Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Historically, Cade Smith has taken the fWAR-for-relievers crown in each of the last two seasons, by a nose. Before that, you have a procession of Tanner Scott, Edwin Diaz, Liam Hendriks (three seasons in a row), Blake Treinen, and Kenley Jansen (twice in a row). Projections-wise, Steamer has Mason Miller as the preseason/on-paper champ in this regard right now,

Entering the offseason, two of the Cardinals' three pricey veterans - and Nolan Arenado - made clear that they were more willing to waive their no-trade clause this winter than they were last. Gray said he'd "definitely" consider the possibility after chatting with new president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom about the team's direction. He's already been shipped to the Red Sox.

While it may seem a bit odd, December typically is one of the most exciting months on the baseball calendar. The Winter Meetings is typically the peak of off-season activity, and we are just a week away from the 2025 MLB Winter Meetings starting. This does not mean that moves will stop until then, but the main takeaway is that activity should continue to pick for the Braves and other teams.

He saw big league action for four different teams (the Diamondbacks, Mets, Mariners, and Orioles) while compiling a 3.94 ERA over 32 innings. Beginning the season on a minor league deal with Arizona, Castillo was designated for assignment in May and then traded to the Mets, and he subsequently bounced around on a series of waiver claims. Castillo actually had three separate stints with the Mets, with the latest coming in early November when he was claimed off Baltimore's waiver wire.

Angell covered baseball for this magazine for many years, in addition to editing fiction, and although he was ostensibly there to scout the Astros-the team had finished thirty-two games behind the National League-pennant-winning Dodgers the year before-he was distracted from his scorecard by the orange spacesuits and white helmets worn by the groundskeepers, the rainbow-colored tiers of seats, and the billiard-table green of the first synthetic field in pro sports, made of a brand-new Monsanto product called AstroTurf.

Kyle Tucker is very good - he's had five consecutive seasons between 4 and 5 fWAR, and he could've possibly cleared 5 in three of those seasons if not for some xwOBA underperformance there. He's also the relatively rare star that has hit free agency before turning 30, which really helps him in the "make even more gobs of money" department.

The 2018 Braves were forecasted to be largely irrelevant. They surprised everyone and pulled off a once-in-a-generation-for-a-franchise turnaround. Did that carry over into 2019? Well, not really - the team was projected to be better than average, but more of a fringy contender. Inertia is a thing. Only by 2021 was the team in "solid contender" territory, with any foundering seasons firmly in the rear-view mirror.

Pagán had one of the more successful campaigns of his career last season with the Cincinnati Reds. He authored a 2.88 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 10.6 K/9, and a 2.9 BB/9 while setting career-high marks in games (70) and saves (32), with his ERA and WHIP serving as second-best numbers of his career. The saves were probably not expected to come at that level entering the '25 season for Pagán; Reds closer Alexis Díaz struggled immensely to start the year, allowing eight earned runs over six relief innings.

On Dec. 13, it was reported that the Blue Jays signed left-handed pitcher Eric Lauer to a minor league deal. Lauer had proven to be effective in the past, authoring a 3.47 ERA and 4.30 FIP in 277.1 innings pitched in 2021 and 2022. However, Lauer had tough 2023 and 2024 seasons, ending the 2024 season in the Korean Baseball Organization.

Arihara began his career in NPB, spending six seasons with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. His solid work at Japan's highest level earned him a two-year, $6.2MM deal with the Rangers in December 2020. Arihara pitched in parts of two seasons for Texas from 2021 to 2022. He struggled to a 6.64 ERA across 10 starts with the Rangers in his first season.

He exceeded all expectations for that contract, posting a 3.18 ERA (134 ERA+) and 1.108 WHIP across 28 appearances. The lefty stepped into the rotation early in the year when the Blue Jays desperately needed quality innings, then moved to the bullpen following the return of Max Scherzer and the acquisition of Shane Bieber. He remained in that role through the playoffs, where he threw four-and-two-thirds scoreless frames against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 18-inning marathon that was game three of the World Series.

There's a strong case to extend Bieber, especially if the Blue Jays believe he can get back to his pre-injury form. In the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Bieber had a 1.63 ERA and 2.07 FIP in 77.1 innings pitched, winning the American League Cy Young. The following two seasons, Bieber produced a 2.97 ERA and 2.92 FIP in 296.2 innings pitched, with a 27.8 K% and 5.8 BB%.

Right-hander Tyler Zuber is heading back to the Marlins on a minor league deal, according to the transaction log on his MLB.com profile page. Zuber was outrighted off the 40-man roster in early November. Since he had been outrighted before in his career, he had the option to elect free agency, which he exercised. Miami grabbed Zuber off waivers from the Mets in early July. He gave up two runs over two innings in his lone appearance with New York.

At the end of the 2025 season, the Mariners lost three infielders to free agency, as each of Josh Naylor, Jorge Polanco and Eugenio Suárez hit the open market. That left shortstop J.P. Crawford as the only lock for the 2026 infield. The M's quickly pounced to bring Naylor back, signing the first baseman to a five-year, $92.5MM deal not long after free agency began.

The Reds enter this offseason on the heels of a playoff berth that ended almost as quickly as it came, having been swept by the eventual World Series champion Dodgers in two games during the NL Wild Card series. There's still reason for optimism headed into next year thanks to a fantastic rotation led by Hunter Greene and Andrew Abbott, but Cincinnati's offense could clearly use some help.

Gausman, who will be 35 in January, threw a career-high 193 innings during the 2025 regular season with a 3.59 ERA (119 ERA+) and 1.062 WHIP. His strikeout rate was up compared to the previous year, while his hits-per-nine allowed and walks were down. The right-hander also pitched the best postseason baseball of his career during the Blue Jays' magical World Series run. He went at least five-and-two-thirds innings in each of his five starts while never allowing more than three runs.

Taiwanese right-hander has signed with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball. It's a three-year deal with incentives worth more than $9.6MM USD. Yihsuan Wang of Yahoo Taiwan relayed the club announcement. Hat tip to CPBL Stats for relaying the details in English. The 25-year-old righty has turned some heads with his results in the CPBL. He has thrown 305 innings for the Wei Chuan Dragons, including 114 innings in 2025 with a 2.05 earned run average.