnston to the Rockies and George Soriano to the Orioles via waiver claims today.
Tinoco, 31 in April, seemed to have a breakout with the Marlins last year. He gave them 40 2/3 innings with a 3.32 earned run average, 25.9% strikeout rate, 7.4% walk rate and 46.7% ground ball rate.
He couldn’t keep it going in 2025, however. He made 20 appearances with diminished velocity, a diminished strikeout rate and a 5.12 ERA before landing on the injured list in June due to a forearm strain. He underwent flexor surgery in August and is slated to miss most of the 2026 season. The Fish could have held him through the winter and put him on the 60-day injured list in spring training but he’s been squeezed off the roster now.
He has previously been outrighted in his career and therefore has the right to elect free agency. Presumably, he will do so. Given his injury timeline, he may not find interest until he makes more progress in his recovery.
Zuber, 31 in June, was claimed off waivers the Mets in July. Not long after, he landed on the IL due to a lat strain and finished the season there. He has 64 2/3 big league innings with a 6.26 ERA, 24.7% strikeout rate and 15.2% walk rate. His current health status is unclear but he’s out of options and would have had a hard time holding a roster spot even if he were healthy. He has a previous career outright and therefore has the right to elect free agency.
Bellozo, 26 in January, has been a swingman for the Marlins in recent years. He has made 45 appearances since the start of 2024, 19 of those being starts, logging 150 innings. His 15.2% strikeout rate is fairly low but his 4.20 ERA isn’t bad. That seems to be thanks to a fortunate .267 batting average on balls in play and 79.6% strand rate. His 5.44 FIP and 5.08 SIERA suggest he would have a hard time maintaining that ERA going forward. He doesn’t have a previous career outright or three years of service time but should qualify for seven-year minor league free agency.
Tarnok, 27 this month, signed a minor league deal with the Fish last offseason. He was added to the roster in June but was mostly kept in the minors, only appearing in five big league games. He pitched 68 2/3 Triple-A innings this year with a 3.28 ERA. His 26.3% strikeout rate was good but he also walked 11.2% of batters faced. He has a previous career outright and will have the right to elect free agency.
Navarreto, 31 in December, signed a minor league deal with the Fish coming into the year. He was added to the roster in September to give them a third catcher, alongside Agustín Ramírez and Liam Hicks. He put up a strong .286/.267/.643 line in a small sample of 15 plate appearances down the stretch. His Triple-A games resulted in a more tepid .229/.301/.392 line. He has a previous career outright and therefore has the right to elect free agency.
Photo courtesy of Jim Rassol, Imagn Images
Munetaka Murakami’s Posting Period Begins Today
Japanese third baseman Munetaka Murakami will be posted by the Yakult Swallows of Nippon Professional Baseball today, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. The slugger will have 45 days to reach an agreement with an MLB team, beginning on November 8.
Murakami has long been expected to make the jump from NPB to MLB following the 2025 season. He’ll now officially become one of the most intriguing names on the free agent market. Kyle Tucker and Bo Bichette were the only hitters to rank ahead of him in our Top 50 Free Agents list.
The 25-year-old Murakami has been one of the preeminent power hitters in NPB over the past seven seasons. He launched 56 home runs in 2022, breaking the single-season record held by Sadaharu Oh. Murakami slugged 246 home runs across eight NPB seasons.
Since Murakami is now 25, he is considered a professional under MLB’s international free agency rules. That means he’s free to negotiate with all 30 teams without restrictions. Players who make the move to MLB prior to turning 25 are considered amateurs and are subject to the international bonus pool system, which significantly limits their earning power.
Murakami slashed .270/.394/.557 with the Swallows, though there is plenty of swing-and-miss to his game. He struck out at least 28% of the time in each of his last three seasons. Strikeout numbers are typically lower in NPB, so that mark should be expected to rise when Murakami faces MLB pitching.
It’s unclear where Murakami will fit on the defensive side. He’s spent most of his time at third base over the past five seasons, but he also has ample experience at first base. Murakami made a single start in right field this past year. Scouts have labeled him as an average fielder who will probably fit best at first base.
“Future Dodger” is the typical response to any discussion around Murakami, as the club already has Japanese stars Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Roki Sasaki. With Freddie Freeman occupying first base and Max Muncy returning to play third, Los Angeles doesn’t have an opening on the corners. Ohtani is locked in at DH. The Dodgers may have seen enough in the one-game sample this season to try Murakami in the outfield, where their options are less certain. Fellow big markets like the Red Sox, Mets, and Yankees seem like easier fits.
The team that signs Murakami will have to pay a posting fee to the Swallows. The fee is 20% of the contract’s first $25MM, 17.5% of the next $25MM, and 15% of spending above $50MM.
Braves Decline Option On David Fletcher, Outright Four Players
TODAY: Payamps, Cox, Robinson, and Rodriguez all elected minor league free agency, as per the MILB.com official transactions page.
NOV. 6: The Braves have declined their $8MM club option on infielder David Fletcher, per Mark Bowman of MLB.com. The team also announced today that they have outrighted LHP Austin Cox, RHP Joel Payamps, catcher Chuckie Robinson, and outfielder Carlos Rodríguez to Triple-A Gwinnett.
Fletcher, 31, was acquired from the Angels in December 2023 alongside catcher Max Stassi in exchange for minor-league first baseman Evan White and reliever Tyler Thomas. That was a financially-motivated move. Fletcher and the Angels had signed an ill-fated extension in 2021. White had also signed an extension that didn’t pan out, with the Mariners, though that deal was flipped to Atlanta. The Fletcher/Stassi/White/Thomas swap allowed the Angels to clear up some short-term cash while Atlanta saved money in the long run. Atlanta passed Fletcher through waivers shortly after acquiring him. He was selected back to the roster in 2024 but outrighted again shortly thereafter.
Broadly speaking, Fletcher has been a poor hitter but a good defender. He has a career .276/.323/.358 batting line, which translates to an 86 wRC+. He was more passable from 2018 to 2020 but his bat has tailed off in recent seasons. Atlanta presumably never viewed him as much more than an emergency depth option. His connection to an illegal gambling ring presumably didn’t improve his status in any way. Naturally, the club has gone with the $1.5MM buyout instead of the $8MM option.
The other moves clear out some roster space ahead of upcoming offseason business. Payamps is the most experienced of the four names here. Atlanta claimed him off waivers late in the season. Payamps didn’t have a good season in the majors, posting a 6.84 earned run average. He was eligible for arbitration, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting him for a $3.4MM salary. Atlanta didn’t want to pay that. Since Payamps cleared waivers, it appears no other club wanted to pay it either. He has at least three years of service time and therefore has the right to elect free agency.
As a free agent, he should garner interest from clubs looking for a bounceback. Over the 2023 and 2024 seasons, Payamps logged 129 2/3 innings in the big leagues with a 2.78 ERA, 26.1% strikeout rate and 6.7% walk rate. His major league results backed up in 2025 but he still showed some potential in the minors. His 4.73 ERA in 26 2/3 Triple-A innings wasn’t impressive but his 27.3% strikeout rate and 5.5% walk rate were in line with his peak.
Cox, 29 in March, has thrown 57 big league innings between Kansas City and Atlanta. In that time, he has a 6.16 ERA, 21.9% strikeout rate, 9.6% walk rate and 40.2% ground ball rate. He doesn’t have three years of service time or a previous career outright but should qualify for seven-year minor league free agency.
Robinson, 31 in December, is a longtime depth catcher. Atlanta claimed him off waivers late in the year while Sean Murphy was on the injured list. His defense is well regarded but he has a .131/.169/.192 batting line in his big league career. He has been outrighted previously in his career and therefore has the right to elect free agency.
Rodríguez, 25 in December, was signed by the Brewers a year ago. He had no major league experience but was coming off a good season in the Brewers’ system. He couldn’t keep it going in 2025, as he hit just .247/.317/.323 in Triple-A for a 76 wRC+. He doesn’t have three years of service or a previous career outright but should qualify for minor-league free agency.,
Photo courtesy of Dale Zanine, Imagn Images
12 Diamondbacks Players Elect Minor League Free Agency
TODAY: Pope, Curtiss, Kelly, Nelson, and Kaiser all elected minor league free agency, according to the Reno Aces’ official transactions page. In addition, Matt Mervis, Cristian Pache, Matt Foster, and Tristin English also elected free agency. Of that quartet, only English (a third round pick for Arizona in the 2019 draft) received any big league playing time with the D’Backs in 2025, and the others were in the organization on minor league contracts.
NOV. 6: The Diamondbacks have announced a handful of roster moves. Infielder Ildemaro Vargas, catcher James McCann, and left-hander Jalen Beeks have elected free agency. Right-handers Austin Pope, John Curtiss, and Casey Kelly, left-hander Kyle Nelson, and infielder Connor Kaiser were outrighted off the 40-man roster. Arizona’s 40-man roster now sits at 38 players.
Vargas just wrapped up his third stint with the team. The versatile utilityman debuted with the Diamondbacks in 2017. After playing a minor role across three seasons, Arizona designated him for assignment in 2020. The DFA led to a trade to the Twins, though Minnesota would also designate Vargas for assignment less than a month after acquiring him. The Cubs scooped him up off waivers for the final month of the season. Vargas went through a similar set of transactions in 2021, just in a different order. He was claimed off waivers by the Pirates in May, then designated for assignment a couple of weeks later. Pittsburgh worked out a trade that sent Vargas back to Arizona.
Washington gave Vargas his longest look to date. The Nationals signed him as a minor league free agent in May of 2022. He hit .280 in 53 games with the team. Washington gave Vargas semi-regular playing time over the next two seasons. He topped 300 plate appearances for the first time in 2024. Vargas signed a minor league deal to return to Arizona this past offseason. He appeared in 38 games with the team in 2025. Vargas has spent time at all four infield positions, plus left field and right field. He’s also made five appearances in mop-up duty on the mound, hilariously allowing just two earned runs in five innings. The 34-year-old’s extreme versatility could get him another gig this offseason.
Arizona added McCann after Atlanta cut him loose in June. He appeared in 42 games for the team, filling in behind the plate after Gabriel Moreno went down with a hand injury. The 34-year-old posted a solid 110 wRC+ in limited action.
Beeks ended up being a decent find for the Diamondbacks. They signed him just before the season began, and the veteran lefty contributed a 3.77 ERA over 57 1/3 innings. Beeks missed time with a back injury, but still managed to make 61 appearances, including two as an opener.
Curtiss is the only member of the DFA group to make a significant impact at the MLB level in 2025. He appeared in 30 games with the big-league club, recording a 3.93 ERA. Curtiss has bounced around frequently since debuting in 2017, pitching for eight different teams.
Nelson has been a part of Arizona’s bullpen in recent years, but he only appeared in three games this past season. Pope debuted in September, making a two-inning appearance against the Dodgers before heading back to Triple-A Reno. Kelly pitched in two games in August. Kaiser had a couple of brief stints with the big-league club, going 2-for-18 across 11 games.
Guardians Sign Carlos Hernández To Minor League Deal
The Guardians announced that they have signed right-hander Carlos Hernández to a minor league deal with an invitation to big league camp. Prior to the official announcement, Aram Leighton of Just Baseball reported that the two sides were in agreement on a deal.
Hernández, 29 in March, already has a brief history with the Guards. Cleveland claimed him off waivers from the Tigers at the end of July. He was outrighted off the roster a few weeks later and finished the season with Triple-A Columbus. He was able to elect free agency in October.
The righty has long had tantalizing stuff but with difficulty translating it into results. His fastballs sit in the upper 90s as he also throws a splitter, slider and knuckle curve. Despite that intriguing arsenal, his career numbers aren’t great. In 299 2/3 innings, he has allowed 5.14 earned runs per nine. His 20% strikeout rate, 11.1% walk rate and 35.7% ground ball rate are all subpar figures.
Thanks to those struggles, he has often been sent to the minors. He exhausted his final option year with the Royals in 2024 but many teams were still intrigued by the stuff. That led to him bouncing around the league in 2025. He went to the Phillies, Tigers and Guardians on waiver claims before he was eventually outrighted.
There’s an old saying that there’s no such thing as a bad minor league deal. The Guardians have a good reputation for helping pitchers maximize their stuff. They got a close-up look at Hernández late in the year. Though they didn’t keep him on the roster, they are apparently willing to take another shot on him in a non-roster capacity. If he eventually works his way onto the roster, he is out of options but could be retained beyond 2026 via arbitration.
Photo courtesy of Ken Blaze, Imagn Images
Braves Claim Michael Siani From Cardinals
November 7: Thompson will actually not become a minor league free agent, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He will stay in the Cards’ organization as part of the Triple-A Memphis roster. This appears to be because he spent the entire 2025 season on the major league injured list. Therefore, it doesn’t count as a minor league season and he doesn’t qualify for seven-year minor league free agency.
November 6: The Braves claimed outfielder Michael Siani off waivers from the Cardinals, relays Jeff Jones of The Belleville News-Democrat. St. Louis also outrighted left-handed pitchers Anthony Veneziano and Zack Thompson while selecting Bryan Torres onto the 40-man roster.
Siani, 26, is a glove-first center fielder. He has played in parts of four big league seasons but only got significant action in 2024. The lefty batter turned in a .228/.285/.285 slash with two homers and 20 steals over 124 games that year. Siani made just 19 big league appearances this past season. He spent the bulk of the season at Triple-A Memphis, where he slumped to a .209/.307/.329 batting line across 430 trips to the plate. Siani stole 28 bases and plays excellent outfield defense, but the bat is a significant question. He has one minor league option remanning.
Torres, 28, gets a 40-man roster spot after a decade in the professional ranks. He’s a 5’7″ utility player who moved between second base and the corner outfield spots. The lefty-hitting Torres had a breakout season with Memphis, batting .328/.441/.464 while walking more often than he struck out. He would have become a seven-year minor league free agent tonight if the Cardinals hadn’t put him on the 40-man roster.
Veneziano and Thompson will each become minor league free agents after going unclaimed on waivers. The 28-year-old Veneziano was a late-season waiver claim from Miami who pitched four innings of two-run ball for the Cards. He owns a 3.98 ERA over 40 2/3 career frames. Thompson, 28, was a first-round pick out of the University of Kentucky back in 2019. He missed the entire 2025 season with a torn lat.
KBO’s KT Wiz Sign Matt Sauer
Former big league pitcher Matt Sauer has signed with the KT Wiz of the KBO league, the team announced Thursday. The 26-year-old inked a one-year, $950K deal that includes a $750K salary and a $200K signing bonus. “Sauer is a power pitcher with extensive starting experience, and we expect him to anchor the rotation with his strong fastball and diverse pitches,” general manager Na Do-hyun said in a statement.
The Dodgers designated Sauer for assignment and released him in September. He returned to the team on a minor league pact later in the month. Sauer will now leave MLB to pursue an opportunity abroad.
Sauer made 10 appearances for Los Angeles this past season, struggling to a 6.37 ERA over 29 2/3 innings. His overall numbers were tanked by a disastrous outing in June. A slew of pitching injuries led the Dodgers to recall Sauer for a June 10 game against San Diego. With few options behind him, Sauer was left out there to throw 111 pitches over 4 2/3 innings, allowing nine earned runs on 13 hits.
The Yankees drafted Sauer in 2017. He posted strong strikeout numbers at multiple minor league levels, but never reached the big leagues with New York. The Royals scooped him up in the Rule 5 draft following the 2023 season. Sauer made 14 appearances with Kansas City in 2024, posting a 7.71 ERA. He was returned to the Yankees at the end of May. Sauer elected minor league free agency last offseason, ultimately landing in LA.
KBO teams can carry up to two foreign-born pitchers. The Wiz opened last season with lefty Enmanuel De Jesus and righty William Cuevas, then swapped out the latter for righty Patrick Murphy in July. It’s unclear whose spot Sauer will take for 2026.
Royals’ Kyle Wright Clears Waivers, Elects Free Agency
The Royals announced right-hander Kyle Wright has cleared waivers and elected free agency. Wright had been placed on outright waivers earlier this week. Left-hander Sam Long has also cleared waivers and elected free agency.
Wright will depart from the organization without making a big-league appearance. Kansas City acquired him in a November 2023 trade that sent Jackson Kowar to the Braves. Wright was recovering from shoulder surgery at the time. He did not throw a pitch in 2024. Wright made eight appearances at two minor-league levels in 2025, but an oblique injury ended his season in July.
Atlanta took Wright with the fifth overall pick in 2017. He debuted with the team the following year. Wright struggled in brief MLB stints from 2018 to 2021, but found his footing in 2022. He made 30 starts with the Braves, posting a 3.19 ERA while leading the majors with 21 wins. Wright entered 2023 with a firm spot in Atlanta’s rotation, though shoulder soreness delayed his start to the season. He made five appearances before hitting the IL again with shoulder inflammation. Wright returned for 12 1/3 innings in September, only to undergo shoulder surgery in the offseason.
Kansas City signed Long as a minor league free agent ahead of the 2024 season. He was solid in 43 appearances with the club, notching a 3.16 ERA with more than a strikeout per inning. Elbow inflammation cost Long a couple of months in 2025. He was a steady part of the bullpen upon returning from the IL in late June.
Long has tossed at least 40 innings at the big-league level in each of the past five seasons. The 30-year-old will be looking for his fourth team in five years.
Rays Decline Option On Pete Fairbanks
The Rays have declined their $11MM option on reliever Pete Fairbanks, reports ESPN’s Jeff Passan. He’s now a free agent.
Fairbanks has spent almost all of his big league career in Tampa Bay. The Rays acquired him from the Rangers in a swap for outfield prospect Nick Solak in 2019. It worked out beautifully for the Rays, as Fairbanks has been one of the better late-game arms in the sport over the past six seasons. He carries a 2.87 earned run average in nearly 250 innings going back to the start of the 2020 season.
Earlier in his career, Fairbanks posted massive strikeout rates to match the excellent run prevention. He punched out nearly 35% of batters faced from 2020-23, fanning no fewer than 29% of opponents in each season. That has dropped significantly over the last two seasons. Fairbanks has posted a strikeout rate around 24% in consecutive years. He got swinging strikes on 12.6% of his offerings this past season. Both marks are still good but only a little higher than the league average 22.8% strikeout rate and 11.5% swinging strike percentage for relievers.
Fairbanks remains a very good closer despite the drop in whiffs. He’s coming off a 2.83 ERA across 60 1/3 innings. He went 27-32 in save chances and has picked up at least 23 saves in each of the past three years. Fairbanks’ velocity has backed up slightly from his 2022-23 peak when he was averaging north of 99 MPH on his heater. Even with that “regression,” he throws harder than 97 on average with a plus mid-80s slider. Fairbanks has missed time in his career with lat and forearm issues but didn’t spend any time on the injured list this year.
The dip in strikeouts evidently deterred teams enough that they didn’t want to invest in Fairbanks this early in the offseason. His $11MM option always seemed likely to be too rich for the Rays’ taste. Still, it registers as a surprise that the Rays were apparently unable to find a trade partner. Fairbanks was never going to net a huge return as a pricey rental reliever, but it seems no one was even willing to part with a mid-tier prospect to exercise the option themselves.
That instead sends him to free agency in advance of his age-32 season. It’s rare but not entirely unheard of for a player to sign for more money as a free agent than he would’ve made had he been tendered an arbitration contract. Fairbanks could find a two-year deal that pays less than $11MM annually but comes with a higher overall guarantee.
A one-year deal in the $11MM range is also possible. Fairbanks is better than José Leclerc, who commanded $10MM from the A’s last winter. The Orioles have made consecutive $9MM commitments to Andrew Kittredge. There may be teams that value Fairbanks as a $10-12MM arm but didn’t want to tie that money up within the first five days of the offseason. He joins Ryan Helsley, Devin Williams, Kyle Finnegan and Luke Weaver among the middle tiers of free agent closers.