If you don't, I'll help remind you. The Braves gave up three runs in the early innings, and would scratch together three runs to tie the game in the sixth inning. Then the Braves poured it on in the eighth, scoring eight without aid of a home run. In the bottom of the inning, the Reds used two home runs to help score those eight right back. The Braves would take it to the tenth, when two well-placed fly balls brought home the Manfred ghost
But now comes the task of trying to backfill those innings from departing starting pitchers like Scherzer and Chris Bassitt. The Blue Jays could shop at the top of the market for free agents like Dylan Cease or Framber Valdez, or they could go the Scherzer 2.0 route and target a veteran starting pitcher on a one-year deal to supplant those innings. One pitcher who might make sense for the Blue Jays is another elder statesman of the league: Justin Verlander.
Rodriguez ranked among Atlanta's top 30 prospects after signing in minor league free agency ahead of the 2025 campaign. FanGraphs and MLB.com both had him ranked at 25th. The 22-year-old torched Double-A pitching for 10 games, then moved up to Triple-A. Rodriguez posted an underwhelming .640 OPS with Gwinnett, but did pop a career-high eight home runs to go with 17 stolen bases.
Williams is one of the top names on the closer market. He landed at No. 16 on our Top 50 Free Agents list, which put him second among relievers, behind only . The 31-year-old is expected to have many suitors, with the Reds and Red Sox linked to him last week, and the Mets, Tigers, and Giants joining the mix this week. The Dodgers and Marlins have also been connected to Williams.
Rooney elected minor league free agency after being outrighted by the Astros at the beginning of the offseason. The 28-year-old had a brief stint with Houston, who acquired him from the Marlins in a small trade in August. The Astros called him up for his big league debut three weeks later. Rooney struck out two of six batters faced while giving up a solo home run to Luis Vázquez in his only appearance.
The Atlanta Braves made yet another move this week, this time signing infielder Vidal Brujan to a split contract for the 2026 season. Brujan was acquired by the Braves in August. From there, he appeared in 24 games with a .268 batting average and a perfect fielding percentage. This split contract allows the Braves to gain position player depth while maintaining roster and financial flexibility if he's needed at the major league level.
The Royals have signed infielder Jonathan India to a one-year, $8MM deal for the upcoming season, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. India had been widely viewed as a non-tender candidate on the heels of a poor first season in Kansas City, but he'll return and hope to rebound in 2026. He'll be a free agent next offseason. India, 29 next month, posted career-worst marks in most categories during his first season as a Royal.
On Nov. 21, 1952, Joe Black, a 28-year-old right-hander for the Brooklyn Dodgers, was overwhelmingly voted as the National League Rookie of the Year, receiving 19 of 24 first-place votes. Hoyt Wilhelm, Dick Groat and Eddie Mathews also received first-place votes. This made Black the third player in Dodgers franchise history to win the Rookie of the Year honors, joining Jackie Robinson in 1947 and Don Newcombe in 1949. The following season, Jim Gilliam added to the Dodgers list by winning the honor for 1953.
Over the course of his 16-year career, the designated hitter played for the Cincinnati Reds, Blue Jays, Cleveland Guardians, Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees, and Chicago White Sox, making a name for himself in his third full season with the Blue Jays. After 16 seasons in the big leagues, Encarnación finished with a .260/.350/.496 slash line with 424 home runs in 8,126 plate appearances for a 125 wRC+ and 33.5 fWAR. Unfortunately, Encarnación will not make the Hall of Fame.
It's been widely reported that the Toronto Blue Jays are looking to add a starting pitcher via free agency this offseason - and Michael King should be the guy. The 30-year-old pitched to a 3.44 ERA and 1.20 WHIP across 73 ⅓ innings in 2025. He landed on the injured list in May due to a shoulder injury, then returned in August but only threw two innings before being sidelined again with a knee issue.
FOCO is selling new Shohei Ohtani bobbleheads that commemorate his four career MVP Awards and back-to-back World Series titles with the Los Angeles Dodgers. One of the Ohtani MVP bobbleheads portrays him in a white Dodgers uniform and holding four MVP plaques. He's won them equally with the Los Angeles Angels and Dodgers, each time in unanimous fashion, to make MLB history.
The Blue Jays enjoyed an incredible amount of success in 2025 with contributions from every corner of their roster. While there will be new additions to the team this winter, there will be existing players who will have more opportunities to extend the Blue Jays' contention window next season. Toronto found many wild cards that ultimately helped the team shine in some of the biggest moments during the regular season and the playoffs.
We're still in the nascent stages of the MLB offseason, with only a handful of notable free-agent signings and trades thus far. Still, with the GM Meetings now in the rearview mirror, teams have laid a fair bit of groundwork for the weeks and months ahead, both on the free agent and trade markets. Kyle Tucker stands as the offseason's top free agent, and while there's no indication he's close to signing, there are also some hints falling into place about his potential market.
Edwin Díaz is, without question, the best reliever on the market. In fact, it's already been reported that the Jays have spoken to his camp, showing that they're willing to go big for the bullpen this season. Adding Díaz to an already solid bullpen would be game-changing. Last season with the New York Mets, Díaz had a 1.63 ERA and 2.28 FIP in 66.1 innings pitched, with a 38 K% and 8.1 BB%.
When the Orioles drafted Rodriguez 11th overall out of high school in 2018, the club was a few months away from replacing Dan Duquette with Elias as the head of baseball operations. So Elias wasn't involved with that pick, but he is intimately familiar with Rodriguez's career and health history. Once one of the best pitching prospects in baseball, Rodriguez's injuries began with a 2022 Grade 2 lat strain that cost him three months and pushed back his expected Major League debut. He was healthy in 2023, had some success in the Majors, and totaled 165 innings - the only time in his career he's topped 117 frames.
Cedric first appeared in mid-May in the FCL and made two starts there, before being sent to Rome for his final 13 starts of the season. He had a 0.00 ERA and 1.09 WHIP with 13 strikeouts to two walks in 7.1 innings with the FCL team before he pitched to a 3.74 ERA and 1.43 WHIP in Rome, striking out 66 and walking 41 in 53 innings.
Braves reliever Joe Jiménez underwent a "cleanup" surgery on his left knee, president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos told reporters (Including David O'Brien of The Athletic). The right-hander missed the entire '25 season after undergoing surgery to repair cartilage damage in that same knee last November. While the framing of the surgery as a "cleanup" doesn't sound especially alarming, the timeline isn't clear.
There was also a former Blue Jays' prospect released on Tuesday, as the Boston Red Sox designated Josh Winckowski for assignment, as well as Nathaniel Lowe. His best season with the American League East team was in 2023, where he had a 2.88 ERA and 3.91 FIP in 84.1 innings pitched. Unfortunately, Winckowski missed most of the 2025 season due to an elbow injury, only throwing 11.2 innings in six outings.
Fans love a good comeback story, and baseball arguably produces the most of any sport. Each season, there are at least a handful of players who once built strong reputations, only to fall on hard times -- through underperformance or, more often, injury -- and are forced to start fresh with a new club. Then, somehow, they manage to rediscover what made them great in the first place.
