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Red Sox Sign Jason Delay To Minor League Contract

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The Red Sox have signed catcher Jason Delay to a minor league deal, according to Just Baseball Media’s Aram Leighton.  Presumably the contract contains an invitation for Delay to attend Boston’s big league Spring Training camp.

Delay was a fourth-round pick for the Pirates in the 2017 draft, and he had spent his entire pro career in Pittsburgh’s organization before he was traded to the Braves back in April.  Atlanta wanted a bit of extra catching depth while Sean Murphy was on the injured list, but Delay ended up not getting any action at the big league level.  Delay instead hit .200/.261/.257 over 251 plate appearances at the Double-A and (mostly) Triple-A levels before he was outrighted off the 40-man roster at the end of July.

Though Delay could’ve opted for free agency since he had a past outright on his record, he chose to stick it out with Triple-A Gwinnett for the rest of the season and then elected to become a free agent in early October.  It didn’t take long for Delay to line up his next team, as he’ll now become the third catcher in Boston’s organization with any MLB experience.

The first two of those backstops are Carlos Narvaez and Connor Wong, who project as the starting and backup catcher in 2026.  That said, Wong is coming off a rough 2025 season and he underwent hand surgery a couple of weeks ago, plus Narvaez also had a minor knee surgery.  Both backstops are expected to be ready for Spring Training, yet Delay’s addition gives the Red Sox some guard against any rehab setbacks, or the possibility that the Sox could move on Wong entirely.

Delay received a good chunk of playing time with the Pirates in 2022-23 before Joey Bart, Yasmani Grandal, and Henry Davis pushed Delay down the depth chart in 2024.  Over 373 career PA in the majors, Delay has hit .231/.295/.315 with two home runs.

Tomas Nido, Jose De Leon Elect Free Agency

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Catcher Tomas Nido and right-hander Jose De Leon both recently elected to become free agents, as per the MILB.com transactions log.  The Red Sox outrighted De Leon off their 40-man roster last week, while Nido was outrighted off the Tigers’ 40-man roster back in May and was never added back.  These outrights and the fact that both players have over three years of MLB service time allowed the duo to test the open market.

A veteran of nine Major League seasons, Nido appeared in 10 games with the Tigers after inking a minor league pact last offseason, and hit .343/.361/.343 over 37 plate appearances on the active roster.  Jake Rogers suffered an oblique strain in April that opened the door for Detroit to select Nido’s contract, and the Tigers then designated Nido for assignment and outrighted him once Rogers was healthy.  Nido could’ve declined the outright assignment and become a free agent then, but instead chose to stay at Triple-A Toledo in a depth role, suiting up in 48 games for the Mud Hens and hitting .209/.267/.331 over 189 PA.

Nido is a classic glove-first backstop, with only a .215/.249/.310 slash line to show for his 982 PA in the majors (895 of them with the Mets).  The 31-year-old will surely land another minor league deal this winter with another team looking for experienced catching depth, though it’ll likely require another injury further up the depth chart for Nido to get any significant MLB playing time in 2026.

The Red Sox signed De Leon to a minor league contract last winter, and selected him to the active roster to make a start in Boston’s very last game of the regular season, as the Sox were saving their regular starters for the playoffs.  De Leon tossed a quality start (6 2/3 IP, three ER on eight hits and three walks, with eight strikeouts) to earn his first big league win since the 2019 season, when De Leon was still a member of the Rays.

De Leon was one of baseball’s more highly-touted pitching prospects during his minor league days, but he has amassed only 72 MLB innings over parts of seven seasons since making his debut in the Show in September 2016.  A pair of Tommy John surgeries and several other injuries were roadblocks in De Leon’s career, and the second of those TJ procedures (in June 2023) cost the righty the entire 2024 season.  De Leon has a 7.13 ERA over his 72 innings in the bigs, and some major control problems contributed to his 6.93 ERA in 75 1/3 frames with Triple-A Worcester in 2025.

Angels Outright Four Players

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October 25: Kieboom has also elected free agency, as per his MLB.com profile page.

October 23: Brogdon and Fulmer have cleared waivers and elected free agency, according to a team announcement.

October 22: The Angels removed a pair of infielders from their roster today, the team announced. Carter Kieboom and Logan Davidson both cleared waivers, and the Angels sent them outright to Triple-A Salt Lake. This was the first career outright for Davidson, who therefore had no choice but to accept the assignment. Kieboom, however, was outrighted by the Nationals in March 2024. So, he had the right to reject the assignment in favor of free agency, a right he quickly exercised.

According to the transaction tracker on MLB.com, the Angels have also outrighted right-handers Connor Brogdon and Carson Fulmer (h/t to Ethan Hullihen on X). However, neither player was mentioned in the team’s announcement today. Both Brogdon and Fulmer have the necessary service time to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency, and the team may be simply waiting on Brogdon and Fulmer to formally make that decision – a decision they are both all but certain to make, presuming they have indeed been removed from the 40-man roster.

Kieboom, 28, was once a highly-touted prospect in the Nationals organization. Yet, he just couldn’t translate all that potential into big league success. All told, he played 133 games for Washington from 2019-23, batting .199 with a .598 OPS. He struck out 138 times and ground into 17 double plays in 508 trips to the plate. His -2.0 FanGraphs WAR might be overstating just how much he struggled with the Nationals – he was somehow worth -0.6 fWAR in just 11 games in 2019 – but with those numbers, and his frequent injuries, it was hardly surprising to see him outrighted before the 2024 campaign.

After slashing .265/.365/.386 (103 wRC+) in 91 games at Triple-A that year, Kieboom elected free agency and signed a minor league pact with the Angels last December. He put up very similar numbers with the Salt Lake Bees for most of 2025, until the major league club selected his contract in mid-September. Playing first base for the first time in his MLB career, he appeared in three games for L.A., going 2-for-8 with one RBI. Now a free agent once again, he will presumably look to sign a new minor league deal and try to earn a more substantial big league opportunity in 2026.

Davidson, 27, made his MLB debut earlier this year with the Athletics. He was the A’s first-round pick in 2019, but a fall down the defensive spectrum and continued struggles with the strikeout caused his prospect shine to fade. He played in nine games for the Athletics in May and June before he was optioned, and about a month later, he was designated for assignment. The Astros claimed him off waivers, but a .681 OPS with Triple-A Sugar Land led to another DFA in September. That’s when the Angels swooped in. Davidson went 4-for-22 in 10 games with L.A. until he was optioned once again toward the end of the season. He will stick around in the organization for now and hope to earn his way back to the big league roster.

Mets Sign Richard Lovelady To Major League Contract

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October 24: It’s a split deal that would pay Lovelady at a $1MM rate while he’s on the MLB roster, reports The Associated Press. He’d make a $350K salary in the minors. Lovelady is out of options, but the Mets could try to run him through waivers at some point this offseason. He’d have the right to decline an outright assignment but is less likely to do so when that’d mean walking away from at least a $350K minor league salary.

October 23: The Mets announced this afternoon that they have signed left-handed pitcher Richard Lovelady to a one-year major league contract. The Mets have multiple vacancies on their 40-man roster, so no corresponding moves will be necessary.

Lovelady, 30, made two appearances for the Blue Jays at the beginning of the season but was designated for assignment on March 30 and eventually became a free agent. He signed a minor league deal with the Twins and pitched for their Triple-A affiliate in St. Paul from early April to mid-June, when he opted out of that deal. He then signed with the Mets on June 18. From June 23 through the end of the season, Lovelady saw his contract selected and then designated for assignment three times. That the Mets signed him to a major league deal this time around is notable for him, as it might give him a shot at a role in the big league bullpen in 2026 after spending most of this year at the Triple-A level.

The lefty did not find success during his limited time in the majors in 2025, posting an 8.49 ERA across 11 2/3 innings with the Mets and Blue Jays. In 111 career innings from 2019-25, he has a 5.35 ERA along with a 21.1% strikeout rate and an 8.7% walk rate. His 4.08 career xERA and 4.54 FIP are are more favorable but still not great. In addition, Lovelady’s four-seam fastball velocity declined from 92.4 mph in 2024 to 91.7 mph this year. His sinker, which he now uses 34.4% of the time, similarly declined from 92.2 to 91.4 mph. With below average velocity, it is perhaps unsurprising that Lovelady has allowed more hard contact than average, with a career hard-hit rate of 42.2%. For context, the league average in 2025 was 40.9%.

However, it should be noted that Lovelady has had success in the big leagues before. In 2021 with the Royals, he pitched 20 1/3 innings with a 3.48 ERA while getting ground balls at a well above average 56.6% rate. That came in a small sample, of course, but Lovelady has actually gotten grounders at a rate of 50.9% in his career, including 51.4% during his big league time in 2025. He also performed very well in Triple-A this year, with a 1.66 ERA, a 26.3% strikeout rate, and a 52.6% groundball rate in 38 innings. It’s possible the Mets could look to harness his ground ball potential while cutting down on the hard contact in 2026.

At present, Lovelady and Brooks Raley are the only lefties in the Mets’ bullpen. Raley is 37 and missed significant time while recovering from last year’s Tommy John surgery, although he performed well upon his return in July. The team holds a club option on Raley for 2026 and could either pick that up or re-sign him at a cheaper rate given his age. Gregory Soto made 25 appearances for the Mets after being acquired from the Orioles in July, though he is now a free agent.

Giants, Logan Porter Agree To New Minor League Deal

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Logan Porter will be back in the Giants organization in 2026. Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that the catcher has re-signed with San Francisco on a new minor league contract that includes an invitation to spring training.

Porter, 30, began his career in the Royals organization in 2018 and made his MLB debut for Kansas City in 2023, appearing in 11 games. He went 6-for-31 with a double and a home run, throwing out one of seven would-be base-stealers and making one error behind the plate. While he did not appear in the majors the following season, Porter bounced between three organizations. The Royals traded him to the Giants in June, and he opted out of his minor league contract with San Francisco in July. He then signed a split agreement with the Mets, but found himself designated for assignment shortly thereafter. He finished out the year in New York’s minor league system.

In November 2024, Porter returned to the Giants on another minor league deal to compete for their backup backstop job in 2025. While he failed to make the roster out of camp, he did manage to earn a brief call-up in June when starting catcher Patrick Bailey suffered a neck strain. In five games, Porter went 1-for-7 with a walk, a hit-by-pitch, and two runs scored. He played 21 2/3 innings behind the dish. After being DFA’d in July, he quickly signed a new minor league deal with San Francisco and played out the season at Triple-A Sacramento. He finished the year with a .212/.346/.316 slash line (85 wRC+) for the River Cats, a notable step back from his .267/.370/.453 line (115 wRC+) at Triple-A the year before.

Offensive struggles aside, it’s clear the Giants like what Porter brings to the table as organizational catching depth. While it seems unlikely that he’ll earn the Opening Day backup job in 2026, he can provide the team with a veteran safety net in case of injuries.

Brewers’ Connor Thomas Clears Waivers, Elects Free Agency

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Brewers lefty Connor Thomas has cleared waivers and rejected an outright assignment in favor of free agency, the team announced.

Thomas, 27, was a Rule 5 pick out of the Cardinals organization last year. He had a strong spring showing, broke camp with Milwaukee, made his big league debut and pitched 5 1/3 innings across two appearances before hitting the injured list with an elbow injury. Thomas was tagged for an alarming 12 runs in his brief MLB look, though the elbow injury likely contributed to those troubles. He was shelved for nearly three months before undergoing surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow.

At the time the Brewers announced the surgery, they noted that a UCL repair was possible as well. A formal announcement never followed, but MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy now reports that Thomas indeed underwent Tommy John surgery. That’ll sideline him until late into the 2026 season, if not all the way until the 2027 season.

Though Thomas’ 2025 season was rough, he’s a former fifth-round pick who’s had some success in the upper minors. That includes a tidy 2.89 ERA in 90 1/3 Triple-A frames with the 2024 Cardinals. He posted a below-average 20.6% strikeout rate but also recorded a sharp 6.3% walk rate and an excellent 55.3% ground-ball rate.

Thomas’ injury and lack of big league record will limit him to a minor league deal in free agency, but he figures to latch on as a depth option somewhere — possibly even back with the Brewers. Milwaukee’s decision to outright him doesn’t necessarily indicate that they no longer have interest in the southpaw, but they’d have had to dedicate a 40-man roster spot to him all winter since there’s no 60-day IL in the offseason.

Brewers Claim Sammy Peralta

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The Brewers have claimed left-hander Sammy Peralta off waivers from the Angels, as announced by both teams.  There hadn’t been any public indication that Peralta had been designated for assignment, but the southpaw will now be on the move again after spending the last five months in the Halos organization.

After breaking into the big leagues with the White Sox and posting a 4.37 ERA over 35 relief innings for Chicago in 2023-24, Peralta elected minor league free agency following the 2024 campaign.  He began his 2025 season in the Mexican League before inking a minors deal with the Angels in May, and Los Angeles selected Peralta to the active roster in September.  Peralta made five appearances in a Halos uniform without much success, posting a 7.59 ERA in 10 2/3 innings.

Peralta is one of the lower-velocity pitchers in baseball, with an average fastball that clocks in at just 89.3mph over his relatively brief time in the big leagues.  Relying on a fastball/slider/changeup mix for much of his pro career, Peralta started to incorporate a sinker into his repertoire this season and cut back on his change.  When pitching with the Angels, Peralta relied heavily on his slider and sinker and didn’t much use his fastball or change up, though the sample size was small enough that conclusions can’t really be drawn about this usage as a new career direction.

Milwaukee has been so adept at turning unheralded pitchers into productive big league arms that this seemingly innocuous waiver claim may end up having an impact on the Brewers’ 2026 bullpen.  The Brew Crew have seen something in Peralta’s work that made them intrigued enough to make a claim and take a look at the lefty, who has one minor league option remaining.  It is very possible Peralta might yet be DFA fodder as the Brewers make other roster moves over the offseason.  If Peralta is designated and then outrighted, he has the ability to elect free agency since he has been outrighted in the past.

Astros Sign Nate Pearson

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October 21: Houston officially announced their one-year deal with Pearson on Tuesday. According to The Associated Press, the deal includes $150K in incentives. He’d earn $50K for reaching 50 innings and $50K apiece at 20 and 25 starts.

October 17: The Astros are in agreement with right-hander Nate Pearson on a one-year, $1.35MM guarantee, reports Chandler Rome of The Athletic. Pearson, a client of Excel Sports Management, is expected to work as a starter. The deal also includes performance bonuses.

Pearson will get the opportunity to pitch out of the rotation for the first time since his brief MLB debut in 2020. The hard-throwing righty made four starts as a rookie with Toronto. He’s made 118 appearances over the past five seasons, and all but two have been out of the bullpen. Pearson spent the last season and a half with the Cubs. He came to Chicago in 2024 via a midseason trade from Toronto.

Pearson made 11 appearances with the Cubs this past season. He broke camp with the team, but gave up 10 earned runs over his first 8 2/3 innings and soon found himself back at Triple-A. Pearson made it back up for a weekend in June, only to be hammered for five earned runs in his lone appearance. His final stint with the big-league club would be two solid outings in August, when he tossed four scoreless innings. In total, Pearson posted a 9.20 ERA across 14 2/3 MLB innings, including an untenable 7:10 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Chicago released Pearson during the final week of the regular season.

A major-league agreement for Pearson might seem surprising given his recent output at the highest level, but his results were much better at Triple-A Iowa. Pearson recorded a 2.22 ERA with a stellar 30.6% K% across 38 minor-league outings. Free passes remained a problem (12.9% walk rate), but Triple-A batters hit just .170 against Pearson.

Houston is likely betting on pedigree here. Pearson was a first-round selection for Toronto back in 2017. His development was delayed by a broken arm and an oblique injury in 2018, but he broke through with a tremendous 2019 season in the minors. Pearson tossed 101 2/3 innings across three levels, notching a 2.30 ERA with a 30.7% strikeout rate over 25 starts. He entered the 2020 campaign as a top 10 overall prospect according to MLB Pipeline and Baseball America.

Pearson made five appearances with the Blue Jays in the shortened 2020 season before an elbow injury cut his year short. Injuries would continue to derail him moving forward. A litany of health issues capped Pearson at 45 2/3 innings in 2021 and 30 2/3 frames in 2022. He stayed healthy for 2023 and 2024, working exclusively as a reliever with the Blue Jays before being dealt to Chicago.

Houston has some uncertainty in the rotation heading into 2026. Framber Valdez is a free agent. The club lost Ronel Blanco, Luis Garcia, and Brandon Walter to Tommy John surgery. Spencer Arrighetti’s season ended prematurely due to elbow concerns. Cristian Javier and Lance McCullers Jr. were healthy to close the season, but have dealt with injuries of their own. Jason Alexander went from depth option to rotation mainstay after getting scooped up as a waiver claim. Hunter Brown is the only rock-solid member of the staff at the moment. Pearson comes with plenty of his own question marks, but the risk is minimal. He could return to a bullpen role if starting doesn’t work out.

Image courtesy of Allan Henry, Imagn Images.

Franmil Reyes Re-Signs With NPB’s Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters On One-Year Deal

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Former big leaguer Franmil Reyes has re-signed with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional Baseball, according to reports out of Japan (hat tip to Yakyu Cosmopolitan).  Reyes’ agent has posted on X that it’s a one-year contract, so he will be a free agent after the 2026 season.

It is easy to see why the Fighters wanted to lock Reyes up, as he has provided some big pop over his two NPB seasons.  Reyes has hit .282/.347/.535 with 57 home runs over 899 plate appearances with the Kitahiroshima-based club, helping carry the Fighters to second-place finishes in the Pacific League in each of the last two seasons.  The Fighters’ 240 home runs over the last two seasons is the most of any NPB team, with Reyes’ power bat leading the way.

This slugging ability was evident over most of Reyes’ six Major League seasons, as he posted 108 big flies and a .264/.310/.464 slash line over 2078 PA with the Padres, Guardians, Cubs, and Royals from 2018-23.  Unfortunately for Reyes, his production suddenly cratered in 2022, leading Cleveland to option him to Triple-A and then designate him for assignment that summer.  Subsequent stints with the Cubs, Royals, and (on a minor league contract) Nationals didn’t see Reyes regain his stroke, so he opted to head overseas following the 2023 season.

MLBTR’s post initially indicated that Reyes signed a multi-year contract. We apologize for the error.

Braves Sign Austin Nola To Minors Contract

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The Braves have signed catcher Austin Nola to a minor league deal, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.  The contract contains an invitation to Atlanta’s big league spring camp.

Nola appeared in 345 MLB games with the Padres and Mariners from 2019-2023, posting some very solid numbers at the plate before his production tailed off badly by the 2023 campaign.  Nola spent the 2024 season with the Royals’ Triple-A affiliate without getting any more playing time in the Show, and he moved on to sign a minor league deal with the Rockies last winter.

The early part of Nola’s 2025 campaign was spent battling injuries, but he played well enough at Triple-A to earn a selection to Colorado’s active roster.  Nola didn’t fare nearly as well, hitting .184/.225/.211 over 41 plate appearances and 14 games with the Rox before being designated for assignment and then outrighted off the 40-man roster in August.  He elected free agency rather than accept that outright assignment, so Nola has had a bit of extra time to line up his next stop.

Atlanta is set at the MLB level with Drake Baldwin and Sean Murphy as their catchers, but Chuckie Robinson is the only other backstop in the system with any big league experience.  Nola can provide some depth for the Braves in camp, and could even chip in as a reserve first baseman.  Now entering his age-36 season, time may be running out for Nola to re-establish himself as even a backup in the majors, but a good showing in Spring Training could win him a Triple-A job with the Braves or perhaps a look elsewhere with a team with a less stable catching situation.

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