Padres Sign Samad Taylor To Minors Contract
The Padres have signed infielder Samad Taylor to a minor-league deal with an invitation to Spring Training, according to Chris Cotillo of MassLive. Taylor was designated for assignment by the Mariners last week and elected free agency prior to signing this new deal.
Taylor, 27, was a tenth-round draft pick by Cleveland in 2016 and spent 2016-22 in the minors with them and the Blue Jays. He reached the Triple-A level in 2022, batting .258/.337/.426 with a 104 wRC+ in 280 plate appearances. He showed solid on-base ability with a 10.0% walk rate and also showed off his speed by stealing 23 bases. He also cut his strikeout rate down to 22.1% after sitting at 29.4% in Double-A in 2021. In August 2022, he was traded to the Royals alongside right-hander Max Castillo as part of the deal sending Whit Merrifield to Toronto.
After starting 2023 at Triple-A, Taylor was called up by the Royals in mid-June for his big-league debut. In a 69-PA cup of coffee, he batted .200/.279/.267 with a wRC+ of just 50, although he maintained his strong walk rate (10.1%) and speed (eight stolen bases). That stands as his most significant big-league playing time to date. Taylor was traded to the Mariners for a player to be named later in January 2024, but made just five big-league plate appearances that year and just nine in 2025.
He performed decently at Triple-A from 2024-25. Although he was 9% below average by wRC+ in 2024, he got on base at a 35.2% clip and remained a threat on the basepaths with 50 stolen bases in 136 games. In 2025, he maintained his on-base ability and speed while upping his slugging percentage to .461 and cutting his strikeout rate to 18.7%. That brought his 2025 batting line up to .296/.378/.461, which was 14% better than average by wRC+.
Taylor has less than a year of big-league service time and is out of minor-league options. For the Padres, there’s no harm in keeping him in Triple-A as a depth piece. The club has Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts, and Jake Cronenworth entrenched at three infield spots. Newcomer Sung Mun Song is slated for time around the infield and potentially the outfield, though he could start the year on the injured list following an oblique injury. An infielder by trade, Taylor spent 1,136 innings in the outfield in the minors from 2023-25 and profiles as a utility depth piece.
Photo courtesy of Stephen Brashear, Imagn Images
Yankees Sign Dylan Coleman To Minors Contract
The Yankees signed right-hander Dylan Coleman to a minor league deal last week, according to Coleman’s MLB.com profile page. It wasn’t specified if the contract included an invitation to New York’s Major League spring camp.
Sixty-eight of Coleman’s 93 2/3 career innings in the majors came as a member of the Royals bullpen in 2022, when the righty posted a 2.78 ERA, 24.6% strikeout rate, and 12.8% walk rate. These promising numbers drastically went south in 2023, as Coleman has an 8.84 ERA and a walk rate that ballooned to 19.8%, almost eclipsing his 21.9K%.
Kansas City traded Coleman to the Astros during the 2023-24 offseason, and he tossed just a single MLB inning for Houston in 2024 before being released in August. That remains Coleman’s most recent trip to the Show, as a minor league deal with the Orioles last offseason only led to more struggles. Coleman posted a 4.91 ERA over 14 2/3 innings in Baltimore’s farm system with as many walks (14) as strikeouts, and the Orioles released him in May.
Since that time, Coleman has been overhauling his mechanics with the Feole Pitching training workshop, and as per a recent post from Feole’s Instagram account, Coleman has added a cutter and power sinker to his repertoire, and his fastball velocity is up to 100mph. Coleman averaged over 98mph on his fastball when he debuted with the Royals in 2021, but that velo dropped to 95.2mph by the 2023 season.
Any team would be intrigued by triple digits on the radar gun, and there’s no risk for the Yankees in taking a first-hand look at the revamped Coleman, and also seeing what their own pitching development crew can add to his approach. All of the stuff in the world won’t help a pitcher who can’t get the ball over the plate, of course, and it remains to be seen if Coleman’s fixes extend to his extreme control problems of the last few years.
Blue Jays Sign CJ Stubbs To Minor League Contract
The Blue Jays have signed CJ Stubbs to a minor league deal, as per the catcher’s MLB.com profile page. The contract apparently doesn’t contain an invitation to Toronto’s big league Spring Training camp, as Stubbs wasn’t included on the Jays’ list of spring invites released earlier this week.
A tenth-round pick for the Astros in the 2019 draft, Stubbs was cut loose by Houston in May 2024, and he then quickly inked a new minor league deal with the Nationals. This stint in the Nats organization resulted in Stubbs’ first taste of Major League action, albeit a small one. Stubbs’ MLB resume consists of a single game, as he went 0-for-3 while starting behind the plate in the Nationals’ 2-0 win over the Marlins on September 1. Starter Andrew Alvarez was also making his big league debut, and Stubbs guided Alvarez (over five innings) and four Nats relievers to a two-hit shutout.
This noteworthy game didn’t result in any more playing time for Stubbs, and he elected minor league free agency after being outrighted off Washington’s 40-man roster in late October. Alejandro Kirk and Tyler Heineman are locked into the Blue Jays’ catching duties, but Stubbs’ cup of coffee in the Show is still enough to make him the only other catcher in the organization with any MLB experience. Depending on whether or not the Jays add any other catching help on a minors deal, Stubbs currently projects as the first call-up if Kirk or Heineman got injured.
The 29-year-old Stubbs doesn’t have a ton of experience even at Triple-A, as he has 45 games and 145 plate appearances over parts of three seasons with the Astros’ and Nationals’ top affiliates. He has hit .222/.366/.453 with six homers over that small Triple-A sample, and Stubbs has a career minor league slash line of .206/.315/.396 over 1854 PA. Stubbs has hit 72 homers in the minors and even stolen 52 bases (out of 20 attempts), but he has struck out in 648 of his 1854 PA.
Braves, Luke Williams Agree To Minor League Deal
The Braves reunited with utility player Luke Williams on a minor league contract, according to the MiLB.com transaction log. He had elected minor league free agency upon being outrighted off Atlanta’s roster at the end of the season.
Williams is back for what’d be his third full season with the organization. The Braves claimed him off waivers from the Dodgers halfway through the 2023 season. They shuttled him on and off the MLB roster over the next couple years. He has generally been the last man off the bench, working as a multi-positional substitute and their usual position player pitcher in mop-up spots.
A former third-round pick of the Phillies, Williams has played parts of five seasons in the majors. He got into 39 contests last year but was only penciled into the starting lineup four times. He batted .129 with a couple doubles in 31 at-bats. The righty-hitting Williams is now a .212/.270/.280 hitter over 349 MLB plate appearances. He owns a .255/.334/.400 slash over five years in Triple-A.
The Braves clearly appreciate Williams’ willingness to play any role off the bench. They signed Jorge Mateo to a $1MM deal to work as a backup infielder behind Mauricio Dubón while Ha-Seong Kim is on the injured list. Sean Murphy and Drake Baldwin will split the catching duties. Fifth outfielder Eli White is out of options. If the Braves don’t want to expose him to waivers, they’d have one bench spot available. Nacho Alvarez Jr. has the inside track as the only other backup position player on the 40-man roster.
Athletics, Chad Wallach Agree To Minor League Deal
The Athletics are in agreement with veteran catcher Chad Wallach on a minor league contract, according to the MiLB.com transaction log. He’ll presumably get a non-roster invite to Spring Training and open the season at Triple-A Las Vegas.
Wallach, 34, has spent most of the past four years in the Angels’ organization. He has been the third or fourth catcher on the depth chart. The Halos called him up last September while they were navigating injuries to Travis d’Arnaud and Logan O’Hoppe. Wallach played in one game and caught two innings in a loss in Seattle. The Angels outrighted him off the roster when O’Hoppe returned.
That is Wallach’s only MLB experience since 2023. He has played in parts of eight big league seasons but only garnered semi-regular playing time three years back, when he got into 65 games and tallied 172 plate appearances for the Angels. He’s a .198/.263/.328 hitter in 443 trips to the dish. Wallach is coming off a .248/.319/.430 showing in Triple-A last year, splitting that time between the Halos and Rangers systems.
Shea Langeliers will play the majority of games behind the dish as long as he’s healthy. Austin Wynns will back him up. They’re the only two catchers on the 40-man roster. Wallach is their most experienced non-roster option, joining Brian Serven and Bryan Lavastida as organizational depth players who have MLB experience.
Twins Designate Pierson Ohl, Jhonny Pereda For Assignment
The Twins designated right-hander Pierson Ohl and catcher Jhonny Pereda for assignment, according to a club announcement. Those are the corresponding 40-man roster moves for the additions of Victor Caratini and Taylor Rogers. Minnesota finalized the signing of both free agent pickups this evening.
With a new reliever and catcher coming aboard, the Twins drop a depth player from both positions. Ohl is a 26-year-old who debuted with 14 appearances last season. He turned in a 5.10 ERA across 30 innings. Ohl did a nice job getting hitters to chase pitches outside the strike zone but doesn’t have huge raw stuff. His fastball clocks in around 92 MPH, while he uses a changeup and cutter as his most frequent secondary offerings.
A 14th-round pick out of Grand Canyon University in 2021, Ohl has a strong minor league track record. He has a 3.61 ERA in nearly 400 innings below the big league level. Ohl worked mostly as a starter for his first few seasons but switched primarily to long relief work last year. He went 3-4 innings at a time and put up a 2.40 ERA with a 30.3% strikeout percentage against a sub-4% walk rate across 71 1/3 frames. He has all three minor league option years remaining. There’s a pretty good chance he’ll land elsewhere within the next week, and it’s not out of the question another team trades the Twins cash or a low-level minor leaguer to jump the waiver order.
Pereda, 29, is a journeyman depth catcher. He made 30 appearances and tallied 78 plate appearances between the A’s and Twins last year. He’d also gotten into 20 games as a rookie with the Marlins in 2024. The righty hitter carries a .241/.299/.296 line without a home run in 118 trips to the plate. Pereda has a robust .296/.392/.419 slash over five seasons in Triple-A.
Caratini’s signing dropped Pereda to fourth on the catching depth chart. Minnesota isn’t guaranteed to keep third catcher Alex Jackson, who is out of options and would need to get through waivers before they could send him to Triple-A St. Paul. If they succeed in getting Pereda through waivers, he’d stick in the organization and get a non-roster invite to Spring Training. If another team claims him, they’ll probably look to add someone with MLB experience on a minor league deal. Minnesota has five days to trade Ohl and Pereda or to begin the waiver process.
Red Sox Sign Tayron Guerrero To Minor League Deal
The Red Sox announced the signing of reliever Tayron Guerrero to a minor league deal with an invite to MLB camp. Andrew Parker of Sox Prospects first reported the agreement earlier this month.
Guerrero returns to affiliated ball after spending the 2025 season in Japan. The hulking 6’8″ righty signed with the Chiba Lotte Marines last offseason. It was his second stint with the club, as Guerrero also pitched for the Marines back in 2022. His first stint went better than last year’s, as he allowed a 6.41 ERA over 19 2/3 NPB innings. He spent the majority of the season with their minor league affiliate as a result.
The 35-year-old Guerrero last pitched in the majors in 2019. He has 106 innings of MLB experience, turning in a 5.77 earned run average. Guerrero has allowed an even seven earned runs per nine over 117 career Triple-A frames. Various teams have been intrigued enough to continue giving him looks as a depth reliever on the strength of his velocity. Guerrero averages 99 MPH on his fastball but has never had great feel for command.
Boston will give the Colombian-born hurler a look in camp. He’s unlikely to win an Opening Day job but will have an opportunity to put himself on the radar for a midseason call if he impresses during exhibition play and with Triple-A Worcester.
Nationals Sign Bryce Montes de Oca, Tres Barrera To Minor League Deals
The Nationals announced that they have signed right-hander Bryce Montes de Oca and catcher Tres Barrera to minor league deals. Both players also receive invites to big league camp in spring training. The righty is represented by Excel Sports Management and the backstop by ACES.
Montes de Oca, 30 in April, debuted with the Mets in 2022. He only made three appearances but the stuff was intriguing. He averaged 99.9 miles per hour with his sinker, 95.4 mph with his cutter and 86.8 mph with his slider. As is often the case with power pitchers, he could get guys out but also put them on first base. He tossed 51 1/3 minor league innings that year with 3.33 earned run average, 34.6% strikeout rate and 49.1% ground ball rate but a massive 16.5% walk rate.
Unfortunately, those three appearances still make up the entirety of his major league track record to this point, as he’s been on a brutal injury odyssey since then. In March of 2023, he underwent elbow surgery. Doctors were planning to simply remove bone chips but discovered during the surgery that the pitcher required Tommy John surgery. He stayed on the injured list through the 2023 season and was outrighted at the end of the campaign.
He got back on the mound in 2024, making some rehab appearances in June and July. But then he required yet another Tommy John surgery shortly thereafter. Mike Mayer of Metsmerized reported in February of 2025 that the surgery occurred late in 2024. Today, Spencer Nusbaum of The Washington Post relays that the surgery took place in August of that year. Montes de Oca spent 2025 on the minor league injured list and became a free agent at season’s end.
The righty is clearly a big wild card. He had poor control even when he was healthy and has now essentially missed three whole seasons. But the stuff is tantalizing and the Nats are one of the clubs best positioned to take a flier on him. They are clearly in rebuilding mode, with five straight seasons of at least 91 losses. They just traded two years of MacKenzie Gore for five prospects, most of whom aren’t close to the majors. Trades of CJ Abrams and Jacob Young are reportedly possible as well, with those players having three and four years of remaining club control, respectively. In short, they don’t expect to be competitive soon.
Washington’s bullpen had a collective 5.59 ERA last year, the worst such mark in the majors. They further thinned out their relief corps by trading Jose A. Ferrer to the Mariners last month. If Montes de Oca can stay healthy and pitch his way onto the roster, he has a full slate of options. Thanks to spending the 2023 season on the IL, he has one year and 33 days of service time, which still puts him years away from arbitration and even further from free agency.
Barrera, 31, played in 57 big league games from 2019 to 2023. Most of that came with the Nats though he also spent some time with the Cardinals. He has a career batting line of .228/.313/.310 but a decent defensive reputation.
The Nats acquired catching prospect Harry Ford in the aforementioned Ferrer trade. He is perhaps the catcher of the future, though the club also has Keibert Ruiz, Drew Millas and Mickey Gasper on the roster. Riley Adams was designated for assignment this week and would stick in the system as non-roster depth if he clears waivers. Even if Adams ends up with another club, the Nats will have some non-roster depth in the form of Barrera.
Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images
Mariners Acquire Cooper Criswell
The Mariners announced that they have acquired right-hander Cooper Criswell from the Mets in exchange for cash considerations. He was designated for assignment this week when New York acquired Freddy Peralta and Tobias Myers from the Brewers. Left-hander Jhonathan Díaz has been designated for assignment by Seattle as a corresponding move for Criswell. Jorge Castillo of ESPN first reported that the Mariners would be acquiring Criswell. Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reported the cash going the other way.
Criswell, 29, has the reputation of a serviceable swingman or back-end starter. His most extensive big league look came in 2024 with the Red Sox. He tossed 99 1/3 innings for Boston that year over 18 starts and eight relief appearances, allowing 4.08 earned runs per nine. His 17.2% strikeout rate wasn’t especially high but he limited walks to a 7.2% pace and induced grounders on 50.3% of balls in play.
Despite that solid season, he got pushed down the depth chart in 2025. The Sox acquired Garrett Crochet, signed Walker Buehler and got Lucas Giolito back from his injury absence. Criswell only made seven big league appearances last year. He spent most of the year in Triple-A, where he tossed 65 2/3 innings with a 3.70 ERA, 24.5% strikeout rate, 10.1% walk rate and 49.4% ground ball rate.
He exhausted his final option in 2025, pushing him to a fringe roster position. He and the Sox agreed to a deal in November, guaranteeing him $800K in 2026, even though he had not yet qualified for arbitration. That salary is only marginally above the $780K minimum in 2026.
The hope with a deal like that it would disincentivize other clubs from claiming him via waivers. It would also make Criswell less likely to elect free agency after clearing. He has a previous career outright and therefore has the right to reject further outright assignments in favor of the open market. But since he has less than five years of big league service time, he would have to walk away from the money in exercising that right.
That hasn’t gone as planned. The Sox designated Criswell for assignment in December but the Mets claimed him off waivers. As mentioned, the Mets bumped him off the roster this week. If they had any hope of passing him through waivers, the Mariners presumably called and told them it wouldn’t happen.
Seattle has a strong rotation but the depth isn’t amazing. The front five of Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Bryan Woo, Bryce Miller and Luis Castillo is one of the best in the game. But beyond that group are guys like Logan Evans, Emerson Hancock and Blas Castano who haven’t yet proven themselves to be effective big leaguers. Switch-pitching prospect Jurrangelo Cijntje is on the way but he has only seven Double-A starts under his belt and hasn’t reached Triple-A yet.
Criswell gives the M’s a useful guy to add to the mix, though the roster fit is a bit tight at the moment. As mentioned, the club already has five good starters. Criswell could be in the bullpen as a long reliever but the relief group is also crowded. The Mariners currently project for an eight-man bullpen consisting of Andrés Muñoz, Matt Brash, Jose A. Ferrer, Eduard Bazardo, Gabe Speier, Carlos Vargas, Casey Legumina and Jackson Kowar. No one in that group can be optioned to the minors except for Brash or Ferrer and they’re too good to be sent down. Perhaps the M’s will try to pass Criswell, or someone else in that group, through waivers at some point for extra flexibility.
As for Díaz, the 29-year-old began today in the rotation depth group alongside Evans, Hancock and Castano but the Mariners evidently prefer Criswell to Díaz in that mix. Some websites list Díaz as still having a minor league option but he was optioned for extended stretches throughout the 2022, 2024 and 2025 seasons. Teams are sometimes granted a fourth option on a player but only if they don’t have five “full” professional seasons, where a “full” season is defined as 90 active days. Díaz first reached full season ball way back in 2017 and has been fairly active since then, so he shouldn’t qualify for a fourth option.
His major league track record is still fairly short. He has appeared in five big league seasons but with just 46 1/3 total innings pitched across those. He has a 4.66 ERA, 15.1% strikeout rate, 12.3% walk rate and 45.2% ground ball rate. He only made one big league appearance last year, spending the rest of the season on optional assignment with Triple-A Tacoma in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. He gave that club 138 2/3 innings with a 4.15 ERA, 19.8% strikeout rate, 4.1% walk rate and 46.9% ground ball rate.
The lefty will be in DFA limbo for a week at most. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Mariners could field trade interest for as long as five days. He has a previous career outright and would therefore have the right to elect free agency if he were to clear waivers.
Photo courtesy of Eric Canha, Imagn Images
Rockies Sign Ryan Miller To Minor League Deal
The Rockies have signed right-hander Ryan Miller to a minor league deal, reports Matt Eddy of Baseball America. The righty will presumably receive an invite to big league camp in spring training.
Miller, 30 in March, has a limited major league track record. He tossed 13 innings for the Angels in 2024, allowing six earned runs via 13 hits and eight walks while striking out 11. He featured a two-pitch mix, throwing his sinker 42.5% of the time with an average velocity of 93.6 miles per hour. The slider was chucked in there 57.5% of the time with the average velo at 84.4 mph.
He was released at the end of the season and signed a minor league deal with the Tigers for 2025. He logged 50 innings over 37 Triple-A appearances with a 4.32 ERA. His 22% strikeout rate, 8% walk rate and 41.6% ground ball rate were all around par.
The Rockies always struggle to put together a competent pitching staff due to the challenges of pitching at Coors Field. 2025 was a particularly rough campaign, with the team posting a collective 5.99 ERA. The bullpen was better than the rotation but only marginally, with the relievers having a 5.18 ERA. Miller will try to pitch his way back to the big leagues. If he succeeds, he still has options and just 34 days of service time, so the Rockies could theoretically keep him around as a depth piece for the foreseeable future.
Photo courtesy of Thomas Shea, Imagn Images