PHOENIX — Veteran starting pitcher Merrill Kelly agreed Sunday to return to the Arizona Diamondbacks on a two-year, $40 million deal, according to a person familiar with the move.
The right-hander spent the first 6 1/2 years of his career with the Diamondbacks before the pending free agent was dealt to the Texas Rangers at this year’s trade deadline in July. He was good for both teams, finishing with a combined 12-9 record and 3.52 ERA.
Kelly’s return to the desert isn’t a huge surprise considering he’s a Scottsdale native and played in college at Arizona State.
The fan favorite was a key piece of the team that went to the World Series in 2023. He had a 12-8 record and a 3.29 ERA that season, adding a masterful performance in Game 2 of the World Series against the Rangers, which is the only game the D-backs would win in the Fall Classic.
The 37-year-old doesn’t have overpowering stuff but thrives thanks to a six-pitch mix that keeps hitters off balance. He has carved out a solid MLB career despite not making his debut until he was 30 in 2019.
He was drafted in 2010 by the Tampa Bay Rays but got stuck in Triple A before electing to sign with the SK Wyverns of the Korean Baseball Organization from 2015 to 2018, going 48-32 with a 3.86 ERA.
The Diamondbacks liked what they saw and signed him to a four-year, $14.5 million deal in 2018.
He agreed to an two-year, $18 million deal with Arizona in 2022 that covered the 2023 and 2024 seasons and included a club option for 2025 that the D-backs exercised.
If you were hoping for an immediate big-splash response to losing Pete Alonso and Edwin Diaz that would make you feel better about this Mets’ offseason, well, it’s clear by now that David Stearns just isn’t wired that way.
Which is to say, Jorge Polanco is a solid player coming off a good season with the Seattle Mariners that included a few electric postseason moments. He’s just not a guy who’s going to send anyone running to buy season tickets.
And that’s fine if he helps the Mets win a lot of games next season. Which remains to be seen, of course.
For the moment, the timing of Polanco’s signing seemed to indicate that Stearns won’t be pushed into going big-game hunting no matter how outraged the fan base is by the events of this past week.
On the other hand, a potential trade with the San Diego Padres that has been reported -- most heavily by The Athletic -- in recent days could be of blockbuster quality, even if it apparently wouldn’t include Francisco Lindor or Fernando Tatis Jr.
More on that to come.
As for Polanco, it’s not exactly a bargain contract, as $20 million a year seems to be pushing the envelope on value, given his inconsistent track record. But it’s only a two-year deal, or $40 million total, which is $115 million less than Alonso is guaranteed with the Baltimore Orioles.
There is also the little matter of whether Polanco can play first base, which is where Mets’ people are saying they see him getting most of his at-bats. It’s notable because he’s virtually never played first base at the big-league level (one career game at first base, which came this past season), and though most middle infielders are a good bet to adapt well to the new position, it still adds some risk to the equation.
It’s also thinking outside the box, to a degree, which is kind of what you want to see from Stearns after all the bloodletting this past week. Yet Polanco, whose 26 home runs last season was the second-highest total of his career, is hardly a guy who’s going to fill the power void left by Alonso’s departure.
However, Stearns may think he can build an effective offensive team without big power. Consider what his old team, the Milwaukee Brewers, did last season, finishing third in the majors in runs scored despite ranking only 22nd in home runs.
Of course, the Brewers also finished second in the majors in stolen bases and had the fifth-fewest total of strikeouts, so they were a fast, contact-hitting team that would be hard for the Mets to emulate. They also were completely shut down in the postseason by the Los Angeles Dodgers, and indeed they’ve had little success in October in recent years.
Perhaps Stearns also had an eye on the Toronto Blue Jays, who had great success with a high-contact offense, including the second-fewest total of strikeouts. Polanco struck out only 84 times last season, which ranked in the 83rd percentile of all major league hitters last season.
“What you’re seeing is David wants to build a team that is solid in all facets of the game,” one person who has worked for Stearns in the past told me. “He’s a sum-of-the-parts guy. I think he’d rather have grinders than stars.”
Polanco fits that mold. So does outfielder Ramon Laureano, who could be coming to Queens as well if the Mets make that multi-player trade with the Padres that has been reported in detail by The Athletic as being in the talking stages.
There is no indication that Lindor or Tatis Jr. would be part of such a deal, yet it could still fill a lot of holes for the Mets, as it reportedly could include starting pitcher Nick Pivetta, reliever and strikeout monster Mason Miller, as well as lefty reliever Adrian Morejon, who was dominant last season, and Laureano too.
Laureano isn’t the contact hitter that Polanco is, striking out 119 times last season in 132 games, but he hit .281 last season and he’s got some pop, as evidenced by his 54 extra-base hits and a .512 slugging percentage. Last year he ranked in the 93rd percentile of all MLB hitters in expected slugging percentage, based on his quality of contact.
At age 31 he’s coming off his two best offensive seasons since 2019, and while he has very limited range in the outfield, according to Statcast, he does have one of the strongest arms in the game.
And Laureano is making $6.5 million on a team option in 2026 before reaching free agency next winter, which means he would come a lot cheaper than Cody Bellinger, not to mention Kyle Tucker.
Likewise, Pivetta could be a short-term answer to upgrading the starting rotation, coming off the best season of his career at age 32, with a 2.87 ERA over 31 starts and 181 innings. The righthander is due to make $19.75 million in 2026 and can opt out of the final two years of his contract (worth $33.5 million) after next season.
For the Mets to also get Miller, perhaps the hardest thrower in the game, in the same deal, it would take a huge package, but baseball people say the two teams do match up in terms of needs.
That is, the Padres are desperate for pitching, after losing Dylan Cease and (presumably) Michael King to free agency, as well as Yu Darvish to injury, and while the Mets would get Pivetta they could send back Jonah Tong and Brandon Sproat, as well as David Peterson and perhaps Kodai Senga as well, in addition to a Mark Vientos or Ronny Mauricio.
It’s an intriguing possibility and, perhaps more to the point, it would fill some key needs for the Mets without dipping heavily into free agency.
“I’d bet on Stearns making some version of that trade (with the Padres) before I could see him giving (Framber) Valdez or (Ranger) Suarez a long-term deal,” said the person who once worked for Stearns. “That’s just who he is. (Juan) Soto was the exception, and that was probably more (Steve) Cohen anyway. David wants to build something without committing to long-term contracts as much as he can.”
The Dodgers acquired not only closer Edwin Díaz but also the coolest entrance song in the big leagues. (Jessie Alcheh / Associated Press)
Proving yet again that nobody combines excitement and entertainment like these guys, this week the Dodgers made baseball’s most important winter deal.
They acquired Timmy Trumpet.
In real life he’s an Australian impresario who, surprise, plays the trumpet. But in the breathtaking world of ninth-inning baseball, he’s the game’s most popular soundtrack.
It is Timmy Trumpet who plays the chillingly inspiring solo from “Narco” that accompanies closer Edwin Díaz from the bullpen to the mound. For the seven seasons Díaz played for the New York Mets, it was the coolest entrance song in the big leagues, creating the most intimidating scene in any ballpark anywhere.
And now it’s coming to Dodger Stadium, as the Dodgers and Díaz agreed this week to a three-year, $69-million contract that will include Timmy Trumpet rattling the bejeezus out of visiting teams who must be asking, do the Dodgers really have to buy everything?
Was it not enough for them to sign the best reliever in baseball? Did they also have to bring in the best ninth-inning atmosphere in baseball?
Yes, they do, and yes, they did, and if you haven’t witnessed the Edwin Díaz/Timmy Trumpet duet, Google it once and you’ll be hooked.
Upon his signing, the social media of Dodgers fans was filled with trumpet emojis. Even the venerable Dieter Ruehle posted a video of him playing the trumpet solo on the keyboard.
In the pantheon of Dodgers entrance and walk-up songs, this immediately moves to the top of a playlist that has become ingrained in the hearts of fans who have come to associate the brief clips of music with the enduring heroics of their players.
From the late great organist Nancy Bea Hefley playing “Master of the House” for Orel Hershiser … to Kenley Jansen revving up the crowd with “California Love” … there is a rich history of Dodgers being identified by their accompanying music.
Díaz chose it in 2018 when he played for the Seattle Mariners. When that became his 57-save breakout season, his wife advised him to keep it. After being traded to the Mets, he became so loyal to the song, he even asked it to be played in an empty Citi Field during the 2020 pandemic season.
In ensuing seasons the scene went viral, highlighted by an actual performance by Timmy Trumpet last summer. Expect the Dodgers to invite Mr. Trumpet to Chavez Ravine, maybe even for the opening series. Like so many things they have staged during these consecutive championship seasons, it will be an event.
2. ”We Are Young” for Clayton Kershaw
The pitcher is retired, but the song still warrants celebration on an emeritus basis.
Quick question: Has any Dodgers entrance hymn endured as long as this one? Dodgers fans have adult children as old as this song.
Another quick question: When you heard this song for the last time in the final months of this past season, did you surprisingly feel tears?
The perfect anthem for the perfect pitcher.
3. ”Bailalo Rocky” for Roki Sasaki
It’s not really a song, it’s a chant, bailalorocky, bailalorocky, bailalorocky with the “Rocky” sounding like, “Roki.”
It was chosen for the famously unhip Sasaki by Miguel Rojas in spring training and, by the time the kid pitcher returned from the disabled list to save playoff games, the fans were chanting it and dancing to it like few celebration songs in Chavez Ravine history.
“You can see it in Dodger Stadium … it was amazing,” Rojas told reporters before the World Series. “So electric, dancing on the bleachers in left-center field … I’m hoping everybody starts dancing to that song when Roki comes to pitch.”
And thank you, Mamiko Tanaka, for making it happen.
“The coach of the Dodgers was nice enough to introduce me to Shohei, and I said to him, ‘Why did you choose my song?'” Bublé explained in an interview on "The Today Show." “And very quickly he just turned to his wife … and it was his wife that chose it.”
Bublé added, “I’ll take it!”
He and about 4 million others.
5. ”Baila Conmigo” for Freddie Freeman
It played before Freeman’s game-winning grand slam in Game 1 of the 2024 World Series.
It played before Freeman’s game-winning home run in the 18th inning of Game 3 of this year’s World Series.
The horn solo at the beginning of this catchy tune has come to represent two words to Dodgers fans who now bounce to its beat.
Greatness coming.
6. "La Leche Materna” for Kiké Hernandez
Just like Hernandez’s Dodgers contributions, this tune saves its best for last.
The final 30 seconds of the song sound like, “Kiké, Kiké, Kiké” over and over again.
It’s weird, but also as powerfully effective as, say, a double play fly ball to end a World Series game.
7. A rotation of songs for Mookie Betts
Betts has walked out to a varied playlist, but his selections are included here because he can boast of one walk-up tune unmatched in baseball history.
He steps to the plate accompanied by an unreleased song written by Snoop Dogg just for him.
8. ”Amen” for Max Muncy
The chorus of this country song that accompanies Muncy to the plate appropriately begins, “Somebody say a prayer for me … ”
Considering all of his injury issues during his eight-year Dodgers career, fans have heeded that call.
Considering he holds the Dodgers record with 16 career postseason homers, those prayers have been answered.
9. ”Squabble Up” for Will Smith
His current Kendrick Lamar song is cool, but Smith is on this list in honor of a previous walk-up song that endeared him to Dodgers fans as that rare player who can laugh at himself.
This Will Smith once walked up to the theme from “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.”
While the Giants have been quiet on the free-agent market, they could look to upgrade their roster via trades, and they have their eyes on an All-Star National League second baseman.
The Giants and Seattle Mariners have emerged as the front-runners to acquire Brendan Donovan from the St. Louis Cardinals, The Athletic’s Katie Woo reported, citing sources familiar with negotiations.
The 28-year-old Donovan has been a solid contributor for the Cardinals during his four-year MLB career, and he earned his first All-Star nod last season.
In 118 games last season, Donovan slashed .287/.353/.422 with 32 doubles, 10 homers and 50 RBI. In 2024, he recorded career highs in doubles (34), home runs (14) and RBI (73).
While Donovan primarily played second base in 2025, he predominantly played left field in 2024, so he would provide first-year manager Tony Vitello with a versatile option.
Per Woo, the Giants and Cardinals have discussed several top prospects who could be part of a potential Donovan deal, including left-handed pitcher Carson Whisenhunt and 2025 first-round draft pick Gavin Kilen, who played for Vitello at Tennessee.
Whisenhunt, 25, made his long-anticipated MLB debut last season and struggled over 23 1/3 innings with the Giants. He posted a 5.01 ERA and just 16 strikeouts in five starts. But MLB Pipeline still had him ranked as San Francisco’s No. 7 prospect to end the season.
Kilen, a middle infielder who ranks as the Giants’ No. 3 prospect, hit .205 in 10 games with Low A San Jose after being drafted No. 13 overall.
But Woo also reports, citing multiple team sources, that the Cardinals won’t trade Donovan unless they are “blown away by the return.”
So the Giants will have to come to the table with a strong offer and beat out the Mariners, who have one of baseball’s best minor league farm systems.
At the moment, Casey Schmitt is slated to get most of the reps at second base in 2026, but he underwent left wrist surgery this offseason and won’t start camp on time in February. He should be ready for spring training, though.
“We don’t think he’ll be slowed during spring training at all. He should be fine,” general manager Zack Minasian said on the “Giants Talk” podcast earlier in December. “I thought Casey made a lot of positive strides last year: At-bat quality, learning a new position, there’s still some upside there, and I’m excited to see what he can do going forward.”
If the Giants acquire Donovan, he could split time at second base with Schmitt, while both players move around the field, making use of their versatility.
The New York Post's Jon Heyman reported Saturday that the 22-year-old right-hander "is highly coveted in trade talks" with the Mets valuing Tong "highly" but "listening."
Fellow right-hander Nolan McLean, meanwhile, "is viewed as off-limits" with outfielder Carson Benge "close to that," Heyman added.
Tong went 2-3 with a 7.71 ERA in five starts this past season. He rose through the Mets' farm system, starting the year with Double-A Binghamton before elevating to Triple-A Syracuse in August and New York by the end of the month.
Tong's MLB debut on Aug. 29 against the Miami Marlins was a 19-9 win for the Mets. He allowed four runs (one earned) on six hits while striking out six and walking none.
His next four starts were mixed. Tong's final outing, a 10-3 loss at the Chicago Cubs, saw him last two innings while surrendering five runs on seven hits with two walks to one strikeout.
"Tong could use a little more minor league time, but with improvement in command and refinement of a third and maybe fourth pitch, the sky’s the limit," DeMayo wrote. "Without that development, there is a non-zero chance for some reliever risk."
The New York Mets have agreed to a two-year deal with veteran infielder Jorge Polanco, a person with knowledge of the agreement told The Associated Press on Saturday.
The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the deal was pending a physical and had not been announced.
Polanco hit .265 with 26 home runs and 78 RBIs this year for the Seattle Mariners. It was the 32-year-old’s second season with Seattle after a decade with the Minnesota Twins.
Polanco’s arrival comes after the departures of outfielder Brandon Nimmo, closer Edwin Díaz and first baseman Pete Alonso left New York without three of its fan favorites. Polanco’s deal is worth a reported $40 million.
Last year, Polanco was mostly a designated hitter and also played second base, but New York’s biggest current need in the infield may be at first after Alonso’s exit. The Mets acquired second baseman Marcus Semien in a trade for Nimmo, and Francisco Lindor is a fixture at shortstop.
Polanco was an All-Star in 2019 for Minnesota, and he hit a career-high 33 home runs in 2021. He had surgery in October 2024 to repair his left patellar tendon, and the Mariners declined his $12 million option for the 2025 season. But they brought him back for $7 million, and he produced one of his best offensive seasons.
The Yankees are re-signing Amed Rosario, according to multiple Saturday reports.
YES Network's Jack Curry first reported the deal, which is a one-year contract.
The pact is reportedly for $2.5 million. The New York Post's Jon Heyman and The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal were among those to report the salary terms.
Rosario can earn another $250,000 in incentives, according to ESPN's Jorge Castillo.
Rosario, 30, slashed .303/.303/.485 with one home run and five RBI in 16 regular-season games for the Yankees this past season.
He especially crushed left-handed pitching, slashing .302/.328/.491 with four home runs and 15 RBI in 52 games across two teams.
Rosario is "likely to get reps" behind third baseman Ryan McMahon, against left-handed pitching and elsewhere, Curry added.
New York landed Rosario before the 2025 MLB trade deadline in a July 26 deal with the Washington Nationals.
He signed a one-year, $2 million contract with the Nats last January and slashed .270/.310/.426 with five home runs and 18 RBI in 46 games for Washington.
Rosario's career started with the Mets. He played for New York from 2017-20 before stints with Cleveland (2021-23), the Los Angeles Dodgers (2023) and Tampa Bay (2024), Cincinnati (2024).
The Mets and Padres are "engaging" in trade talks, according to a report Saturday by The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal, Dennis Lin and Will Sammon.
Right-handed starting pitcher Nick Pivetta, outfielder Ramón Laureano and three relievers -- right-handers Jeremiah Estrada and Mason Miller and left-hander Adrian Morejon -- are San Diego's reported players in discussions with New York.
The Padres, meanwhile, are reportedly inquiring about the Mets' younger MLB players and all top prospects.
The Mets had "substantial" trade talks with the Athletics about Miller, whom the Padres ultimately landed at the 2025 deadline in a July 31 deal.
Miller was a 2024 All-Star with the Athletics. In his 22 regular-season games with the Padres this past campaign, he allowed two runs on seven hits (one homer) while striking out 45 and walking 10 across 23.1 IP. The 27-year-old is under club control through the 2029 season.
Meanwhile, Pivetta, 32, signed a four-year, $55 million contract with the Padres after splitting his career's first leg on the Philadelphia Phillies (2017-20) and Boston Red Sox (2020-24).
In his 31 regular-season games this past campaign, Pivetta went 13-5 with a 2.87 ERA over 181.2 IP. He had a career-high 5.3 WAR and personal-best 0.985 WHIP.
Pivetta has an opt-out clause after the 2026 season, and a player option following the 2027 campaign.
The Baltimore Orioles originally signed Laureano, 31, last February on a one-year, $4 million contract with a team option for the 2026 season. The Padres landed him in a July 31 trade and exercised his club option in early November.
Laureano logged 50 regular-season games with the Padres this past year, slashing .269/.323/.489 while adding nine home runs and 30 RBI. He totaled 24 home runs, 76 RBI and a /.281/.342/.512 slash line in 132 games (82 with Baltimore).
Morejon, 26, was a 2025 All-Star and has been with the Padres for the past decade. He defected from Cuba in October 2015 and signed with San Diego the following July, working through the minor leagues before making his MLB debut July 21, 2019.
In 75 regular-season games this past year, Morejon totaled a career-best 2.08 ERA and 0.896 WHIP across 73.2 IP.
Estrada, 27, has been with the Padres since they claimed him off waivers in November 2023. In two seasons with the Padres, he has a 3.22 ERA and 1.119 WHIP over 139 games (134 IP).
The Mets are signing veteran infielder Jorge Polanco on a two-year deal, according to multiple Saturday reports.
The Athletic's Will Sammon first reported the agreement, which is worth $40 million, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.
Passan added that Polanco is expected to play first base and designated hitter.
Polanco, 32, slashed .265/.326/.495 with 26 home runs and 78 RBI in 138 regular-season games for the Seattle Mariners this past season.
"There's also somebody like a Jorge Polanco, who I think is a creative choice actually," Sammon said this week on SNY's Baseball Night in New York. "Everybody thinks of that guy as a third baseman, maybe a second baseman in this market. I think he could play some first base, too. And that's not really the name that jumps to people's minds, but he's a pretty good offensive player and I feel like his defense is a little bit underrated. I know he's taken some groundballs at first base. It's just a possibility."
He rebounded from his 2024 campaign with Seattle in which he slashed .213/.296/.355 while adding 16 home runs and 45 RBI across 118 games.
Polanco spent the first 10 years of his career with the Minnesota Twins. He slashed .269/.334/.446 with 112 home runs and 447 RBI in 832 regular-season games.
The Twins originally signed Polanco, who is from the Dominican Republic, as an international free agent in 2009.
Dodgers players celebrate after winning Game 7 of the World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays on Nov. 1. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Step into the Dodgers’ team store, turn to the right, and you’ll be staring at Shohei Ohtani.
Not in person, of course. But amid all the jerseys and caps and T-shirts, there is a commercial playing on a loop, with Ohtani waving his fingers through his hair and winking as he displays the product he is endorsing: the top-selling skin serum in Japan.
“Take care of your skin,” the narrator says. “Live life to the fullest.”
Life is good at Dodger Stadium. In the store at the top of the park, you can buy a bottle of skin serum that retails for $118, or World Series championship gear including T-shirts and caps for $54 and up, hoodies for $110 and up, and cool jackets for as much as $382.
If you’re a fan of any team besides the Dodgers, you might despise all the money they spend on players. On Friday after the Dodgers introduced their latest All-Star, closer Edwin Díaz, I asked general manager Brandon Gomes if they really could buy whatever player they wanted.
“Our ownership group has been incredibly supportive, so if we feel like it’s something that meaningfully impacts our World Series chances, we’ve had that support all the time,” he said. “We’re fortunate to be in that position.”
The Dodgers’ owners spend money to make money, and they wisely hired Andrew Friedman a decade ago to tell them where to spend their money. Sounds simple, but some owners do not spend money wisely, and some do not spend money, period.
And sometimes you do both, and it just does not work out.
In the last decade the Dodgers have made the playoffs every year. Take a guess: What other Los Angeles pro team has made the playoffs the most during the last decade?
It’s the Clippers — eight playoff appearances, no championships and now a disaster.
The Dodgers have won three championships over the last decade. You might not remember that the Dodgers’ owners were ridiculed within the industry for spending $2 billion to buy the team in 2012.
At the time I asked co-owner Todd Boehly how he would define successful ownership of the Dodgers.
“You’re not really asking me that, are you?” he said then. “The more World Series we win, the more valuable a franchise it is, right?”
The Dodgers were valued at $8 billion last year by Sportico.
They signed Díaz for three years and $69 million. I asked Gomes what winter signing he recalled as the biggest during the five years he pitched for the Tampa Bay Rays.
Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, left, and Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes welcome star closer Edwin Díaz during his introductory news conference Friday. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
In 2014, he said, the Rays signed closer Grant Balfour: two years and $12 million — after the Baltimore Orioles withdrew a two-year, $15-million deal following a physical examination.
It’s not just the Rays, or even the small markets. The New York Mets’ spending rivaled the Dodgers last season, but the Mets missed the playoffs and lost free agents Díaz, Pete Alonso and Tyler Rogers this week alone. The New York Yankees sound oddly supportive of a salary cap. The Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs talk like big-market teams but do not spend like them.
At the Angels’ team store Friday morning, five customers looked around the team store, where all jerseys sold for 50% off. The attraction at the store Saturday: photos with Santa.
The Angels have not made a postseason appearance since 2014, and their acquisitions so far this offseason: a formerly touted infield prospect once traded for Chris Sale, a talented young pitcher who missed this past season because of injury and another pitcher who finished third in Cy Young voting in 2022 but has not pitched in the majors in more than 18 months. They’ll likely pay those three players less than $4 million combined.
In March, Anaheim Mayor Ashleigh Aitken invited Angels owner Arte Moreno to join her in “an open and honest conversation about the future of baseball in Anaheim.”
This week when the future of the Angel Stadium site came up during an Anaheim City Council meeting, Aitken mused about asking city residents “how much of a priority is it to have the land tied up with a baseball franchise,” Voice of OC reported. (The Angels’ stadium lease extends through 2032, and the Angels have the right to extend it through 2038.)
So consider this a timely holiday reminder for Dodgers fans to give thanks for this ownership group, for what the Dodgers are doing now is exceptional and extremely rare.
It would be nice if the Dodgers made more of a commitment to family affordability — and also if the Dodgers did not charge $102.25 for “an iconic photo op with the 2024 and 2025 World Series trophies" — but their attendance nonetheless hit 4 million for the first time.
This is a Dodger town, and the team is the toast of the town. The Dodgers are the biggest winner in American pro sports right now.
The owners are winners too. On Thursday, Boehly’s company staged its holiday party, and the musicians included Eddie Vedder, Bruno Mars, Anthony Kiedis, Brandi Carlile and Slash. Live life to the fullest, indeed.
The Mets and Tyler Rogers will not be reunited after the right-hander agreed to a deal with the Toronto Blue Jays, according to multiple reports.
New York was interested in re-signing Rogers after he left for free agency this offseason, but he agreed to a reported three-year, $37 million contract, with a vesting option that would take his contract to $48 million, to play for the defending American League champs.
Rogers, 34, pitched well for the Mets after being acquired from the Giants at the trade deadline.
In 27.1 innings across 28 games, Rogers had a 2.30 ERA (3.32 FIP) and 1.09 WHIP.
With Rogers off the board, the Mets will look elsewhere to try and shore up their bullpen behind closer Devin Williams.
Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, left, and general manager Brandon Gomes, right, pose with star closer Edwin Díaz at an introductory news conference at Dodger Stadium on Friday. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
At the start of the winter, the assumption was that top free-agent closer Edwin Díaz would fall out of the Dodgers’ preferred price range.
Knowing they needed bullpen help, however, the Dodgers decided to reach out with interest anyway.
What followed will go down as one of the most surprising outcomes of this MLB offseason. And, for the Dodgers, their latest in a string of big-name, star-player acquisitions.
Even though the Dodgers initially had doubts about their chances of landing Díaz — especially on the kind of relatively shorter-term deal they were seeking in their hunt for relief help — circumstances changed, Díaz’s market evolved, and they went from dark horse to front-runner.
On Friday, it all culminated in a Dodger Stadium news conference, the once-unexpected union between the two-time defending champions and three-time All-Star right-hander being made official as Díaz’s three-year, $69-million contract was finalized.
“It wasn’t easy,” Díaz said of his free agent process, which ended with him leaving the New York Mets after a decorated seven-year stint. “I spent seven years in New York. They treated me really good. They treated me great. But I chose the Dodgers because they are a winning organization. I’m looking to win, and I think they have everything to win. So picking the Dodgers was pretty easy.”
That didn’t mean it came as any less of a surprise.
Early on this winter, the Dodgers signaled a hesitancy to hand out another long-term contract to a reliever, after watching Tanner Scott struggle in the first season of the four-year, $72-million deal he signed last winter.
And though they gradually grew more open to the idea, giving serious consideration to Devin Williams before he signed a three-year, $51-million deal with the Mets two weeks ago, the thought of landing Díaz seemed far-fetched.
After all, the 31-year-old was widely expected to receive a four- or five-year deal, having already opted out of the remaining two seasons on his record-breaking five-year, $102-million contract with the Mets to become a free agent this winter. Also, since he had turned down a qualifying offer from the Mets at the start of the offseason, the Dodgers knew they’d lose two draft picks (their second- and fifth-highest selections) to sign him.
“We checked in from the get-go,” general manager Brandon Gomes said. But, he acknowledged, “the opportunity to add somebody of this caliber to what’s already a really talented bullpen was something that we weren’t sure was going to be able to actually come to fruition.”
Turned out, a few factors were working in the Dodgers’ favor.
First, the Mets weren’t willing to give Díaz a longer-term deal, either. Instead, in the wake of the Williams signing, they were reportedly offering only three years for a similar salary as the Dodgers. Not coincidentally, it was only entering last week’s winter meetings — mere days after Williams’ Dec. 3 agreement with the Mets — that Gomes said talks started to intensify.
“Having those conversations and making sure you’re in there and [letting him know], ‘Hey, we’re really valuing you, and if things make sense on your end, great, we’re here’ — that was the biggest thing,” Gomes said. “Making sure you’re exploring all avenues, because you don’t know how things are gonna play out.”
Another benefit for the Dodgers: They had advocates close to Díaz vouching for the organization.
The Dodgers' new star closer, Edwin Díaz, speaks at his introductory news conference on Friday at Dodger Stadium. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Díaz said he received rave reviews about the club from both his brother Alexis (who spent most of last year with the Dodgers, after they acquired him from Cincinnati following an early-season demotion to the minors) and his Team Puerto Rico teammate Kiké Hernández (a longtime Dodgers fan favorite who is currently a free agent).
“They treat every single player the same,” Díaz said of the message he received. “That’s really nice, [especially] knowing they have a lot of great players, future Hall of Fame players. … That’s really good. That’s how a winning clubhouse is.”
Ultimately, it all led up to a rather swift signing process on Tuesday morning, one in which the Dodgers gave Díaz the highest average annual salary for a reliever in MLB history ($23 million per year) but kept the terms to three years and were able to defer more than $13 million of the total guarantee.
“I think once Devin came off the board, it was like, ‘OK, let’s continue to explore the different options,’” Gomes said. “Obviously having no idea what conversations had gone on up to that point between Edwin and other clubs, it was more about: ‘Hey, we’re here if there’s something that makes sense. And we would love to have you join our group.’ And fortunately enough, everybody’s interests were aligned on that.
“That’s why you shouldn’t play the game of assumptions, and just do the due diligence on the front end,” Gomes added. “Sometimes things work out, sometimes they don’t. But having those conversations and making sure you’re doing the work that’s needed to really understand the situation is important, especially when you see situations like this play out.”
Now, the Dodgers will put their faith in Díaz to play a leading role in their quest for a World Series three-peat.
He will be the club’s designated closer — a role they have been hesitant to bestow upon any one reliever since the departure of Kenley Jansen (the only MLB reliever with more saves than Díaz since his debut in 2016).
“For us, we have a high bar. To name someone the closer, you have to be one of the best. You have to be elite and dominant at what you do,” president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said.
The team’s expectation is that Díaz's presence will elevate the rest of the bullpen, too, giving a more defined late-game structure to a relief corps that ranks just 21st in the majors in ERA last season.
“It allows Doc and our coaching staff to kind of put guys into spots leading up to that,” Gomes said, “knowing that it doesn’t really matter who’s in the ninth, that we’re gonna like the matchup.”
Perhaps the biggest news from Friday’s introduction: Díaz still plans to enter games to his iconic walk-out song, “Narco” by Timmy Trumpet — which Gomes described as “probably the most electric walkout song in the game.”
“I can’t wait, the first game of the season, coming in the ninth with Timmy Trumpet and getting the W for the Dodgers,” Díaz said.
A few weeks ago, that scene felt like an unlikely vision.
But now, anytime the sounds of trumpets echo around Chavez Ravine in the summers to come, they will serve as a reminder of the team’s latest free-agent coup — one more unexpected than almost all the rest.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — All-Star third baseman Maikel Garcia and the Kansas City Royals have agreed to a five-year, $57.5 million contract that includes a club option for a sixth season, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press on Friday.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the contract is pending a physical. Garcia was arbitration-eligible for the first time in 2026, so the deal essentially buys out his arbitration years and potentially his first two years of free agency.
The 25-year-old Garcia is coming off a breakout season both in the field, where he won his first Gold Glove playing alongside All-Star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., and at the plate, where he hit .286 with a career-high 16 homers and 74 RBIs.
While the Royals have prioritized landing outfield help in the offseason — they agreed to a $5.25 million deal with Lane Thomas on Thursday — they also wanted to ensure they maintained their franchise cornerstones. That began with re-signing catcher Salvador Perez to a $25 million, two-year contract in November, and it continued by keeping Garcia through at least the 2030 season.
He also is capable of playing shortstop and second base, and Garcia even dabbled with playing in the outfield last season.
By keeping him in the fold, the Royals also solidified what has been one of the better infields in baseball. Witt is coming off a second consecutive All-Star appearance and Gold Glove, Perez is a nine-time All-Star and five-time Gold Glove-winner, and first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino just had the best season of his four-year big league career, hitting .264 with 32 homers and 113 RBIs.
It also follows a trend of the Royals keeping their own. Each of those four players was signed and developed by Kansas City.
The Royals failed to make the playoffs last season, but they did finish 82-80, the first time they have had consecutive winning years since going to back-to-back World Series in 2014 and ’15. And with a talented pitching staff set to return, and young position players on the upswing, there is optimism that Kansas City can get back to the postseason in 2026.
Former Mets closer Edwin Diaz was introduced by his new team, the two-time defending World Series champion Dodgers, on Friday afternoon and spoke with reporters about his decision to leave New York for Los Angeles.
"I want to say thank you to the Mets organization for what they did for me the last few years. Really, really happy what I did there," Diaz said.
"Now, we are in a new family, we are with the Dodgers. Came here to win. That's my goal, try to win another World Series with this great team. I'm really happy to be here."
Diaz mentioned that he spoke with his brother, Alexis, who played nine games for LA in 2024, before signing his three-year, $69 million deal on Tuesday. He noted that Alexis telling him how well the Dodgers treat players was a selling point.
"Yeah, I did talk to Alexis a little bit when the conversation was getting more close to signing with the Dodgers," Diaz said. "He told me they are really a good organization, they treat every player like they are all really good players, that was something I was looking for. He told me great things about the Dodgers, make it easy for me."
Diaz added that it "wasn't easy" to leave the Mets after the past seven seasons, but he made the decision based on wanting to win a title.
"It wasn't easy, wasn't easy. I spent seven years in New York," Diaz said. "They treat me really good, they treat me great. "I chose the Dodgers because they are a winning organization. I'm looking to win and I think they have everything to win. Picking the Dodgers was pretty easy."
The three-time All-Star was originally acquired by the Mets in December of 2019 in a blockbuster trade with the Seattle Mariners. After a rough first season in New York, he grew into one of the best closers, if not the best, in baseball. Over his six seasons (not counting his injury-missed 2023), Diaz recorded 144 saves with 538 strikeouts and owned a 2.93 ERA.
Los Angeles now adds Diaz (and his iconic walkout song, which he confirmed will come with him to the West Coast) to shore up its bullpen in 2026 as they look to become the first team to win three consecutive World Series titles since the Yankees from 1998-2000.
Edwin Díaz was asked how hard it was to leave the Mets and pick the Dodgers
"It wasn't easy. I spent 7 years in New York. They treat me really good, they treat me great.
I chose the Dodgers because they're a winning organization. I'm looking to win. And I think they have… pic.twitter.com/OiMzeYo3z4
Following the end of his introductory news conference, Diaz posted a message to Mets fans on his Instagram account.
"New York, New York. The city that never sleeps and that’s forever shaped me. Thank you for seven incredible years in your city," Diaz wrote. "Thank you Mets fans for the love and support you showed me over those seven memorable years. It has been the biggest honor to wear the Mets uniform and sound the trumpets in Queens, NY. I’m grateful to the ownership, coaches, staff, teammates, and fans that my family and I met along the way. You’ll always be such a special part of our journey."
Pete Alonso donned a new shade of orange for the first time Friday, when the Orioles formally introduced the veteran slugger on the heels of a five-year, $155 million free-agent deal that raised some eyebrows across the league.
And less than 24 hours after issuing a heartfelt farewell message to Mets fans via social media, Alonso discussed his departure from Queens and why he pursued a move down to Baltimore.
"As the offseason progressed and we got further along, this partnership was head and shoulders above everybody else," Alonso said. "This park, this city, this organization, everything combined just clicked. It was the perfect fit for me -- not just as a player, but for family life as well. Every single box, this place checks."
While it's unclear if the Orioles were the only serious bidder willing to meet Alonso's demands of a long-term contract at top dollar, he was undoubtedly sold on their pitch and offer.
It's also worth noting that the Mets reportedly didn't make a formal offer to Alonso. As a result, they're searching for a different first baseman who can provide sufficient power and defense.
Consider this a tall order, too, since the Mets just parted ways with their all-time leader in home runs. In seven seasons with the club, Alonso slashed .253/.341/.516 with 264 homers, 183 doubles, and 712 RBI over 1,008 games.
He also made five NL All-Star appearances, earned Rookie of the Year honors in 2019, and won the Home Run Derby twice.
The Orioles are banking on Alonso to boost a lineup that finished last in the AL East last season, with a record of 75-87.
Their young nucleus -- headlined by Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, and Jackson Holliday -- remains intact, but a postseason berth in 2026 isn't guaranteed.
Nevertheless, Alonso is looking forward to the change of scenery and the opportunity to lead a new clubhouse. He signed the second-largest contract in Orioles history.
"I've played on a couple winning teams. You need talent, you need some young guys, a mix of veterans, and commitment from top-bottom," Alonso said. "For me, there's no hesitation. Like, 'Yup, that's the team, these are the people. Baltimore's it.'"
Alonso will need to wait a while for his first game as a Citi Field visitor next season, as the Mets aren't scheduled to host the Orioles until Sept. 14-16.
