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We're still awaiting the official reveal of the 2026 Miami Marlins coaching staff, but these are the anticipated changes: Assistant hitting coaches Chris Hess and Corbin Day replacing Derek Shomon (now with the Chicago White Sox) First base coach Craig Driver replacing Tyler Smarslok (Washington Nationals) and Joe Singley (Baltimore Orioles) Bullpen catcher Harry Wilonsky replacing Chi Chi González On Thursday in winter ball, Jared Serna (Mexico) went 0-for-4 with a walk and Eric Rataczak (Australia) went 1-for-4. Only 125 days away from Marlins Opening Day. 🔷 The Marlins have signed two pitchers to minor league deals in recent days: right-hander Chris McKendry and right-hander Samuel Vásquez. Neither have prior MLB experience. McKendry has been knocking on the door at Triple-A for the past three years, though a lack of fastball velocity limits his perceived ceiling. Vásquez, on the other hand, occasionally touches 100 mph—he just doesn't really know where it's going. 🔷 Fish On First LIVE made its return on Wednesday, reacting to the Marlins' Rule 5 draft protection decisions and early free agent activity around the league. 🔷 FOF's Kevin Barral joined Jeremiah Geiger of Locked On Marlins to discuss the possibility of trading Edward Cabrera and the Marlins' pursuit of a veteran closer. 🔷 The Marlins will hold their annual Thanksgiving Distribution at loanDepot park this afternoon, providing meal boxes for 1,000 families in the Little Havana community. President of baseball operations Peter Bendix, president of business operations Caroline O'Connor and manager Clayton McCullough are all expected to participate. 🔷 The MLB non-tender deadline is today at 4:00 p.m. ET. Although Andrew Nardi is projected for a 2026 salary that's barely above the league minimum, MLB.com's Christina De Nicola previously reported that he is a likely non-tender candidate due to his lingering back injury. The Marlins 40-man roster is full, so non-tendering Nardi or anybody else would create the necessary room to acquire outside reinforcements. 🔷 La Gente del Barrio Foundation is bringing a celebrity softball game and home run derby to loanDepot park on December 6. The derby will feature Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and baseball's biggest Dominican stars, including Juan Soto, José Ramírez, Ketel Marte and Fernando Tatis Jr. With the derby being the main event, I'm perplexed that outfield seats aren't being sold (as shown below). Ticket prices start at $32. 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, Japanese infielder Kazuma Okamoto, Japanese right-hander Kona Takahashi and Korean infielder Sung-mun Song were officially posted for MLB teams. The posting windows for Okamoto and Takahashi close on January 4, while Song's window closes on December 21. The Women's Pro Baseball League held its inaugural draft, which included 120 overall picks. Nick Nelson of Twins Daily wonders whether the Minnesota Twins will do a reverse of their original Pablo López trade and ship him out for an impact bat. View the full article

The Miami Marlins have inked right-hander Samuel Vásquez to a minor league deal with an invite to major league spring training, as first reported by Chase Ford of Milb Central and confirmed by the player himself. Originally a Cleveland Guardians prospect, Vásquez was acquired by the Washington Nationals two years ago via the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft. In 2025, he split his season between High-A Wilmington and Double-A Harrisburg, posting a 3.16 ERA in 57 innings pitched (46 G/0 GS). He walked 11.9% of opposing batters—that is slightly worse than average, but an encouraging improvement from his 14.6% rate in previous MiLB seasons. The 6'3" Dominican is entering his age-26 season. Vásquez's fastball velocity averages approximately 98 mph, based on my video review of several Double-A outings. He complements it by throwing sliders away to right-handed batters and changeups at the bottom of the strike zone to lefties. He had massive platoon splits in 2025, allowing a .443 OPS to RHB compared to a .845 OPS to LHB. c2ok9p_1.mp4 This will be Vásquez's first time as a spring training NRI. Last spring, the Nats brought him over from minor league camp for one brief relief appearance on March 10. He was also included on Washington's Spring Breakout roster, but did not pitch during that prospect showcase. Given his mixed MiLB track record (career 5.07 ERA) and limited upper-level experience, it would be a shock if Vásquez broke camp with the big league team. More realistically, the Marlins are hoping he makes enough strides as a strike-thrower to earn a 40-man roster spot by the end of 2026. View the full article

One of the Royals' 13 arbitration-eligible cases this offseason became clearer on Thursday. The Royals announced on social media that they had reached an agreement with reliever James McArthur, and Anne Rogers followed up by confirming that the deal would be for $810,000, about $10,000 higher than his projected amount on MLB Trade Rumors. As Rogers mentioned, McArthur didn't pitch all of last season due to elbow surgery and subsequent recovery, which turned out to be longer than expected. However, the fact that he began a throwing program by the end of last season suggests he will likely be ready for Spring Training this season, barring any setbacks. After a brutal MLB debut in 2023 (he gave up seven runs on six hits and a walk in an inning of work against the Guardians on June 28th), he ended up posting a respectable 4.63 ERA and 0.94 WHIP in 18 appearances and 23.1 IP. He came alive at the end of the season and took on the Royals' closer role in 2023, saving four games. He also posted a 25.6% K rate, a 23.3% K-BB%, and a 2.78 FIP in 2023, indicating he was better than his ERA suggested. McArthur was the Royals' closer for a period of time in 2024 after Will Smith struggled out of the gate in the role. He ended up saving 18 games in 57 appearances. However, his K rate dropped to 19.8%, his K-BB% fell to 14.2%, and his HR/9 rose to 1.27 (it was 0.77 in 2023). As a result, his ERA was 4.92, and he eventually ceded the closer role to Lucas Erceg after the Trade Deadline. Like in 2023, the 28-year-old former Phillies draft pick posted a better FIP (4.17) than ERA. While strikeouts were inconsistent, he has a career CSW of 31.9% and his TJ Stats metrics were solid in 2024, despite the rough patches and high ERA. McArthur posted a 104 overall TJ Stuff+ with his sinker (65) and curveball (70) rating as elite pitches. He also had a slightly above-average zone rate (50.2%), and solid chase (30.1%) and whiff (28.3%) rates. Thus, there's reason to believe that if fully healthy and in a lower-leverage role, McArthur could thrive in 2026 as a middle-innings reliever for the Royals. Photo Credit: © David Richard-Imagn Images View the full article

The Royals were active on Thursday evening, the night before the non-tender deadline. Their significant move was signing free-agent reliever Alex Lange to a one-year deal, first reported by Royals beat writer Anne Rogers of MLB.com. The Royals made the signing official later in the evening. Lange only made one appearance for the Tigers in 2025, as he spent most of the year on the IL recovering from lat surgery in June of 2024. Due to that injury, he only pitched one inning in 2025 and 18.2 innings in 2024 with Detroit. However, in 2023, he not only appeared in 67 games and pitched 66 innings, but also posted a 3.68 ERA and 1.33 WHIP, and recorded 26 saves as the Tigers' closer. Control has long been an issue for Lange at the Major League level. He has a career walk rate of 13.5%. Even during his 2023 season, he posted a walk rate of 15.6% and a K-BB% of 11.8%. In his injury-plagued 2024 campaign, he allowed a walk rate of 18.9% and a K-BB% of 4.4%. Despite those issues, the Lee's Summit West High School alum remains an intriguing project for the Royals and pitching coach Brian Sweeney. He sports a career K rate of 27.2% and a career CSW% of 31.7%, according to Fangraphs. Furthermore, while he pitched primarily in Triple-A in 2025, he posted some intriguing metrics, according to his TJ Stats summary. Lange posted an overall TJ Stuff+ of 102, and all four of his offerings sported grades of 50 or over, with his sinker and knuckle curve sporting 60 and 56 grades, respectively. While his ability to find the zone was inconsistent (42.3% zone rate), he still generated a 42.2% whiff rate and a .266 xwOBACON in 23.1 IP with the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens. Lange's addition fills out the Royals' 40-man roster, which was at 39, after the additions of pitchers Ben Kudrna and Steven Zobac. However, some roster spots could be cleared by tomorrow's 3 p.m. non-tender deadline. Photo Credit: © Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK View the full article

After a third-place finish in National League Rookie of the Year balloting in 2024, Jackson Chourio had a slightly less impressive sophomore campaign. Plagued by some erratic swing decisions and a hamstring strain that cost him a month of playing time, Chourio still demonstrated a strong blend of power, speed and defensive ability, but his on-base percentage fell to .308. He put the ball in the air more often, but the majority of those extra fly balls went to the opposite field. The encore to Chourio's brilliant rookie showing yielded the sustained promise one might have hoped to see, but also some more difficult adjustments than expected. In one regard, though, Chourio did take the developmental step fans had hoped for. He became, by one measurement, the best hitter in the league against offspeed stuff. In fact, after being a total of 4 runs better than average on changeups and splitters in 2024, he was a whopping 14 runs to the good in 2025. In 2024, he batted .241, slugged .448 and whiffed on 34.2% of his swings against offspeed pitches. This season, he batted .431, slugged .810, and whiffed on just 27.6% of those swings. The change came because Chourio changed his timing a bit. Although his aggressive approach (his swing rate rose from 48.8% to 53.4%) would imply that he started earlier and would catch the ball farther in front of himself, in fact, he made contact about 1 inch deeper in the hitting zone against offspeed pitches and 2 inches deeper against breaking balls. That was with, as Statcast measures it, the same average bat speed on each pitch type in each season. You can see the way he effected that change by looking at what he did against fastballs. On heaters, his contact point remained constant, but his average swing speed spiked from 73.0 miles per hour to 74.3. Statcast reports swing speed at the moment when a player's swing intercepts the pitch (or, on a whiff, when they would have done so had they connected). Thus, although bat speed (the concept, as scouts evaluate it and players must train it) isn't inherently tied to timing, the stat you see if you visit Baseball Savant is. If a batter is making contact at the same point (relative to his body) while swinging substantially faster when they make contact, they started their swing a bit later. You can make the same inference if a hitter is swinging at the same speeds against given pitch categories but making contact deeper in the hitting zone, as is true of Chourio and offspeed or breaking stuff. That explains why Chourio was better in 2025 than in 2024, and on its own, it's a good thing to keep in mind. However, we also want to know why Chourio's ceiling against offspeed offerings is being the best hitter in baseball on them. To start that process, consider this chart: This plots a batter's average swing tilt (the angle between the bat's orientation at a specified point early in the swing and a hypothetical horizontal line running through the handle) against the percentage of swings against offspeed pitches on which the hitter's swing falls into what Statcast calls the Ideal Attack Angle range, from 8° to 20°. For those who are unfamiliar with attack angle, it's the angle at which the barrel of the bat is traveling at the intercept point on a swing, relative to the ground. As you can see, there's a strong, negative correlation between the input and the output. Against offspeed stuff, a flatter swing yields a greater likelihood of encountering the ball in the window where a swing is likely to generate squared-up, lofted contact. I've highlighted a few players at each end of the spectrum, to give you a sense of what each thing looks like. Guys who work steeply uphill on offspeed pitches tend not to catch them in the ideal window often, because hitters are more likely to be early on those pitches, and a hitter who already has steep swing tilt and is early on a pitch will end up with far too high an attack angle by the time the ball gets to them. Flat swings give a hitter more margin for error, because (relative to steep swings) the batter's attack direction (the angle of the barrel relative to an imaginary line from the mound to the plate at the intercept point) is changing faster than their attack angle as the bat passes through the hitting zone. Being fooled by an offspeed pitch produces a bigger change in attack direction (and a smaller one in attack angle) for a guy with a flat swing than for a guy with a steep one. Of course, it would be a leap in logic to assume that clustering around the ideal attack-angle zone automatically means producing more real value. In fact, it would technically be an erroneous one. Search for an individual-level correlation between attack angle, attack direction or swing tilt and production (here, we're using Statcast's Batter Run Value per 100 pitches as the proxy for production), and you won't find one—but that's because you'd be looking at the wrong thing. There are too many variables involved in producing value (even when we confine that definition to production against a specific pitch category) for swing tilt to shine through as a determining factor, for reasons we'll come back to shortly. For now, let's look at some data visually again—this time, in a table. Swing Tilt Range Fastballs Breaking Balls Offspeed 25° or Less -2.818 -2.026 -2.961 25-28° -2.31 -1.763 -2.711 28-31° -2.233 -1.746 -3.428 31-34° -1.634 -1.904 -2.852 34-37° -1.789 -1.244 -2.862 37° or More -1.547 -2.23 -3.201 That's the run value per 100 pitches (on swings only) for the whole league, broken down by pitch category and swing tilt. Yes, all the values are negative; taking a pitch is usually the better bet. All we need to focus on, though, is the relationship between the values. Notice that, for breaking balls and fastballs, the sweet spot for swing tilt is at the steeper end of the band. In fact, when it comes to heaters, the steeper, the better. That's almost true of breaking balls, too. Not so with offspeed pitches, though. The best value on those is in the 25-28° range. You don't want a slightly flat swing against offspeed pitches, but you don't want a very steep one, either. The best swings on those pitches are very flat or medium-steep. That's a compelling finding, but it's hard to parse. We can make it more manageable, as it turns out, by breaking things down by handedness and platoon split. Let's make a simple flat-versus-steep binary, just for convenience's sake. That way, we can focus on the variables of pitch category and platoon dynamic. Pitch Types RHH v RHP RHH v LHP Four-Seamers Whiff Rate RV/100 Whiff Rate RV/100 Steep 20.2 -1.813 17.2 -1.045 Flat 24.2 -2.415 23.3 -2.505 Sinkers/Cutters Steep 15.1 -2.173 16.2 -1.81 Flat 15.4 -2.448 16.6 -2.23 Breaking Steep 32.7 -1.788 30.6 -1.893 Flat 27.8 -1.878 22.7 -1.907 Offspeed Steep 35.9 -2.948 35.5 -3.165 Flat 26.9 -1.422 28.4 -3.132 Pitch Types LHH v RHP LHH v LHP Four-Seamers Whiff Rate RV/100 Whiff Rate RV/100 Steep 17.6 -1.396 20.8 -1.071 Flat 22.5 -2.874 22.6 -1.548 Sinkers/Cutters Steep 15.6 -1.202 17.7 -2.82 Flat 16.5 -1.845 15.8 -3.246 Breaking Steep 30.1 -1.553 33.8 -3.246 Flat 21 -0.957 30.2 -3.186 Offspeed Steep 32.1 -2.983 36.1 -2.693 Flat 25.4 -3.603 28.2 -4.851 This is a dense presentation of data, but I can break it down for you pretty quickly: regardless of batter handedness or platoon advantage, steeper swings do better on fastballs. That's a deeply counterintuitive finding, for most people, because fastballs come in flatter—but remember, we're not measuring the attack angle, here. A flatter attack angle is good and necessary against fastballs, but that stat captures timing. Swing tilt is a question of mechanics—of bat path—and steeper actual swings are more productive on heaters. Against breaking balls, righty batters with steep swings will whiff more, but they make up for that with better results on swings where they make contact; swing tilt doesn't make a big difference for righties hitting breaking balls. For lefty hitters, however, it does—at least against right-handed pitchers. In those settings, flat swings are better. Against southpaws, left-handed batters struggled mightily against breaking balls, pretty much regardless of swing tilt. Now, we come to offspeed stuff. Against those pitch types from left-handed pitchers, righty batters have the same dynamic as against breaking stuff from either handedness of pitcher. Steep swingers whiff much more, but basically make up that value on their other swings. Against righties' offspeed offerings, though, look at the glaring gap between flat and steep swingers. The righty hitter with a flat stroke is much, much better against same-handed offspeed offerings than is the one with a steep swing. Lefty batters, by contrast, do much better on offspeed stuff if they employ a steep swing, regardless of which hand the pitcher throws with (and despite whiffing more than their flat-swinging counterparts). Let's tackle that dynamic a bit more completely, by breaking things down in one more way. Here's the run value per 100 swings for both lefties and righties, on pitches on which they're either far around the ball (with an attack direction oriented at least 10° to their pull field) or not yet square to it when they hit it (with an attack direction of at least 10° toward the opposite field). I've also broken those swings down into three outcome categories, to illuminate how that value is generated. Attack Direction Heavy Pull In Play % Foul % Whiff % RV/100 (All Swings) RV/100 (In Play Only) RHH 26.1 35.5 38.4 -1.984 12.953 LHH 23 39.4 37.6 -2.572 12.95 Heavy Opposite In Play % Foul % Whiff % RV/100 (All Swings) RV/100 (In Play Only) RHH 30 44.4 25.7 -2.625 6.051 LHH 29.6 44.3 26.1 -3.151 4.651 The simplest way to frame this is: lefty batters depend more on being on time to generate value than do righties. When righties mistime it and either hit the ball the other way or pull it at steep horizontal angles, they do better than do lefties. Thus, a righty batter with a flat swing but a dangerous overall skill set is in really good shape to hit well against offspeed pitches. This has a direct application to Chourio, of course, but I learned a great deal about the nature of swings and their interactions with pitch type and platoons in the process. As our understanding of swing data evolves, we'll keep unearthing many unexpected insights into the complexities thereof. Today's is that steeper swings work against fastballs, and flatter ones can do damage against softer stuff—as long as you're a right-handed batter. That's how Chourio became excellent against offspeed pitches in 2025, but it's also why he might need to tweak his swing and generate a bit more tilt in it for 2026. View the full article

Among the developments that took shape for the 2025 Chicago Cubs was the establishment of long-term options on either side of the infield dirt. Coming off an impressive rookie campaign in 2024, Michael Busch further cemented himself as the team's first baseman of the future. His offensive output shot up all over the board while he continued capable of providing reliable defense. On the other side, it wasn't without its bumps (including an early demotion to Iowa), but Matt Shaw showed enough flashes to get another run as the team's starter at the hot corner in 2026. His glove is his primary asset (12 Defensive Runs Saved) with the bat showing out occasionally (130 wRC+ in the second half before an atrocious playoff run). What the Cubs possess in terms of contingencies for 2026, however, is anyone's guess. Justin Turner was the primary supplement for Busch at first. While Busch drew 155 appearances (131 starts), Turner's work against left-handed pitching got him in action for 39 games while Moisés Ballesteros drew in for a pair late in the year. Carlos Santana was in the mix for six games of his own. Third base was much more of a hodgepodge. While Shaw worked on his bat in Triple-A, Craig Counsell was forced to run out a rotation of Jon Berti, Vidal Bruján, and Nicky Lopez. Gage Workman got a few appearances early while Willi Castro had a few starts thrown his way after his acquisition at the trade deadline. Turner garnered 14 appearances of his own at the hot corner. That's seven players logging time at third base, with only Shaw remaining in the organization. Shaw's bat remains imperfect. That means that, as the Cubs build their roster for '26, they may want to explore the addition of a bench bat capable of giving him a blow as needed. First base, though, has some depth to work with beyond its current starter. First Base Starter: Michael Busch (.261/.343/.523, 34 HR, 4 SB, 140 wRC+, 3.5 fWAR) Everywhere you look, you see improvement from Michael Busch in 2025. His approach continued its refinement and he raised his contact rates while cutting his strikeout rate by five percent. The power was perhaps the most significant development that took shape for him last season, providing something sustainable in a Cubs lineup that struggled to find it at times. Some of that was due to Counsell playing the matchups and hiding him against lefties. The rest is the upside that was already present when he was acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers ahead of 2024. He certainly looks the part of a long-term option at the position. Depth: Moisés Ballesteros, Jonathon Long With the impending departure of Kyle Tucker, it certainly looks as if Seiya Suzuki will get his playing time back on the outfield grass. That will, in turn, free up some time for Ballesteros as the team's designated hitter. And if the team is apprehensive about putting him behind the plate — which seems likely considering the presence of Carson Kelly and Miguel Amaya — then Ballesteros could be on the roster as the team's designated hitter to start the year. That leaves him as an option to supplement Busch at first, though as a left-handed hitter, it's not as if he's going to steal starts. Even with limited experience, the fact that Counsell was willing to throw him a bit of time toward the end of the year indicates that we should expect to see him in Busch's stead at least on occasion, however. In the minor league ranks, Jonathon Long possesses some of the same skill set that makes Busch so intriguing. Long has an advanced approach at this stage (13.0 percent walk rate in Triple-A in '25) that feeds into his power upside (20 homers, .173 ISO). Initially a corner infielder, Long logged just nine games at third in 2025 against 115 at first base. Should the Cubs be in need of a longer term option for Busch at any point in 2025, he's likely the guy (barring any outside addition this winter). Third Base Starter: Matt Shaw (.226/.295/.394, 13 HR, 17 SB, 93 wRC+, 1.5 fWAR) It'll be interesting to see what shape Shaw's role will take for the 2026 Cubs considering the team is expected to be in on Alex Bregman again this winter. Would such a signing relegate Shaw to more utility duty on the infield? Would he become an immediate trade candidate? It's difficult to project. At this point, though, we have no reason to believe that the hot corner will belong to anyone other than Shaw next season, even as the offensive side of his game remains a work in progress. Depth: Pedro Ramirez Unlike first base, where you could see a path toward playing time for a couple of notable bats in the system, the Cubs have no such contingency currently in their organization. We've already noted the fact that Long hasn't played the position much recently. As such, Pedro Ramirez, who was just added to the 40-man roster, appears to be the most likely candidate to fill in. He's more of a light-hitting option on the power side (.106 ISO) but offers a solid approach and good on-base skills (28 steals). Where there are questions, though, is about how the glove will play, with reports citing his reaction time and arm. Ultimately, this is a clear area in need of a bench upgrade as the winter gets underway. The good news for the Cubs, at least, is that whatever outside depth they may pursue should provide at least a mild upgrade over what they ran out beyond Shaw last season. View the full article

Some of the names at the top of this list are returnees from last year, but the core of the team took on a very different feel after last season’s trade deadline. On paper, the Twins can roll out the same group and be somewhat competitive in the AL Central. However, there are no guarantees that every piece of the core will still be on the roster when the team reconvenes in Fort Myers. As the Minnesota Twins gear up for the 2026 season, the focus shifts to the core group of players who form the backbone of the roster. Some players have cemented their place as long-term building blocks, while others could be valuable trade assets. In this article, we rank the Twins’ most important pieces at the big-league level, considering their impact and the likelihood of them being traded before the 2026 season. 5. C Ryan Jeffers Pros: Jeffers emerged as one of the best offensive catchers in the American League over the last three seasons, with his 115 wRC+ ranking behind only Cal Raleigh and Yainer Diaz. His blend of power, improved contact ability, and comfort handling the pitching staff made him a vital part of Minnesota’s lineup. His leadership behind the plate and familiarity with the pitching core add intangible value that is difficult to replace. He has continued to show growth in game-calling and preparation. Cons: His defensive metrics remain inconsistent, which could lead to questions about his long-term fit as the everyday catcher. He's a below-average framer and blocker of pitches in the dirt. With only one season of team control remaining, his future in Minnesota becomes more complicated. The Twins have to weigh the risk of losing him for nothing against extracting value at a position where strong offensive performers are rare. Trade Likelihood: High He is only under team control for the 2026 season. The Twins will probably trade him this winter, or before July’s trade deadline. 4. 2B Luke Keaschall Pros: Keaschall’s stock soared in 2025 as he showcased a well-rounded offensive profile and MLB Pipeline named him to their 2025 All-Rookie Team. His bat-to-ball skills; aggressive but controlled approach; and knack for squaring the ball up (to get the most out of his below-average bat speed) quickly made him one of the most productive young hitters on the roster. His versatility gives Minnesota flexibility as they attempt to build a lineup with fewer weak spots. As he gets further away from Tommy John surgery, he can likely start playing the outfield again, too. Cons: His breakout season is based on a relatively small sample at the major-league level. Teams will want to see whether he can maintain his approach once the league adjusts. His ability to stick at one position is still in question, and while versatility is valuable, it can also create uncertainty about where he fits into future lineup plans. If another team sees him as an everyday player at a premium spot, Minnesota could be tempted. Trade Likelihood: Low Keaschall has too much upside and too many years of control for the Twins to seriously consider moving him—unless an overwhelming offer comes along. 3. OF Byron Buxton Pros: Buxton reminded the organization how valuable he can be when healthy. His defense in center field stabilizes the entire outfield, and his power-speed combination remains one of the most electric blends in the league. He won his first Silver Slugger and finished in the top 12 for the AL MVP. His leadership and presence in the clubhouse continue to matter, especially as the roster transitions to a younger core. When he is on the field, Buxton completely changes what the Twins are capable of doing. Cons: Health uncertainty remains the defining issue. Even though he made strides in staying on the field last season, Minnesota cannot ignore the years of injuries that have altered his long-term outlook. His defense took a step back in 2025, and he may need to move to a corner outfield spot with top prospects on the horizon. With a no-trade clause in place, any deal would require his approval, and his future becomes complicated if the club continues its shift toward youth. Trade Likelihood: Medium He has a no-trade clause, but rumors began swirling that he would be open to a trade if the Twins continue trading veteran players. 2. SP Pablo López Pros: When López is locked in, he remains one of the most reliable starting pitchers in the American League. He ranked in the top sextile of the league in limiting hard contact and inducing batters to chase pitches outside the zone. His strike-throwing, his ability to pitch deep into games, and the swing-and-miss sweeper (30.1% whiff rate) that has become his signature make him a legitimate top-of-the-rotation arm. He brings consistency and leadership to a staff that needs both during the transition to a younger core. Cons: He was limited to under 80 innings last season, after averaging over 186 per season from 2022-24. He returned at the end of the year and performed well, but Minnesota must determine whether the ace version of López will return. His contract, while reasonable for a frontline starter, represents a significant portion of the Twins' payroll. With multiple young arms nearing the majors, the front office may view this as the right time to reallocate resources. Trade Likelihood: High The Twins are on a limited budget and will need his $21 million for other parts of the roster. 1. SP Joe Ryan Pros: Ryan has developed into one of the most dependable and efficient starters in the rotation. His elite command, deceptive fastball, and growing secondary mix give him the tools to pitch near the top of a competitive staff. He was an All-Star for the first time in 2025, after multiple years in which he performed at an All-Star level. With two years of team control remaining, he remains one of the most valuable assets in the organization. Cons: As Ryan moves through his arbitration years, his salary will steadily rise, and Minnesota must decide whether they are willing to invest long-term in his profile. While effective, he does not possess overwhelming velocity (93.6 MPH on the fastball), and teams may question how his style will age. His value is substantial, and the Twins could maximize their return if they believe his ceiling has already been reached. Trade Likelihood: Medium-High Ryan remains a core piece, but his combination of performance, affordability, and projection makes him one of the most valuable trade chips in the organization. As Minnesota enters a pivotal offseason, decisions regarding these core players will shape not just the 2026 roster but also the franchise's trajectory for years to come. The front office must balance financial limitations, timelines for emerging prospects, and the desire to remain competitive in an ever-changing division. Some of these players figure to anchor the next contending Twins team, while others may ultimately bring back the pieces needed to build it. Whether Minnesota chooses stability or a bold reset, this winter will reveal precisely how the organization views its core and how committed it is to reshaping the roster for a more sustainable future. Will any of the players above be traded this winter? Which player is the most critical building block? Leave a comment and start the discussion. View the full article

I don’t know if other Royals fans do this, but every year on September 30, I watch highlights of the 2014 American League Wild Card Game. September 30, 2014, was “the night Kansas City baseball came back to life,” as beat writer Andy McCullough beautifully titled his 2015 retrospective. Exactly nine years prior, playing out the string of what was then the worst season in team history, the Royals got blasted 10-1 by the Toronto Blue Jays. What do these two games have in common? I’m so glad you asked. Before we get to that answer, why does a framed lineup card from this game hang proudly in my parents’ basement? Perhaps it’s a memorial to all of the games like this one we sat through at the K during my childhood, even though this game was in Toronto. I grew up in Liberty, MO, a proud Royals fan even during the lean years of the mid-2000s. My dad had a 20-game season ticket package for Section 232, Row BB, Seats 3-6. I’ll remember those numbers forever. In this series at Royals Keep, I’ll look back on Royals history from this century, the good and the bad, through the lens of memorabilia. For the record, I believe my dad got this lineup card from a family friend who worked for the team. Making his last start of the 2005 campaign in this game was a young Zack Greinke. It so happened that the future Hall of Famer had a terrible year: his 17 losses led the AL, and Greinke finished with a 5.80 ERA and an ERA+ of 76 (100 is the league average). He lurched through four innings in this game, allowing seven runs and finishing with a game score of 17. It’s not like the 2005 Blue Jays were an offensive juggernaut either. They finished collectively with a 94 OPS+. Still in their mid-to-late 20s were hitters like Vernon Wells, Orlando Hudson, and Alex Rios, all of whom had productive careers but were still finding their footing. Managing the squad in his first full season was John Gibbons, who later served as the bench coach for the Royals under both Trey Hillman and Ned Yost. On the mound for Toronto was righty Josh Towers, wrapping up the best season of his career. Aaron Guiel’s pop-up to lead off the game put Towers over the 200-inning threshold, and he finished the year with a 3.76 ERA and 3.6 fWAR, over half his career total. Towers pitched a complete game, throwing his nine frames in just 94 pitches, scattering nine hits and striking out six Royals. The best part of these meaningless September games is often the young prospects or career minor leaguers who get a cup of coffee in the big leagues. This was much more prevalent with rosters expanded to 40 slots, which were curtailed to 28 in 2020. John-Ford Griffin only got 23 MLB at-bats, but he produced 28% of his career hits and 44% of his career RBIs in this contest. The former first-round pick, batting ninth as the designated hitter, doubled off of Greinke and batted in four as the Blue Jays raced to a 10-1 win in a snappy 2 hours and 16 minutes (pre-pitch clock!) Watching Griffin’s career game from the bullpen was a young Blue Jays pitcher named Jason Frasor. Little did he know that exactly nine years later, he would allow a go-ahead single to Alberto Callaspo before a young Royals catcher pulled a cathartic double down the left field line. That’s right, the winning pitcher of the 2014 Wild Card Game is tucked into the lower right corner of the lineup card, proving that baseball (even terrible mid-2000s Royals baseball) is full of interesting connections. Isn’t that what America’s pastime is all about? If anyone reading this wants to torture themselves further with mid-2000s Royals nostalgia, you can actually watch this game on YouTube. The late, great Paul Splittorff joins a young Ryan Lebrevre on the RSTN broadcast, as the Royals don their iconic black jerseys. Another perk is that there is no k-zone on the broadcast! Happy watching! View the full article

Expectations were high for the San Diego Padres after a 93-win season and NLDS appearance in 2024. Fans and the organization anticipated a deep 2025 postseason, but the team's season ended early with a Wild Card loss to the Chicago Cubs. That disappointing finish creates urgency to upgrade the roster, but financial restraints make it difficult. FanGraphs projects that the Padres will begin the 2026 season with a payroll of $201 million, which is within $43 million of the 2026 CBT threshold of $244 million. While they could exceed the CBT threshold and incur penalties, it is worth noting that the Padres had a budget of $211 million last season, despite the 2025 threshold being $241 million. Their prior spending patterns might suggest less room to work with than previously believed. The team's reluctance to spend last season may stem from the fact that it was the first offseason without former owner Peter Seidler, who passed away in November 2023. Known for aggressive spending to build a competitive team, Seidler's absence makes leaving $30 million unspent before reaching the CBT threshold notable. With the Seidler family seeking to sell, ownership uncertainty could affect future player investments. However, despite the possibility of new ownership, that scenario will not alter this offseason's plans. In free agency, the Padres' urgent need is in the starting rotation. Dylan Cease and Michael King are free agents, and Yu Darvish received devastating news that he will miss the entire 2026 season due to needing reconstructive elbow surgery. Offensively, the Padres finished 28th in home runs (152) during the regular season. With Ryan O'Hearn and Luis Arráez also hitting free agency, they are leaving offensive and defensive voids, making the process of targeting a cheap power bat even more crucial. Further complicating the flexibility, the team has $70 million allocated between Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts, and Fernando Tatis Jr. for the upcoming season. Still, the amount increases to $85 million, $90 million, and $100 million through the 2027-2029 seasons, and remains at $100 million in 2030. These escalating contracts make finding relief challenging, as moving one of these would bring significant salary relief; however, all three have full no-trade clauses. Jake Cronenworth could be a trade piece, but he has five years ($12.28 million annually) left on his seven-year, $80 million deal and holds a partial no-trade clause. Still, the bullpen offers flexibility, returning as a strength after leading the league in ERA last season (3.06). As the Padres finalize their finances and roster, the budget available to president of baseball operations A.J. Preller remains uncertain, although several needs persist. The team should prioritize signing a reliable, middle-tier starting pitcher (if an ace is too expensive). Re-signing Michael King on a short-term contract could be a strong option, as it appeals to both sides, given his recent injury history and the need to prove his value. Target a power hitter who can play first base or designated hitter, ideally a right-hand bat, to potentially platoon with Gavin Sheets or Tirso Ornelas. This addition would strengthen the lineup's offensive output, addressing the team's low home run totals. Seek additional affordable bench bats that provide offensive depth and flexibility for matchups across the lineup. The Padres have the worst farm system in MLB, which has been depleted over multiple seasons of trading prospects for stars. Given these limitations, the free agency market is the best approach to building a competitive team. While the Padres aren't far from reaching a World Series, how Preller approaches this offseason will be crucial to their chances. View the full article

We all need to brace for a Pablo López trade this winter. It's an outcome that ranges somewhere between vague possibility and probability, depending on how much weight you put into the percolating rumor mill. "Potential trade partners believe the Twins will deal one of their co-aces, not both," wrote Jeff Passan at ESPN. Elsewhere, at the New York Post, Joel Sherman suggested that Minnesota is "more likely" to trade López than Joe Ryan. Yes, they're just rumors and relays—albeit from well-respected industry veterans. But fans need only use their eyes and ears to recognize that a López trade is very much on the table. His $21-million salary casts a glare for this rebuilding team facing payroll uncertainty, and Twins officials have shied away from ruling out the idea. I'm on the record with my belief that a López trade would be equivalent to a white flag for the 2026 season—not only because of losing him, but the rippling implications. That's not a fact, though; it's an opinion. At this point, it's still plausible the Twins will be trying to win next year, and it wouldn't be impossible for a deftly executed deal involving López to support that goal. It'll just be a tricky needle to thread. There aren't a ton of examples of an established frontline starting pitcher being traded for an established top-of-the-order bat, which is (presumably) what the Twins would be seeking to accomplish in such an endeavor. Incidentally, one of the few in recent memory was the Pablo López trade. In January 2023, the Twins dealt from an area of perceived strength when they sent reigning batting champ Luis Arraez to the Miami Marlins in exchange for López. On Opening Day a couple of months later, López was Minnesota's starting pitcher and Arraez was batting leadoff for Miami. The Marlins, at the time, were in a somewhat similar situation to the Twins now, needing a boost coming off a 93-loss season and viewing the top of their rotation as a strength, with López accompanied by Sandy Alcantara and Jesús Luzardo. Miami hoped the addition of Arraez could jumpstart an offense that tied for last in the NL in OPS+ in 2022. He certainly ended up doing his part. In 2023, Arraez batted .354 with a 128 OPS+, while earning All-Star and Silver Slugger honors. The Marlins improved by 15 wins and made the playoffs as a Wild Card. It's pretty much the same model the Twins would be looking to enact, just from the other end. A hitter who can deliver the level of impact that Arraez did in his first season with Miami is exactly what the Twins need to take a step forward in 2026, and theoretically, Minnesota's pitching depth and added spending flexibility could help soften the blow of losing López. A pertinent question: How does López's trade value now compare to back when the Twins acquired him at such a lofty price? On the one hand, he's three years older and much more expensive. On the other hand, he's under 30, more proven (including in the playoffs), and still under team control for two more years at surplus value. A team acquiring López could do exactly what the Twins did: immediately lock him into a long-term contract, shoring up the top of their rotation for years to come. That has a lot of appeal. Plenty of contending teams would love to get their hands on López. The problem is that it's hard to find contending teams with high-impact bats with which they are willing to part, which is why these trades more often take shape as star-for-prospect swaps. The Arraez situation was unique in that the Twins had Jorge Polanco and Alex Kirilloff on hand, with Edouard Julien in the wings. Minnesota's front office also seemed to harbor some doubt about Arraez's outlook—which has been largely validated. Like I said, it's a difficult needle to thread, but it's not impossible. The Twins have shown there's a path to win/win trades of this nature that ultimately make both clubs better. Can they find a match this time? The Boston Red Sox stand out as a potential partner, with rumors swirling around the availability of Jarren Duran and Wilyer Abreu. I'm curious if any other fits come to mind. Sound off in the comments, and let us know what it would take for you to get on board with a Pablo López trade this offseason. View the full article

Much was expected of Joey Ortiz coming into the 2025 campaign. After spending most of the previous season at third base, Ortiz moved to shortstop to make up for the departure of Willy Adames to the San Francisco Giants. Ortiz played nearly 84% of all shortstop innings for Milwaukee, but was removed for a pinch-hitter 34 times during the season, spotlighting his less-than-stellar bat. Andruw Monasterio made 21 starts at the ‘6,’ while Brice Turang and Caleb Durbin moved over to short three times each to finish games. (Stats are from 2025, while age is as of the start of the 2026 season.) PRIMARY STARTER Joey Ortiz AB: 470, H: 108, 2B: 18, 3B: 1, HR: 7, RBI: 45, .230/.276/.317; K: 74, BB: 27, SB: 14 DRS: -2, OAA: +12 Age: 27 Ortiz saw most of his offensive numbers decline from the previous season. His home-run total dropped from 11 to 7, and his walk rate was cut in half. The only thing that showed improvement was his strikeout rate, which dropped from 20.2% to 14.6%. Ortiz’s average exit velocity dropped from 87.8 mph to 84.9; his barrel percentage dropped from 4.6% to 3.0%; and his hard-hit percentage dropped from 38.4% to 32.8%. No wonder he only had 26 extra-base hits in 2025, compared to 42 the previous year. Ortiz missed 10 games at the end of August due to a left hamstring injury, and after he returned, he collected only two extra-base hits among 15 base hits during September. Defensively, Ortiz is still an above-average defender, with plus hands and instincts and more than enough arm for shortstop. On the bases, Ortiz is a good runner, and after 25 steals in his first two years, he could become a 20-steal guy for the running Brewers. Is the third time (season) the charm for Ortiz? A fast start to the season is a must for him, because he has at least two top prospects nipping at his heels. True, Brewer Fanatic top prospect Jesús Made and No. 3 Cooper Pratt are probably at least a year away, but the Brewers might consider calling Pratt up earlier—especially if Ortiz continues to fall short of his potential. BACK-UPS Andruw Monasterio AB: 126, H: 34, 2B: 9, 3B: 0, HR: 4, RBI: 16, .270/.319/.437; K: 32, BB: 7, SB: 6 DRS: -1, OAA: 0 Age: 28 Monasterio had perhaps his best year in 2025, his third campaign in the big leagues. His batting average, slugging average, and OPS+ (109) were career bests. His walk rate (5.2%) and strikeout rate (23.7%) are both worse than average, but he showed some pop and speed and played decent defense, which is all you really need from a backup player. On defense, his numbers weren’t great, but they weren’t terrible. He has good speed on the bases and would probably steal at least 20 bags if he got 400 at-bats. Monasterio started 21 games at short, eight at second base, and five at the hot corner, the latter being his main home in 2023 and 2024. He can also play first base or left field in a pinch. In other words, he is a valuable, versatile player. Others Brice Turang, Caleb Durbin MINOR LEAGUE PROSPECTS/DEPTH Cooper Pratt AB: 437, H: 104, 2B: 22, 3B: 1, HR: 8, RBI: 62, .238/.343/.348; K: 80, BB: 67, SB: 31 (Stats from Double-A Biloxi) Age: 21 Pratt was a sixth-round pick in 2023 and has moved up the ladder nicely in his first three years as a pro. Although his slash numbers all dropped off last season, he set career highs with 22 doubles, 62 RBIs, and 67 bases on balls. Both his walk rate (12.7%) and his strikeout rate (15.2%) are solidly above-average. His 6-foot-4 frame should fill out, and he should show 15-20-homer power. He won a minor league Gold Glove in 2024 and has good instincts and a good arm. Although given only a 50 grade for running, he has stolen 62 of 70 bases in his pro career, an impressive 88% success rate. Depending on what the Brewers choose to do with him and Jesús Made, it appears that Pratt will start at Triple-A Nashville while Made gets more experience at Biloxi. Jesús Made AB: 453, H: 129, 2B: 28, 3B: 6, HR: 6, RBI: 61, .285/.379/.413; K: 108, BB: 67, SB: 47 (Stats combined from Low-A Carolina, High-A Wisconsin, and Double-A Biloxi) Age: 18 Made has done everything the Brewers had hoped for when they signed him as an international free agent in 2024. He hits for average, shows some in-game power, plays solid defense, and steals bases at an 81% success rate, with 75 stolen bases in just 166 games as a professional. His 2025 strikeout rate was about average, at 20.6%, while his walk rate was a robust 12.8%. He had 40 extra-base hits and 47 steals over three levels during the season. Again, he and Pratt are two top prospects fighting for one spot, but it is possible that one of them will move to third base while the other stays at shortstop. Next season will tell us a lot. Other Minor League Depth Freddy Zamora, Nashville Raynel Delgado, Nashville Ethan Murray, Biloxi/Nashville These three guys are organizational depth, rather than prospects, but any of the three could fill in for a short period in an emergency for the Brewers. Conclusion Shortstop is in good hands for the foreseeable future, with Ortiz, Made, and Pratt. The best-case scenario would be if Ortiz steps up his game and allows the other two to ripen at Nashville and Biloxi. The worst case will be if Ortiz falls apart offensively and either Made or Pratt need to make an earlier-than-expected trip to Uecker Field. But even that wouldn’t be so bad. View the full article

The Arizona Fall League has officially come to a close as the Surprise Saguaros defeated the Peoria Javelinas 9-4 in the championship game. For fans of the Boston Red Sox, no one really cares about that if we're being honest. The prospects from the organization finished playing on November 12. Three games were played in the final week by the Salt River Rafters as the prospects got their final game action until spring training. Across the week, the Rafters went 2-1, with Red Sox prospects getting some limited action. From a pitching standpoint, only two pitchers from the Red Sox saw any action. Jay Allmer pitched in one game, throwing 1/3 of an inning where he tossed 11 pitches. In that 1/3 of an inning, Allmer faced two batters, walking one and striking out the other. The lone strikeout was on a 79.4 mph slider. For his efforts, Allmer was credited with the win after the Rafters took the lead in the bottom of the fifth inning. Allmer finished his fall league season with a 10.80 ERA in seven games. In that span, he won one game and allowed six earned runs across five innings on four hits and nine walks. He also struck out three. The only other pitcher to see action was Brandon Neely, who struggled in his final appearance. Tossing one inning, Neely allowed three runs to score on two walks and a hit. That lone hit was a home run. He also struck out one batter. Neely entered the game in the fifth inning and immediately walked his first batter. To his benefit, he managed to get the next two batters out on a fly ball to center field and then a strikeout where he managed to get Cole Mathis to chase a slider down in the dirt. It would fall apart after that, as the second walk of the inning was followed by a double steal before Owen Ayers took a 2-2 curveball and deposited it 426 feet deep into right-center. Neely got out of the inning thanks to a groundout, but the damage was already done. Neely finished his fall league season appearing in five games and making one start. He tossed 10 innings and allowed 12 earned runs on 16 hits and eight walks. He also managed to strike out 11 batters. Luis Perales did not pitch this week, bringing his season to a close with six starts where he threw a combined 11 1/3 innings. In that span, he allowed 14 runs, 13 earned, on 16 hits and 11 walks. However, despite the inconsistency, Perales flashed potential as he generated several whiffs on his way to 19 strikeouts thanks in part to a fastball he managed to throw over 100 mph. Perales’ season culminated in a Fall-Star selection. Jojo Ingrassia was another pitcher who finished his season in the previous week, pitching in five games and making two starts. The left-hander tossed 10 innings and allowed 11 runs, 10 earned on 14 hits and nine walks. He also managed to strike out 13 batters as he worked to make up for a very short minor league season this year. Prior to his time in Arizona, Ingrassia only tossed 17 innings for Greenville. Isaac Stebens is the final pitcher on the River Rafters from the organization, and he also did not get any game action this week. His season concluded with eight appearances where he threw just seven innings. After a dominating year with Greenville, Stebens may have put together the most consistent fall season as he allowed just five runs, three earned, on eight hits and six walks. While his WHIP of 2.00 could have been lower, Stebens showed an ability to limit runners on base from scoring against him. [Editor's Note: None of the pitchers had particularly "great" fall seasons, but the AFL is an offense-first league. More pitchers had an ERA above 7.00 than those that had a sub-3.00 ERA this year.] Offensively, all three position players got into games during the shortened week. Nelly Taylor played the least, appearing in just one game in the last week when he played center field. The seldom-used outfielder would go 0-for-3 in his lone appearance, striking out twice. The performance brought his fall league season to an end as he appeared in 13 games, hitting just .139/.289/.139 with two RBIs and seven stolen bases. Johanfran Garcia played in all three games, suiting up at catcher just once as he was the team’s designated hitter for the other two. Across the three games Garcia went 2-for-9 with a double, one RBI, and two strikeouts. Overall, it was a good fall season for the 20-year-old catcher, as he continued to get regular reps. Despite a stat line of just .224/.350/.388, Garcia put up an OPS of .738 thanks in part to his 12 walks, five doubles and two home runs. He also drove in 10 runs across his 19 games played. Defensively, he caught 84 innings behind the plate without committing a single error. He did, however, allow two passed balls and only threw out 18% of base stealers, allowing 27 successful steals. Finally, Stanley Tucker appeared in all three games at second base and went 2-for-9 with one strikeout. Tucker also stole one base to bring his final total up to 13 steals. Tucker was the most consistent prospect sent by the Red Sox and played well throughout his stay in Arizona, shown by the fact he appeared in 24 games for the Rafters. Across the season, he ended up hitting .278/.374/.316 but had an OPS of just .690 due to a lack of slugging; he hit just three doubles while the remainder of his hits were all singles. Despite that, he managed to drive in 15 runs and, as previously mentioned, stole 13 bases. Due to his stellar play, Tucker was a Fall-Star. The 2025 Arizona Fall League is officially over. While the season may not have gone perfectly for every Red Sox prospect, it gave these players a chance to make up for lost time and continue their development with live game action. Now, they’ll have to take the lessons they learned and use them to improve even further as players in 2026 and beyond. View the full article

According to multiple reports, the Cubs are among the teams with significant interest in Michael King. That's just preliminary speculation, but it's interesting, because (according to a source familiar with their thinking) the Cubs still view signing King as an option even after Shota Imanaga accepted the qualifying offer on Tuesday, King, who enters his age-31 season next spring, ranked 13th on DiamondCentric's top 50 free agents list, and we project him to find a four-year deal worth $75 million. Right now, however, the Cubs project to spend about $70 million on their existing rotation for 2026. Adding King to the mix would push that number to roughly $90 million, and it would force at least one pitcher whom both the team and the player themselves see as a starter into relief work. Even if Chicago uses a six-man rotation to open next season, it would go something like: Cade Horton King Imanaga Matthew Boyd Jameson Taillon Colin Rea That would leave Javier Assad out of the mix to begin the campaign, and it would mean pushing Rea (or someone else, perhaps) to the bullpen once Steele returns from Tommy John surgery. That's not a deal-breaker in and of itself, because both Assad and Rea have experience in the bullpen, but it's probably incorrect to assume they'll use a six-man rotation, too. There are too many days off in the new version of the MLB schedule to make that the best use of a limited pool of pitchers. Thus, even without Steele, signing another high-end free agent would push both Rea and Assad to the pen, unless and until someone gets hurt. The team should plan for injuries, especially with this group. Thus, the logistical hurdles to signing a player like King are relatively trivial. However, the issue of the salary King is likely to command is harder to work around. Chicago owes Dansby Swanson, Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki, Nico Hoerner and Carson Kelly a combined $83.75 million, and they have holes to fill in both the positional corps and the bullpen. Pushing their collective spending on the rotation as high as signing King would might interfere with their plans. Much hinges on what the Ricketts family is willing to spend in 2026. They should have another $60 million to commit to players this winter, even after Imanaga returned—but it could turn out to be more like $40 million, and the difference there being similar to what King would earn on an annual basis is a telling coincidence. Since King turned down a qualifying offer, it would also cost the Cubs a draft pick to sign him. That's not a deal-breaker, either, because the team is likely to receive a pick when Kyle Tucker signs elsewhere, but the small problems with signing a top-flight starter keep adding up. For a pitcher who profiles more like an ace, it'd be easier to look past all the drawbacks to acquiring him. Alas, he's battled frequent injury trouble, and even when on the mound, his stuff didn't stand out in 2025. King does have a very heavy sinker, and that pitch and his sweeper play gorgeously off one another to righties. To lefties, his four-seamer and changeup play well. He offers a lot to dream on; the 2024 version of him was a solid No. 2 starter. Unfortunately, it's not clear that his injury issues are entirely behind him. Signing him would give the rotation much-needed upside, but not the swing-and-miss element that has been missing for years. It would also constrain their efforts to round out the lineup and replace most of their bullpen. The workaround, of course, is to trade someone from the existing group as they sign King, thereby keeping some money free to spend elsewhere while making the upgrade from whomever they replace to King. The best candidate for that is Taillon, whom they're set to pay $18 million in the final season of a four-year deal. Taillon, 34, had a 121 DRA- last year, marking him as far worse than an average starter, and his strikeout rate has been under 19% in each of the last two seasons. For those very reasons, though, Taillon has virtually no trade value. We could be heading toward a situation similar to the one the Cubs ended up in with Cody Bellinger last year. After planning for life without Bellinger and expecting him to opt out of his deal, the Cubs had to pivot when the slugger elected to opt in. They needed someone better than him, so they traded for Kyle Tucker, but that left them needing to get rid of a player with little trade value. They dumped him for Cody Poteet, whom they wouldn't even hold onto through spring training. It would be wasteful to trade Taillon that way this winter, but it might be necessary, in the wake of another failure to figure out what a key player would do upon studying their options in the marketplace. If the Cubs want to sign King, they probably need to move Taillon, to save themselves the flexibility they need to get better. Starved for leverage, they won't get much back. View the full article

The San Diego Padres registered their first notable transaction of the 2025-26 offseason earlier this week, bringing back pitcher Kyle Hart on a one-year deal with a 2027 option. It's not a needle-mover in any sense, but given the absence of depth in the pitching staff at present, it's the kind of necessary move (at a low price point) that the organization is likely going to seek as they build out their staff for next season. But determining exactly where Hart fits in the staff ahead of next season is anyone's guess. The numbers weren't great in his first season stateside after a year in South Korea. Deployed out of the gate as the fifth starter, Hart's first 21 innings featured a 6.00 ERA and 6.18 FIP across five starts in March and April. That the early season sample includes a six-inning, zero-run start against Colorado speaks to how brutal the rest of his outings were to start the year. As a result, Hart found himself bound for El Paso until July, save for a quick start at the end of May. When Hart returned, it was exclusively in relief. The results remained mixed, but at least not in a way that was putting an extra burden on an already-heavily-utilized relief corps. All told, Hart finished with a 6.66 ERA, a 6.56 FIP, a 15.5 percent strikeout rate, and a 5.5 percent walk rate as a starter (25.2 innings). As a reliever (17.1 innings), he checked in at a 4.67 ERA, a 3.14 FIP, a 29.0 percent strikeout rate, and a 10.1 percent walk rate. On the surface, it's an easy call. Hart was more effective as a reliever, not only in terms of statistical outcomes but in underlying trends. Being more matchup-centric worked in his favor as his hard hit rate was cut by eight percent (20.0) while he generated groundballs at a rate roughly 13 percent higher than as a starter (41.0). And while it's easy to declare matchups as the reason for his success, it's at least a little bit more complicated than that. The following is Hart's pitch usage from 2025: What's interesting is that against left-handed hitters, Hart never threw a changeup or a splitter. In every month, he peppered lefty hitters with sinkers and sweepers, as his cumulative pitch distribution would indicate. But righties weren't getting even close to the same mix. Not that you should expect them to. When Hart was working in relief, though, right-handed hitters saw more changeups in August than any other pitch type while the splitter was his second-most-used offering. It speaks to the overall chaos that one might expect to see when looking at Hart's pitch mix exclusively against righties: It's the look of a guy who didn't necessarily know what he wanted to do. Meanwhile, he was getting decimated by hitters of the opposite handedness. His .359 wOBA allowed versus righty hitters was more than 120 points higher than it was against lefties (.237). His strikeout rate was three percent lower (19.7 percent) and his walk rate three percent higher (8.2 percent) when he was facing a right-handed hitter as opposed to a left-handed one. His hard contact rate (by FanGraphs' reporting of it) was about 20 percent higher when facing a hitter of the opposite handedness. When you combine the chaos of Hart's mix against right-handed hitters with the actual results, you very much have the look of a guy who you want to deploy as more of a specialist (or, at least what can be deemed a specialist given the minimum-batter requirement for relievers these days). And it's not as if there's a real argument to be made at this point, either. Hart was considerably better as a reliever and vastly better against lefties. Keeping him in relief allows you to meld the two and find some sustainable results. How well that matches up against reality, however, remains to be seen. Exclusively working as a reliever is the obvious path. But the Padres likely signed Hart with an eye on a sort of swingman role considering an absence of starting depth (or, you know, actual starters) at present. Which means that some work is going to have to be done with his usage and the subsequent command to get him going toward at least an average track against right-handed hitters. Because the "success vs. lefties, throw everything to righties and find out if any of it works" modus operandi as a starter is exactly what the Padres do not need from Kyle Hart in 2026. View the full article

Joe Ryan is the most likely man to be traded by the Twins this offseason. Even with some down starts in August and September, he can still net a valuable return in prospects and MLB talent if the Twins do end up moving him. Jamie and Jeremy explore some teams whose talent could net the Twins a valuable return for the long haul. View the full article

Shota Imanaga accepted the qualifying offer to return to the Chicago Cubs. What does it mean for the rotation and could Chicago still go big game hunting for another arm? Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-north-side-baseball-podcast/id1798599313 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/75wMGhBwlrDDYPt3kaF453 Listen on iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-north-side-baseball-po-268998437/ Listen on Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/eey7h6ih Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@northsidebaseball View the full article

Late Tuesday afternoon, MLB organizations had to set their 40-man rosters, forcing club decision-makers to decide which prospects to protect from Rule 5 Draft eligibility. The Minnesota Twins elected to protect six players: pitchers Connor Prielipp, Kendry Rojas, Andrew Morris, John Klein, and position players Gabriel Gonzalez and Hendry Mendez. All six could impact the major-league club in some capacity next season. Yet, Minnesota could add more reinforcements to its 40-man roster during the Rule 5 Draft on December 10, with hopes of them becoming immediate contributors at the major-league level. Here are four pitchers whose names are worth filing away. Peter Heubeck Selected in the third round of the 2021 MLB Draft, Heubeck has spent his first five seasons in affiliated ball in the Los Angeles Dodgers system, progressing from the Arizona Complex League to Double A. The 23-year-old has yet to break out; he doesn't throw enough strikes. He walked or plunked 13.7% of opposing batters in 2025. Yet, his fastball, slider, and curve all profile as above-average, making the career starter an attractive candidate to transition into a relief role at the major-league level. The position group most likely to be targeted by Minnesota (and everyone else) in the Rule 5 Draft is relievers. That's just the nature of the draft. Heubeck is one of the more intriguing arms left unprotected, and given that his two primary pitches are a fastball and slider (a combination the front office seeks out in its relievers), the hard-throwing righty is an the Twins could select on Dec. 10. If picked by Minnesota, Heubeck would join Prielipp, Morris, Klein, and other young arms in competing for a spot in the club's Opening Day bullpen. Peyton Pallette Last December, the Chicago White Sox benefited from the Rule 5 Draft more than any other club, selecting Shane Smith with the first overall pick. The young right-handed starting pitcher earned an All-Star nod in his first season with the Southsiders, solidifying himself as a mid-rotation arm. This December, the Twins could give the White Sox a taste of their own medicine by plucking Pallette. Sporting one of the most effective curves in the minors, the 24-year-old excelled at missing bats last season, generating a 32.5% strikeout rate over 64 1/3 innings pitched. The young righty complemented his curve with a serviceable four-seam fastball that hovers around 95 MPH and a plus changeup. He also has a slider with unusually good depth. A little refinement (adding a cutter, perhaps, or fixing the shape on his four-seamer) could turn him into a high-leverage weapon right away. Jedixson Paez Last offseason, the Twins selected Eiberson Castellano with the ninth pick of the Rule 5 Draft. It was a bet on his plus stuff carving out a role for him in the club's Opening Day bullpen. Unfortunately, Castellano's command was inconsistent, forcing the Twins to return him to the Philadelphia Phillies. Paez is the complete opposite of Castellano, making him an intriguing option if the club pursues a different type of reliever this December. Landing in the 10th spot of Eric Longenhagen's updated Boston Red Sox prospect rankings, the 21-year-old Paez is described as a "command artist". Longenhagen hung a 70 future command grade (on the 20-80 prospect ranking scale) on Paez. The young right-hander has near-elite control over his secondary pitches, highlighted by a plus slider, changeup, and cutter. His primary pitch is a velocity-deficient four-seam fastball that hovers around 90-91 MPH. Still, if he transitioned to a full-time reliever, his fastball would likely see a velocity bump. Despite not pitching above High A, Paez is a fascinating arm who could blossom on the strength of his control. Brendan Beck The New York Yankees suffered a raid of their high-minors right-handed pitching talent in the 2023 Rule 5 Draft, with right-handed arms Mitch Spence, Matt Sauer, and Carson Coleman all being poached by other organizations. They got a reprieve last offseason, with no arms being taken by other organizations. Yet, they could be due for another mass exodus next month, after failing to protect high-upside arms in Henry Lalane, Brock Selvidge, and Hueston Morrill. All three of these pitchers could be selected. Yet, the arm that stands out the most is right-handed pitching prospect Brendan Beck. Drafted in the second round in 2021, Beck has flourished in the Yankees' farm system, posting an ERA under 2.00 in his young professional career. Sporting a plus four-seam fastball and slider and near-elite command, the 27-year-old mustered a respectable 3.36 ERA, 3.79 FIP, and a 23.6% strikeout rate over 131 1/3 innings as a starter between Double A and Triple A last season. The righty has operated exclusively as a starter. He would transition into a full-time reliever in Minnesota, with hopes that the club's pitching development staff would unlock more velocity from his fastball, which hovers around 92 MPH. View the full article

The offseason has barely begun, but the Minnesota Twins already find themselves at the center of some of the most complicated pitching rumors in baseball. With the team coming off another frustrating finish and the front office operating under unclear ownership direction, insiders have turned their attention toward the future of Minnesota’s top starters. Joe Ryan and Pablo Lopez remain foundational pieces, but the possibility of a major rotation shakeup is gaining traction. What makes this situation particularly unique is the number of external factors influencing the Twins’ decision-making. Injuries, contract considerations, labor uncertainty, and an ownership transition have collided, and Derek Falvey was standing at the intersection where they did so. The result is an offseason outlook that feels more unpredictable than any Minnesota has faced in recent memory. As national reporters continue to weigh in, the picture around the Twins’ rotation becomes more complex. Pablo López Appears More Likely To Be Moved Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported that the Twins are “more likely” to trade Pablo López than Joe Ryan as the club explores ways to reshape its roster. López is owed over $43 million through 2027, and his recent performance complicates the picture. A forearm issue limited him to just 14 starts in 2025, and he threw 75 2/3 innings with a strong 3.19 FIP but a middling 17 K-BB%. He had been one of baseball’s more reliable arms during his early Twins tenure, but his performance has seen peaks and valleys. At age 30, López still carries name value, but his trade stock is at its lowest point with the Twins, forcing the club to deal from a position of weakness. Passan Says One Co-Ace Could Go, But Not Both National attention intensified with ESPN’s Jeff Passan writing that “the Twins will deal one of their co-aces but not both.” He noted that both pitchers’ circumstances will be influenced by the possibility of a lockout, because their team control runs through the 2027 campaign. That uncertainty is muddying the market, as teams attempt to calculate risk before giving up premium prospects. If front offices are afraid to commit significant resources before labor clarity arrives, the Twins may be forced to accept an offer that falls short of internal expectations. It places the front office in a difficult position as they attempt to balance long-term value with short-term roster needs. Rosenthal Highlights Falvey’s Balancing Act The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal painted a picture of a front office trying to stay upright in heavy winds. Derek Falvey emphasized that he remains committed to improving a roster that has fallen short in back-to-back seasons. The message from the GM Meetings was clear. “I remain personally committed to figuring out what are the ways we can add to this group to make it better,” Falvey said in Las Vegas. “That is my goal. It was my stated goal before and remains my stated goal until I’m told otherwise. … My focus for now is figuring out ways we can add to the group.” Falvey wants to add talent and believes the core can still be supplemented in meaningful ways. The urgent question is whether ownership shares that sentiment. At the trade deadline, Falvey was instructed to dismantle rather than reinforce, and that disconnect remains a central storyline. With two new groups of investors awaiting league approval, the chain of command could shift. Until that happens, both Ryan and López remain possible trade candidates as the front office waits for clearer marching orders. A Fan Base Left In Limbo For Twins fans, the throughline in all these reports is uncertainty. López might be the more likely trade chip, but his value is depressed. Other clubs covet Ryan, but dealing him would create a massive hole in the rotation. National reporters suggest that only one will be moved, but a potential lockout clouds the market. Above it all stands an ownership group that has not yet finalized its internal transition. Falvey has acknowledged that the Twins may not have a firm direction until minority ownership approval is completed. That delay could stall major trade talks and limit the team’s ability to pursue meaningful free agents. Minnesota’s offseason will ultimately hinge on clarity from the top. Until that arrives, the front office, the players, and the fan base remain stuck in a holding pattern. The Twins are navigating an offseason marked by more uncertainty than resolve. Trade conversations involving Ryan and López remain fluid, and the market is affected by conditions beyond baseball operations’ control. If ownership does not provide direction soon, the window for transformational additions could close quickly. Minnesota still has a chance to strengthen its roster, but the path forward will depend on decisive leadership and a clear organizational vision. Should the Twins trade one of their top starters or hold firm until the ownership situation settles? How much should the looming lockout impact trade decisions? Share your thoughts and join the discussion below. View the full article

The Boston Red Sox don’t need to sign Kyle Schwarber. I hate saying that—I wrote back in early October that the Red Sox needed to add a middle-of-the-order slugger this offseason and I highlighted Schwarber specifically, but that was more of a knee-jerk reaction to the situation than anything else. Schwarber means a lot to Boston even though he only spent half a season with the organization in 2021. He took on the ‘Kyle from Waltham’ persona with grace and embraced the city in a way that few other trade additions have in recent memory. Had the Red Sox made him a competitive offer after the '21 season, we likely wouldn’t be having this conversation and he would be well on his way to establishing himself as another impact DH like David Ortiz and J.D. Martinez before him. That didn’t happen though, and Schwarber has been hitting dingers for the Phillies since 2022. His power would be welcome in Boston, but his lack of positional adaptability makes him an even more imperfect option than Masataka Yoshida, and that’s saying something. Schwarber doesn’t fix the first base problem, even though he’s logged some innings there in the past. Playing him in the outfield further complicates things in an already extremely crowded player group that, for some reason, just added Kristian Campbell as a potential option as well. To put it frankly, he’s a terrible defender and would only be signed as a power-hitting DH. The are a couple of offensive knocks against Schwarber too, despite his prodigious pop. First, his strikeout percentage is awful. In 2025, he registered a 27.2% strikeout rate, which ranked in the 11th percentile. The Red Sox are a strikeout-heavy team as it is; they registered a 22.9% strikeout rate as a team, the tenth-most in all of baseball. Adding Schwarber, who strikes out almost 5% more than the team as a whole, puts even more swing and miss in the batter’s box. This team can ill-afford to have that when they struggle to score runs for multiple games. Streakiness can be survived during the regular season, but a cold stretch in October means an early vacation. To go along with his high strikeout rate, Schwarber’s whiff percentage came in at 33.1% in 2025, good for the fifth percentile league-wide. He’s taking hacks, but he’s missing a ton. Yes, when he makes contact it often goes quite far, but he’s got holes in his swing that will be exploited by the AL East’s top pitchers next season. He's averaged more than 200 strikeouts per year over the past four seasons, leading the NL in that category in both 2022 and 2023. Finally, Schwarber is left-handed. I’m not saying this is the reason the Red Sox won’t be in on him, but a lot was made out of the fact that this team was dominated by left-handed hitters over the last couple of seasons. They already have Triston Casas coming back into the fold and they could bring Nathaniel Lowe back to platoon at first base as well. It’s entirely possible that Schwarber could be the type of left-handed hitter capable of taking aim at the Green Monster in the opposite field like so many other great lefties that have played for this team. Even then, that money is better spent elsewhere, like on someone who could take over first base on a full-time basis (or, ideally, play second or third base). This team is so close to being a powerhouse in the American League. With just a couple of additions, the Red Sox can serve as a serious challenger in the AL East. Adding Schwarber provides pop, no doubt. But his red flags are too similar to that of the current core's; adding someone who can balance the scales would be a better bet from the front office this offseason. View the full article

The Marlins are shopping for a veteran high-leverage reliever this offseason. They won't be landing Raisel Iglesias, who has returned to the Atlanta Braves on a one-year, $16 million deal.View the full article

On Monday, I looked at the 11th through 15th-best prospects in the Kansas City Royals system. The list focused on a couple of international shortstops (including one who made progress in the AFL this past fall), a pitcher who made his MLB debut, a pitcher eligible for the Rule 5 Draft who wasn't added to the 40-man roster, and one who was, but is coming off an injury-plagued 2025 campaign. In part three of Royals Keep's Top 20 Prospect rankings, I will look at the 6th through 10th-best prospects in the Royals system. That includes a couple of recently drafted position players out of high school, a couple of international position players who primarily played in Low-A Columbia in 2025, and a polished pitcher drafted out of Tennessee in 2024 who pitched well in High-A Quad Cities. 10th: Asbel Gonzalez, OF (Highest Level: Low-A) The 19-year-old Venezuelan outfielder played in 115 games in his first full Minor League season in Columbia. After a hot start, he wore down a bit at the end of the year, slashing .239/.365/.289 with a .654 OPS. He also showed little power, with only one home run and an ISO of .051. However, he scored 82 runs and collected 78 RBI with the Fireflies last season. When he was fresh and locked in, Gonzalez demonstrated a high-contact, disciplined approach, as illustrated by his 0.63 BB/K ratio. Furthermore, he showed in Columbia that he could spray the ball all over the field, with his speed allowing him to stretch extra bases on hits. While the bat wasn't anything too special, Gonzalez flashed one elite tool in Low-A ball, which explains why he ranked No. 10: his speed. Gonzalez set a Fireflies franchise record with 78 stolen bases last season. Not only was that the highest in Columbia history, but it was also the highest stolen base total for a Royals prospect since 1988. As a result, Gonzalez was named Willie Wilson Baserunner of the Year by the Royals, which goes to the best baserunner in the Kansas City farm system. He was caught 26 times last season, which is higher than what the Royals would like to see for a prospect with his speed tool. That said, as a teenager, the grind of the Carolina League slate seemed to get to him. In 68 games and 303 plate appearances from Opening Day until June 30th, he hit .270, stole 55 bases, and was caught 16 times, for a 29% caught-stealing rate. From July 1st to the end of the season, he hit .192, stole 23 bases, and was caught 10 times, for a 43% caught-stealing rate. Gonzalez was promoted to Double-A to help them in their stretch run of the season, but his fatigue seemed to be on full display, as he hit .167 in eight plate appearances. At 6'2, 170 pounds, Gonzalez has an athletic frame that could help him hit for more power as he fills out. Even if the power never fully comes, his plate discipline, contact ability, and Major League-ready speed should help him get to the big leagues, as a bench outfielder at the very least. 9th: Drew Beam, RHP (Highest Level: High-A) Beam was a third-round pick out of the University of Tennessee who signed an overslot deal worth $1,097,500 in the 2024 MLB Draft. The right-handed pitcher didn't pitch at all professionally after getting drafted due to the Volunteers' run in the College World Series. However, he indeed thrived in his first taste of professional experience. In 26 games and 131.2 IP with the Quad Cities River Bandits, Beam posted a 3.83 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, and K-BB% of 14.9%. The 22-year-old was not a high-strikeout pitcher with the River Bandits. However, he showcased excellent control (5.6% walk rate) and kept the ball in the yard (0.55 HR/9). As a result, he posted a 3.35 FIP, which was much better than his ERA last season. Beam showed a better strikeout ability at the beginning of the season, which was evident in some of his early starts with Quad Cities in April and May. From High-A Opening Day until June 29th, Beam posted a 2.95 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 21.4% K rate, and 16.2% K-BB% in 15 starts. From June 30th to the end of the season? He posted a 5.04 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 19.3% K rate, and 13.2% K-BB%. Much like Gonzalez, Beam seemed to hit a wall in the second half in his first full exposure to professional competition. Despite this, the former Volunteer may be one of the best pitchers in the Royals' lower minors right now. He sports a solid four-pitch mix that includes a four-seamer, curveball, cutter, and changeup. Like many Royals pitchers in the system, he doesn't have an elite pitch. Still, the combination of his diverse repertoire and strong command makes him an effective and efficient pitcher with middle-of-the-rotation upside at the Major League level. Noah Cameron hit a similar wall in 2023 in his first full professional season. Thus, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Beam, much like Cameron in 2024, rebound from that experience, do much better in 2026, and put himself in a position to make the Opening Day rotation in 2027. His profile and approach feel very similar to a right-handed Cameron (but with more fastball upside). 8th: Ramon Ramirez, C (Highest Level: Low-A) Going into the 2025 season, one could argue that Ramirez was every bit as elite a catching prospect as Carter Jensen and Blake Mitchell. After Jensen's sensational season, that comparison has faded a bit today, but that shouldn't diminish the upside the 20-year-old Venezuelan catcher possesses. In 70 games and 307 plate appearances with the Fireflies, Ramirez slashed .244/.339/.442 with a .781 OPS. Unlike Mitchell, who struck out in bunches in Low-A and High-A ball over the past two years, Ramirez only struck out 21.7% of the time and posted a BB/K ratio of 0.55. He also showcased excellent pop in the Carolina League with a 13.9% HR/FB rate. Injuries limited him somewhat, which explains why he had only 307 plate appearances last season with the Fireflies. When healthy, however, he showed a solid approach at the plate and solid skills behind it. Ramirez doesn't have the defensive upside or athleticism of Jensen or Mitchell. However, he has a polished receiving tool that could at least make him a serviceable backup at the Major League level. His arm strength is also above-average and could profile similarly at the Major League level to other Royals catchers from Venezuela like Freddy Fermin and Salvador Perez (though he could stand to improve his 19% caught-stealing rate last year). The key for Ramirez in the future will be his bat, which is mature for his age. In 170 plate appearances in the Complex League in 2024, he posted a 0.62 BB/K ratio and hit 2.65 with seven home runs in 203 plate appearances in Arizona. He hits too many groundballs for a player with his power and batted-ball ability (40% GB rate last year), but he can truly crush balls when he elevates them properly. How Ramirez meshes with the new hitting development team will be interesting to watch, especially as he matriculates to High-A Quad Cities in 2026. 7th: Josh Hammond, 3B (Highest Level: High School) Hammond was the 28th overall pick in the 2025 MLB draft and the Royals' second selection in that particular draft. However, many scouts believed that Hammond was the Royals' top overall selection last season, given his upside and potential. The son of a college coach, Hammond was a two-way player who showed excellent bat speed and batted-ball ability, not just a prep player, but in pre-draft workouts. Here's what MLB Pipeline said about Hammond in their own scouting report, pointing out not just his power, but his mature decision-making at the plate for a teenager. Hammond did get some time in the instructional league and seemed to hold his own, according to reports. While no public stats are shared about his time there, he did showcase his power, as evidenced in this clip below from the Royals Player Development account. There's definitely a maturity in the way he carries himself at the plate, even in that limited sample clip. However, he will be much more challenged in Low-A Columbia, where he likely will play in his first full-season experience. How he handles not just professional pitching, but the grind of "bus league" ball could determine his long-term outlook, as the physical tools are there for Hammond to be successful at the plate and on the field (his arm is a plus tool due to his pitching background). The Royals tend to move more slowly with prospects drafted out of high school, and there's no reason to think that they won't do that with Hammond. However, a strong start in Columbia could make the Royals more aggressive about promoting to High-A later in 2026. 6th: Sean Gamble, OF/2B (Highest Level: High School) Gamble was the Royals' first selection in the 2025 MLB Draft, going 23rd overall, five picks before Hammond. The prep prospect was drafted out of IMG Academy, but he grew up in Iowa with an affinity for the Royals. The 19-year-old doesn't have the raw power or batted-ball upside of Hammond just yet. However, Gamble profiles as a better athlete who not only has blazing speed on the basepaths and gap-to-gap power, but is capable of playing multiple positions in the outfield and infield. Looking at his scouting report on MLB Pipeline, it seems the Royals' scouting department valued Gamble's versatility and his ability to grow into his athletic frame as he progressed in the farm system. It was tough to discern between Gamble and Hammond as to who is the better prospect in the Royals' system (especially since both have no professional experience). Hammond definitely seems to have more polish now, especially offensively, and it wouldn't be surprising to see Hammond come out of the gate better in Low-A Columbia than his fellow draft classmate. However, Gamble has more upside and versatility, with the ability to be an accurate multi-position weapon, which fits what is needed in the modern MLB game. That gives Gamble the edge over Hammond as a prospect, for now. View the full article

The free agency floodgates have cracked open. The Miami Marlins' first catch of the 2025-26 offseason is right-hander Evan McKendry, who has signed a minor league deal which includes an invite to spring training, as announced on Tuesday by McKendry's agent, Gavin Kahn. Entering his age-28 season, McKendry is a former ninth-round draft pick of the Tampa Bay Rays. He got his first taste of Triple-A in 2022, but he's been stuck there ever since. This past season, he pitched 87 ⅓ innings (24 G/14 GS) with a 5.26 ERA for the AAA affiliates of the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago White Sox. Although he has demonstrated sharp control as a pro, he's also been homer-prone, even when facing same-handed batters. Regardless of how the rest of this winter unfolds, McKendry will be among the softest throwers in Marlins camp. His four-seam fastball only averages 90.8 mph. His arsenal also includes a sinker, cutter, changeup and sweeper. McKendry will attempt to become the first former Hurricane to play a major league game for the Marlins since Peter O'Brien in 2019. In case you missed it, Kevin Barral and Sean McCormack recently floated the names of 10 other minor league free agents who'd fit well with the Fish. View the full article

With the cutoff for Rule 5 protection on Tuesday night, plenty of teams had to designate players for assignment to make room for prospects on their 40-man roster. As a result, a handful of new players are now available to either claim off waivers or sign with a team when they inevitably become free agents. With the Twins on the lookout for roster upgrades, a few names may make some sense. Jason Foley Foley was a legitimate high-end reliever for the Tigers in 2023 and 2024, combining for 129 innings pitched with an ERA under 3.00. Previously an undrafted free agent, he beat the odds to become a durable and effective relief option for several seasons. A shoulder injury cost him all of 2025, and he's now in search of a new team at 30 years old. At his best, Foley is a power sinkerballer, comfortably sitting in the high 90s on his heater to pair with a dominant slider. Foley has high-leverage experience, which would be a welcome addition to an inexperienced Twins bullpen. Health is the big question mark, as his medicals are surely the reason the Tigers chose not to hold onto him. If Foley can take the mound in 2026, the Twins should be very interested. Nathaniel Lowe This was the worst season of Lowe's career, and it may drop him into the Twins' price range. He posted a .798 OPS from 2022-2024 before a miserable stint with Washington at the beginning of last season. After landing with the Red Sox for the stretch run, he posted a .790 OPS in 34 games. Lowe has been a starting-caliber first baseman for the better part of four years, and may be just what the Twins need at first base. Though left-handed (like the incumbent Kody Clemens), Lowe owns an above-average slash line in his career against southpaws, in addition to crushing righties. He doesn't need to be platooned and posts more respectable walk and strikeout rates than Clemens. His pricey arbitration number was likely the driving factor in the decision to cut him, which means he's likely to hit the open market and have plenty of interest at a lower price tag. If the Twins can make it happen, bringing Lowe in on a prove-it one-year deal makes a lot of sense. Dauri Moreta It was surprising to see the Pirates part with an interesting arm like Moreta, but another team could benefit by giving him a roster spot. The burly righthander is now out of options, so Pittsburgh decided to part ways rather than gamble on his dominant stuff without the ability to shuttle him to the minors. He posted a 31.8% strikeout rate while limiting homers in 2023, before missing 2024 after Tommy John surgery. He flashed that dominance in his return in 2025, and the hope is that he's at 100%, being another year removed from injury. Moreta throws a unique slider that typically draws a whiff rate of around 40%. Pairing it with a mid-90s fastball, he should continue to rack up strikeouts. Moreta looked like a rising star before his injury and still has three years of team control. He's just 29 years old. His raw stuff could immediately drop him into a high-leverage role in 2026, and he could become a premier reliever if everything clicks. Are there any other players in similar circumstances whom you would like to see the Twins claim? Let us know below! View the full article

The Minnesota Twins added six prospects to their 40-man roster in order to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft: Gabriel Gonzalez, John Klein, Hendry Mendez, Andrew Morris, Connor Prielipp, and Kendry Rojas. Klein is a great story, a Minnesota boy who was a long shot to ever make it this far, having originally signed with the Twins as an undrafted free agent. The Twins also acquired reliever Eric Orze from the Rays. He'll step right into the MLB bullpen picture. This video includes some highlights of both Klein and Orze. View the full article

With December's Winter Meetings approaching, free agency rumors around the Blue Jays are intensifying. The central question is whether Bo Bichette will be re-signed. If he doesn't return, a significant void arises in the batting order, and urgent solutions will be needed. Jeff Passan of ESPN reports the Blue Jays want a left-handed hitter to pair with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Kyle Schwarber and Kyle Tucker have been suggested, but they are widely sought after, and each could earn about $34–36 million annually. The Blue Jays may look at less expensive options after losing out on top talent in recent offseasons, including Shohei Ohtani, Roki Sasaki, Corbin Burnes, Max Fried, and Juan Soto. Passan now links the Blue Jays to Cody Bellinger as a more affordable option than Schwarber or Tucker. DiamondCentric projects a six-year, $130 million contract for Bellinger. Last season with the New York Yankees, he hit .272/.334/.480 with 89 runs, 29 home runs, 98 RBIs, an .814 OPS, and a 125 wRC+. He can play any outfield position or first base, though the team values Guerrero's glove at first. George Springer will likely remain the primary designated hitter to stay healthy. The Blue Jays' outfield is crowded with Nathan Lukes, Daulton Varsho, and Anthony Santander returning. However, with Varsho's and Santander's injury histories, a healthier option would be a smart addition, and Lukes can come off the bench. Bellinger has played at least 130 games in each of the last four seasons. As the World Series showed, the Blue Jays need more offense, and if Bichette doesn't return, Bellinger could fill the resulting production gap. Featured image courtesy of Brad Penner, Imagn Images. View the full article