Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Called up to make three starts to end the regular season, Yesavage had a 3.21 ERA and 2.35 FIP in 14 innings pitched. Yesavage's playoff debut saw him strikeout 11 over five and one-third hitless innings, then he threw another gem in the World Series, going seven innings with 12 strikeouts while giving up just one earned run in Game 5. In six postseason appearances, Yesavage had a 3.58 ERA and 3.61 FIP in 27.2 innings pitched.

A tenth-round pick for the Astros in the 2019 draft, Stubbs was cut loose by Houston in May 2024, and he then quickly inked a new minor league deal with the Nationals. This stint in the Nats organization resulted in Stubbs' first taste of Major League action, albeit a small one - Stubbs' MLB resume consists of a single game, as he went 0-for-3 while starting behind the plate in Washington's 2-0 win over the Marlins on September 1.

Wallach, 34, has spent most of the past four years in the Angels' organization. He has been the third or fourth catcher on the depth chart. The Halos called him up last September while they were navigating injuries to Travis d'Arnaud and Logan O'Hoppe. Wallach played in one game and caught two innings in a loss in Seattle. The Angels outrighted him off the roster when O'Hoppe returned.

After spending 12 of his 18 Major League seasons with the Pirates, Andrew McCutchen said back in August that he wanted to return for another season in the black-and-gold, while acknowledging that his shortcomings during the 2025 season. " I have to do what I need to do to...show that I was able to have a good year and still can play the following year," McCutchen said, noting that he didn't want to be just " filling in a spot " and not contributing.

It's a relatively thin group after MLB's best pitcher. Olson missed most of the second half with a shoulder injury. Mize had an All-Star first half but was up-and-down later in the season. While Flaherty's strikeout and walk profile remained strong, he's coming off his second upper-4.00s ERA in three seasons. Anderson has started two MLB games and hasn't pitched in the majors in five years. Melton has mid-rotation upside but worked mostly out of the bullpen as a rookie.

Clayton Kershaw officially retired after 18 seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but he will pitch at least one more time in a competitive setting. The left-hander was named to the Team USA roster for the 2026 World Baseball Classic, marking the first time he will participate in the event. Kershaw was primed to be part of the United States roster for the 2023 tournament, but had to back out due to not being able to secure an insurance policy.

In 2017, starters averaged five and a half innings per start. Now, there's no such thing as half an inning, but that's the beauty of math. That number dipped slightly in 2018, to 5.4 innings per start. Even ignoring 2020, where teams felt more comfortable and/or harried into just getting through the 60-game season, the innings-per-start value bottomed out at exactly five in 2021.

Julks, 30 next month, has seen big league time in three consecutive seasons - albeit just 13 plate appearances with the White Sox this past season. He's played roughly the equivalent of one full major league season, appearing in 165 games and tallying 565 plate appearances as a big leaguer. In that time, he's slashed .234/.288/.337 with nine homers, 23 doubles, 20 steals (in 25 tries), a 7% walk rate and a 24.4% strikeout rate.

Signed a minor league deal shortly after the end of the 2024 Winter Meetings, Lauer's signing was a fairly insignificant one at the time. Sure, he had shown promise in the past, as he was drafted 25th overall in 2016 and even had a 3.47 ERA from 2021 until 2022. However, Lauer's final season in the big leagues before joining the Jays saw him post a 6.56 ERA with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2023, and he eventually pitched in the minor leagues and Korea in 2024.

The Mets and veteran right-handed reliever Luis García are in agreement on a contract, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post. It's a one-year, $1.75MM major league deal that can be worth up to $3MM after incentives, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today. García, a client of agents Larry Reynolds and Rosie Lopez-Herrera, still needs to complete a physical before the contract becomes official.