Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Entering 2017, the core of the team was getting old. José Bautista was 36, Russell Martin was 34, Josh Donaldson was 31, Troy Tulowitzki was 32, Kendry Morales, who was Edwin Encarnación's replacement, was 34. On the pitching side of things, Marco Estrada, J.A. Happ, and Francisco Liriano were 33 and 34. Their two promising pitchers, Aaron Sanchez and Marcus Stroman, were still in the mid-20s.

The Rangers announced that Anthony Veneziano has been released from his minor league contract so that the southpaw can pursue an opportunity with an Asian team. Veneziano only just signed with Texas about four weeks ago, though as per the norm with non-roster players, the Rangers aren't going to stand in the way if Veneziano is given a guaranteed offer from a foreign club.

Madrigal spent the entire 2025 season on the injured list. He'd signed a $1.35MM free agent deal with the Mets to compete for a utility job. Madrigal broke his left shoulder when he stumbled while fielding a ground ball during Spring Training. He underwent surgery and was immediately ruled out for the year. The Mets dropped him from the roster at the beginning of the offseason.

Last season's numbers were, however, a step back from the 154 wRC+ and 7.9 fWAR Henderson delivered in 2024. Henderson missed most of Spring Training and the first week of regular-season action recovering from an intercostal strain, but the shortstop revealed Thursday that he also spent about " three-quarters of the year " dealing with a heretofore unknown shoulder impingement.

The Reds and right-hander Brady Singer are in agreement on a $12.75MM salary for the 2026 campaign, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. It's the final year of arbitration for Singer, who is set to hit free agency next offseason. The contract is slightly above MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz's projection of $11.9MM. Singer is represented by Excel Sports Management. Cincinnati acquired Singer in a November 2024 trade that sent Jonathan India and Joey Wiemer to Kansas City.

The left-handed hitting veteran has been suspended for 80 games after testing positive for the banned substance Epitrenbolone, which violates Major League Baseball's Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. With this suspension, should Kepler sign with a team this offseason, he will miss the first 80 games as well as be ineligible for the postseason. Should Kepler go unsigned this winter, the suspension does not start on Opening Day; it begins when he signs with a new team, should that happen post Opening Day.

It's worth noting, too, that the Mets are deep in both top prospects and young big leaguers that could be marketed to other clubs. Their farm system is generally regarded as one of the ten best in the game. Following this year's draft and trade deadline, Baseball America ranked the Mets' system ninth in the game. MLB.com ranked it seventh.

Arbitration filing deadline: Today is a big day on MLB's offseason calendar, as Thursday marks the deadline for teams and players to exchange figures ahead of salary arbitration. Most of those cases will end in the two parties settling on a salary to avoid arbitration, but any team that still has unsigned players after today will be scheduled for a hearing in front of a three-person arbitration panel.

The Venezuelan winter league suspended play following the United States taking military action in Caracas, casting uncertainty on a couple of Los Angeles Dodgers players. Edgardo Henriquez, a Venezuelan native, had been pitching for La Tiburones de la Guaira, and Dodgers prospect Eduardo Quintero also briefly spent time with the team. With roughly five weeks until Spring Training begins, the Dodgers could face some challenges trying to get their players back to the United States.

According to FanGraphs' starting pitcher depth chart rankings, the Cardinals have the second-worst rotation in baseball, ahead of only the lowly Colorado Rockies (who just got a boost with Michael Lorenzen). Currently, their starting five consists of Matthew Liberatore, Andre Pallante, Dustin May, Michael McGreevy, and Kyle Leahy. All of those pitchers had an ERA of four-plus last season, and none averaged a strikeout per inning.

It was interesting that he seemed to think that non-qualifying offer free agents or perhaps select non-top-tier trade options are the more likely avenues. Freddy Peralta is a hot commodity and has been covered a decent bit, but Jose Berrios is an off-the-beaten-path option that might be up Alex Anthopoulos' alley and has an interesting profile. Berrios has struggled since joining Toronto, but was previously a reliable mid-rotation option in Minnesota.

It doesn't appear that Bellinger is on the verge of accepting a deal, however. Contract length could be a holdup. Kuty wrote that Bellinger and his representatives at the Boras Corporation were likely looking for a six- or seven-year contract. In an MLB Network appearance, Jon Morosi also suggested that Bellinger continued to seek a deal in the seven-year range. Morosi added that the Yankees unsurprisingly preferred a four- or five-year commitment.

The Pirates and first baseman/outfielder Ryan O'Hearn have reportedly agreed to a two-year deal with a $29MM guarantee. The ACES client can also earn an extra $500K each year via incentives: $100K for 450 plate appearances, another $100K for 475, then $150K for 500 and 525 plate appearances. Pittsburgh has a full 40-man roster and will need to make a corresponding move for this to become official.

For anyone who has followed me on social media for a while or read some of the pieces I wrote on this site leading up to and following the 2025 MLB Trade Deadline, you would know my thoughts on the possibility of trading lefty MacKenzie Gore. While it's truly nothing personal at all, I have firmly been on the wave that the team needs to explore all of their options to move him.

The Tigers signed reliever Burch Smith to a minor league contract, reports Evan Petzold of The Detroit Free-Press. The righty receives an invitation to MLB camp and will be guaranteed a $1.5MM base salary if he makes the big league roster. Smith, 36 in April, has played for seven big league clubs over a 15-year career that has taken him around the globe.

Bohm, 29, will be playing out his final season of club control in 2026. The former No. 3 overall pick looked like a star early on, when he debuted with a sensational .338/.400/.481 slash in 44 games as a rookie back in 2020. He's settled in as more of a league-average bat in the five years since that time, hitting a combined .275/.323/.411 (101 wRC+) in 2769 plate appearances dating back to 2021.

The Pirates are designating reliever Chase Shugart for assignment, reports Jason Mackey of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. They needed to create a 40-man roster spot for Ryan O'Hearn, whose two-year free agent contract was finalized this afternoon. Pittsburgh acquired Shugart in a minor trade with the Red Sox last offseason. The Texas product had only six games of MLB experience at the time. He made it into 35 contests in his first and potentially only season as a Pirate.

The Blue Jays used Nathan Lukes in the two-hole for much of 2025, and that strategy worked well until the World Series, where his OPS sank to .457 against the Dodgers' elite pitching staff. Would that exceptionally tight series have unfolded differently had Guerrero been up instead in a few of those crucial spots? George Springer will presumably bat leadoff again for the Blue Jays in 2026, especially if Bo Bichette doesn't return this winter.