NPB’s Chiba Lotte Marines Sign Sam Long
The Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball announced that left-hander Sam Long has been signed to a contract for the 2026 season. Long heads to Japan after five MLB seasons, and after posting a 5.36 ERA over 40 1/3 relief innings for the Royals in 2025.
Long’s top big league campaign was in 2024, when he had a career-best 3.16 ERA and 25% strikeout rate over 42 2/3 innings out of the K.C. bullpen. Generally a low-strikeout pitcher with pretty ordinary walk rates, Long’s results have tended to ebb and flow along with his batted-ball luck, and he has a 4.65 ERA to show for his 211 career innings in the majors with the Giants, Athletics, and Royals.
Injuries could partially explains his underwhelming results this year, as Long missed over two months of action due to elbow inflammation. He started to find his form closer to the end of the season, but it wasn’t enough to stop the Royals from outrighting him off their 40-man roster in November, and Long then elected minor league free agency.
The 30-year-old almost surely would’ve had to settle for a minor league contract this winter if he’d stuck to courting MLB teams, so the move to Japan will earn Long some extra money on a guaranteed deal. He’ll now look for a fresh start to his career and a role with a Marines team that has made the playoffs four times in the last six years, thought they have been unable to advance to the Japan Series.
Braves Re-Sign Joel Payamps
The Braves announced that they have signed right-hander Joel Payamps to a one-year, $2.25MM deal. Payamps is represented by agents Larry Reynolds and Rosie Lopez-Herrera.
After Payamps was designated for assignment by the Brewers in September, Atlanta stepped in to claim the righty on waivers, and Payamps logged two appearances and 2 2/3 innings with his new team before season’s end. The Braves then outrighted Payamps off their 40-man roster and (since he has been previously outrighted in his career) he elected free agency rather than accept the assignment.
The move was essentially an early non-tender on the Braves’ part, as Payamps was projected to earn $3.4MM in his second trip through the arbitration process. This new contract brings Payamps back into the fold on a lower price tag, and a number that the Braves were surely more comfortable paying in the wake of a disappointing 2025 season for the veteran reliever.
Payamps posted okay but unremarkable numbers over his first four big league seasons before taking things up a notch as a member of Milwaukee’s bullpen in 2023-24. The reliever posted a 2.78 ERA, 26.1% strikeout rate, and 6.7% walk rate over 129 2/3 innings, emerging as a trusted setup man in front of closer Devin Williams.
In 2025, however, Payamps’ effectiveness suddenly went south, with a 6.84 ERA, 20.5 K%, and a 7.7 BB% over 26 1/3 combined innings with the Brewers and Braves. While his 4.16 SIERA was nothing special, it at least reflected some of the misfortune (such as a .346 BABIP and a 60.4% strand rate) that went into Payamps’ performance.
The Braves are investing $2.25MM in the idea that Payamps can regain his old form with a change of scenery. Payamps is out of minor league options and thus can’t be sent to Triple-A without first being designated for assignment, though his guaranteed contract provides leverage for the team. Because Payamps has less than five full years of MLB service time, he would have to forfeit any remaining guaranteed salary if he refused another outright assignment in favor of free agency. The added salary might also act as a bit of a deterrent for other teams who might otherwise be interested in claiming Payamps off waivers following a DFA.
Payamps was one of several arb-eligible players (along with the likes of Alek Manoah, Vidal Brujan, and Jake Fraley) picked up later in the season by the Braves, as the club was basically getting an early start on its offseason by auditioning some intriguing depth candidates. Manoah was non-tendered and Fraley was waived, but Brujan agreed to an arbitration-avoiding contract and now Payamps is back in the mix.
If the 2023-24 version of Payamps resurfaces, Atlanta has added a solid bullpen arm at a budget price. The Braves also re-signed Raisel Iglesias to return as closer, and more relief additions seem likely given the continued uncertainty over Joe Jimenez‘s health status. It is possible Iglesias could be the priciest of the Braves’ bullpen adds, as the team might prefer to save its larger dollars for the other needs and aim for less-expensive hidden gems on the relief front.
Orioles Outright Luis Vazquez
The Orioles announced this morning that infielder Luis Vazquez has cleared outright waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Norfolk. He’ll serve as non-roster depth for Baltimore heading into the 2026 season.
Vazquez, 25, was acquired by the Orioles in a minor trade with the Cubs last offseason. A 14th-round pick by Chicago back in 2017, he didn’t make his big league debut until last year in an 11-game cameo with the Cubs. He got a larger look in a bench role with Baltimore this past year, but still has yet to establish himself as more than a depth option at the big league level. In 67 plate appearances across 47 games in the majors between both clubs, Vazquez has hit just .145/.194/.210 (13 wRC+). With a 29.9% career strikeout rate in the majors, a walk rate of 4.5%, and little power to speak of, it’s hard to see Vazquez hitting enough to be a reliable bench option at the big league level without another step forward in his development.
That didn’t stop the Orioles from signing Vazquez to a big league contract earlier this month, however. It’s a tactic that creates a win-win situation for both player and team; Vazquez gets a guaranteed salary slightly higher than the MLB minimum, while the Orioles can safely outright him off the roster without fear of another team claiming him or Vazquez rejecting the assignment in favor of free agency. That can allow Vazquez to serve as a depth piece for Baltimore while also potentially continuing his development at Triple-A. Despite his poor results in the majors, Vazquez has done quite well for himself at the Orioles’ Norfolk affiliate with a .271/.343/.413 (106 wRC+) slash line at the level.
Whether Vazquez manages to take a step forward at the plate or not, he’s still valuable depth for Baltimore given his defensive ability and versatility. A solid defender at shortstop as well as both second and third base, Vazquez has also made brief cameos at first base and the outfield corners. A quality infield glove with the versatility to play the outfield in a pinch and the speed to be a solid pinch runner has value as a potential stopgap to fill out a team’s roster if injuries create vacancies over the course of the season, and the fact that Vazquez can fill that role while still being young enough to have the potential upside of future development made him an intriguing enough asset for the Orioles to offer him a little extra guaranteed money in order to keep him in the fold.
Turning to the big league bench, the Orioles figure to carry some combination of Leody Taveras, Jeremiah Jackson, Maverick Handley, Ryan Noda, and Heston Kjerstad as reserve players, with Taveras having the firmest grip of a bench spot of that group. Two spots on the bench currently appear likely to be used on a platoon between Ryan Mountcastle and Samuel Basallo at DH as well as a Tyler O’Neill/Dylan Beavers platoon in right field. Of course, the Orioles’ positional mix could still be altered substantially before Opening Day if a trade thins the herd or Baltimore continues their pursuit of a big bat even after adding Taylor Ward, as seems likely.
Nationals Re-Sign Erick Mejia
Infielder-turned-pitcher Erick Mejia is back with the Nationals on a minor league deal, reports Matt Eddy of Baseball America. The former shortstop converted to pitching last season and reached Triple-A by the end of the year.
After logging a single inning on the mound at Triple-A in 2024, Mejia truly began his pitching journey this past season. He opened the year in Single-A, posting an impressive 33.3% strikeout rate over 12 innings. Mejia earned a couple of saves and a win with Fredericksburg. He moved up to Double-A and delivered a 2.33 ERA across 24 appearances. Mejia’s strikeouts tailed off, while his walk rate spiked to 18.6%, but he limited hitters to a .174 batting average. He found himself back in Rochester by August, though he was knocked around for 12 earned runs in 10 innings. Mejia’s walk rate remained a bloated 18%.
Seattle signed Mejia as an international free agent in 2012. He was obviously still a shortstop back then. Mejia climbed through the Mariners’ system with a strong hitting profile and a bit of speed. He was dealt to the Dodgers in January 2016 for Joe Wieland. Mejia upped his base-stealing with the Dodgers, but reached Triple-A for just a game. He was dealt again in January 2018, this time to Kansas City in a three-team trade headlined by Joakim Soria. Mejia debuted with the Royals in 2019. He went 5-for-22 over nine games. Mejia got another brief shot with the big-league club during the shortened 2020 season, going 1-for-14 in eight appearances.
After a season at Triple-A with Seattle in 2022, Mejia landed with the Nationals. He struggled mightily at the plate in two seasons at Triple-A with the organization. A 61 wRC+ in 66 games with the Red Wings in 2024 prompted the position switch. Given Mejia’s intriguing strikeout numbers in the minors, along with Washington’s current trajectory, it’s not unthinkable that he could find himself on a big-league mound in 2026.
Photo courtesy of Jim Rassol, Imagn Images
Red Sox Release Yasmani Grandal
The Red Sox released catcher Yasmani Grandal earlier this month, reports Matt Eddy of Baseball America. Grandal stepped away from the organization back in June. There’s been no word regarding a potential retirement.
Grandal joined Boston on a minor league deal in April. He played in 23 games at Triple-A, posting a solid 110 wRC+ with his typically strong plate discipline (15 strikeouts to 13 walks). Grandal last suited up for Worcester on June 1, going 1-for-2 with a pair of walks. Manager Chad Tracy told MassLive’s Katie Morrison-O’Day that he talked to Grandal the next day about his future. “I knew he was going to pack up and go…his response was ‘it’s time to be dad.‘”
Grandal was placed on the restricted list on June 4. Tracy was complimentary of the veteran’s time with the team. “He didn’t isolate himself, he was right in the middle of everything teaching young guys,” Tracy said. “It was great.”
The 37-year-old last appeared in the big leagues in 2024 with Pittsburgh. He played in 72 games with the Pirates, slashing a respectable .228/.304/.400. He hit nine home runs in his only year with the club.
Grandal has played for five different teams across 13 MLB seasons. He was taken by Cincinnati in the first round of the 2010 draft. The Reds shipped him to the Padres in the Mat Latos trade. He debuted with San Diego in 2012. Grandal was part of another significant trade in 2014, heading to the Dodgers in the Matt Kemp deal. He became one of the most productive backstops in the league with LA, hitting 73 home runs across three seasons. Grandal went to the Brewers as a free agent in 2019 and socked a career-high 28 home runs. He cashed in on that season by signing a four-year, $73MM deal with the White Sox.
Photo courtesy of Brad Penner, Imagn Images
Brewers Re-Sign JB Bukauskas
The Brewers have inked righty JB Bukauskas to a minor league deal, reports Matt Eddy of Baseball America. Bukauskas had a non-roster invite to Spring Training with Milwaukee last season, but missed the entire year with a lat injury. It’s the same issue that cost him much of the 2024 campaign.
Bukauskas has been in the Brewers’ organization since April 2023, when the club claimed him off waivers from Seattle. He tossed six scoreless innings out of the bullpen that season, but missed time with neck and finger injuries. Bukauskas allowed just one earned run over six frames to open the 2024 season, then went down in mid-April with a lat injury that ended his season. Milwaukee designated him for assignment at the end of the year, which he accepted.
Houston took Bukauskas with the 15th overall pick in 2017. Injuries limited him to 17 appearances over his first two professional seasons. Bukauskas reached Double-A for his final start of 2018. He remained at the level in 2019, posting a 5.25 ERA across 20 appearances (14 starts). The Astros shipped Bukauskas, Corbin Martin, Josh Rojas, and Seth Beer to the Diamondbacks at the trade deadline for Zack Greinke.
Bukauskas debuted for Arizona in 2021. He struggled to a 7.79 ERA in 17 1/3 innings out of the bullpen. Bukauskas’ 4.50 xFIP and 4.49 SIERA suggest he pitched better than his ERA would indicate. He missed time with a flexor strain midway through that year, then went down with a shoulder injury ahead of the 2022 season. He made 23 minor league appearances that year. Arizona designated Bukauskas for assignment at the end of the 2022 campaign, and Seattle scooped him up. Bukauskas made a single appearance with the Mariners in 2023, allowing one earned run over an inning.
The 29-year-old Bukauskas has an ERA over 5.00 in his brief time in the big leagues, but his pedigree and minor league results could give Milwaukee hope that he could contribute in the bullpen if he manages to stay healthy. Bukauskas has a 3.35 ERA with more than a strikeout per inning across 76 career appearances at Triple-A.
Photo courtesy of Michael McLoone, Imagn Images
NPB’s Hiroshima Carp Sign Freddy Tarnok, Re-Sign Elehuris Montero
11:46AM: Tarnok will earn $1.5MM in guaranteed money, MLB Trade Rumors’ Steve Adams reports, with close to $500K in incentive bonuses attached to the contract.
10:12AM: The Hiroshima Carp have signed right-hander Freddy Tarnok and re-signed infielder Elehuris Montero to contracts for the 2026 season, the team announced. The terms of Tarnok’s deal aren’t known, but Montero will receive $1.25MM (broken down as a $750K salary and $500K signing bonus) plus incentives.
Tarnok has appeared in 11 games over parts of three Major League seasons, with five of those games coming with the Marlins in 2025. Signed to a minor league deal last offseason, Tarnok had his contract selected to the 40-man and active rosters in June, and he posted a 2.45 ERA over 7 1/3 innings amidst several options back and forth from Triple-A and the majors. The righty struck out 35.7% of batters during his small sample size of MLB work, but also had a 14.3% walk rate.
To some extent, Tarnok’s increasingly shaky control and his ability to miss bats has been the story of his minor league career, which consists of stops in the farm systems of the Marlins, Phillies, A’s, and Braves. Tarnok has a 4.08 ERA over 161 innings at the Triple-A level, starting 28 of those 65 games as he has been used more frequently as a reliever in recent years.
The move to Japan might well give Tarnok another chance to re-establish himself as a starting pitcher. Tarnok is just two days away from celebrating his 27th birthday, so he’s plenty young enough to post some good numbers with the Carp and perhaps get himself back onto the radar for big league teams as early as next winter. If nothing else, signing in NPB will land Tarnok some guaranteed money, whereas he would’ve very likely had to settle for another minor league deal from a Major League team.
Montero hit .228/.277/.387 over 739 plate appearances with the Rockies from 2022-24, and is perhaps best known as part of the trade package the Cardinals sent to Colorado for Nolan Arenado prior to the 2021 season. Montero’s first season in Hiroshima saw the 27-year-old hit .255/.301/.391 with nine home runs over 396 PA as the Carp’s regular first baseman. While not huge numbers for a first base bat, Montero seems to have done enough for the Carp to pursue a reunion.
Giants Re-Sign Osleivis Basabe
The Giants have re-signed infielder Osleivis Basabe to a new minor league contract, Baseball America’s Matt Eddy reports. Basabe spent 2025 in San Francisco’s organization and was outrighted off the team’s 40-man roster in June. Since he wasn’t added back to the 40-man before the end of the season, Basabe became eligible for minor league free agency, but it wasn’t known if he chose to test the open market.
Acquired from the Rays in a trade last February, Basabe spent his entire season at Triple-A Sacramento, getting significant time at shortstop, second base, and third base. Basabe hit .249/.309/.412 with 14 homers over 477 plate appearances, with that slash line more or less matching his career .266/.320/.398 mark over 1186 Triple-A PA. Within the context of the Pacific Coast League, however, Basabe’s offensive production wasn’t much to speak of given the PCL’s notoriously hitter-friendly nature.
Basabe drew attention as a prospect during his time in Tampa’s Bay farm system, but his lack of consistent hitting above the Double-A level has stifled his progress. The Rays gave Basabe a look at the MLB level in 2023, and his .218/.277/.310 slash line over 94 PA and 31 games remains his only big league experience.
Still only 25 years old, Basabe will now return to the same Triple-A role with the Giants in the hopes of another call-up to the majors. Matt Chapman and Willy Adames have the left side of San Francisco’s infield locked down, with Casey Schmitt penciled into second base duty and Tyler Fitzgerald and Christian Koss on hand as other infield depth options. There has also been speculation that the Giants might look to upgrade at second base this winter, which would push Basabe further down the depth chart.
Braves Sign Brewer Hicklen To Minor League Deal
The Braves have signed outfielder Brewer Hicklen to a minor league contract, according to Aram Leighton of Just Baseball Media. The deal presumably contains an invitation to Atlanta’s big league Spring Training camp.
Hicklen is entering his age-30 season, and he has appeared in 10 career Major League games spread out over three of the last four MLB seasons. His most recent cup of coffee in the Show consisted of a single game with the Tigers in 2025, after Detroit acquired the outfielder from (appropriately enough) the Brewers right at the very start of the season.
The Tigers designated Hicklen for assignment and subsequently traded him to the Phillies in late July, and Philadelphia didn’t promote Hicklen up to their active roster before season’s end. After electing minor league free agency, Hicklen has now landed in Atlanta.
Newly-acquired utilityman Mauricio Dubon will get some time in the Braves’ outfield, and Michael Siani and Eli White are the top backup outfield options slated for bench duty. Further down the depth chart, however, the Braves don’t have any outfielders in their farm system with any big league experience, so even Hicklen’s modest 10-game resume could give him a leg up over the competition He has a solid .240/.346/.464 slash line over 1731 plate appearances at the Triple-A level, though he batted only .221/.318/.403 in 393 PA with the Tigers’ and Phillies’ top affiliates in 2025.
Rangers Non-Tender Adolis Garcia, Jonah Heim
The Rangers announced Friday that they have chosen not to tender 2026 contracts to outfielder Adolis Garcia, catcher Jonah Heim, and relievers Josh Sborz and Jacob Webb. All four were arbitration-eligible for the final time and were set to enter their final year of club control. They will instead immediately become a free agent without needing to pass through waivers. Both Garcia and Heim were being shopped by the Rangers throughout the early stages of the offseason. Clearly, no takers manifested at their arbitration prices. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected a $12.1MM salary for Garcia and a $6MM salary for Heim. Webb was projected at $2MM and Sborz at $1.1MM.
Garcia’s hold on his roster spot has appeared tenuous for months. While he was a focal point of the offense that helped the Rangers capture their first World Series title in 2023, the slugging right fielder’s bat has cratered over the past two seasons. He’s also become emblematic of the type of undisciplined, boom-or-bust offensive approach that the Rangers have openly voiced a desire to change since the season ended.
Back in 2023, Garcia bashed 39 homers while hitting .245/.328/.508 with plus defense in right field. That alone made him one of the shrewdest DFA pickups in recent memory, but it didn’t set the stage for him to emerge as a core piece like many expected at the time. His 2024 numbers took a major step back (.224/.284/.400), and in 2025 he slashed just .227/.271/.394.
Garcia, 33 in March, still makes thunderous contact when he connects with the ball, averaging 92.1 mph off the bat and logging a stout 46.7% hard-hit rate. However, his chase rate on pitches off the plate has spiked from 29.5% in 2023 to 35.1% in 2025. His overall contact rate in ’25 sat about five percentage points shy of league-average, and his 79.5% contact rate on pitches within the zone is six percentage points shy of average. Swinging through a bit more than one of every five offerings within the strike zone is nothing new for Garcia, but that flaw has been compounded by the manner in which he has increasingly expanded the percentage of pitches at which he’s willing to swing since that peak season.
Heim, who’ll turn 31 next June, broke out with a .258/.317/.438 line (107 wRC+) and career-best 18 home runs back in ’23. For a catcher who already boasted some of the strongest defensive grades in the game, that offensive performance was enough to earn him a spot on the 2023 All-Star team. In 924 plate appearances since, Heim’s bat has evaporated. He’s hitting .217/.269/.334 since Opening Day 2024.
Heim has also gone from an elite pitch framer and thrower behind the dish to more of an average framer and poor thrower. He nabbed 29.3% of thieves in ’23 but has just a 13.7% caught-stealing rate since. His average pop time has crept north of two seconds, and the average velocity on his throws to second base has fallen from 81.1 mph in 2023 (21st among 67 catchers) to 79.5 mph in 2025 (33rd among 63 catchers).
Webb, 32, is a somewhat surprising non-tender. He pitched 66 innings of 3.00 ERA ball and fanned 21.7% of his opponents against a 7.1% walk rate. In 176 1/3 innings between the Rangers and Orioles, dating back to 2023, he’s pitched to a combined 3.22 earned run average with 33 holds and four saves.
Sborz, 31, didn’t pitch this season due to shoulder troubles. The right-hander had a bizarre campaign in 2023, pitching well for much of the season (3.83 ERA through mid-August) before being torched for 13 runs in 7 2/3 frames down the stretch, thereby ballooning his ERA to 5.50. Sborz then bounced all the way back — and then some — in the playoffs, serving as one of then-manager Bruce Bochy’s most trusted relievers. He pitched a dozen innings and allowed only one run (0.75 ERA) on four hits and four walks. He fanned 13.
The following season, Sborz got out to a nice start, logging a 3.86 ERA through 16 1/3 innings before landing on the injured list. He never returned. Sborz wound up undergoing shoulder surgery in the offseason. Originally, the Rangers suggested he’d miss the first two to three months of the 2025 season. Instead, Sborz pitched only 12 minor league innings in 2025, including a 5.79 ERA in 9 1/3 frames of Triple-A work.
Jesse Rogers of ESPN first reported that Garcia was being non-tendered.