Amongst the Mets' lengthy to-do list this winter is to address a starting rotation that needs a significant overhaul after last season's collapse. So anything linking former Houston Astros ace and free agent Framber Valdez to Queens would be understandable. According to MLB insider Hector Gomez, the Mets are trying to get a six-year, $200 million deal over the finish line for the veteran right-hander, who is coming off a down year in which he went 13-11 with a 3.66 ERA.
The Halos were known to be seeking at least two starting pitchers this winter, and while Rodriguez technically counts toward that end, he's coming off a season lost to injury and hasn't pitched in a big league game since July 2024. He's said to be healthy now, but even if that's the case, the Angels can't simply pencil him in for 30 starts next year.
Urquidy was recovering from the second Tommy John surgery of his career when Detroit signed him to a $1MM deal last March. They knew he'd miss almost all of the 2025 campaign. They guaranteed him a little more than the league minimum for his rehab year while tacking on the club option to provide a potential source of cheap innings in 2026. The move also reunited Urquidy with A.J. Hinch, his former manager in Houston.
Blake Snell faltered in Game 1, exposing the Dodgers' vulnerable bullpen, which allowed nine runs in a single inning. The Dodgers' World Series hopes rest entirely on their elite rotation because their bullpen cannot survive even one mediocre start by any of their starters. Future starts by Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and Shohei Ohtani must reach deep into games to shield a bullpen the team knew was their greatest weakness.
The rotation was a natural point of focus, with Elias saying the club wants to add a starter to the front half of its rotation, which could be either a #1, a #2 or a #3. Such distinctions are fairly subjective but the point would be to have another guy capable of slotting in next to Kyle Bradish and Tyler Rogers somewhere in the front half of the rotation.
It doesn't take a genius to figure that out, nor do you even have to look at the numbers, but here they are anyway: Since losing Anthony to an oblique injury 10 games ago, the Red Sox sit at 4-6 with a .296 OBP (23rd in all of baseball), along with the third-worst walk rate in the game. (Alex Speier, Boston Globe)
Ragans, 28 this offseason, has been out more than three months due to a strained rotator cuff in his left shoulder. His absence has been a major reason for Kansas City's slide in the standings and the team's all but certain elimination from playoff contention, although Ragans certainly hasn't been the only rotation member to run into health woes this year.
One thing is for certain: Friday night had better not be the last time Sandy Alcantara takes the mound for the Miami Marlins in 2025. Sandy could have thrown a perfect game Friday night, narrowly outdueling fellow former Cy Young winner Tariq Skubal of the Tigers, and that would still be true. No matter how epic, no matter how packed loanDepotPark was or wasn't, the Marlins have to finagle things to let Alcantara take the mound during the final weekend of the season.
Volpe is in a major slump, worse than he's experienced in his short career so far. Entering Thursday's series opener, Volpe is 1-for-37 with 14 strikeouts in his last 11 games. In the Yankees' 11-2 pounding of the Nationals on Wednesday, Volpe went 0-for-5 with two strikeouts and was the only starter to not get a hit. The Yankees tried to give Volpe a breather and reset with two games off earlier in the week,
"When you go down to the minor leagues," pitching coach Ethan Katz said Sunday, "it gives you and opportunity to try some things that you maybe talk about up here that in the moment it's harder to accomplish, because you're trying to get through an inning and you're going to stick to what you feel is best, [as opposed to] trying to open up some other avenues.
