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Blue Jays Designate Justin Bruihl For Assignment

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The Blue Jays announced that they have designated left-hander Justin Bruihl for assignment. That’s the corresponding move to open a 40-man spot for righty Tyler Rogers, whose signing is now official.

Bruihl, 29 in June, signed a minor league deal with the Jays last offseason. He was added to the big league roster in June and spent the rest of the season getting repeatedly shuttled between Toronto and Triple-A Buffalo.

He made 15 appearances for the Jays, logging 13 2/3 innings. His 5.27 earned run average doesn’t look pretty but he likely deserved better, as his .459 batting average on balls in play was way above the .291 league average. His 27.7% strikeout rate and 46.2% ground ball rate were actually quite strong. His 10.8% walk rate was high but not egregiously so.

He also tossed 42 Triple-A innings on the year, with a much better 3.43 ERA despite somewhat comparable rate stats. He certainly got more grounders in the minors, a 58.4% clip, but his 27.8% strikeout rate and 9.1% walk rate were both very close to what he did in the majors. His .274 BABIP was much closer to par, which helped the ERA even out to a more acceptable level.

Despite the high ERA in the majors, the Jays trusted Bruihl enough to have him pitch in some important games. He was even on the roster for the ALDS matchup against the Yankees, though he allowed two earned runs in his lone appearance against that club and was left off the ALCS roster.

Though there were some things to like about Bruihl’s 2025 campaign, he exhausted his final option season. That means he will be out of options going forward and will find it tougher to hold a roster spot. That’s especially true for a team like the Blue Jays, who have been aggressively adding to the roster as they look to compete again in 2026. Toronto also has three other lefty relievers on the roster in Brendon Little, Mason Fluharty and long reliever Eric Lauer. Prospect Ricky Tiedemann might also factor into the bullpen plans after missing 2025 while recovering from Tommy John surgery.

It might be a bit easier for Bruihl to stick with a rebuilding club with a roster that isn’t quite so packed. He’ll be in DFA limbo for a week at most. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Jays could take five days to field trade interest. If Bruihl lands somewhere else, he has between one and two years of service time. That means he hasn’t yet qualified for arbitration and can potentially be controlled for five full seasons.

Photo courtesy of Dennis Lee, Imagn Images

Blue Jays Sign Tyler Rogers To Three-Year Deal

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The Blue Jays announced the signing of free agent reliever Tyler Rogers to a three-year contract. It’s reportedly a $37MM guarantee for the Frontline Athlete Management client. Rogers receives a $5MM signing bonus and a $7MM salary for the 2026 season. He’ll make $12MM annually between 2027-28 and is guaranteed a $1MM buyout on a $9MM club option for 2029. The option vests at a $12MM salary if Rogers makes 60 appearances in ’28 or combines for 110 games between 2027-28 (assuming he passes a postseason physical). Lefty Justin Bruihl has been designated for assignment as the corresponding move.

Rogers, who’ll celebrate his 35th birthday next week, secures a sizable payday to pitch at the back of the Toronto bullpen. One of the sport’s most distinctive pitchers, Rogers is a soft-tossing submariner who bided his time awaiting an MLB opportunity. He was a 10th-round pick by the Giants in 2013 who signed for $7,500 after his senior season at Austin Peay State University. Rogers spent the next six years in the minor leagues, performing well all the way up through Triple-A but without the raw stuff to get the attention of the big league club.

It wasn’t until the end of Rogers’ third full season in Triple-A that he received an MLB look. He was nearing his 29th birthday and close to calling it quits to pursue a career as a firefighter (as Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area covered in 2020). The Giants finally gave him an opportunity at the end of the ’19 season. Rogers tossed 17 2/3 innings of three-run ball to hold his roster spot. He broke camp the following year and has never gone back down to the minors — not even on a rehab stint.

Rogers has played six-plus seasons in the big leagues without going on the injured list. While there’s obviously some luck involved in avoiding any fluke injuries, it’s clear that his underhand delivery puts less stress on his arm. Rogers has made 403 appearances since the start of the 2020 season. That’s 30 more than any other pitcher. Most of those outings have come in high-leverage situations, as his arm angle continues to flummox hitters.

After posting a 4.50 earned run average as a rookie, Rogers has turned in a 3.04 mark or better in four of the past five seasons. He ranks near the bottom of the league in whiffs and has never posted a league average strikeout rate. That’s to be expected for a pitcher who throws an 82-83 MPH sinker and a sweeping breaking ball that clocks in around 74 MPH. It’s a profile designed for weak, ground-ball contact. Rogers gets that year after year, and he almost never puts batters on via base on balls.

While some pitchers with extremely low arm slots can struggle with opposite-handed batters, that hasn’t been an issue for Rogers. He has held lefties to a .235/.289/.336 line in 776 career plate appearances. Right-handed hitters haven’t fared much better, turning in .246/.282/.350 mark in nearly 1000 trips to the plate.

Rogers has spent the bulk of his career in San Francisco, including a two-year stretch where he overlapped with twin brother Taylor Rogers. The Giants fell out of contention shortly before the trade deadline and flipped the impending free agent to the Mets for middle reliever José Buttó and prospects Blade Tidwell and Drew Gilbert. Rogers continued churning out results in his new home, pitching 27 1/3 innings of 2.30 ERA ball. He finished the season with a career-best 1.98 earned run average behind a 62.1% grounder rate while leading MLB with 81 appearances.

The Mets unsurprisingly wanted Rogers back, but they balked at what turned out to be a surprisingly lucrative contract. He more than doubled MLBTR’s prediction of a two-year, $18MM deal. New York has also seen Edwin Díaz, Gregory Soto and Ryan Helsley sign elsewhere. They’ve added Devin Williams to close but will need to find multiple setup arms from the right side.

That’s the role Rogers should continue to fill with the Jays. Toronto was open to supplanting Jeff Hoffman in the ninth inning, but they didn’t come away with any of Díaz, Raisel Iglesias or Robert Suarez. Rogers had a brief run as San Francisco’s closer in 2021 but has otherwise been a setup man. He was fourth in MLB with 32 holds this past season and handily leads the majors in that category over the last six years. Rogers joins Louis Varland as the top leverage arms in front of Hoffman.

The Jays could still look to add a better left-hander than Brendon Little, but Rogers becomes the fifth member of their projected bullpen who cannot be optioned to the minor leagues. Hoffman, Yimi García and Eric Lauer all have the five-plus years of service time to refuse any minor league assignment. Tommy Nance is out of options. Varland can be optioned but certainly isn’t in jeopardy of being sent down. If the Jays have all six starters healthy going into the season, that’d leave only one spot for Little or another left-handed acquisition. That’s to say nothing of Rule 5 picks Angel Bastardo and Spencer Miles — both of whom have an uphill battle to stick on the roster.

Those are secondary considerations for an all-in Toronto team. The $12.333MM average annual value pushes their estimated luxury tax number to $294MM, as calculated by RosterResource. That’s already easily a franchise high before considering the possibility that they add Kyle Tucker or bring back Bo Bichette.

That’ll be their second straight season paying the competitive balance tax. They’re hit with a 42% tax on spending between $264MM and $284MM and taxed at a 75% rate from $284MM to $304MM. Any spending above the final threshold comes with a 90% penalty. The Rogers deal will come with an approximate $8-9MM tax bill. It also firmly pushes them beyond the $284MM mark at which their top pick in the 2027 draft is moved back by 10 spots (though that was basically inevitable after the Dylan Cease and Cody Ponce signings).

It’s a significant investment in a 35-year-old reliever. The Braves also went to three years, at $15MM annually, to sign Suarez on Thursday. That was the first three-year contract for a reliever that age since 2020. There hadn’t been a three-year term at more than $10MM per season for a 35-year-old bullpen arm since Mariano Rivera almost two decades ago. A closer who sits around 99 MPH, Suarez breaking that precedent wasn’t as surprising. The Jays are betting on Rogers’ unconventional style to age equally well.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic was first on the three-year, $37MM deal and the vesting option specifics. Jon Heyman of The New York Post reported the salary breakdown and the $9MM club option.

Image courtesy of Kyle Ross, Imagn Images.

Mets Interested In Tyler Rogers

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Acquired in a deadline deal from the Giants, Tyler Rogers performed well over his two months in a Mets uniform, posting a 2.30 ERA over 27 1/3 innings.  The Amazins are now interested in a reunion, as Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that the Mets are one of the interested teams within “a very strong market” for the veteran right-hander.

Rogers is entering his age-35 season, he has only a 17.6% career strikeout rate, and his fastball velocity averaged just 83.5mph in 2025.  All of these factors would seemingly make modern front offices steer clear of Rogers, yet the results don’t lie — few pitchers in all of baseball are better at limiting hard contact, inducing grounders, or limiting walks.  A unique submarine-style delivery only adds to Rogers’ old-school approach, contributing to his 2.76 ERA over 424 career innings as a bullpen workhorse.

MLB Trade Rumors ranked Rogers 42nd on our list of the offseason’s top 50 free agents, and projected a two-year, $18MM deal for the righty.  Over the weekend, ESPN’s Jeff Passan wrote that Rogers looks “primed to get a three-year deal,” which speaks to the robust interest in the reliever’s services.  The Mets join the Marlins and Mariners as the only other teams publicly linked to Rogers, yet it is fair to guess that most teams in need of bullpen help have at least checked in on his market.

New York has added Devin Williams to its late-game mix, Cooper Criswell was added on waivers, and some other arms have been signed on minor league contracts.  However, the Mets are in greater need of bullpen help than when they started the offseason, since Edwin Diaz, Gregory Soto, and Ryan Helsley have all signed elsewhere.  Bringing Rogers back as an innings-eater and stabilizing force within the pen would be a huge help for the Mets as another step toward rebuilding their relief corps.

Latest On Mariners’ Bullpen Targets

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Mariners general manager Justin Hollander publicly admitted a few weeks back that the club would be looking for bullpen upgrades. Adam Jude of The Seattle Times reports that Seattle plans to add two relievers and hopes to have one locked down by the end of the Winter Meetings next week. Adding a lefty is a priority and Jude lists five names they are considering, with four of them being southpaws. They are Matt Strahm of the Phillies, JoJo Romero of the Cardinals, Jose A. Ferrer of the Nationals, as well as free agents Tyler Rogers and Hoby Milner. Rogers is the lone right-hander in that group. Jude also mentions that the Mariners had interest in right-hander Phil Maton before he signed with the Cubs.

Seattle had a decent bullpen group in 2025. Their relievers had a collective 3.72 earned run average, which was ninth in the majors. Andrés Muñoz is one of the better closers in the game. But just about any club can add an extra leverage arm or two and bump other guys down a peg. That’s particularly true for the Mariners from the left side, as Gabe Speier is their only established southpaw reliever at the moment. Robinson Ortiz is the other lefty reliever on the 40-man but he hasn’t yet made his major league debut.

It’s unlikely that the club will spend a lot on the relief group. President of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto suggested that the M’s will likely begin 2026 with a similar payroll to where they were at the end of 2025. RosterResource estimates that they are currently about $15MM shy of that target. They already re-signed Josh Naylor but could look to further bolster the infield by re-signing Jorge Polanco or Eugenio Suárez. Jude unsurprisingly suggests the M’s aren’t likely to go after a big name reliever like Edwin Díaz or Robert Suarez.

Strahm, 34, is the most established of the bunch. He now has ten big league seasons under his belt. Though he has pushed into his mid-30s, he has remained effective. He just tossed 62 1/3 innings for the Phils this year, allowing 2.74 earned runs per nine. His 7.8% walk rate was a bit better than average and his 27.3% strikeout rate was quite strong. He triggered a vesting option in his contract and will make $7.5MM next year.

All that makes him attractive for the Mariners but also valuable for the Phillies. It’s possible the Phils may be willing to move a lefty due to a relative surplus. They have reportedly received some trade interest since they have Strahm, José Alvarado and Tanner Banks. The Phils have a lot they want to accomplish this winter, including re-signing Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto while also remaking their outfield and perhaps bolstering the rotation. They have some money to spend but perhaps trading one of their lefties could leave them less reliant on spending their cash.

Romero, 29, is a much more straightforward trade candidate. The Cardinals are rebuilding and he is just one year away from free agency. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects him for a salary of $4.4MM next year. Over the past three years, he has tossed 156 2/3 innings for the Cards with a 2.93 ERA, 22.9% strikeout rate, 8.5% walk rate and 53.3% ground ball rate.

Ferrer, 26 in March, is also on a rebuilding club. However, he’s under club control for four more years and hasn’t yet qualified for arbitration, so the Nats don’t really need to trade him anytime soon. They are surely hoping to return to contention within his window of control but they may be open to a trade anyway, given that a pitcher can get hurt at any time and reliever performance tends to be volatile.

In Ferrer’s career, he has an unimpressive 4.36 ERA but that might mask his true skills. He is a ground ball guy and the Nats have been one of the worst defensive clubs in recent years, so perhaps a change of scenery would help him unlock a new gear in terms of run prevention. In 76 1/3 innings for the Nats this year, his 21.9% strikeout rate was just shy of league average. His 4.9% walk rate and 62.6% ground ball rate were both excellent. His 4.48 ERA doesn’t look great but his 3.03 FIP and 2.85 SIERA provide more optimism about him thriving in a different environment.

Milner, 35 in January, has a somewhat similar grounder-heavy profile to Ferrer. He has logged at least 64 innings in four straight seasons now. Over that 2022-25 span, he has thrown 264 frames with a 3.55 ERA, 22.6% strikeout rate, 5.8% walk rate and 51.1% ground ball rate. Despite the solid track record, he was only able to secure a one-year, $2.5MM deal from Texas last winter. Perhaps he’ll have some extra earning power after finishing another solid season but he’s also a year older.

Rogers, 35 this month, is one of the most unique pitchers in the game. Not to be confused with his lefty brother Taylor, Tyler is the submarining righty. He doesn’t rack up strikeouts but he is one of the best in the game when it comes to staying healthy, avoiding walks and inducing grounders as well as soft contact. He has logged at least 70 innings in five straight campaigns. Dating back to the start of 2021, he has 378 1/3 innings with a 2.71 ERA, 17% strikeout rate, 4.4% walk rate, 56.3% ground ball rate and consistently strong numbers in terms of exit velocity allowed. He is a free agent for the first time and should be in high demand but some teams may be scared off by his age and lack of velocity, as he can barely even get into the 80s with his fastballs.

Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin, Oncea-Imagn Images

Marlins Notes: Cabrera, Alcantara, Weathers, Outfield, Bullpen

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While much of the focus regarding the Marlins this offseason has been on their intent to spend more aggressively (relatively speaking) and bolster the lineup, the Fish still have a pair of prominent trade candidates in the rotation. Right-handers Edward Cabrera and Sandy Alcantara are on wishlists for pitching-hungry clubs around the league, though neither is a lock to be moved.

Kevin Barral and Isaac Azout of Fish On First reported last week that the organization “expects” Alcantara to be with the club come Opening Day. MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola offers a similar sentiment today, suggesting that Cabrera is the likelier of the two to be moved this offseason — if either is traded at all. Miami isn’t actively shopping either pitcher at the moment, she writes, though it’s all but a given that there’ll be an uptick in inquiries at next week’s Winter Meetings. De Nicola also lists lefty Ryan Weathers as a potential trade candidate while rightly noting that the Fish would be selling low on a talented southpaw after consecutive injury-plagued seasons.

Acquired in the 2023 trade sending Garrett Cooper to the Padres, Weathers has been a steal for Miami when healthy. That’s been a major caveat, unfortunately. A lat strain, flexor strain and finger strain have combined to limit the former No. 7 overall draft pick to just 24 starts dating back to Opening Day 2024. Weathers has totaled 125 innings in that time and notched a 3.74 ERA with a 22% strikeout rate and 6.8% walk rate. That league-average strikeout rate is backed by a roughly average 11.7% swinging-strike rate. Weathers has sat 96.2 mph on his heater since ’24 and kept a strong 45.6% of batted balls against him on the ground. As with Cabrera, he’s a clear injury risk but has had some recent success and comes with another three seasons of club control.

Cabrera stands as the prize of the Marlins’ potential trade candidates in the rotation, but because of his age (27), affordable salary ($3.7MM projection, via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz), former top prospect status and 2025 results (3.53 ERA, 25.8 K%, 8.3 BB%, 46.6 GB% in 137 2/3 innings), he also surely comes with the highest asking price.

Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel of ESPN wrote just this morning that Miami has asked for “premium prospects” in for any club that has poked around on Cabrera, and the right-hander’s lengthy injury history has left interested parties wary of making such a commitment. The 2025 season was Cabrera’s first reaching 100 innings in the majors, and he’s spent time on the injured list with an elbow sprain, blisters, shoulder impingement (three times) and tendinitis in his elbow — all since 2021.

Certainly, the Marlins could use their deep supply of starting pitching to bring in some bats to help the lineup, but free agency remains a viable path as well. They’ve primarily focused on first base to this point, but Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports that president of baseball ops Peter Bendix and his staff have begun to broaden their search. Miami is also looking into potential outfield and third base acquisitions, believing that the versatility of players like Connor Norby and Griffin Conine could allow them to target bats at other positions.

It’s already known that the Marlins have been considering Norby at first base. Jackson adds that the Fish are planning to get Conine some work at first next spring and also believe that outfielder Heriberto Hernandez could be an option there.

The bullpen has been another point of focus for Bendix & Co., with reports tying Miami to prominent names like Devin Williams (who has since signed with the Mets), Raisel Iglesias (who re-signed in Atlanta) and Pete Fairbanks (who Bendix knows well from his days as Rays general manager). Jackson adds veteran relievers Kyle Finnegan, Tyler Rogers and twin brother Taylor Rogers as three more bullpen arms who intrigue the Marlins.

Finnegan, 34, has closed games for the division-rival Nationals for years but elevated his production to new heights following a summer trade to the Tigers. Detroit pushed Finnegan to use his splitter more and tweaked his release point, and the right-hander was flat-out dominant in the Motor City, emerging as one of manager A.J. Hinch’s go-to relievers. He tossed 18 innings of 1.50 ERA ball following the trade and saw his strikeout rate jump from 19.6% in D.C. to an eye-popping 34.8% in Detroit.

The Rogers brothers have lengthy track records themselves. Taylor, a lefty, was a high-end setup man and All-Star closer with the Twins during his peak years from 2017-22. He’s settled into more of a middle relief role since signing with the Giants — where he teamed with his brother — and subsequently being traded to the Reds and Cubs.

While Taylor was the prominent name early in the brothers’ careers, it’s Tyler who is now the higher-profile reliever. He’s pitched 378 1/3 innings of 2.71 ERA ball dating back to 2021, including a pristine 1.98 earned run average in 77 1/3 frames between the Giants and Mets in 2025. Tyler doesn’t miss many bats, as one would expect from a soft-tossing right-handed submariner whose sinker averages 83.5 mph, but he has impeccable command (2.2% walk rate since 2024) and is all but impossible to square up due to the deception in his delivery. Tyler has the slowest “fastball” and lowest whiff percentage in the majors but also sits in the 95th percentile (or better) of big league pitchers in terms of opponents’ exit velocity, barrel rate and hard-hit rate.

At the moment, Miami has a projected 2026 payroll of just $59MM, per RosterResource. They’re sitting just under $70MM in luxury tax obligations. The general thinking has been that, like the A’s last offseason, the Marlins will want to push that CBT number closer to $105MM in order to avoid any type of MLBPA grievance that might jeopardize their revenue-sharing status. That could be achieved by bringing in free agents, trading for veterans on guaranteed salaries, or extending players already on the roster. The Marlins have reportedly spoken to both Kyle Stowers and Eury Perez about long-term deals; talks with either player could pick back up later in the offseason.

MLBTR Podcast: Sifting Through The Trade Deadline Deals

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams and Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to go over the various deadline dealings, including…

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Photo courtesy of Chadd Cady, Imagn Images

Mets Acquire Tyler Rogers

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The Mets have acquired right-hander Tyler Rogers from the Giants, according to announcements from both clubs. In return, the Giants receive right-hander José Buttó, pitching prospect Blade Tidwell and outfield prospect Drew Gilbert. The Giants designated right-hander Sean Hjelle for assignment in order to open a 40-man spot. Gilbert wasn’t on the Mets’ 40-man and won’t require a spot today. Both of the Rogers twins have been traded today, as the lefty Taylor was in the Ke’Bryan Hayes trade.

Tyler, the submarining righty, will be joining a new club for the first time in his career. He was drafted by the Giants back in 2013 and has spent his entire career with that franchise up until now. He doesn’t throw especially hard, averaging just 83.1 miles per hour on his fastball during his career. But he has nonetheless found success thanks to his unusual delivery, mixing in a sinker and a slider with his four-seamer.

Perhaps because he isn’t a fireballer, Rogers is remarkably durable. He has never been on the major league injured list. From his debut in August of 2019 to the present, he has appeared in 392 big league games. That’s the most in the majors in that span.

The quantity is great but the quality is also impressive. Rogers has a 2.79 earned run average in his 396 2/3 innings. His 18.2% strikeout rate is subpar but his 4.6% walk rate and 56.5% ground ball rate are both excellent figures. This year, he’s been even better than before. He has a 1.80 ERA this season, along with a 20.2% strikeout rate, 2.1% walk rate and 64.4% grounder rate. He induces heaps of weak contact, as shown by his blood-red Statcast page. His average exit velocity, barrel rate and hard hit rate are all at least in the 94th percentile of qualified pitchers. He is making a $5.25MM salary this year, his final year of arbitration. He’ll be a free agent at season’s end.

The total package is understandably appealing to the Mets. Their bullpen has been ravaged by injuries this year. Since the season started, they have lost A.J. Minter, Danny Young, Dedniel Núñez, and Max Kranick to season-ending injuries. The bullpen has been a clear priority for them at this deadline. They have already added Gregory Soto and now Rogers gives them another fresh arm. Given all those injuries, Rogers’ durability is surely an attractive feature.

The money is also notable, with Rogers owed less than $1.75MM at this point of the calendar. The Mets are a third-time payor of the competitive balance tax and are above the top threshold, meaning they face a 110% tax on any spending they add to the ledger this week. Some veteran relievers such as Raisel Iglesias or Kenley Jansen are making eight-figure salaries, so the price point on Rogers is a softer hit for the Mets.

To get the player they wanted, it feels like they have given up a lot. Tidwell, 24, was a second-round pick of the Mets in 2022. Since then, he has generally been ranked as one of the club’s top ten prospects. His results since getting up to Triple-A haven’t been astounding. He has a 5.05 ERA in 164 innings at the top minor league level. He’s been a bit better there this year, with a 4.10 ERA, 25.7% strikeout rate and 9.5% walk rate.

Baseball America currently lists Tidwell as the Mets’ #10 prospect. They give him a 50 grade on the 20-80 scale and classify him as high risk. Their report notes that he’ll need to improve his control get become a back-end starter. A month ago, FanGraphs ranked him #7 in the system but with a 45+ grade, noting that he could develop into a mid-rotation guy but with some reliever risk thanks to his control issues and high-effort delivery.

Gilbert, 24, was a first-round pick of the Astros in 2022 but came to the Mets in the August 2023 trade which sent Justin Verlander back to Houston. Gilbert’s stock has dipped a bit since that trade. He missed a decent chunk of 2024 due to a hamstring injury and slashed .205/.313/.371 when he was on the field. This year, he’s been better, with a .246/.349/.435 line and 105 wRC+ in his Triple-A action.

BA ranks him #14 in the Mets’ system, also with a 50 grade and high risk. FanGraphs puts him at #10 with a 45 grade. The latter outlet notes he mostly does damage against fastballs but struggles against spin. He can play all three outfield spots but evaluators generally think it’s a bit of a stretch to have him in center. FanGraphs describes him as a “low-variance fourth outfielder.” He is going to be eligible for the Rule 5 draft in December, meaning he’ll need a 40-man roster spot before then.

Buttó can plug directly into the San Francisco bullpen to replace Rogers. He has thrown 167 big league innings with a 3.45 ERA, 23.5% strikeout rate, 12.2% walk rate and 43.9% ground ball rate. He is out of options and some of this year’s trend lines aren’t good. His strikeout rate was 26.9% last year but has dipped to just 20.7% this season, while his walk rate has stayed high at 11.1%. Perhaps he was going to get squeezed off the Mets’ roster as part of their deadline moves regardless.

Though it might come across a lot to give up for a soft-tossing rental, the Mets may not have had Gilbert or Buttó in their long-term plans. As mentioned, Gilbert was going to need a 40-man spot in a few months’ time. If the Mets view him as a future Quad-A outfielder and not an everyday regular, perhaps they could find another use for that roster spot. Buttó is out of options and might have been trending towards being designated for assignment.

For the Giants, there’s undoubtedly a lot to like in this haul. They hovered in the playoff race for a lot of the year but have been cold lately and are now five games back of a playoff spot. It was reported earlier that they would be listening to offers on their relievers. Rogers, as mentioned, is a 34-year-old impending free agent.

The Giants have swapped him out for Buttó. That makes their bullpen worse today but Rogers was on his way out the door anyway and perhaps they can find a way to get Buttó back on track. With Tidwell, they add some immediate rotation depth, something which has been an issue this year.

They have Logan Webb and Robbie Ray as a strong one-two but question marks after. They flipped Kyle Harrison and Jordan Hicks to the Red Sox in the Rafael Devers deal. Verlander is an impending free agent. Landen Roupp is currently shelved with elbow inflammation. Hayden Birdsong had some encouraging results earlier in the year but recently struggled enough to get sent down to Triple-A. The club will likely look for more starting pitching in the offseason but Tidwell can jump into that depth mix alongside guys like Roupp, Birdsong, Trevor McDonald, Mason Black and others.

Gilbert gives them some extra outfield depth. They will go into 2026 with Heliot Ramos and Jung Hoo Lee in two spots, but Mike Yastrzemski is an impending free agent. Guys like Luis Matos, Wade Meckler, Grant McCray, Marco Luciano and Daniel Johnson are on the 40-man roster. Assuming Gilbert gets a roster spot this fall, he’ll jump into that mix.

If Tidwell becomes a mid-rotation guy or Gilbert develops into an everyday outfielder, perhaps the Mets will feel they overpaid. But there are some reasons to expect those things might not come to pass, so it seems they felt it was a risk worth taking in order to get Rogers and upgrade their bullpen for the stretch run and postseason. Relievers tend to become more important in the playoffs, when off-days allow the top guys to pitch almost every game.

This could be the first of a handful of sell-side moves the Giants make. Verlander is an impending free agent, though he has a full no-trade clause and 4.53 ERA, which could complicate talks. Yastrzemski and Wilmer Flores are impending free agents as well. Camilo Doval still has a couple of years of club control but could be on the move as well.

Hjelle, 28, is known for his height and ability to induce ground balls. Listed at 6’11”, he has 149 2/3 big league innings under his belt with a 5.11 ERA, 21.8% strikeout rate, 6.6% walk rate and 56% ground ball rate. His numbers have trended in the wrong direction this year, with a 15.1% strikeout rate and 42.3% grounder rate. That’s a small sample of 15 innings, as he’s mostly been in the minors this year. In his 40 1/3 Triple-A innings this season, he has a 2.90 ERA, 26.2% strikeout rate, 6% walk rate and 51.9% ground ball rate.

The Giants could try to find a trade partner for Hjelle in the next 24 hours. If not, he’ll have to go on waivers. He can be optioned for the rest of this year and could perhaps appeal to clubs looking for pitching depth, though he’ll be out of options next year.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported that Taylor was headed to the Mets. Robert Murray of FanSided first reported that Tidwell and Gilbert would be part of the three-player return. Joel Sherman of The New York Post was first on Buttó’s inclusion.

Photos courtesy of Matt Kartozian, Kelley L Cox, Tim Vizer, Charles LeClaire and Sam Navarro, Imagn Images.

Giants Open To Offers On Relievers; Camilo Doval Drawing Interest

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The Giants have informed other teams that they’ll listen to offers on some of their bullpen, reports Jon Morosi of MLB Network. Francys Romero reports that Camilo Doval, in particular, has drawn interest from several teams. San Francisco has dropped five consecutive games and is now sitting .500 on the season — nine games back in the NL West and five games out of a Wild Card spot.

Doval, 28, popped up in trade rumblings back in the offseason, but the Giants held onto him rather than sell low on the heels of a down season. That’s proven to be the right call, as Doval has bounced back with a 3.15 ERA, a 25.1% strikeout rate, 15 saves and seven holds on the season. His 12.8% walk rate is too high but is down from last year’s even uglier 14.4% mark. Doval sits 98.1 mph with his cutter and can run the pitch up over 100 mph, though his velocity is down a bit from the past three seasons, when he sat over 99 mph. Doval couples the cutter with a slider and what’s now a seldom-used sinker.

The 2025 season is Doval’s first year of arbitration eligibility. He’s earning $4.525MM and is slated to receive raises in each of the next two seasons. He’s a free agent in the 2027-28 offseason. If the Giants are amenable to a deal, he’d join names like David Bednar, Dennis Santana, Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax and Cade Smith as one of the market’s more appealing relievers with some remaining club control.

Presumably, if the Giants are open to trading any veteran players, righty Tyler Rogers would be available. The submariner has been a steady member of San Francisco’s bullpen since 2019 but is in his final season of club control before free agency. The 34-year-old has pitched to a pristine 1.80 earned run average in 50 innings this year. Rogers has never missed many bats but has a 20.2% strikeout rate this season that — while still lower than average — represents a step up from the 17.3% mark he posted over the past four seasons. His command has long been a strength, but this year’s minuscule 2.1% walk rate is a career low.

Rogers offsets his lack of strikeouts with that plus command and also by inducing some of the weakest contact in the sport. His unique arm angle and 83 mph sinker regularly prove difficult to square up. Opponents are averaging just 84.8 mph off the bat against him this year, and Rogers has allowed just a 32.2% hard-hit rate. He’s also kept a massive 64.4% of batted balls against him on the ground.

Doval and Rogers stand as the two most logical trade candidates in the San Francisco bullpen, but if the Giants wanted to pursue an even more substantial return, they could hear out teams who have interest in Ryan Walker or Randy Rodriguez. Walker is in the midst of a down season but was one of the National League’s top relievers just last year, when he notched a 1.91 ERA, 32.1% strikeout rate and 5.8% walk rate. He’s controllable for four years after the current season but is a late-blooming arm who’ll turn 30 in November.

The 25-year-old Rodriguez would be overwhelmingly difficult to pry away. He’s controlled for another five years after the 2025 season and currently boasts a 1.20 ERA with a massive 36.3% strikeout rate against a 5.3% walk rate. Rodriguez sits 97.4 mph with his four-seamer, pairing it with a plus slider that’s helped him land in the 90th percentile of big league pitchers in both whiff rate and chase rate on pitches off the plate, per Statcast.

Giants Release Scooter Gennett, Select Tyler Rogers

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The Giants announced a flurry of roster moves on Tuesday, most notably requesting unconditional release waivers on second baseman Scooter Gennett. San Francisco also promoted infield prospect Mauricio Dubon (as had been previously reported), selected the contract of right-hander Tyler Rogers (the twin brother of Minnesota closer Taylor Rogers) and recalled outfielder Joey Rickard. Furthermore, Abiatal Avelino was optioned to Triple-A, while righty Trevor Gott was placed on the 10-day injured list due to a right elbow strain.

Gennett, 29, enjoyed a pair of excellent breakout seasons with the Reds in 2017-18, hitting a combined .303/.351/.508 with 50 homers in 1135 plate appearances, but his 2019 campaign has been a forgettable one. Gennett began the season on the injured list due to a severe groin strain and, after an absence of nearly three months, struggled to regain his footing in Cincinnati.

A deadline trade sending him to the Giants in exchange for a player to be named later didn’t prove to be a spark, either. In 139 plate appearances, he’s posted an ugly .226/.245/.323 batting line with an enormous spike in strikeout rate (19.6 percent in 2018; 29.5 percent in 2019) and a significant dip in walk rate (6.6 percent in ’18; 1.4 percent in ’19). With Gennett and the recently released Joe Panik out of the picture, Dubon (covered at greater length earlier today) will quite likely be in line for regular work at second base.

While another club could technically claim Gennett off release waivers, there’s almost no way to fathom that outcome. Gennett’s two excellent seasons in Cincinnati bolstered his salary to $9.75MM, and he’s owed the balance of that sum — about $1.78MM — between now and season’s end. Any claiming team would be on the hook for that amount. By contrast, signing Gennett after he clears would only cost Gennett the prorated league minimum — about $95K as of this Thursday (when he’d formally clear waivers).

Turning to the 28-year-old Rogers, this’ll be the first call to the big leagues for the former 10th-rounder. While he’s watched his twin brother rise to prominence as one of the game’s top lefty relievers, he’s been biding his time in Triple-A for parts of four seasons. In that time, the right-handed Rogers has worked to a 3.27 ERA with 6.8 K/9, 3.6 BB/9 and a whopping ground-ball rate north of 64 percent.

The sidearming Rogers features a funky delivery that has at times made him unhittable by opposing righties. While he’s not in the midst of his best season — what pitcher in the supercharged offensive environments in Triple-A is? — he held righties to a putrid .161/.239/.238 line through 159 plate appearances in 2018. For a Giants team that figures to have some extensive bullpen turnover moving forward, it’s worth getting a look at an intriguing righty who could be a piece in future seasons.

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