Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

The Reds announced that they have added three players to the 40-man roster. Infielders Edwin Arroyo and Leo Balcazar had their contracts selected from Double-A Chattanooga, while outfielder Hector Rodriguez was selected from Triple-A Louisville. All three are now protected from the Rule 5 Draft. In addition, right-hander Carson Spiers was designated for assignment. The club's 40-man roster now stands at an even 40.

Nimmo, 33 in March, is a somewhat surprising trade candidate due to the many complications surrounding a potential deal. The veteran has spent all ten seasons of his MLB career in Queens and has a no-trade clause. Nimmo would have to agree to any trade, which would naturally limit his suitors. While hardly an albatross, his contract isn't exactly appealing, either.

Shota Imanaga will be returning to the Cubs, as The Athletic's Patrick Mooney reports that the left-hander has accepted the team's one-year, $22.025MM qualifying offer. The surprising decision means that Imanaga stays put after his time in Wrigleyville seemed to be over, following a series of declined contract options on the part of the Cubs and Imanaga himself. The four-year, $53MM deal that Imanaga signed with Chicago in January 2024 guaranteed Imanaga $23MM over the first two seasons,

Trade speculation on Lowe is an annual offseason tradition. His salaries have escalated over the course of the extension he signed in Spring Training 2019. They've remained below market value for one of the better offensive middle infielders in the sport. That surely has led to a lot of trade interest over the years, but the Rays have valued Lowe highly enough to not bite on anything they've been offered thus far.

It's at least a modest surprise, as Grisham is coming off a breakout year at the plate which saw him club a career-high 34 home runs. He slashed .235/.348/.464, thanks in no small part to a career-best 14.1% walk rate and a 23.6% strikeout rate that stood as the second-lowest in his career. Between that production, the fact that Grisham only just turned 29 earlier this month,

The lefty Ortiz is headed for his age-26 season, coming off a 2025 in which he posted a 2.73 ERA/3.90 FIP over 59.1 innings with a 28.3 K% and a 13.0 BB%, making it as far as AAA last year. Ortiz has struggled with injuries, pitching only 22.2 innings from 2020-2024, but his health finally cooperated and he seems like a solid lefty relief addition for a team lacking a ton of lefty relief options - compared to the Dodgers, who seem to have nothing but lefties now.

Myles Straw may be suited for a role as a Major League Baseball General Manager when his playing days are over. The Toronto Blue Jays outfielder is putting in the work this offseason by trying to make the team better and he's doing it in ways that's catching the attention of many Blue Jays fans online. Over the weekend Straw was playing the role of "active recruiter" as he was trying to entice one of the biggest names on the market to join the Blue Jays.

General manager Mike Hazen recently pushed back on the idea that he might have to subtract some salary via trade, telling Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic: "I don't really feel that way, honestly. That's not the impression I have. Are we going to be doing what we did last offseason? Probably not. But I don't think I have zero wiggle room or avenues to pursue players."

2025 there were not many expectations for E.J. He has been a player that has shown flashes of brilliance, but over the course of a season pretty average numbers. E.J. possesses solid tools like his bat speed, overall in game speed, solid power, and the ability to play multiple positions in the infield - so he was a valuable prospect, but there weren't many MLB grades given to his tools so he was considered more of a depth player.

Damiano Palmegiani has played 16 games with Cardenales de Lara in Venezuela and is slashing .274/.370/.435 with two home runs and four doubles in 73 plate appearances. Unfortunately, Palmegiani hasn't played since Nov. 7. The 2025 season was a rough year for the 25-year-old. Splitting his time between the Double-A and Triple-A, Palmegiani slashed .159/.306/.233 with one home run in 216 plate appearances.

Devanney, 28, was a 15th-round pick by the Brewers back in 2019 who made his big league debut with the Pirates late in the 2025 season after being acquired from the Royals in this summer's Adam Frazier trade. At the time of the deal, Devanney was enjoying something of a breakout season for the Royals' Triple-A affiliate in Omaha. In 69 games, he had slashed .272/.366/.565 with 18 homers and 14 doubles across 288 plate appearances.

May split the year between the Dodgers and the Red Sox, with a 4.96 ERA in 132 1/3 innings across 25 appearances (23 starts) along with a 21.1% strikeout rate and a 9.6% walk rate. He made 19 appearances (18 starts) with the Dodgers through July 31, recording a 4.85 ERA in 104 innings, although he did post a slightly above average groundball rate at 43.8%.

Kendy appeared in 16 games, 10 as a starter, in 2025. He began the season with the FCL Braves where he really stood out - appearing in 6 games where he had a 7.46 K/9 and 3.83 BB/9 rate. With an ERA of just 1.81, Kendy forced the Braves to promote him to full season ball, which is a bit of a surprise given his lack of experience in professional baseball.

Iglesias, 35, is a right-handed pitcher from Cuba who has pitched at the backend in the backend of the rotation for years. Over his 11 big league seasons, Iglesias has a 2.90 ERA and 3.20 FIP in 736 innings pitched, picking up 253 saves in 291 opportunities. His most recent season was with the Atlanta Braves, where Iglesias posted a 3.21 ERA and 3.31 FIP in 67.1 innings pitched, with a 27.4 K% and 6 BB%.

In the waning days of Kershaw's career, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman approached him with an offer to stick around as a member of the baseball operations department. Kershaw was flattered by the offer. "I don't think I have any full-time jobs in my future," he said. "Except full-time dad." Kershaw and wife Ellen are expecting a fifth child this winter, so the longtime Dodgers ace is rightfully focused on his family.

The baseball offseason is only three and a half months. It's not that long from The World Series to Spring Training. And there's the hot stove and free agents and everything. It feels pretty long though. So what do you miss the most about baseball? I miss that from mid-February to November, there's a game practically every day.

The Brewers have added infielder Eddys Leonard on a minor league deal, reports Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. The pact includes an invitation to spring training. Leonard will now join his fourth organization in the past four seasons. He spent last year in Atlanta's minor league system. The Braves signed him in late March after he was released by the Tigers. Leonard elected minor league free agency last week.

Scouts are comparing Imai to Kodai Senga, who signed with the Mets for five years and $75 million prior to the 2023 season. Senga was an All-Star in his first year in MLB but has dealt with injuries on and off for the last two seasons. When he's been healthy, he's been very good, as he's been worth 6.7 bWAR with a 3.00 ERA, 320 strikeouts and 285 innings pitched in 52 games.

Hallberg, 39, heads to the Twin Cities after eight seasons in the Giants organization. He coached and managed in the minor league system for a couple years before joining the MLB staff in 2020. Hallberg has spent the past four seasons as a base coach in San Francisco and interviewed for their managerial vacancy over the 2023-24 offseason. (The job went to Bob Melvin.)

Shohei Ohtani was once again named the National League MVP, taking home the award unanimously in voting conducted by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). It's the fourth time in his career Ohtani has been named MVP, with two in the American League while playing for the Los Angeles Angels and now twice with the Dodgers in the NL. All four of Ohtani's victories have been by a unanimous vote, and he is the only player to have won MVP unanimously more than once.