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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.

Red Sox Outright Isaiah Campbell, José De León

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The Red Sox have outrighted right-handers Isaiah Campbell and José De León to Triple-A Worcester, according to their transactions tracker at MLB.com. That indicates both players cleared waivers in recent days.

There was no previous indication that either player had been designated for assignment but these kinds of moves are common at this time of year, as most clubs are facing upcoming roster crunches. The 60-day injured list goes away five days after the World Series, meaning several players need to retake 40-man spots. Some will also become free agents but many clubs often end up with more than 40 players in the mix. RosterResource estimates the Sox at 43 players, even with the assumption that Alex Bregman will opt out while Lucas Giolito and Liam Hendriks will have their mutual options declined. These two outrights drop them to 41, meaning another move will still be required at some point in the coming weeks, unless Trevor Story also opts out.

De Leon’s removal isn’t surprising. He spent 2025 with the Sox on a minor league deal. He was added to the 40-man roster on the last day of the regular season. The Sox had already clinched a playoff spot and had nothing on the line. De León was given the ball to soak up some innings, allowing Boston to save some of their other arms for the playoffs. He tossed 6 2/3, allowing three earned runs on eight hits and three walks while striking out eight.

A former top prospect, his career has been severely sidelined by injuries, including two Tommy John surgeries. He debuted way back in 2016 but has just 72 big league innings under his belt. He logged 75 1/3 innings for Worcester in 2025 with a 6.93 earned run average, 24.6% strikeout rate and 14.4% walk rate. Players can reject an outright assignment and elect free agency if they have three years of big league service or a previous outright. De Leon qualifies on both accounts and should hit the open market soon.

This is Campbell’s first career outright and he doesn’t have three years of big league service. However, he was non-tendered after 2024, which should make him eligible for minor league free agency. The righty has 43 innings of big league experience. Most of that came with the 2023 Mariners. He was traded to the Red Sox going into 2024 for Luis Urías. The Sox have used him sparingly in the two seasons since, with fewer than ten appearances in each campaign. As mentioned, he was non-tendered after 2024 but then was re-signed via a minor league deal. He was added back to the 40-man in July.

His minor league track record is good but his results backed up this year. From 2021 to 2024, he tossed 105 2/3 innings on the farm with a 2.04 ERA, 29.6% strikeout rate and 7.1% walk rate. This year, it was 57 2/3 innings with a 3.90 ERA, 18.1% strikeout rate and 8.1% walk rate.

Photo courtesy of Bob DeChiara, Imagn Images

Rays Re-Sign Kodi Whitley To Minor League Deal

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Kodi Whitley will return to the Rays organization in 2026. According to Matt Eddy’s minor league transactions roundup at Baseball America, the right-hander has signed a new minor league pact with the club.

Now 30 years old, Whitley joined the Cardinals organization in the 2017 draft and made his MLB debut for St. Louis in 2020. Over parts of three seasons with the Cardinals, he pitched to a 3.38 ERA in 42.2 innings of mostly low-leverage relief before he was outrighted at the end of the 2022 campaign. He has not pitched in the major leagues since.

Whitley spent 2023 at Triple-A with the Memphis Redbirds (Cardinals) and, after his mid-July release, the Gwinnett Stripers (Braves). Unfortunately for the righty, his 5.49 ERA and 5.12 FIP in 57.1 innings seemed to scare off potential suitors the following year. The Braves organization released him weeks before Opening Day in 2024, and he went unsigned the rest of the season.

A year later, however, the Rays came calling, inking Whitley to a minor league deal. While he missed about half of 2025 with injuries and failed to make his way back to the big leagues, he showed signs of promise when he took the mound. In 28.2 innings of minor league work, he struck out 38 batters and walked only four. Evidently, the Rays saw enough to want to take another look at his arm in 2026. If Whitley manages to make it back to the majors, he will have one option year remaining, which could help him to stick around on Tampa Bay’s 40-man roster.

Nine Players Elect Free Agency

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Now that the season is over, we’ll start seeing several players choose to become minor league free agents. Major League free agents (i.e. players with six-plus years of big league service time) will hit the open market five days after the end of the World Series, but eligible minor leaguers can already start electing free agency.

To qualify, these players must have been all outrighted off their team’s 40-man rosters during the 2025 season without being added back. These players also must have multiple career outrights on their resume, and/or at least three years of Major League service time.

We’ll offer periodic updates over the coming weeks about many other players hitting the market in this fashion. Unless otherwise credited, these free agent decisions are all listed on the official MLB.com or MILB.com transactions pages, for further reference.

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Photo courtesy of Jonathan Hui, Imagn Images

Twins Claim Ryan Kreidler

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The Twins announced that utilityman Ryan Kreidler has been claimed off waivers from the Pirates. Pittsburgh designated Kreidler for assignment two days ago. Minnesota’s 40-man roster count jumps from 38 to 39.

Kreidler, 28 next month, is a multi-positional player who hasn’t yet hit in limited chances the big leagues. He has appeared in the past four big league seasons but with a total of just 211 plate appearances over those four years. He struck out in 31.8% of those trips to the plate and produced a dismal .138/.208/.176 line.

His minor league numbers are naturally greater in quality and quantity. He has a .236/.342/.401 line and 106 wRC+ in 1,963 plate appearances in his minor league career. That includes a .238/.363/.389 line and 109 wRC+ in 401 plate appearances in 2025. If he could bring some more of that offense up to the majors, he could become a useful utility guy. He has experience at the three infield spots to the left of first base, as well as center and left field.

However, his grip on a roster spot with the Tigers was slipping. 2025 was his final option year, meaning he will be out of options going forward. The Tigers designated him for assignment in August when they selected left-hander Drew Sommers. The Pirates claimed him but put him back on the wire this week when they claimed outfielder Will Robertson.

The Twins have loads of questions about their roster going into the offseason. They underwent a big sell-off at the deadline, trading away many pieces, including infielder Carlos Correa and outfielder Harrison Bader. It’s possible they do some more rebuild-type moves this winter, which could include trading guys like Trevor Larnach, Matt Wallner or Royce Lewis.

With so much uncertainty, it’s possible there will be a path for guys like Kreidler to fill in some of the open playing time. It’s also possible that the Twins put him back on waivers in the winter and hope that he clears so that they can keep him as non-roster depth.

Photo courtesy of Steven Bisig, Imagn Images

Guardians Re-Sign Austin Hedges

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The Guardians announced Wednesday morning that they’ve re-signed catcher Austin Hedges to a one-year deal. The Boras Corporation client reportedly receives a $4MM guarantee and the deal includes another $500K in performance bonuses: $125K each for 70, 75, 80 and 85 starts behind the plate.

Hedges returns to Cleveland on the same contract he has signed in each of the last two offseasons. It’s his third straight one-year deal to serve as the Guardians’ backup catcher. Cleveland continues to place enough emphasis on his receiving and game-calling ability to live with a complete dearth of offense out of that position.

Over parts of 11 seasons, Hedges is a .185/.244/.313 hitter. That includes a .157/.229/.251 mark in 326 plate appearances over the last two years. The 33-year-old isn’t going to provide anything offensively, yet he remains an elite defensive catcher. Statcast routinely grades him as one of the sport’s best pitch framers. He typically rates as high-end blocker, though this past season’s metrics were average in that regard. Hedges also cut down a third of the 45 runners who attempted to steal against him, well north of the 22.3% league mark.

While Hedges already grades very well by the quantifiable aspects of catcher defense, he’s probably even more highly-regarded for the intangibles. He has earned a fantastic reputation as a game-caller and for his rapport with pitchers. The Guardians aren’t pricing in any drop in his value with the forthcoming introduction of the challenge system to supplement the home plate umpire on balls and strikes.

There’d been speculation about the ABS being a potentially bad rule change for defense-only catchers. The Guardians seemingly don’t think that deals a hit to Hedges’ value. Catcher framing will still be a part of the game since teams are limited to two unsuccessful challenges until extra innings. The ABS obviously also doesn’t take away from a catcher’s game-calling acumen.

Cleveland catchers hit .187/.269/.344 on the season. That was almost entirely split between Bo Naylor and Hedges, with Dom Nuñez picking up the final seven plate appearances. Naylor didn’t hit at all through the end of August, though he did finish with a strong September. Unless they include Naylor in a trade package for a bigger bat behind the plate, they’ll stick with that tandem for a third straight season.

Hedges was one of three impending free agents for the Guardians. Reliever Jakob Junis and outfielder Lane Thomas are set to hit the market in a few weeks. The Guards also have a $6MM club option on lefty John Means. Hedges is their fifth player under contract for 2026, though that includes a $6MM salary for Emmanuel Clase. The former star closer is currently on administrative leave as MLB conducts a gambling investigation.

José Ramírez ($21MM), Tanner Bibee ($4MM) and outrighted reliever Trevor Stephan ($3.5MM) are the only other players on guaranteed salaries. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects the team’s arbitration class to make around $20MM, nearly half of which is in Steven Kwan’s $8.8MM projection. Non-tenders of Ben Lively, Will Brennan, Nolan Jones, Matt Festa, Kolby Allard and/or Sam Hentges could knock the arb class down by $5-10MM.

The Guardians have opened the past two seasons with a player payroll right around $100MM, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts. Cleveland isn’t likely to be huge spenders in free agency, but they could make a couple mid-level acquisitions similar to last winter’s deals to bring back Carlos Santana and Shane Bieber. The Guardians will be in the outfield market and could also look for an innings eater to complement a young rotation nucleus.

Jon Heyman of The New York Post first reported that Hedges had agreed to a $4MM deal with Cleveland that contained $500K in incentives. The Associated Press reported the bonus structure. Image courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images.

Mets Sign Joe Jacques To Minors Contract

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The Mets have signed left-hander Joe Jacques to a minor league contract, MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo reports.  Jacques will receive $800K in prorated salary if he makes New York’s active roster, and he will receive an invitation to the Mets’ Spring Training camp.

The move is a bit of a homecoming for Jacques, who was born in Shrewsbury, New Jersey and played his college ball at Manhattan University.  The Mets are the sixth different organization Jacques has played for since he was a 33rd-round pick for the Pirates in the 2018 draft, and the sidearmer’s on-field resume in the majors consists of 29 2/3 innings with the Red Sox and Diamondbacks over the 2023-24 seasons.

All but three of those innings came during Jacques’ 2023 rookie season in Boston.  The D’Backs claimed him off waivers in April 2024, giving him exactly one MLB appearance each with Boston and Arizona during the 2024 season.  He has since bounced to the Dodgers and Mariners without getting any more time in the Show, as Jacques struggled to a 6.02 ERA over 52 1/3 combined Triple-A innings with both teams’ top affiliates in 2025.

Jacques (who turns 31 in March) is a groundball specialist who has a 61.7% groundball rate in his brief time in the majors.  He has steadily increased his strikeout totals during his minor league career, with a respectable 22.3% strikeout rate to show for his 218 1/3 innings at Triple-A.  Jacques has had very large platoon splits for much of his minor league career and there was still a sizeable gap within his splits in 2025, though left-handed hitters still did pretty well (.768 OPS) against Jacques while righty swingers crushed him (.885 OPS).

Forty-six different players pitched for New York this season, due to both injuries and Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns’ penchant for acquiring and cycling through a ton of arms.  It isn’t surprising to see the Mets get a quick jump on their non-roster invites already, and Jacques figures to be one of many minor league pitching signings for the Amazins as the team tries to figure out its bullpen mix.

White Sox Outright Fletcher, Julks, Peguero, White

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The White Sox announced they have outrighted outfielders Dominic Fletcher and Corey Julks, along with pitchers Elvis Peguero and Owen White, to Triple-A Charlotte. Chicago also lost Will Robertson via waivers to Pittsburgh, which brings their 40-man roster down to 35 players.

Fletcher logged the most big-league time of the foursome this season. The 28-year-old appeared in a dozen games with the White Sox after getting called up in early September. He slashed .219/.265/.469 over 34 plate appearances. Fletcher only notched seven hits, but he made them count, swatting five doubles and a home run. Power hadn’t been part of Fletcher’s game heading into this season, but he launched a career-high 17 home runs in 105 games with Triple-A Charlotte before getting called up.

Chicago acquired Fletcher in early 2024 in a trade that sent Cristian Mena to Arizona. He was coming off a strong 2023 that saw him post an .899 OPS at Triple-A Reno and then slash .301/.350/.441 over 28 games with the Diamondbacks. Fletcher failed to replicate those results in Chicago, stumbling to a .206 batting average in 72 games with the White Sox last season. The team made a point to give Fletcher and other young players more opportunities to close 2024, but it didn’t translate into a big-league role for Fletcher this past season.

Julks has the most MLB experience of the group, though the majority of his work came in 2023 with Houston. He came over in a trade midway through 2024 after the Astros designated him for assignment. Julks held down a part-time role for the White Sox after the deal, appearing in 66 games, including 45 starts. Julks got on base at a meager .275 clip while striking out at an elevated 26.5% rate. While he hardly got a look with Chicago in 2025, Julks did hit 15 home runs with 18 steals at Triple-A. It’s that type of power and speed that has intrigued multiple organizations.

A massive 2022 put Julks on the radar in Houston. He smashed 31 home runs and stole 22 bases in 130 games at Triple-A Sugar Land. The performance led Julks to break camp with the Astros in 2023. He earned regular opportunities through July, but a 79 wRC+ landed him back at Sugar Land. He’s failed to gain significant traction since then. Julks appeared in just six games with the White Sox this past year. He’s now entering his age-30 season.

Chicago claimed Peguero off waivers from the Brewers in August. He’s pitched in parts of five MLB seasons. Peguero debuted with the Angels in 2021. He’s recorded a 4.26 ERA across 141 2/3 innings at the MLB level. All but one of his appearances have come as a reliever.

Peguero scuffled to a 4.91 ERA over six outings with Milwaukee this season before getting designated for assignment. He joined the White Sox for a pair of appearances, allowing three earned runs over two innings. Peguero’s debut with Chicago marked his first career MLB start. He opened against Detroit ahead of bulk reliever Tyler Alexander, allowing a run over 1 2/3 innings.

White was also a waiver claim. The White Sox scooped him up in February after the Yankees designated him for assignment. It was the final stop on a whirlwind offseason for White, who was traded from Texas to Cincinnati, then designated for assignment and claimed by the Yankees, before finally arriving in Chicago in the span of six weeks.

It’s been a while, but White had plenty of hype as a prospect. He was a second-round pick by the Rangers in 2018. Injuries set him back, but he was a consensus top 100 prospect heading into 2023. That season went poorly for White, both at the minor league level and in his first MLB stint. White posted a pedestrian 4.99 ERA upon reaching Triple-A. His prodigious strikeout numbers from the lower levels of the minors completely dissipated. He was rocked in four innings with the Rangers, allowing five earned runs over two appearances. White continued to scuffle at Triple-A in 2024, posting a 5.64 ERA. He was crushed for eight earned runs over three MLB outings. White made it up for seven innings with the White Sox this past season, allowing seven earned runs on 14 hits.

Pirates Claim Will Robertson, Designate Ryan Kreidler

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The Pirates announced they have claimed outfielder Will Robertson off waivers from the White Sox. Ryan Kreidler was designated for assignment in a corresponding move.

Pittsburgh marks the third MLB organization for Robertson in the past four months. He came to Chicago in a trade from Toronto back in July after getting designated for assignment by the Blue Jays. Robertson had been in Toronto’s minor league system for his entire career heading into this season, since getting drafted by the team in 2019.

A strong start to the Triple-A season earned Robertson his first taste of MLB action in June. He slashed .292/.403/.578 with the Buffalo Bisons prior to getting the call. Robertson made three starts with the Blue Jays, recording an RBI single for his first MLB hit on June 15 against the Phillies. It would be his only knock with the team.

Robertson spent his first week in Chicago with the big-league club. He appeared in four games, making two starts. He went 0-for-6 with four strikeouts. Robertson was optioned to Triple-A on July 19. He returned to the White Sox on August 27 and carved out a semi-regular role over the final month of the season. Robertson made 13 starts in September, while also appearing twice as a pinch-hitter. He recorded seven hits in 44 at-bats.

Andrew McCutchen and Tommy Pham are free agents, so Pittsburgh could use some outfield depth heading into 2026. Robertson’s persistent strikeout issues will make it tough for him to hold down a regular MLB job, but he’s shown power potential at times in the minors. He hit 20 home runs in Triple-A between Buffalo and Charlotte this past season. Robertson popped 19 homers in 464 plate appearances with Buffalo in 2024, matching his mark from 2023 with Double-A New Hampshire.

Pittsburgh claimed Kreidler off waivers from Detroit in August. He spent a week on the big-league roster in September before heading back to Triple-A Indianapolis. Kreidler did not make an appearance with the Pirates.

Kreidler spent parts of four MLB seasons with the Tigers. He’s hit just .138 across 211 plate appearances at the highest level. His main draw is defensive versatility. Kreidler has made appearances at second base, shortstop, third base, left field, and center field with Detroit. If Kreidler clears waivers, he’ll qualify for minor league free agency at the beginning of the offseason.

Seven Players Elect Free Agency

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Now that the season is over, we’ll start seeing several players choose to become minor league free agents. Major League free agents (i.e. players with six-plus years of big league service time) will hit the open market five days after the end of the World Series, but eligible minor leaguers can already start electing free agency.

To qualify, these players must have been all outrighted off their team’s 40-man rosters during the 2025 season without being added back. These players also must have multiple career outrights on their resume, and/or at least three years of Major League service time.

We’ll offer periodic updates over the coming weeks about many other players hitting the market in this fashion. These free agent decisions are all listed on the official MLB.com or MILB.com transactions pages, for further reference.

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