Category: MLB

The Royals have a left field problem. In 2026, their left fielders collectively hit .211/.316/.316, a wRC+ of 80 that was fourth-worst in the league. The year before that they ranked last in the league in production from the left field position. Even when they made the playoffs, it was despite some poor hitting from their left fielders, who finished with the fourth-worst wRC+.

The team could use an upgrade from Isaac Collins, who significantly regressed from a solid rookie performance in Milwaukee. The Royals have a lefty-heavy lineup, so a right-handed bat would fit well. But the league has a shortage of quality right-handed bats. Veteran Taylor Ward is a right-handed hitting outfielder who has shown an ability to get on base, with some solid power. Could he be a potential free agent target for the Royals?

Ward was a late bloomer who didn’t have his first full season as a regular in the big leagues until age 28 in 2022. He hit 23 home runs with a .360 on-base percentage and a career-high 3.5 rWAR that year. His numbers took a slight dip in 2023, and his season ended prematurely when he was hit in the face by a pitch in July, ending his season. He bounced back to hit 25 home runs the next year, then set career-highs in home runs (36) and walks (75) in 2025.

The Angels shipped Ward to the Orioles last offseason for pitcher Grayson Rodriguez, a seemingly steep price to pay for one year of the outfielder. His power mysteriously vanished, and he hit just seven home runs in 111 games with the Orioles. They traded him to Seattle, and his numbers fell off a cliff. He went 11-for-88 (.125) with just one extra-base hit. He finished with a very healthy on-base percentage of .359, and his plate discipline was better than ever. He posted a career-best 16.3 percent walk rate for the year, while cutting his strikeout rate to 21.3 percent. However, his .311 slugging percentage was the lowest of any qualified hitter, and his 102 wRC+ was his worst since he became a regular.

Ward’s 2026 performance is pretty head-scratching but he could be a good candidate for a bounce-back season. He made some adjustments with the Orioles, with a shortened, slower, flatter swing to make more contact, with an extremely patient approach. He had the fourth-best walk rate, the lowest swing rate in baseball last year, and he has one of the lowest chase rates. When he swings, he frequently hits the ball the other way. He had one of the lowest pull rates and highest oppo rates in baseball. He is also one of the best hitters at “squaring up” on the ball.

So where did his power go? He did hit for modestly more power on the road, hitting six of his seven home runs away with a .365 slugging percentage. He also suffered a hand bruise in April that may have lingered throughout the year. But his exit velocity dropped significantly this year, his hard-hit rate dropped, and his barrel rate dropped. His approach also seemed deliberate in trading power for contact.

Ward has had wide platoon splits, hammering lefties in the past, but he did not show much of a split this year. He is a slightly below average defender in left, certainly passable out there. He will turn 33 next month, so most likely he is looking at a short-term deal. I would guess he lands a one-year contract worth around $8-12 million with perhaps an option for 2028, but a team willing to bet on him could offer two years.

At the very least, Ward could provide the ability to get on base the Royals sorely need at the top of their lineup. But his lack of power with a changed approach should be a concern. Ward may actually be too patient at the plate, a problem that seemed to plague incumbent left fielder Isaac Collins.

Ward could be an intriguing buy-low candidate for a Royals team that needs more production from the left field position. His plate discipline and ability to get on base would be welcome additions, particularly from the right side. If his power outage was partly the result of his hand injury and an overcorrection in his approach, there could be some upside here. A one-year deal with an option would be a reasonable gamble, giving the Royals a chance to upgrade left field without making a major long-term commitment.

Though the Mariners have rarely used the Triple-A level as a hotbed for their top prospects under the Dipoto regime, the Rainiers serve as a fascinating ground for the grinders on the fringes of big league rosters. Whether you like it or not, many of the minor league signings that seem meaningless in February end up getting serious playing time for a variety of reasons (see: Connor Joe) and have a real impact on wins and losses over the course of the season. It may not be the flashiest selection of names, but Tacoma’s crew put together a respectable 2026 season and deserves some time in the spotlight as we approach the end of our 2026 minor league coverage.

Team Performance

First Half Record: 33-42 (+36 Run Differential)

Second Half Record: 39-36 (-19 Run Differential)

Final Record: 72-78

Team ERA: 4.87 (fourth in Pacific Coast League)

Team OPS: .795 (fifth in Pacific Coast League)

Stat to Know: Led the Pacific Coast League with 197 home runs and walks allowed with 567

Season Stars

Patrick Wisdom

Wisdom, in his first season back stateside since 2024, was far and away the most impressive hitter in this Rainiers lineup all season. For as paltry as his performance was for the big league squad, the veteran slugger posted some truly absurd power output for Tacoma and was a big reason why the club led the PCL in homers this past year. Launching 35 homers in 348 plate appearances, Wisdom smashed his way to a 1.039 OPS on the year and was one of the most formidable bats in the entire league. Given his age and defensive limitations, it’s unclear what Wisdom’s role will be with the Mariners moving forward, but his 2026 season was assuredly one to remember.

Brock Rodden

A site favorite here at LL, Rodden has been a reliable contributor in this system for years now and was rewarded with a major league debut late last season. Though he went through some adjustments in his limited time, the switch-hitting Rodden has the ability to play all over the diamond defensively and brings some sneaky pop to the plate offensively. His year in Tacoma (which was shortened due to injury) saw him pop 19 homers and 22 doubles, good for an OPS of .841 across ~400 plate appearances. Rodden will try his hand at stealing a base here and there, but he’s probably a faster base runner than he is a base stealer at this point in his career and doesn’t project to be a major threat on the basepaths. Though it’s no guarantee Rodden locks down the utility role for the M’s heading into 2027, he’s an outstanding piece to have on the 40 man roster as depth and seems like a near lock to get playing time at some point next season.

Colt Emerson

The boy wonder that appears to have a major league spot secured for next season, Colt Emerson’s 2026 was a rollercoaster on many different levels. Starting the year off with a massive 8 year, $95 million dollar contract extension before he’d even debuted in the big leagues, Emerson struggled through injury for much of the year and had multiple stints on the IL. Even when he was on the field, it sounds as though Emerson may have downplayed the severity of his injuries over the course of the season and likely explains a lot of his relatively mundane output at the plate. Despite these warts, Emerson still managed an OPS of .816 on the season and played immaculate defense at shortstop, showing the M’s enough to commit to him long term and crown him as the incumbent shortstop for the next decade. Hopefully a fully healthy Emerson can show off his talents with more consistency next year and give him a fresh start as a major leaguer.

Name to Remember

Brennen Davis

It’s easy to forget just how good Brennen Davis was this past season. The oft-injured outfielder with immense talent posted an .887 OPS for the Rainiers when he was on the field, but unfortunately for both Davis and the Mariners, the outfielder found himself back on the injured list for most of the season and was unable to appear in a game after hitting the injured list on June 2nd. Despite his injuries, Davis is arguably the best right handed corner outfield option they presently have on the roster at this point in time, and though they can’t rely on him over the course of an entire season, to have him as a potential flyer towards the bottom of the roster could pay dividends come next season and makes him an interesting player to follow heading into 2027.

This is a follow-up to Monday’s piece, where we discussed what the core of he starting rotation for the Atlanta Braves might look like heading into the 2027 season. Now, it’s time to assess what may be in store for the pitchers who are outside of that core, such as the free agents, the young arms, and how badly the Braves need to add to their rotation going forward.

The Free Agents:Tyler Mahle, Martin Perez

This pair of veteran arms stabilized the Atlanta rotation in 2026, though neither qualified as needle-movers when they were acquired. The Braves saw upside in both left-hander Martin Perez, who signed over the winter, and trade deadline acquisition Tyler Mahle, the right-hander who was simply incredible across nine regular season starts and two more in October.

To say both men outperformed reasonable expectations is an understatement.

Perez, 35, broke camp with Atlanta but was quickly designated for assignment after just three appearances. He ended up rejoining the Braves and enjoying a bounce-back season. He finished the year 9-9 with a 3.04 ERA in 142 innings and played a pivotal role in keeping the rotation on track throughout the dog days of summer. 

The dictionary definition of a crafty left-hander, Perez eclipsed 20 starts for the ninth time in his 15-year career. Atlanta went 7-3 in his final 10 starts as Perez out-pitched his peripherals to the tune of a 2.26 ERA. During that same stretch, he owned a 4.09 FIP and a 25/33 K/BB ratio across 51.2 IP. Nevertheless, Perez routinely found a way to get the job done until a late-season back issue shelved him during the final week of the regular season.

Perez was praised not only for his work on the mound but his leadership and willingness to work with many of the younger pitchers on the staff. While on-field production is the primary selling point for free agents, the Braves also value the way a savvy veteran like Perez can help elevate a clubhouse. At the very least, Perez should be in line for another one-year, $3.5 million deal like the one he signed last winter. Whether or not Atlanta is the team to give it to him this time around remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, Mahle ended up being the most productive pitcher dealt at a trade deadline that had no shortage of starters changing teams. While the Braves were hoping to land former Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom in a deal with the Texas Rangers that may have involved Strider heading the other direction, it was Mahle who came over from the San Francisco Giants and upgraded the Atlanta starting five.

Mahle, who turned 32 in September, went 4-1 with a 1.99 ERA in nine regular season starts – with five of the 12 earned runs he allowed coming in his final outing. He saved some of his best outings for the playoffs, where he fired seven innings of one-run ball against the Philadelphia Phillies in the Wild Card round and held the Los Angeles Dodgers to two runs across 6.1 IP in the Division Series.

Simply put, Tyler Mahle ended up being a masterstroke for Anthopoulos and there is a strong case to bring him back. Mahle made $10 million on the one-year pact he signed with the Giants and could very well double that AAV on a multi-year deal on this trip to free agency, where he figures to have no shortage of suitors.  

The Upside Plays: Didier Fuentes, AJ Smith-Shawver

Among the in-house candidates with immense talent and capable of earning a spot in rotation this spring, two stand out – Didier Fuentes and AJ Smith-Shawver.

Fuentes, the seemingly unflappable 21-year-old, will come to camp with considerable buzz after pitching his way into a high-leverage role in the Braves bullpen last season. He started just one game in 2026 before settling into life as a major-league reliever. Fuentes allowed four runs in three innings during that one starting assignment but posted a 2.05 ERA across 70.1 IP in relief. His fastball, which touched triple digits, is complemented by a nasty slider and changeup (which plays like a split-finger) and helped him rack up 11.3 K/9 in his rookie season.

That outstanding work made his ill-fated 2025 debut a distant memory. Atlanta rushed him to the majors at just 20 years of age after all five members of the Braves’ starting rotation landed on the IL by mid-summer. Fuentes was knocked around for 20 earned runs in just 13 innings. All that adversity did was light a fire under the young hurler to come to camp having made adjustments and ready to prove himself.

While the Braves benefited from Fuentes’ incredible work as a reliever, they still plan to explore his future as a part of their rotation. Perhaps the biggest factor to consider is how he will respond to the increased workload. Signed out of Colombia as an international free agent in 2022, Fuentes never pitched more than 75.2 IP in the minors and the 80.1 IP he just logged between the regular and postseason represents his career-high.

“We view him as a starter long-term,” Anthopoulos said. “We’ve been consistent with that. We know he can be a great reliever. We just saw it. On the one hand, you have a bird in the hand that you know you’ve got a really impactful bullpen arm that we believe it’s real and that he can continue to do this, health-permitting, of course.”

Fuentes proved he can get outs in the majors last season. The fact that Atlanta can and will try him as a starter again may impact their winter pitching search, but it shouldn’t. If there is anything that the past few years and trips to the postseason have proven, it’s that a team can never have too many starting pitchers.

“Those are things we have to weigh,” Anthopoulos said. “We think there’s tremendous upside… The development of both the changeup and the slider are pretty encouraging. What we don’t know is the workload. Can he handle 25-plus starts, 150 innings? All those things, we’ll have to have those conversations. And then, can you do that in 2027? Are you going to go from 70-plus innings and jump to (a larger workload)? Those are all things that we’ll have to talk about.”

AJ Smith-Shawver is the other young arm who could immediately factor into the rotation in 2027. 

If it feels like Smith-Shawver has been around forever, it’s probably because he’s already pitched in parts of four seasons in the big leagues prior to his 24th birthday later this month.

The stuff is electric and appears to be back to pre-surgery form. Smith-Shawver underwent Tommy John surgery in June of 2025 but made it back to the Braves roughly 13 months later. While his results may not look encouraging – 6.61 ERA with a 6.00 FIP, seven homers allowed and a 16/27 BB/K ratio in 31.2 IP – his four-seamer averaged 96.1 mph. That was up slightly from 95.5 mph prior to elbow surgery last season.

It typically takes a pitcher another year to really feel fully recovered from the ligament transplant surgery. If Smith-Shawver can turn his considerable arm talent into results, the Braves could feel confident enough in his abilities to break camp with him in their rotation.

The Field: JR Ritchie, Owen Murphy, Joey Wentz, Ray Kerr, Cam Caminiti and others

Atlanta has a host of other arms who could end up starting games, but none are locks to do so. To be fair, outside of JR Ritchie, it seems a longer shot for the rest of the candidates to log considerable innings if all goes according to plan this season.

Ritchie, 23, was impressive in flashes but finished the season with a 1-5 record and a 4.91 ERA in 17 appearances – 11 of those starts. A groundball pitcher who works with a deep repertoire of pitches, Ritchie struggled to miss bats consistently and his command would disappear at times. He was forced to pitch with a lot of traffic on the bases as a result of a 13.2 BB% and was punished by hard contact when he made mistakes in the zone.

All of that is to be expected from a young pitcher getting his first taste of the majors. What he does with that experience will be key. A high-aptitude hurler who has shown the ability to put everything together at the minor league level, Ritchie could be the first line of defense if an Atlanta starter is forced to miss time this season.

Among the rest of the arms who will come to camp with something to prove or a chance to contribute are veteran left-handers Joey Wentz and Ray Kerr. Atlanta originally drafted Wentz and traded him away only to re-acquire him in 2025. He lost last season to a torn ACL suffered in Spring Training but could help in either the bullpen or as a starter – again, if need be.

Kerr became an October hero with his exceptional playoff performances as an opener against both the Phillies and Dodgers. He missed the better part of two seasons while recovering from Tommy John but showed up and showed out for Atlanta upon returning in the second half. The opener assignment is likely the height of his starting duties in an ideal world, but the Braves know they can call on Kerr if needed.

There are also a handful of prospects who could eventually work their way up the ladder this year. Owen Murphy debuted in 2026 and figures to begin next season at Triple-A and remain on the ready. Atlanta’s top pitching prospect is lefty Cam Caminiti, the 2024 first-rounder who advanced to Double-A last season. Caminiti turned 20 in August, so it would likely take the stars aligning or a rash of injuries before the Braves call him up. 

One other young arm to keep an eye on is Briggs McKenzie. Yet another left-handed prospect, he made just seven starts this season due to a nerve issue in his elbow. Atlanta sent him to the Arizona Fall League where he is racking up strikeouts but also testing his mettle against many older and more polished prospects. McKenzie, who turned 20 last month, seems earmarked for a return to High-A Rome and a promotion to Double-A Columbus next season. Since crazier things have happened, he seemed a worthy inclusion to this list.

Final Assessment: More is needed

Atlanta’s current starting rotation options are many. However, there is a clear need for more proven commodities in order to assemble a rotation capable of not only navigating the challenges of the regular season but also being equipped for its biggest test – surviving and even thriving in October.

With Sale fronting this group, it is already set up with one of the game’s greatest competitors and a pitcher who seems to be turning back time. Perhaps most impressive about Sale’s 2026 campaign was the fact he was throwing harder than ever at age 37. Whether or not he can do it again will be a major factor in Atlanta’s success next season.

Even though deGrom was unwilling to waive his no-trade clause and come to Atlanta at the deadline, it’s fair to wonder if the Braves and Rangers might revisit that deal. Texas’ reported interest in Strider could help the money line up, but there’s risk for both clubs as each pitcher has an extensive injury history. For Atlanta, it may be as simple as which rotation horse they’re willing to bet on and invest in staying healthy. That would make it a calculated risk.

The free-agent market behind Skubal will boast a lot of veterans, but many who come with performance and durability questions of their own. If the Braves are going to move the needle and elevate their rotation, the trade market may be the clearest route. Atlanta has restocked its farm system in recent years and should have the means to acquire a controllable starter if they’re willing to pay the prospect price one will likely command.

While there are plenty of clubs that would gladly trade places with Atlanta when it comes to pitching depth, the Braves don’t want to get caught in the familiar position of running out of pitching when it matters most. What they do this winter could go a long way toward solving that problem before it even presents itself.

The San Diego Padres president of baseball operations, A.J. Preller, will be in Las Vegas over the next several days with other baseball executives and player agents to plan the offseason following the 2026 season.

That job will be complicated this year by the looming labor unrest and lockout that will almost definitely begin late on Dec. 1. The only previous precedent for this was the 2021-2022 offseason, when the last Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) was set to expire. During that short window of 2021, teams spent $1.9 billion before the lockout began.

Although that free agent class was deeper, there are still over 180 free agents on the market looking for jobs before the next season begins. When the GM Meetings begin today there will be 22 days of free agency before the deadline for the expiration of the current CBA. Obviously, not all of those players will sign over that time, but a good portion should find homes for next season.

The top of the list, starting with starting pitcher Tarik Skubal, will pull down big deals with big-market teams but that might not happen right away. Selling to the highest bidder often takes time, and with nothing having happened yet, the window is closing for complex deals that require teams to match bids with one another.

Super agent Scott Boras, who has multiple players on the market, likes to shop his prizes around and often works out megadeals late in the game.

Padres need a lot of help

There is no hiding the fact that the Padres are in the market for starting pitching. After losing all but one starter to free agency, the Friars have an entire rotation needing pitchers. With the exception of Randy Vásquez, A.J. Preller has not only four spots to shore up but also depth to build.

Assuming that Joe Musgrove will pitch in 2027, there is no guarantee he will be a starter. His balky elbow, unwilling to bounce back quickly from the stress of pitching, has kept him from being a starter so far. 

Yu Darvish has not given any definitive indication of his decision about pitching in the future. He was seen around the team and at Petco Park during his rehab last season but he has made no public statements about his contract next season.

LHP Luis Gutierrez was added to the 40-man roster to avoid losing the starter to free agency but remains unproven beyond the Double-A level. It is unlikely he would win a job out of spring camp.

RHP Kannon Kemp is probably the closest other minor league pitcher to reach the major leagues but is also probably not an option to start the year.

LHP JP Sears is a depth piece, at best. He has not come close to being able to contribute effectively to the Padres since his arrival in 2025.

RHP Jhony Brito is returning from Tommy John surgery but was unproven as a starter or a reliever prior to his injury. He will definitely get a test during the run-up to the 2027 season but his contributions is a question at this point.

Everyone else on the roster is a reliever. It seems to have been decided that trying to return Mason Miller to a starter role is not wise and the Padres don’t seem inclined to try it.

Based on the unwillingness of the organization to trust Vásquez in the playoffs last season, they don’t view him as anything other than a back-end starter. His inconsistency so far in his career has undermined any trust the organization might have developed in his ability. He should be viewed as a 4 or 5 guy in the rotation.

Preller has a lot of work to do

With all that, it seems obvious the Padres need to sign multiple pitchers and investigate the trade market as well. Not knowing the budget that Preller has to work with, we have to assume the team can’t splurge on any big contracts. What capital they have has to be spread out over multiple pitchers, not just one big investment.

Starting with the meetings in Las Vegas, the organization has to lay the groundwork for multiple deals and it wouldn’t hurt to sign or trade for some help quickly. 

After declining the option for Nick Pivetta, the Padres signaled their unwillingness to risk significant money on an injured pitcher without any guarantees or protections. It remains possible Pivetta could return on an incentive-laden contract that provides protections to the organization. If that is the case, there is no way to depend on that player for anything going forward.

Based on an article written by Tim Britton, Johnny Flores, Jr. and Chad Jennings, in The Athletic, the list of free agents contains top level Skubal and is then followed by multiple starters who rank below him in performance.

As a group, they ranked the players and listed projections for their 2027 contracts. Of the pitchers listed, here are some options that we could see in Padres brown and gold. The ages listed are for the 2027 season.

RHP Sonny Gray –the 37-year-old will probably get a two-year deal due to his age. He was still highly effective in 2026 with a 2.72 ERA in 169 innings. Their projection was for two years, $55 million.

RHP Freddy Peralta –the 31-year-old had an up-and-down 2026 but finished strong with the World Series-contending Tampa Bay Rays. He had a 4.44 ERA over 169 innings with the New York Mets and the Rays.

RHP Michael King – after opting out of his contract with the Padres, there is still a chance they re-sign King. He is projected to receive a three-year, $78 million deal. That would give him similar money to what the Padres already had him signed for but with another year added.

RHP Clay Holmes – the 34-year-old was once a reliever but his elite sinker helped him successfully convert to starting. His 2026 season was interrupted by injury and he was unable to return to his old form after recovery. He is best suited to a team with a strong infield defense due to his high ground ball rates. The projection is for three years, $57 million.

RHP Michael Soroka –the 29-year-old has had multiple injury issues since his arrival in the big leagues and his durability is in question. When healthy, he has been in the 80th percentile in chase rate, hard-hit rate and walk rate. He threw 116 innings in 2026 with a 3.41 ERA. His projection is for three years, $54 million.

LHP Shota Imanaga –the 33-year-old has been plagued by home run issues since his debut in 2024. He ranks as a middle rotation starter or better and pitched 174.1 innings last season with a 3.77 ERA. He is projected to get a two-year, $34 million deal.

RHP Nick Martinez – Since leaving the Padres, Martinez has turned himself into an All-Star. He was Tampa Bay’s No. 2 starter during their pennant-winning season. He isn’t a strikeout pitcher but is effective nonetheless. In 180 innings in 2026, Martinez had a 3.10 ERA. He is projected to receive a two-year, $38 million contract.

RHP Kaima Taira –the 27-year-old Japanese free agent enters the MLB class after throwing 146 innings for the Seibu Lions. He was a reliever for much of his career but converted to a starter this past season. He pitched to a 1.36 ERA with a big arsenal of pitches and a fastball that tops out at 100 mph. His diminutive size (5-foot-8) could be a concern, as well as his brief track record as a starter but it will be up to teams to decide what they are willing to risk.

RHP Hiromi Itoh –At29 years old, the Japanese free agent has been durable and consistent in his career so far. He threw 172.2 innings in 2026 with a 3.18 ERA for the Nippon-Ham Fighters.

There are other starters on the list but these seem the most suited for the Padres needs. Signing one or two should be the minimum goal before the onset of the lockout. Any trades made by the team will be dependant on how other organizations value their minor league talent as well as which roster players they are willing to deal. The trade market is much more of a question at this point with the limitations the team has with their farm system.

The next 22 days will be interesting to watch. And it might be the last fun baseball fans have for awhile.

Former Phillies catcher Bob Boone has died at the age of 78.

In addition to being a crucial member of the 1980 World Series Championship team, Boone’s accomplishments in a Phillies uniform include three All-Star appearances, two Gold Gloves, and induction into the Phillies Wall of Fame.

Boone played ten seasons with the Phillies, seven with the Angels, and two with the Royals before later managing for both the Royals and the Reds.

He was also a part of the very first three-generation family in baseball history. His father, Ray, played 13 seasons with the Detroit Tigers. His sons, Bret and Aaron, also played in the majors. Bret played for 14 years and Aaron played for 12. Aaron is currently the manager for the Yankees.

The Jays traded for Andrés Giménez (along with Nick Sandlin) on December 10th, 2024, sending Spencer Horwitz and Nick Mitchell to the Guardians.

• Mitchell played Double-A this year, hitting .261/.361/.362 split between the Guardians and Nationals systems. He was one of four players shipped to Washington for Foster Griffin, who made 9 starts for Cleveland, with a 5.19 ERA. He had a 3.48 ERA in 10.1 innings in the playoffs.
• Horwitz was flipped to the Pirates. He’s hit .258/.348/.398 in 222 games for the Pirates, with a 1.4 bWAR. Not quite the numbers you want from a first baseman.
• Sandlin pitched 16 innings for the Jays in 2025 and 8 for the Angels in 2026.

Giménez played 101 games for the Jays in 2025, hitting .210/.285/.313 (with occasional streaks of power) and playing terrific defense at second base. .

This year, he moved to shortstop after Bo Bichette left as a free agent.

The MLB offseason is off to its typical slow start but things should start ramping up as soon as this weekend with the conclusion of the General Manager meetings.

Tuesday, November 17th, is the deadline for teams to add players from within their organizations to their 40-man roster and thus protecting them from the Rule 5 draft. Just a few days after that on Friday, November 20th, the non-tender deadline will pass; this is when teams must make a decision to offer contracts to all of their arbitration eligible players.

Of course there is also the looming threat of the MLB offseason being halted by the expiration of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) and thus a lockout. When the previous CBA expired on December 2nd, 2021, the free agency market moved with rampancy that was unprecedented and many expect for the same thing to happen again.

Comings and Goings

Once the World Series concluded, the following players left via becoming free agents: Freddy Peralta, Gavin Lux, and Jorge Mateo. The Rays declined their mutual options on Nick Martinez and Cedric Mullins, making them both free agents. Nick Madrigal and Jonathan Heasley were outrighted from the 40-man roster while Alexander Alberto and Jack Suwinski were both added.

Tampa Bay also had to activate all of their players from the 60-Day Injured List, placing Jacob Melton, Edwin Uceta, and Ryan Pepiot back on the 40-man roster. That gives the Rays a total of 39 players on their 40-man roster.

So with all that being said, let’s take a look at the current state of the roster and who may be on the move and who is likely to stay, at least for now.

Who is on the bubble

There is a lot to be said for where the Rays could make marginal improvements throughout the roster despite this being a team that made it to the World Series. The team could use more impact players on the offense. With the departure of Nick Martinez and Freddy Peralta and the uncertainty regarding the health of Ryan Pepiot and Shane McClanahan leaves the starting rotation in disarray. Top prospects like Carson Williams, Brody Hopkins, and Jacob Melton who were expected to become key cogs of the 2026 Rays roster didn’t pan out. That doesn’t mean any of those five players are at risk to leave the organization yet.

Pitchers on the bubble: Alexander Alberto, Joe Boyle, Garrett Cleavinger, Alex Cook, Jesse Scholtens, and Edwin Uceta

Alberto and Boyle both have Major League arsenals but Alberto only just reached Triple-A this past season, his 6th year in professional baseball while Boyle has some of the worst command in the game.

Cleavinger went from being one of the top relievers in the Rays bullpen in 2025 to being among their least dependable in 2026. He is projected to make $3.7M in his final year of arbitration eligibility.

Cook was a 40-man roster addition last November and made a handful of appearaces for Tampa Bay this season.

Scholtens served as depth for the Rays this season, with the team calling upon him whenever they needed innings whether they were competitive or not. He had a 5.45 ERA over his final 10 appearances (38 IP) of the season.

Uceta was the de facto Rays closer in 2024 in a breakout campaign but lost some of that polish in 2025. There was hope he could refind that success this past season but he was never able to get started as he dealt with a shoulder issue early on. Uceta did begin a rehab assignment but was not able to recover from his injury. Following the season, the Rays announced that Uceta had undergone surgery and would be out for at least the first couple of months of the 2027 season.

Position Players on the bubble: Jadher Areinamo, Carson Williams, and Nick Fortes

Fortes was the Rays primary catcher for the majority of the 2026 regular season and performed well for the team. However, the Rays made a major upgrade at the trade deadline, acquiring Liam Hicks from the Miami Marlins and Fortes was relegated to backup duties. The backup catcher role fits Fortes perfectly, but the soon to be 30-year old backstop is projected to make $3.4M in arbitration this offseason while Kenny Piper is seemingly ready to take over that role.

Areinamo was a 40-man roster addition last November, despite having just reached Double-A that season. The infield prospect was talented enough that the Rays believed a team would take him in the Rule 5 draft. However, his offensive production took a step back in 2026 while his K% soared. There is still reason to believe in him going forward as will only turn 23 a few weeks from now.

Carson Williams was supposed to be the shortstop of the future for the Rays, but he has squanded the limited opportunities thus far presented to him. He was called up to the Rays active roster three different times in 2026 but only started in 11 games and hit .108/.154/.216 over 40 PA. Late in the season, when the Rays were pushing for the playoffs, the team signed Jorge Mateo and relied on him over Carson Williams.

There is no worse time to hit free agency than while major league owners are colluding to hold down player salaries. And that’s awful luck. Because normally, there is no better time to hit free agency than after the best season of your life. For Jack Clark, who enjoyed a Hall of Very Good career, that confluence of circumstances is how he ended up in the Bronx.

Clark had a monstrous 1987 season with St. Louis, leading the majors in walks, on-base percentage and OPS+. Despite the larger environment working against him, he parlayed that outstanding season into a two-year free agent deal that brought him to New York. He had a productive, though controversial 1988 campaign in New York before the Yankees dealt him to San Diego.

Name: Jack Clark
Born: November 10, 1955 (New Brighton, PA)
Yankees Tenure: 1988

Clark debuted with the San Francisco Giants in 1975 as a 19-year-old and spent nearly a decade on the West Coast. During that time, he made a pair of All-Star games and earned MVP votes in three seasons.

Prior to the 1985 season though, the Giants dealt him to St. Louis. Great timing for Clark. One thing he’d never done was play in the playoffs. Thanks in no small part to Clark, who earned his third All-Star game nod and won his first Silver Slugger while manning first base, the Cards won 101 games and the NL East.

Clark hit .381 for the Cards in the NLCS, which they won in six games over the Los Angeles Dodgers. And it was Clark who propelled St. Louis to the World Series. He came to the plate in the top of the ninth in Game 6 with two runners on, the Cards trailing 5-4.

Clark’s three-run home run won the game and the pennant for St. Louis, sending them to the World Series against Kansas City. Unfortunately for Clark, his Cardinals came up on the losing end of a seven-game series. Worse, he was on the wrong end of a couple of controversial plays in the ninth inning of Game 6, with St. Louis needing three outs to win it all. Jorge Orta, leading off the inning, hit a grounder to Clark, who shoveled the ball to pitcher Todd Worrell, covering first base. In a time before instant replay, if an umpire missed a call, there was no recourse.

Shortly after, Clark and Cards catcher Darrell Porter let a ball fall between them in foul territory (Porter later said he’d called Clark off). Eventually, two runs scored and the Royals evened the series, before blowing the Cards’ doors off in an 11-0 Game 7 rout to win the World Series.

Injury cost Clark the bulk of the ’86 season but he bounced back in a big way in 1987. Amid a baseball-wide offensive explosion, Clark put together the best season of his career. He set career marks in walks, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS+, won his second Silver Slugger and finished third in NL MVP voting. It was his 10^th consecutive season (he went on to have 14 such) with an OPS+ of at least 116, a testament to his consistent offensive excellence.

That offseason, unable to get a deal done with St. Louis, Clark inked a two-year pact with the Yankees for $3 million, with another $1 million in incentives. Clark’s deal broke a spending freeze amid what we now know was a collusion-riddled era. Gene Orza, associate counsel for the MLBPA, threw cold water on the idea that Clark’s signing meant there was no collusion happening.

“Collusion is price-fixing, not location-fixing,” he said. ”Collusion takes different shapes. Why aren’t a lot of clubs interested in Jack Clark? Why aren’t they fighting to get him? Sure, Jack Clark moved. But he moved at a price that was fixed. Clubs are making offers, but they’re all the same offer. The Basic Agreement between the clubs and the players is based on the premise that there will be competition for a player’s services. The numbers aren’t competitive; they’re orchestrated.”

With the move to the American League, Clark found himself a designated hitter for the first time. But that summer, the Yankees dealt for Ken Phelps from Seattle. When Clark walked into the Yankee dugout in late July and saw his name penciled in to left field for the first time in over a decade, he lost his temper, yelling “What kind of —- is this?!” in front of a crowd that included sports writers.

Eventually, Clark made it clear he wanted to be traded, preferably back to the National League. Yankee owner George Steinbrenner publicly agreed in September to move Clark after the season ended, which is exactly what happened. The Yanks dealt Clark to San Diego a little over a month later.

In his lone season in the Bronx, Clark hit 27 bombs, drove in 93, and walked 113 times. The dingers and free passes led the Yankees, while only Dave Winfield drove in more runs. Clark was good for a 113 OPS+ and 2.8 rWAR, but the decline in numbers across all he board from his career year in ‘87 combined with his somewhat-surly nature to cast him as a bit of a disappointment in the minds of fans of that era.

Clark continued to rake in San Diego, where he played through the 1990 season. He then signed with Boston, where he played for two seasons. His 1992 campaign was awful, possibly influenced by ongoing bankruptcy proceedings. He signed with Montreal before the ’93 season but ultimately retired.

Shortly after retirement, Clark’s financial problems were solved. Years earlier, in November 1990, arbitrators ruled that the owners had colluded to suppress free agent salaries in 1985, 1986, and 1987. Among those affected was Jack Clark. After settlement negotiations, Clark received $4.4 million. The settlement, along with liquidating assets, allowed Clark to pay all of his debts.

After retirement, Clark ended up back in the majors, as the hitting coach for the Dodgers from 2001-03. He also dabbled in broadcasting, working for the Cardinals in 2009 and 2010.

Jack Clark was not a Yankee for long. And in a world without the 1980s collusion scandal, maybe he never ends up a Yankee. But in this world, he had a heck of a career, coming oh so close to becoming a World Champion whilst a Cardinal. Happy 71^st birthday, Jack Clark.

See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.

Well, yesterday’s free agent poll certainly generated a bunch of activity. Let’s see what y’all have to say about this one.

The Rangers currently have two catchers on their 40 man roster — Danny Jansen and Logan O’Hoppe. Jansen is a free agent after the 2026 season, and O’Hoppe is a work-in-progress as far as his defense goes, so the expectation is that the Rangers will need to add a catcher this offseason.

So how about Carson Kelly? He’s 32, so not ancient, though he is older than Jansen. Briefly a Ranger, when he slashed .235/.291/.343 in 31 games over the final two months of the 2024 season. Coming off two of the best seasons of his career with the Chicago Cubs, for whom he slashed .254/.335/.402 in 2025-26 over 846 plate appearances. A pretty solid offensive option behind the plate, as long as you don’t play him in September.

As far as the projections go, Baseball America has Kelly at 3 years, $32 million. Over at Fangraphs, both Ben Clemens and the median crowdsource have Kelly at $10 million per year, but Clemens says one year, $10 million, while the crowdsource says two years, $20 million. Kiley McDaniel has Kelly at 2 years, $17 million. MLB Trade Rumors has Kelly at two years, $20 million.

Let’s go with the two years, $20 million figure.

Would you want the Rangers to sign Carson Kelly to a 2 year, $20 million deal?

Cast your vote below…

Let’s switch gears for a moment from the pitchers I’ve been looking at and instead check out one of the top outfield free agents, former Mariners outfielder Randy Arozarena.

No question, Arozarena has talent. He’s a solid 3 or 4 WAR outfielder, generally good for 20+ home runs and 20+ stolen bases every year.

The red flag here is that 2026 was his best season. He batted .281/.381/.484 and led the American League in runs scored with 113, which was by far a career best (95 was his previous best). The .381 OBP was also a career high (except for .382 in only 76 PA in 2020).

Why a red flag? Because Arozarena’s going to turn 32 in February. Would you give a guy like this a four-year deal coming off his best overall season? MLB Trade Rumors has him projected for four years and $100 million and The Athletic has Arozarena at essentially the same, four years and $108 million. Interestingly, the article in The Athletic has Seiya Suzuki projected at the same figures. Suzuki is a few months older than Arozarena, as is Ian Happ.

Both Happ and Suzuki are better defenders than Arozarena, and at those figures I’d certainly rather have either of the two departing Cubs back than Arozarena, despite Arozarena’s base-stealing ability. Regarding that, here’s an interesting note from the MLBTR article:

Arozarena runs quite a bit more than Suzuki but is actually a good bit slower in terms of average sprint speed; Statcast measures Suzuki with a sprint speed of 28 feet per second, in the 63rd percentile of big leaguers. Arozarena is at 27.1 ft/sec, down in the 40th percentile. He’s an aggressive baserunner, however, and that’s manifested in the form of six consecutive 20-steal seasons.

I imagine Jed Hoyer and his baseball ops staff will have a look at Arozarena, who’s been a fan favorite everywhere he’s been. Ultimately I think they’ll probably pass on him, and that’s what I would do as well.

Sometimes in baseball, you get a rare trade that’s a win-win for both clubs. Anthony Molina’s 2026 consisted, in large part, of appearing to be part of one of those trades, as the Atlanta Braves only got a few innings out of him before eventually shipping him off to San Francisco so that they could get Tyler Mahle at the Trade Deadline.

Now it’s time to figure out what the Giants saw in Molina during his time in Atlanta that convinced them to send Mahle down South.

How Acquired

The Braves claimed Molina off of waivers back in December of 2025. They then outrighted him to Triple-A Gwinnett, which is where he started the season before eventually getting added to the big league roster to begin the month of May.

What were the expectations?

Simply stated: to provide a right-handed, low-leverage option out of the bullpen for a short period of time. Things didn’t go particularly well for Molina during his two-season stint with the Rockies (a combined -0.4 fWAR in a long relief role), so it wasn’t as if he was expected to come in and be lights out coming out of the ‘pen for Atlanta. As long as he could come in and eat an inning or two, everything would be A-OK for Molina and the Braves.

More broadly, Molina had two different-yet-similar seasons in Colorado before getting the boot. In 2024, he had a low strikeout rate, a not-so-good walk rate, but managed to avoid getting bricked by homers despite the whole Coors Field thing, leading to a bad-but-not-abominable 146 ERA-, 97 FIP-, and 110 xFIP-. In 2025, it looked like he made huge strides in avoiding walks… but it was really just because guy were blasting moonshots off him before he could walk them. His strikeout rate didn’t budge, and his pitching line was a 153 ERA-, 160 FIP-, and the same 110 xFIP-.

While there was the hope that the Braves could somehow fix him, there was little reason to expect him to serve as more than organizational depth.

2026 Results

Molina made a grand total of four (4) appearances for the Braves. He only made two appearances at Truist Park and one of those two appearances was actually a start — for the San Francisco Giants, after the Braves ended up trading him out West in order to acquire Tyler Mahle in what wound up being a very good trade for the Braves.

Anyways, the Giants figured out something with Molina (and the Braves did not) when it came to him being a starter as he actually finished the season having made a few really good starts for them, so this wound up being a bit of a win-win deal. Our old friend from McCovey Chronicles, Grant Brisbee, wrote a piece on how well Molina was doing for the Giants, in case you’re interested. It’s a gift link, so enjoy.

Anyways, as far as his stint in Atlanta went, it wasn’t exactly spectacular. He did pitch two scoreless innings against his old mates, the Rockies, on May 1, but he got dinged for two runs on three hits against both the Mets on June 14 and those very same Giants on June 16. Perhaps San Francisco saw something during that appearance that they liked because two weeks later, he was on the mound in Cobb County against the Braves.

All in all, Molina put together a 129 ERA-, 133 FIP-, and 97 xFIP- for the Braves in those three outings. Replacement level? Sure. But it was also better than the very low bar he’d set for himself in 2024-2025. The Braves had him substantially increase his curveball and changeup usage, and perhaps it helped a little.

The big thing, though, was that Molina went to the Giants and looked like a legitimate major leaguer. His fastball got tweaked, and he threw it a bunch more. He made five starts and one long relief appearance for the Giants, and four of those outings were fantastic. His line with his new team was a sparkling 91 ERA-, 64 FIP-, and 87 xFIP-, and he collected 0.9 fWAR in 29 innings. Wow.

Despite it being just 29 innings, Molina kind of had it all. He was throwing 96 mph as a starter, not walking guys, getting whiffs on his curveball, and even managing contact. It’s all certainly fascinating, and the Giants get to enjoy whatever Molina may turn into going forward, instead of Atlanta.

What went right?

Well, those two innings that Molina pitched in his Braves debut against his old friends from Colorado ended up being sneakily crucial, as Molina’s appearance bought the Braves some time and kept the deficit at 6-1 in the sixth inning and 6-2 in the seventh before the Braves turned it around late and ended up winning 8-6 in dramatic fashion. It’s the little things, sometimes.

Also, again, the Braves got Tyler Mahle for him in a trade, so that was cool for the Braves. And, Molina’s turnaround was very cool for him and the Giants.

What went wrong?

Molina ended up getting plenty of strikeouts for the Giants but that certainly wasn’t the case for Atlanta. Molina struck out two Mets batters during his appearance on June 14 and those wound up being the only two strikeouts that he would rack up during his time as a Braves pitcher. He was charged with more runs than he tallied strikeouts while a Brave, which isn’t exactly something that warms the heart.

His last outing with the Braves, which came against the Giants, was somewhat bizarre in that he somehow faced nine batters in two innings and avoided walking any of them while also not striking out any of them. He did get tagged for a homer by eventual teammate Willy Adames, so that probably wasn’t fun.

It’s possible to view the change of scenery as a sour grapes thing — why couldn’t the Braves have sent over someone but Molina, or figured out how to unlock Molina the way the Giants did — but we probably need to see him keep it up over longer than 29 frames before we can really get salty about it.

2027 outlook

While Molina pitched well down the stretch for San Francisco, he’s still going to be fighting for a rotation spot when (maybe if) Spring Training rolls around. It’ll be highly unlikely that the Braves get him back for a reunion, so that’s about it!

29 innings isn’t much, but he was so good that his early Steamer projection has bumped him into the generic “everyone’s a fourth-starter quality swingman until proven otherwise” tier. That’s quite a jump from organizational depth / replacement level arm, so hats off to him and the Giants. We’ll see if he can keep it up.

After a couple of years of sharing backup catcher duties with Garrett Stubbs, the Phillies hoped that in 2026 Rafael Marchan would be able to handle the job full time. Perhaps he could even help ease the burden on overworked, aging starter J.T. Realmuto.

That did not happen. Marchan was completely inept at the plate, got injured, and eventually supplanted once again by Stubbs.

The stats: .099/.137/.165 AVG/OBP/SLG, 2 HRs, 6 RBI, -0.7 WAR

What went right

Marchan graded out well defensively. He was above average in blocking, framing, and pop time.

What went wrong

He hit a home run in his first game of the season.

That turned out to be in no way predictive of the season he would have. He was incapable of reaching base the rest of the year, recording just nine hits (with zero doubles or triples) and two walks.

He did hit one more home run, which oddly landed right next to someone who was wearing a replica of his jersey. (Why?)

As he often does, Marchan spent time on the Injured List, suffering from tendinitis in his knee. By the time he returned in September, Stubbs had established a role as Aaron Nola’s personal catcher. Despite Marchan providing little value at that point, the Phillies kept him on the major league roster for the rest of the season which serves as a damning statement at the quality of reserves the Phillies had to choose from.

The future

The team will wisely look at alternatives for the backup catcher spot in the offseason. Marchan is still under team control, so he’ll likely be back with the Phillies in camp, though it is possible he gets dropped from the 40-man roster and winds up elsewhere. His defense is good enough to stick at the major league level, but even the best defender needs to have an OPS higher than .302.

Final grade: F

When the bar to clear is Garrett Stubbs, and you can’t clear it, you have failed.

The Tigers’ Kevin McGonigle and the Reds’ Sal Stewart won the AL and NL Rookie of the Year awards yesterday, respectively.

Chase DeLauter finished sixth and Travis Bazzana finished 11th. A good year for Guardians’ rookies, to be sure! You can view the vote totals here.

The Guardians will receive a compensatory pick at the end of the first round because Messick was on the Opening Day Roster and ranked in top 100 lists prior to the season.

Tonight is the Manager of the Year Awards, then Cy Young Awards Wednesday night (as well as Reliever of the Year), then MVP awards Thursday night.

One way that a team like the Orioles that’s in need of starting rotation help could address their problem is to just sign a pretty good starting pitcher who is, as much as can be believed about any pitcher, a decent bet to continue being pretty good. Mike Elias has steadfastly refused to do this even when it seemed absolutely necessary to the Orioles fortunes, attempting a variety of other schemes. There’s one that he hasn’t pulled off yet: Signing a reliever and turning that guy into a starting pitcher. This winter affords the opportunity to do that in the form of recent Padres pitcher Adrián Morejón.

If old rumors were to be believed, the Orioles had some interest in trying to pull off this caper after the 2024 season. That winter, then-Yankees closer Clay Holmes became a free agent and ended up signing a two-year, $26 million contract with the Mets, who turned him into a starting pitcher. The results went well for the Mets, with Holmes going on to a 3.44 ERA in 51 games; they traded him for a prospect when they were out of the race at the deadline this year.

Morejón enters this winter as one of the game’s potentially elite relief free agents. He’s on a three-year heater in terms of his results with the Padres, dropping a 2.58 ERA and 1.088 WHIP over the past three seasons combined. In 2026, this included a number of multi-inning relief stints – he threw 86 innings, which isn’t exactly a starting pitcher’s workload but is closer to the way there than a lot of relievers. He had been a starting pitcher in the past, before early 2021 Tommy John surgery.

In contrast to most of the high-end pitchers on the free agent market this offseason, Morejón is still fairly young. He’ll only be heading into his age 28 season next year, so the fear of decline in the back years of a contract will be less than it might be for some others. He should be able to keep up what he’s got for a few more years.

The Statcast page for this player is a thing of beauty. Look at all that red! He throws the ball hard. He’s got a great changeup. He gets batters to chase, he gets them to whiff, he gets a lot of ground balls, he doesn’t give up hard contact. Atypically for a reliever, he has a four-pitch mix – which is another part of why there are those who imagine him as a starting pitcher. Morejón has done it before. He might have the ability to do it again.

A willingness to convert Morejón into a starter could be something that will give a bidding team an edge over others, assuming that’s something that he wants to do. (I don’t know if it is.) It’s unlikely the Orioles will really outbid the field – but they do have opportunity in their rotation that other bidding teams may not. They don’t have an ace, they didn’t have a #2 caliber starting pitcher in 2026, and they don’t have a major league-caliber lefty ready to step into the rotation in any capacity.

There are varying opinions about just how much Morejón will cost. At MLB Trade Rumors, the projection is a five-year contract worth $80 million. That’s between Kyle Bradish and Shane Baz money. Those are big bucks for a reliever, especially one who isn’t even racking up saves. Not bad at all to get a good starting pitcher. FanGraphs projected three years and $72 million – a shorter deal with a much higher AAV. That makes him either a cheaper AAV than guys like Trevor Rogers, Michael King, and Freddy Peralta, or a much shorter contract term, lessening the back end risk.

On top of the money, there will be a draft pick penalty tied to signing Morejón. The Padres extended him a qualifying offer, one of two relievers to receive one heading into this offseason. That means that if the Orioles sign Morejón, they’d also give up their third-highest pick in next year’s draft, which would most likely be a mid-second round selection. The likely departure of Rogers will give the Orioles a compensation pick at the end of the first round.

I’d rather see the Orioles just get Rogers. The thing about that is, as we are all well aware in Birdland, that Elias hasn’t spent at the high end of the free agency market for pitching before. Even after making the big splash for Pete Alonso last offseason and making a couple of modest splashes with those Baz and Bradish extensions, it’s tough to imagine him ponying up for the Rogers level.

It’s not as hard to imagine Elias trying one of his galaxy brain ideas – signing Morejón because he’ll be cheaper or take fewer years than Rogers or Peralta or King – and turning him into a starting pitcher. If he doesn’t want to pay up for a proven starter, if he doesn’t want to bundle a bunch of prospects for a speculative upside play that doesn’t hit the upside while one of the prospects dashes from Low-A to Triple-A in one year, Morejón is there.

This wouldn’t be some completely out-of-nowhere idea on Elias’s; Morejón is bandied about as a possible starter conversion in basically any article about this year’s free agent class. There are also analysts out there, such as FG’s Michael Baumann, who think Morejón retains more value as a multi-inning reliever. Whether the Orioles need one of those is debatable, but I don’t think they’ll be spending $16-20 million per year for one in any case. Getting a discount off the market rate for a roll of the dice where if it doesn’t work out, any idiot could have told him ahead of time that this would be a bad idea? Now that’s speaking Elias’s language.