The Blue Jays are in agreement with free agent reliever Tyler Rogers on a three-year, $37MM contract, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The deal, which is pending a physical, includes an $11MM vesting option for the 2029 season, specifics of which have not been reported. Toronto has a full 40-man roster and will need to make a corresponding move to finalize the contract. Rogers is represented by Frontline Athlete Management.
This time, the club agreed to a three-year, $45M contract with closer Robert Suarez. He will make $13M in 2026 and $16M in each of his remaining years. Previously with the San Diego Padres, 34-year-old Suarez put together what was arguably the best season of his career. In 2025, he managed a 2.97 ERA through 69.2 frames. He turned in 40 saves in 45 chances and recorded 9.69 strikeouts per nine innings. He's got 77 career saves to accompany his 219 strikeouts.
Shapiro, 58, was named president and CEO of the Blue Jays after the 2015 season, succeeding the retiring Paul Beeston. Shapiro had spent 24 seasons with the Cleveland Guardians, including the last five years as team president. Ross Atkins, who worked under Shapiro in Cleveland, was hired as Blue Jays general manager in December 2015. Atkins is signed through the 2026 campaign.
Rodriguez, 27, spent the 2023-24 seasons with the Yakult Swallows in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball, parlaying that into a big league deal with the Brewers last winter. He wound up pitching 19 2/3 innings in the majors between Milwaukee and Baltimore but was tagged for 20 runs in that time. The 2025 season was Rodriguez's second with at least some MLB work.
If there's one team willing and able to give outfielder Kyle Tucker the $400 million he seeks in free agency, it's the Toronto Blue Jays, according to many of the agents, executives and managers at baseball's annual winter meetings this week. And if there's one team with the capability to both trade for and extend Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal, according to insiders, it's the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Infielder Orelvis Martinez will attend spring training as a non-roster invitee with the Washington Nationals in 2026, per the club's announcement on Friday. The former Toronto Blue Jays top prospect, who agreed to a minor-league deal for '26 with the Nats back in September, was one of three non-roster players - ones who aren't already on the 40-man roster - to receive an invitation to major-league camp for next spring.
Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reports that conversations with the Rays have kicked around a framework that would send both Ryan Pepiot and to the desert. Piecoro writes that nothing is believed to be close on that front and the Rays are not necessarily any kind of frontrunner. Indeed, he adds that the Diamondbacks have had conversations with another team interested in Marte that would be built around a bigger-name starting pitcher.
It is believed that the Dodgers are looking to add an outfielder this offseason, and while Donovan has primarily appeared at second base in his career, he can play either of the corner spots. The Dodgers want to get more athletic in the outfield, and with rumors swirling of a possible Teoscar Hernández trade, Donovan would help the team accomplish that goal.
The Rockies announced the hiring of Tommy Tanous as assistant general manager today. Tanous has spent the past 15 years in the Mets' scouting department. He will focus on scouting and player development with Colorado. Thomas Harding of MLB.com was first to report the hiring. Tanous was most recently vice president of player evaluation and special advisor to the president of baseball operations in New York. He'd been with the club since 2010.
Freddie Freeman has been a modern day iron man for the Los Angeles Dodgers since first joining the ballclub back in 2022. He's played in at least 147 regular season games in each of the last four years. In 2024, Freeman ended up being the World Series MVP despite essentially playing on one leg with a badly injured ankle.
"Sasaki has had a history of injuries this season, and the team reserves the right to suspend his participation in the WBC," a source in the story said. During an interview with Japanese TV earlier in the offseason, manager Dave Roberts expressed doubt over Sasaki playing in the tournament. "I'd be surprised if Sasaki were to pitch in the WBC," Roberts said.
While those around Skaggs including family, his agent, fellow players and Angels staff didn't see any obvious outward signs of addiction during Skaggs' time with the organization, Dr. Elie Aoun testified that many people with addictions remain high functioning. RELATED: Skaggs' widow questioned during testimony about Angels pitcher's potential drug use at own wedding, texts calling him a liar Not everyone with an addiction is going to be a homeless person under a bridge shooting heroin, said Dr. Aoun, a psychiatrist and Columbia University professor who testified as an expert on behalf of the Angels. Many people with addictions are under the radar.
"There's a lot of teams (from which) we have taken incoming calls," president of baseball operations AJ Preller told reporters, as relayed by Acee. "...It's nice when people are calling you, and they have interest in your players. At least then, you have some options. But I think the focus has been on the starting pitching and how do we fill that without taking away from the bullpen or from the lineup."
David Stearns better have some kind of backup plan, and it more likely than not should include Cody Bellinger. The New York Mets' president of baseball operations has effectively given himself a clean slate. After taking accountability for a team that had World Series hopes, but instead imploded and missed the postseason altogether, he has parted ways with key foundational figures of the organization.
