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9 Contract Options To Keep An Eye On In September

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The final push of the 2025 season is upon is, which means postseason chases for fans lucky enough to root for contending clubs and offseason dreams for those whose clubs are already out of the running. It also means that players with vesting clauses in their contract and/or performance incentives are beginning to unlock bonuses related to plate appearances, innings pitched, games finished, etc.

In particular, there are a handful of club options that are worth keeping an eye on either for incentive purposes or for season-long rehabbers who’ll have a limited September window to audition for next year’s club. MLBTR’s Anthony Franco already highlighted the three vesting options of note last month, but we’ll still take a look at how those players are tracking and also shine a light on six more club/mutual options that’ll have some present financial ramifications as well as potential 2026 roster implications.

Here are nine options to keep in the back of your mind as the season’s final weeks play out…

Pete Fairbanks, RHP, Rays

Fairbanks’ three-year, $12MM extension with Tampa Bay contained a $7MM club option for the 2026 season, but he’s boosted that option’s value considerably. Fairbanks already triggered $1.5MM in escalators based on his total appearances in the first three seasons of the deal, and he’s maxed out a set of escalators based on his number of games finished in 2025, tacking another $2MM onto the option price. His option at this moment is valued at $10.5MM, but if he appears in even two more games this year, he’ll boost his 2023-25 appearance count to 150, adding another $1MM to its value. If he appears in seven of Tampa Bay’s final 22 games, he’ll bump his 2025 appearance total to 60 and add yet another $1MM escalator onto the deal.

A $12.5MM salary for a reliever is steep for the Rays, but Fairbanks has pitched a career-high 52 1/3 innings and logged a 3.10 ERA, 25.2% strikeout rate and 7% walk rate en route to 24 saves. Even if the Rays were hesitant to commit $11.5MM or $12.5MM to a frequently injured reliever who’ll turn 32 in December, a team with lesser budgetary concerns would be willing to do. The option will very likely be picked up either way, but the steeper the cost, the likelier an offseason trade becomes.

Andrés Muñoz, RHP, Mariners

Muñoz’s four-year, $7.5MM contract has become one of the game’s great bargains. At the time of the agreement, he’d made just one appearance for the M’s and had only 23 2/3 major league innings under his belt due to Tommy John surgery. The four-year term bought out his final pre-arbitration year and all three arbitration seasons, while also giving Seattle options on his first three free agent years. It’s easy to say now that Muñoz would’ve earned more through arbitration, but it’s hard to blame a 22-year-old who’d scarcely pitched in the majors for locking in that life-changing payday, and there was some modest risk for the Mariners in the deal as well.

The first of those three option years has a $6MM base value, but Muñoz has already boosted that by $500K. He unlocked $250K option escalators when he reached 20 and 30 games finished on the season. He’s finished 39 games now, and he’ll hit additional $250K escalators when he finishes his 40th and 45th games of the season. The first of those is a lock, and the second is certainly within reach.

Muñoz’s contract also has an $8MM club option for 2027 and a $10MM club option for 2028. He can boost both those figures by $1MM with the same set of escalators based on his games finished in the next two seasons, and beginning next year, he can also earn an additional $2MM per season based on games finished.

John Means, LHP, Guardians

Coming off his second career Tommy John surgery, Means signed a one-year, $1MM deal with the Guardians. Cleveland knew full well he’d miss most of the season recovering from last summer’s UCL operation. Means has a $6MM club option, with no buyout. He can’t boost that sum any further, but he’s on the cusp of returning to the majors and making what’ll amount to a two- or three-start audition.

Means, 32, has made four minor league rehab starts and has pitched well. He’s tossed 13 1/3 innings and yielded four earned runs (2.70 ERA) on eight hits and five walks with 13 punchouts. He’d been slated to make his final rehab start today before being scratched with an illness, but a return to the majors could happen as soon as next weekend.

When healthy, Means has been a high-quality starter. He’s posted a 3.68 ERA in 401 big league innings, all coming with the Orioles. He’s a former Opening Day starter and All-Star for Baltimore who has twice topped 140 innings in a season. A pair of UCL surgeries has limited him to just 52 1/3 innings since Opening Day 2022, however.

The Athletic’s Zack Meisel suggests that as long as Means is healthy, the option will be picked up. The Guards have committed a full year to rehabilitating the talented lefty. And, as explored at MLBTR last night, Cleveland has an uncharacteristic need for some pitching upgrades. A $6MM gamble on Means isn’t exactly a pricey roll of the dice, but the Guardians are one of the sport’s lowest-payroll clubs. If Means returns next week and gets rocked in his only two or three big league starts this year, it doesn’t feel like a given that they’ll dedicate that $6MM sum to him. If he looks even close to his old form, it seems like a reasonable risk to take. His handful of starts will be worth watching with a careful eye for Cleveland fans.

Jose Urquidy, RHP, Tigers

Urquidy is in a very similar situation to that of Means. He’s rehabbing from a second career Tommy John surgery and signed a one-year, $1MM deal with a $4MM club option for the 2026 season. Like Means, he’s on a minor league rehab assignment right now and could be activated in the near future. The former Astros righty tossed three scoreless innings for Triple-A Toledo three days ago and has now pitched 14 2/3 minor league innings with a 4.30 ERA and a 12-to-3 K/BB ratio.

Urquidy and Means have nearly identical career innings totals, though Urquidy’s 405 frames have come in a more condensed five seasons. From 2019-22, the right-hander posted a 3.74 ERA with a 20.3% strikeout rate and 5.2% walk rate in 342 innings for Houston. He was hit hard in a 2023 season that was shortened by shoulder troubles (5.29 ERA in 63 frames) and didn’t pitch in 2024 due to the elbow/forearm discomfort that eventually prompted his Tommy John surgery in early June last year.

If Urquidy comes back anywhere close to that 2019-22 form, a $4MM option should be a no-brainer, but a rocky performance could give the Tigers reason to pause. Urquidy’s return will also be worth monitoring since he could pitch his way into postseason roster consideration for Detroit.

Tyler Kinley, RHP, Braves

Atlanta looked past Kinley’s dismal 5.66 ERA with the Rockies and acquired him in July, clearly believing that the hard-throwing righty was only a few tweaks away from success. It’s been a masterstroke. Kinley has pitched 13 2/3 innings and allowed just one run since being traded to Atlanta in exchange for 26-year-old Double-A righty Austin Smith. The Braves have Kinley throwing even more sliders and working with a slightly lower release point, and the results have been stellar — albeit in a small sample.

The Braves were out of the postseason chase by the time the deadline rolled around, so the mere fact that they traded for a potential free agent with a 2026 club option signaled that they were open to exercising that option in spite of his struggles. Kinley’s success in Atlanta makes it quite likely he’ll return, but there’s a good chance it won’t be at the $5MM base price of his value. His contract contains option escalators based on games finished, the first of which kicks in at 20. Kinley has currently finished 18 games this year, including three with Atlanta. If he finishes two more, he’ll boost next year’s option to $5.5MM — and he’ll also unlock a $500K bonus for the current season.

It’s not a major change, but those incentives would bump him from a $2.08MM luxury tax hit to $2.875MM. Assuming the options on Kinley, Pierce Johnson, Chris Sale, Ozzie Albies and Ha-Seong Kim are all exercised, Atlanta will have $207.5MM committed to next year’s books when the offseason begins (before accounting for arbitration raises).

Harrison Bader, OF, Phillies

Bader has proven to be a terrific pickup for the Phils, hitting .307/.374/.477 in his first 99 plate appearances since being traded over from Minnesota. He’s up to 406 plate appearances on the season, which is just enough for his incentive structure to kick in. The $1.5MM buyout on Bader’s $10MM mutual option jumped to $1.7MM when he reached 400 plate appearances, and it’ll climb to $1.9MM at 425 plate appearances and $2.1MM if he reaches 450. It’s a minor bump, but for a Phillies club that’s a third-time luxury payor in the top tier of penalization, they’ll pay a 110% tax on the prorated portion of that extra $600K.

Given the strength of Bader’s play, they’ll happily pay that, of course, and the increased buyout does nothing to change the fact that Bader will return to free agency this winter. It’s been over a decade since the last time both sides of a mutual option were exercised in MLB (Brewers, Aramis Ramirez in 2014). Bader’s plus defense and strong season at the plate should position him for a multi-year deal in the offseason.

Jorge Polanco, INF, Mariners

Polanco is nine plate appearances shy of converting his 2026 mutual option into a $6MM player option. He’s also already tacked $2MM onto his 2025 salary via plate appearance incentives, and when he hits the 450 mark needed to trigger that player option, he’ll unlock another $500K. That’ll bump the veteran switch-hitter up to a $9.5MM salary in 2025. He’d get another $500K if he can make it to 500 plate appearances, but it’s not a guarantee he’ll get 59 plate appearances in between now and season’s end.

Though he’s slumped considerably in the middle months of the season, Polanco has heated up again in the past three weeks. He’s slashing .254/.319/.471 with 23 homers and 17 doubles in only 441 plate appearances — miles better than the down year he had with the M’s in 2024 before undergoing offseason knee surgery. He’s played well enough that he’s probably going to decline a $6MM player option anyhow, but it’ll be a nice safety net in the event of an injury (so long as it’s not a lower-half injury, as his contract contains language that’d prevent the player option from kicking in if he’s dealing with an injury related to that offseason knee procedure).

Matt Strahm, LHP, Phillies

Strahm is on the cusp of having his contract’s 2026 option vest. While that originally came at a $4.5MM base value, he’s already boosted the option value to $6.5MM via $1MM escalators at 40 and 50 innings pitched. Once he reaches 60, the option value increases to its maximum $7.5MM. The contract also stipulates that if Strahm pitches 60 innings and passes a physical at the end of the season, it’ll automatically vest.

Strahm has been excellent in 2025, logging 56 1/3 frames of 2.88 ERA ball with a 27.9% strikeout rate and 7.7% walk rate. He’s saved six games and tallied 17 holds. The Phillies would’ve picked up the option anyhow, but this removes any doubt.

Lucas Giolito, RHP, Red Sox

Giolito’s two-year, $38.5MM contract with Boston couldn’t have started much worse. The typically durable righty went down with a UCL injury in spring training last year, ultimately requiring surgery that wiped out his entire 2024 season. His 2025 return didn’t appear to be going well early on, either. Through his first seven starts, the 31-year-old was shelled for a 6.42 ERA in just 33 2/3 innings.

Since June 10, however, Giolito has returned to form. He’s started 15 games, totaled 91 2/3 innings and logged a pristine 2.26 earned run average. His 21.1% strikeout rate and 8.6% walk rate in that time are both about half a percentage point worse than league average among starting pitchers, but it’s been a strong run overall, pushing his season ERA down to a tidy 3.38.

That turnaround would make Giolito’s $14MM club option likely to be picked up — but it’s not likely to remain a club option. The right-hander’s contract stipulates that with 140 innings pitched this year, that option converts into a $19MM mutual option with a $1.5MM buyout. With 125 1/3 innings under his belt, Giolito only needs another 14 2/3 frames in the final three weeks to convert that option to mutual status. If and when he reaches that point, Giolito is a lock to decline his half of the mutual option, collect that buyout and return to free agency in search of a multi-year deal. The Sox could — and likely would — counter with a qualifying offer, but the hefty contracts for mid-rotation arms like Eduardo Rodriguez (four years, $80MM), Sean Manaea (three years, $75MM), Taijuan Walker (four years, $72MM), Jameson Taillon (four years, $68MM) and Luis Severino (three years, $67MM) in recent offseasons all suggest that Giolito can reasonably seek a pricey three- or four-year deal ahead of what’ll be his age-31 season.

Braves Designate Enyel De Los Santos For Assignment

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The Braves announced this afternoon that they’ve designated right-hander Enyel De Los Santos for assignment. His departure opens up a 40-man roster spot for right-hander Tyler Kinley, who they acquired from the Rockies in a deal earlier today.

De Los Santos, 29, signed with Atlanta on a minor league deal over the winter. He made the club’s roster out of camp in Spring Training and since then has served as a decent but unspectacular middle reliever. In 43 appearances, he’s posted a below-average 4.53 ERA (92 ERA+) but has offered some solid peripherals, including a 3.32 FIP. His 20.1% strikeout rate and 9.5% walk rate are both fairly pedestrian, however, and while a 60.5% strand rate suggests some poor sequencing luck his 4.15 SIERA suggests he’s little been more than average overall this year.

Joining the Braves marked De Los Santos’s seventh season in the big leagues and seventh team for whom he’s played at the big league level. The right-hander debuted with the Phillies all the way back in 2018 but got his first substantial look at the big league level in 2021 when he made 33 appearances for Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. He posted an ugly 6.37 ERA in 35 1/3 innings back then but since then has generally looked decent in stints with the Guardians, Padres, Yankees, and White Sox in addition to the Braves. Since the start of the 2022 campaign, De Los Santos has posted a 4.01 ERA with a 3.95 FIP and a 24.0% strikeout rate. That’s on top of solid career numbers at the Triple-A level, where he’s posted a 3.37 ERA in parts of four seasons with the Phillies and Guardians.

Going forward, Atlanta will have until tomorrow’s trade deadline to try and work out a trade involving De Los Santos. Should that not come to pass, he’ll be placed on outright waivers where he can be claimed by any club. If he goes unclaimed on waivers, De Los Santos will have the opportunity to either accept an outright assignment from the Braves and serve as non-roster depth in the minor leagues for the remainder of the year, or reject the assignment in favor of free agency, at which point he would be free to sign with any of the league’s 30 clubs.

Rockies Trade Tyler Kinley To Braves

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The Braves and Rockies have agreed to a deal sending right-handed reliever Tyler Kinley from Colorado to Atlanta in exchange for Double-A righty Austin Smith. Both teams have announced the deal. Kinley, who’s earning $3MM in the final year of his contract, has an affordable $5MM club option for the 2026 season.

The 34-year-old Kinley has an unappealing 5.66 ERA on the season but has fanned 23.8% of his opponents on the season. Metrics like FIP (4.14) and SIERA (4.15) feel he’s been far better than that earned run average should indicate. He’s been on an excellent run of late, pitching to a 2.37 ERA with a 31.1% strikeout rate and 6.7% walk rate in 19 innings since mid-June.

Kinley’s overall 12.6% walk rate this season is an eyesore, but he’s also been plagued by a fluky 59.4% strand rate that’s well shy of his 68% career mark and the 72% league average. The 6’4″ righty sits 95.2 mph on his heater and boasts a terrific 14% swinging-strike rate, which could give Atlanta some optimism that Kinley’s strikeout rate has room to improve. He’s also among the league leaders in terms of limiting hard contact.

It’s a surprise to see the Braves add a veteran player, given the team’s 45-61 record in an increasingly injury-decimated season. Kinley deepens the current relief corps and brings a hint of upside which, if unlocked, would make him a bargain option for next season. His ’26 club option has a $750K buyout, so Atlanta will be making a net $4.25MM decision in the offseason after Kinley has had a 2025 audition.

In that sense, the Braves — who fully intend to compete in 2026 — are getting a proactive jump start on some offseason shopping. Braves relievers Raisel Iglesias and Rafael Montero are free agents at season’s end. Pierce Johnson is also in the final guaranteed season of his deal, though like Kinley, he has a 2026 club option. Each of Iglesias, Montero and Johnson has been a reported trade candidate as Atlanta begrudgingly concedes to listening on short-term veterans at this year’s deadline.

Going back to the Rockies is the 26-year-old Smith, Atlanta’s 18th-round pick back in 2021. He posted decent numbers in the low minors in 2021-22 after being drafted out of Arizona, but he missed nearly all of the 2023-24 seasons recovering from Tommy John surgery. Smith tossed 26 innings last year across three minor league levels and posted a 6.92 ERA with nearly as many walks as strikeouts.

He’s been far better this year between High-A and Double-A but still has pedestrian numbers against far younger competition. He’s logged a combined 4.31 ERA with a 26.2% strikeout rate and much improved (but still higher than average) 11.5% walk rate. Smith has yet to climb to the Triple-A level in the minors.

Mark Feinsand of MLB.com first reported that Kinley was headed to the Braves in exchange for a prospect. David O’Brien of The Athletic reported Smith’s inclusion in the deal.

Rangers, Mariners Eyeing Rockies’ Relievers

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The Rockies, more open to dealing at this year’s deadline than in seasons past, have been open to offers on controllable young relievers in their bullpen. The Rox have several power arms who could appeal to bullpen-needy contenders, and two teams that have been eyeing them recently are the Rangers (per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News) and Mariners (per Daniel Kramer of MLB.com).

Grant reports that the Rockies are under the impression that right-handers Jake Bird, Victor Vodnik and Tyler Kinley are all available via trade. As a veteran in the final guaranteed season of his contract, Kinley is a fairly straightforward trade candidate. But Bird, who’s controlled three years beyond the current season, and especially Vodnik, who’s controlled for an additional four years, stand as the types of player Colorado wouldn’t even consider moving at prior trade deadlines.

Kinley, 34, is making $3MM in 2025 and has a $5MM club option with a $750K buyout. He’s sporting an ugly 5.66 ERA but more appealing secondary marks. The 6’4″ righty is averaging 95.2 mph on his four-seamer but uses his slider as his primary offering (60.1%), which has surely contributed to a hefty 14% swinging-strike rate. That’s a well above-average mark and could portend an uptick in Kinley’s 23.8% strikeout rate, which is only a bit better than average. Kinley’s 12.6% walk rate needs work, but he’s shown better command in the past. Metrics like FIP (4.14) and SIERA (4.15) both feel he’s been better than his ERA, and other clubs might be intrigued to see what he could do with more analytical input than the Rockies provide.

Bird, 29, was excellent through the end of June but has had a brutal month in July. He’s been rocked for 15 runs (14 earned) in just 6 2/3 innings since the calendar flipped, ballooning his once-terrific 2.63 ERA all the way to 4.73. He has roughly average velocity but makes good use of a sinker/slider/curveball repertoire to miss bats and keep the ball on the ground at above-average levels. In 53 1/3 innings — Bird frequently works more than one inning per outing — he’s fanned 26.3% of his opponents against a 9.7% walk rate. Bird’s 48% ground-ball rate is well above average, and he’s done a nice job avoiding home runs both in 2025 (0.84 HR/9) and in his career (0.90).

The 25-year-old Vodnik would be valued most highly of the trio mentioned by Grant. He’s in just his second big league season and is sporting a tidy 3.19 ERA with an above-average 23.9% strikeout rate and a massive 56.6% ground-ball rate in 31 frames. Vodnik averages a blistering 98.6 mph on his fastball and just under 92 mph on his “changeup.” However, Vodnik doesn’t quite miss bats at the level one might expect from someone with such a powerful arsenal. The results have been strong nonetheless, though Vodnik’s 4.12 FIP and 4.11 SIERA (driven by his shaky command) point to some potential regression.

Vodnik and Bird, in particular, seem like they’d hold appeal to a Rangers club that has some reluctance to exceed the luxury tax threshold. Neither has reached arbitration yet, so neither would add to the club’s luxury obligations. Kinley would have just $951K left on his contract by the time the deadline rolls around, though the $750K buyout on his 2026 option would also come into play.

Bird is also on the Mariners’ radar, per Kramer, who notes that Seattle has “heavily” scouted him and bullpen-mates Juan Mejia and Seth Halvorsen. Mejia is a particularly obscure trade candidate, given that he just made his MLB debut earlier this year. He’s pitched 36 innings and logged a 4.50 ERA but with a 3.78 FIP and 3.60 SIERA. He’s set down 23.7% of his opponents on strikes and walked 8.6% of the hitters he’s faced.

Mejia is a pure two-pitch reliever with a four-seamer that averages 96.2 mph and a slider sitting 82.9 mph. He’d be controllable for a full six years beyond the current season and is in the second of two minor league option years. That’d give Seattle plenty of long-term control and flexibility.

Halvorsen, 25, is arguably the most appealing of the whole group. His 4.99 ERA is pedestrian, but he’s averaging 100 mph on his four-seamer, inducing chases off the plate at an above-average rate and sporting a 13.2% swinging-strike rate. The flamethrowing young righty has punched out just 20.9% of his opponents but fanned batters at a 28.9% rate during last year’s debut (albeit in a smaller sample of innings). His 11.6% walk rate is too high, but his 54.4% grounder rate is excellent.

Halvorsen only briefly got a look late last season and hasn’t been optioned since first being selected to the big leagues. As such, he has a full slate of three option years. He’s controlled for five more years beyond the current season. Pitchers who average 100 mph or better and keep the ball on the ground at such high rates are rare breeds, and Halvorsen’s chase rate, swinging-strike rate, minor league numbers and 2024 results all suggest there could be more strikeouts in the tank as well. His command has never been great, and that’ll be the challenge for the Rockies or another club to unlock, but the raw tools in Halvorsen’s arsenal are tantalizing.

Whether the Rockies actually bite the bullet and trade any of their controllable relievers is an open question, but there’s a relatively limited supply of relievers controlled beyond the current season and a large number of teams hoping to acquire such pitchers. Beyond the Rangers and Mariners, each of the Phillies, Tigers, Yankees, Dodgers, Mets and Cubs have been linked to relievers with multiple years of club control. One long-shot possibility, Cleveland’s Emmanuel Clase, was removed from consideration earlier this week when he was placed on administrative leave amid MLB’s ongoing gambling investigation.

While there are plenty of bullpen arms available on the market, many of them (e.g. Ryan Helsley, Raisel Iglesias) are free agents at season’s end. Teams like the Pirates (David Bednar, Dennis Santana), Guardians (Cade Smith) and particularly the Twins (Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax) have set lofty asking prices on the bullpen arms they control beyond the current season. The Rox will surely have a hefty asking price on relievers like Vodnik and Halvorsen, but the demand for controllable bullpen help could present them with an opportunity to provide a jolt to a weak farm system.

Looking Ahead To Club Options: NL West

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Over the coming days, MLBTR will look at next offseason’s option class. Steve Adams will highlight the players who can opt out of their current deals, while we’ll take a division-by-division look at those whose contracts contain either team or mutual options. Virtually all of the mutual options will be bought out by one side. Generally, if the team is willing to retain the player at the option price, the player will decline his end in search of a better free agent deal.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Arizona signed the veteran righty, who missed all of last season after undergoing shoulder surgery in January 2024. Graveman was hobbled by back discomfort this spring and began the year on the 15-day injured list. He has thrown a few bullpen sessions but has yet to begin a rehab assignment. During his most recent healthy season, Graveman worked to a 3.12 ERA across 66 1/3 innings between the White Sox and Astros.

Grichuk posted big numbers in a short-side platoon role for the Snakes in 2024. Arizona brought him back on a $5MM free agent deal. He’s making only a $2MM salary and will collect a $3MM buyout on his option at the end of the season. Grichuk hasn’t gotten much playing time, starting six of Arizona’s 19 games (all but one as the designated hitter). He’s out to a decent start, batting .240 with five doubles over 28 plate appearances.

Colorado Rockies

Farmer has been a rare bright spot in what has been a terrible Colorado lineup. The veteran utilityman has started 15 of their 18 games. He’s playing mostly second base and is hitting .345 with nine doubles, the second-most in MLB. Farmer isn’t going to keep hitting at this pace, but it’s an excellent start for a player who signed for $3.25MM after a down year (.214/.293/.353) with Minnesota.

Kinley signed a three-year extension during the 2022-23 offseason. The slider specialist had a brilliant first half to the ’22 campaign, but that was cut short in July by elbow surgery. Kinley hasn’t been the same pitcher since returning. He allowed more than six earned runs per nine in both 2022 and ’23. He has given up five runs (four earned) with seven strikeouts and six walks across 7 2/3 innings this season. Kinley owns a 6.03 ERA while walking more than 11% of opposing hitters over 88 frames since signing the extension.

The option comes with a $5MM base value. It would escalate by $500K apiece if Kinley finishes 20, 25, and 30 games — potentially up to $6.5MM. He has finished two contests in the early going. While the option isn’t especially costly, this is trending towards a buyout.

Stallings produced the best offensive numbers of his career for the Rox in 2024. He returned on a $2.5MM deal early in the offseason. Stallings has been more of the 1-b catcher behind Hunter Goodman. He has started seven games and caught 59 innings. It’s been a slow start, as he’s batting .125 with 12 strikeouts in 27 trips to the plate.

Note: Thairo Estrada’s one-year deal contains a ’26 mutual option, but he’s excluded from this exercise because he would remain eligible for arbitration if the option is declined.

Los Angeles Dodgers

  • Max Muncy, 3B ($10MM club option, no buyout)

This could end up being a borderline call. The Dodgers can keep Muncy around for what’d be his ninth season in L.A. on a $10MM price tag. That’s not an exorbitant sum for baseball’s highest-spending team. Muncy has generally been an excellent hitter in the middle of Dave Roberts’ lineup. He’s a career .230/.355/.482 hitter in Dodger blue. He remained as productive when he was healthy last season, posting a .232/.358/.494 slash over 73 games. An oblique strain cost him three months.

Muncy is out to a much slower start this year. He has yet to connect on a home run in 18 games. He’s batting .193 with 25 strikeouts in 68 plate appearances (a 36.8% rate). It’s very early, of course, but he’ll need to pick things up. Muncy turns 35 in August. NPB third baseman Munetaka Murakami will be posted for MLB teams next offseason. The Dodgers will very likely be involved on the 25-year-old slugger, so it’s possible they’d prefer to keep the position open early in the winter.

Taylor is in the final season of his four-year, $60MM free agent deal. He was coming off an All-Star season in 2021, when he hit .254/.344/.438 with 20 homers. His offense has trended down over the course of the contract, especially sharply over the past two years. Taylor fanned at a near-31% clip last season, batting .202/.298/.300 in 246 plate appearances. He has only been in the starting lineup three times this season.

The Dodgers have kept Taylor throughout his offensive struggles. They clearly place a lot of value on him as a clubhouse presence and appreciate the defensive versatility he provides off the bench. Still, it’s hard to imagine them paying the extra $8MM to exercise the option since he’s essentially the final position player on the roster. The option price would increase by $1MM if Taylor is traded or in the unlikely event that he reaches 525 plate appearances and/or makes the All-Star Game.

Note: Alex Vesia’s arbitration contract contains a ’26 club option, but he’s excluded from this exercise because he would remain eligible for arbitration if the option is declined.

San Diego Padres

Díaz finished last season in San Diego after being released by the Rockies. He re-signed on a $3.5MM deal as the Padres went with the affordable veteran catching tandem of Díaz and Martín Maldonado. He’s hitting .206 in 13 games, though he has taken seven walks against eight strikeouts.

  • Kyle Hart, LHP ($5MM club option, $500K buyout)

Hart, a soft-tossing lefty, returned to the majors after an excellent year in Korea. He signed a $1.5MM guarantee with a ’26 team option that has a $5MM base salary. The option price could climb as high as $7.5MM. It would jump $250K if Hart reaches 18 starts this year, $500K at 22 starts, $750K at 26 starts, and $1MM if he starts 30 games.

San Diego has given Hart a season-opening rotation spot. He has allowed seven runs over his first 11 2/3 innings. Hart has walked five with eight strikeouts and a below-average 8.3% swinging strike percentage.

King’s option is purely an accounting measure. He agreed to push $3.75MM of this year’s $7.75MM guarantee back to the end of the season in the form of a buyout — potentially buying the Padres a bit of flexibility for in-season trade acquisitions. Barring a major injury, he’s going to decline his end of the option and will be one of the top pitchers in next year’s class.

Wade agreed to a $1MM club option as part of a deal to avoid a hearing in his final year of arbitration. He was squeezed off the roster during Spring Training. Wade cleared waivers, accepted an assignment to Triple-A, then came back up last week. He’s playing center field with Jackson Merrill and Brandon Lockridge on the injured list. The option price is barely above the league minimum, but Wade is on the roster bubble and no guarantee to stick in the majors through the end of the season.

San Francisco Giants

San Francisco added Murphy on a two-year deal during the 2023-24 offseason. The veteran catcher has had a difficult time staying healthy throughout his career, and that’s continued in San Francisco. He played in only 13 games last year because of a knee sprain. He started this season on the shelf with a herniated disc that is going to keep him out for at least the first two months. This looks like a buyout.

NL Injury Notes: Glasnow, Hicks, Wicks, Kinley

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The Dodgers moved Tyler Glasnow to the 60-day injured list on Wednesday, all but officially ruling him out for the rest of the season. The lanky right-hander spoke with reporters (including Jack Harris and Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times) and essentially confirmed he won’t be back in the playoffs. Glasnow called it “extremely frustrating” to be dealing with an elbow sprain, though he indicated he’s confident he will not require any kind of surgical repair.

Glasnow tossed 134 innings across 22 starts in his first season with the Dodgers. He established new career marks in both categories, though the season-ending elbow injury isn’t going to quiet concerns about his durability. Glasnow remained effective as ever before the injury, turning in a 3.49 ERA with a 32.2% strikeout rate.

A few more Senior Circuit injury notes as noncompetitive teams shut some players down:

  • Shoulder inflammation sent Jordan Hicks to the injured list, ending his season. The Giants recalled Austin Warren to take his spot in the bullpen. Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle writes that Hicks will go for an MRI tomorrow. The first season of his four-year, $44MM free agent deal was a mixed bag. Hicks moved to the rotation for the first extended stretch of his career. The sinkerballer pitched well early, carrying a 2.70 ERA in 12 appearances through the end of May. He seemed to wear down quickly thereafter, allowing a 6.37 ERA over his next eight starts. The Giants moved him back to the bullpen at the end of July, but he continued to struggle in relief. Hicks allowed nearly five earned runs per nine with six strikeouts and walks apiece over 11 frames out of the ’pen.
  • The Cubs placed left-hander Jordan Wicks on the injured list with a right oblique strain. Trey Wingenter is up from Triple-A Iowa in a corresponding move. Wicks had returned from a stint on the 60-day IL at the start of September. That was also on account of a right oblique strain, while the southpaw also missed time with an early-season forearm problem. It’s a frustrating second season for the former first-round pick. Wicks struggled when healthy enough to take the mound, allowing a 5.48 ERA across 46 innings in 11 appearances (10 starts).
  • Rockies closer Tyler Kinley landed on the shelf with elbow inflammation. Colorado recalled Jake Bird to take the open bullpen spot. It’s his second elbow-related IL stint in as many months. Kinley missed the second half of 2022 and most of last season after undergoing elbow surgery. He was healthy for most of this year but hasn’t found anything close to the success he enjoyed before the surgery two years ago. Kinley allowed a 6.19 ERA over 64 innings. He fanned a quarter of batters faced but walked more than 11% of opponents while struggling with the home run ball.

Rockies Notes: Lawrence, Kinley, Bard, Bouchard

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The Rockies are evaluating righties Justin Lawrence and Tyler Kinley as potential closing options in camp, writes Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. Both pitchers held the ninth inning at points last season and are battling for the job to open this year.

Colorado began last year with Pierce Johnson in the closing role. Johnson struggled and was bumped from the ninth inning before he was traded to Atlanta. Lawrence stepped into the role in June. He pitched well through the end of July but hit a skid in August, allowing 10 runs in 8 2/3 innings. Colorado activated Kinley from the injured list in August, the culmination of a year-long recovery from elbow surgery. Skipper Bud Black gave Kinley the ninth inning for the season’s final few weeks.

Despite the shaky finish, Lawrence is coming off the best season of his career. He logged a personal-high 75 innings and turned in a 3.72 ERA. He pairs a mid-90s sinker with a mid-80s slider, against which opponents hit only .149 last season. Lawrence has the raw stuff to hold a late-inning job, but it remains to be seen whether he’ll throw enough strikes to stick in the ninth.

Last season’s 11% walk rate was the best of his career but remains well higher than the league average. Lawrence’s low arm slot could also pose a platoon issue, as left-handed batters can pick up the ball early in his delivery. Southpaws didn’t have much success against him last season, hitting .221/.336/.361 in 149 plate appearances. Lawrence’s strikeout and walk profile was far better against righties, though. He fanned 27.7% and walked 10.2% of right-handed opponents; against lefties, those numbers sat at 19.5% and 12.1%, respectively.

Kinley has more major league experience than Lawrence, but he’d never closed until last fall. His results last season weren’t great. After returning from surgery, he tossed 16 1/3 innings of 11-run ball. His velocity came back stronger than ever, giving reason for optimism that he can find his pre-injury form after a healthy offseason. Kinley was amidst a breakout first half in 2022, turning in a 0.75 ERA with a 27% strikeout rate over 24 innings before going on the shelf.

Beyond that duo, Saunders indicates that Daniel Bard could work back into the closing picture once he’s healthy. He held the job in 2021-22, combining for 54 saves. Anxiety issues, which Bard has battled throughout his career, unfortunately resurfaced early in the ’23 season. While he was able to get back on the mound, he lost his feel for the strike zone. Bard walked more hitters than he struck out, knocking him down the leverage hierarchy.

His efforts at a rebound campaign are delayed after he underwent an arthroscopic procedure on his left knee last week. While he didn’t need to undergo a meniscus repair as the team originally feared, his recovery timeline isn’t quite certain. Thomas Harding of MLB.com writes that Bard hasn’t been cleared to begin working from the mound.

On the other side of the ball, the Rox have most of their expected starting lineup penciled in to open the year. The biggest point of uncertainty is probably right field, although there seems an established frontrunner for that job. Both Saunders and Harding wrote this week that Sean Bouchard has the upper hand on right field early in camp.

Bouchard, who turns 28 in May, has shown well in limited playing time over the past two seasons. The UCLA product debuted midway through the 2022 campaign and hit .297/.454/.500 over 27 games. He had a shot at a starting job last spring but suffered a left biceps rupture that required surgery early in camp. That kept him on the injured list until mid-August. Colorado didn’t promote him back to the big leagues until September.

As he did during his debut season, Bouchard put up strong numbers in a small sample last September. He hit .316/.372/.684 through 43 plate appearances, albeit with 14 strikeouts. Bouchard isn’t regarded as a great defensive outfielder but owns a .276/.356/.492 batting line over six minor league seasons. Carrying over that on-base ability in an extended look against big league pitching would be a welcome boost for a lineup that had a subpar .310 OBP a year ago. Only five teams had a lower on-base mark even though the Rox play half their games at Coors Field.

With Kris Bryant moving to first base and Charlie Blackmon likely to see the bulk of his time at designated hitter, the Rockies are set to turn to Nolan Jones and defensive stalwart Brenton Doyle in the other two outfield spots. Highly-regarded prospect Yanquiel Fernandez is on the 40-man roster but will begin the season in the minors, likely at Double-A. Hunter Goodman is on hand as a first base/corner outfield option, while the Rox have Bradley Zimmer in camp on a non-roster deal.

Rockies Notes: Gomber, Kinley, TV Deal

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The Rockies will place Austin Gomber on the 15-day injured list, reports Thomas Harding of MLB.com (Twitter link). The left-hander was scratched from his start over the weekend because of back discomfort. He hasn’t pitched since August 28.

Colorado has yet to announce the move, which’ll presumably be backdated by the maximum allotted three days. It isn’t clear if Gomber will be able to return within the final three weeks of the season. He has made 27 starts on the year, ranking second on the team with 139 innings pitched. Gomber owns a 5.50 ERA with a well below-average 14.4% strikeout rate overall, though he showed a bit of progress in the second half. After carrying a 6.40 ERA into the All-Star Break, he has allowed 3.86 earned runs per nine across 49 frames.

It’s certainly not overwhelming production, but Gomber has likely done enough down the stretch to put himself on track for a season-opening spot in next year’s rotation. Only Kyle Freeland looks assured of a rotation job going into the winter, leaving Colorado with plenty of work to do on that front in the offseason.

There’s not much more certainty in the bullpen, which entered play Wednesday ranked 29th with a 5.27 ERA. Among the players the Rox are counting on for key relief roles next season is Tyler Kinley. The right-hander returned from a flexor surgery in August. He briefly landed back on the IL last month and has been limited to eight innings over 10 appearances this year.

Nevertheless, the Rockies are installing Kinley as their closer for the stretch run, as Harding writes. One of the more experienced arms in a young relief group, he turned in 24 innings of 0.75 ERA ball before the injury a season ago. The Rox signed Kinley to a $6.25MM guarantee last offseason, keeping him under contract through at least the 2025 campaign.

The roster isn’t the only thing in flux for the organization going into the winter. The club’s in-market broadcasting is uncertain beyond this season. Kyle Newman of the Denver Post reports that AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain has notified its employees it’ll be shuttering operations at year’s end. The club’s local broadcasting picture for 2024 is to be determined.

Newman writes that it’s possible the Rockies land on Altitude Sports and Entertainment, which is responsible for carrying Nuggets and Avalanche games in the area. MLB could also take over the broadcasts and stream them on the MLB.TV platform in-market for an additional fee, as it has done for the Padres since San Diego’s RSN contract with Diamond Sports Group collapsed in May.

West Notes: Kinley, Hancock, Hudson

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Rockies right-hander Tyler Kinley was placed on the 15-day injured list with right elbow inflammation earlier today, as noted by Luke Zahlmann of the Denver Gazette. While additional details of Kinley’s injury and his timetable for return are currently unclear, it’s a devastating blow for the 32-year-old righty, who made just seven appearances this season after working his way back from elbow surgery, which he underwent last June. Prior to his surgery, Kinley appeared to be something of a revelation out of the Rockies’ bullpen last year, with a dazzling 0.75 ERA, 1.74 FIP, and a 27% strikeout rate in 25 appearances with Colorado in 2022.

That strong showing led the club to extend Kinley last November with a contract that guaranteed him $6.25MM over the 2023-25 seasons. Now, it seems likely that the first of those seasons, at least, will bear little fruit. In his seven trips to the mound this season, Kinley struggled badly to a 9.53 ERA with two home runs allowed in 5 1/3 innings, though that of course is a small sample size immediately following a significant layoff from big league action. With the 2023 campaign already essentially lost for the 48-75 Rockies, the club’s top priority regarding Kinley seems likely to be ensuring he’s fully healthy and ready to go for the 2024 campaign.

More from around MLB’s West divisions…

  • Mariners right-hander Emerson Hancock exited today’s start against the Astros after just 31 pitches with a right shoulder strain, per a club announcement. While the club has not yet indicated whether Hancock will require a trip to the injured list, that seems to be the most likely outcome. After all, the 24-year-old Hancock is just three starts into his big league career and has already eclipsed his previous career-high for total innings with 110 frames of work between the majors and minors this season. If Hancock does require a trip to the shelf, the Mariners are well-equipped to weather the injury with fellow youngster Bryan Woo expected to be activated from the injured list later this week.
  • Dodgers right-hander Daniel Hudson has managed just three innings of work this season thanks to first a torn ACL and then a sprained MCL, but the veteran hurler tells Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register that he’s hopeful he can return to the Dodgers in time to be part of the club’s postseason bullpen. If that comes to pass, Hudson would surely provide a boost to the relief corps in LA. While Dodgers relievers rank 10th in the majors with a solid 3.85 ERA, the club’s bullpen has also handled the third-most innings of work in the NL this year, leaving them potentially vulnerable to losing steam as the season heads toward the stretch run. While Hudson seems focused on a comeback attempt this year, the 36-year-old also acknowledged that he’s contemplating the end of his playing days, noting that he’s “been in pretty consistent pain for about 15 months.” With that being said, Hudson ultimately was noncommittal on his plans post-2023, saying, “…maybe I give it another shot. If not, I’ve had a pretty good run and it is what it is at that point.”

Minor 40-Man Moves: Adams, Ortega, Capra

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With the trade deadline behind us, a few smaller 40-man transactions from throughout the day that weren’t previously covered:

  • The Angels selected outfielder Jordyn Adams onto the big league roster while transferring Jo Adell and Sam Bachman to the 60-day injured list. The 17th overall pick in the 2018 draft, Adams is set for his major league debut. The 23-year-old outfielder is hitting .264/.351/.466 through 389 plate appearances with Triple-A Salt Lake. Strikeout issues have knocked down his former top prospect stock, but he’s capable of playing center field and has stolen 37 bases in 42 attempts this year.
  • The Pirates selected infielder Vinny Capra. Pittsburgh acquired the 27-year-old for catcher Tyler Heineman in a minor swap with the Blue Jays at the end of April. His big league experience consists of eight games with Toronto last season. The right-handed hitter owns a massive .350/.457/.485 showing with more walks than strikeouts over 34 games at Triple-A Indianapolis for the Bucs.
  • The Mets selected Rafael Ortega. Signed to a minor league deal in mid-June, the lefty-hitting outfielder returns to the big leagues for a seventh season. Ortega hit .265/.344/.408 for the Cubs between 2021-22. He owns a .228/.352/.388 line between two Triple-A affiliates this season. The 32-year-old will be eligible for arbitration after the season if he finished the year on the MLB roster.

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