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As first reported by Mike Rodriguez (and later confirmed by ESPN's Alden González), the Toronto Blue Jays have agreed to a minor league contract with Eloy Jiménez that includes an invitation to big league spring training. The outfielder/DH spent the final month of the 2025 season in the Blue Jays organization. Jiménez, 29, did not play in the majors last season. He spent most of the year with the Durham Bulls, the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays, before he was released in July and subsequently signed a minor league pact with the Blue Jays. He didn't hit very well in Durham, slashing .278/.335/.397 for a 93 wRC+, but he really struggled with the Buffalo Bisons, going just 3-for-18 with a 48 wRC+. Despite his recent issues, Jiménez still comes with upside. At his best, he was a fearsome right-handed slugger, and he owns a career .780 OPS and 112 wRC+ in the big leagues. Not yet 30, it's more than possible he could rediscover the power that made him such a talented hitter earlier in his career. This is a no-risk signing for the Blue Jays, and the rewards could be plentiful if they help Jiménez get back on track. Featured image courtesy of Jonathan Dyer, Imagn Images. View the full article

For long weeks that froze over and became months, Cubs fans waited for their own personal hot stove to spark. Suddenly, in a week becoming their annual moment of truth and on an auspicious night for all Chicago sports supporters, it came together. The franchise's future came much more clearly into view. While Bears fans watched their team make a heroic playoff comeback against the Green Bay Packers, their phones lit up, delivering the news that Alex Bregman had agreed to a five-year deal with the team. Along with the trade that brought young right-handed pitcher Edward Cabrera to the North Side just over 72 hours earlier, that signing announced the team's earnest intention to return to title contention in the National League. If you want to dive deeper into the story about either of the new ball players Craig Counsell's team just acquired, please check out our comprehensive coverage here at North Side Baseball. Here, suffice it to say that in making these moves, Jed Hoyer's front office showed an urgency not seen here since the days of Theo Epstein. Hoyer and his staff will probably never admit to having a perception problem, but their recent actions suggest they're aware of its existence. The Cubs are a big-market team that has enough funds to go toe-to-toe with any other club in baseball when it comes to talent acquisition. This is a 90-win club that has watched its rivals in Milwaukee seize three straight division titles and five of the last eight, while the Cubs only limped to one—in the shortened, meaningless COVID season of 2020. The North Siders finally made it back to the postseason in 2025, but that shouldn't be their measuring stick for success or failure. They should plan to win the division every year, or go down swinging in the effort. These moves show that they agree with that, even if ownership is reluctant to spend what it would take to establish that standard. A new era of Chicago Cubs baseball is about to start, and since recent events have given this club a clear direction, the season can't come soon enough. Real change feels possible. The Cubs signed Shota Imanaga on Jan. 11, 2024. They were, in a way, right on schedule this year, making their big splashes in that same sweet spot of the offseason where talent is still available but freezer burn hasn't set in. Now, we all just have to wait and see what other changes come before spring training—and how these moves pay off come Opening Day. View the full article

Tyler Black, a Milwaukee Brewers prospect yet to establish himself in MLB, has garnered a spot on Canada's World Baseball Classic roster. That came as a result of Los Angeles Dodgers superstar first baseman Freddie Freeman withdrawing from a third appearance with Canada in the WBC due to personal reasons. Black, a first and third baseman who has also played a little left field, ranks 24th among Brewers prospects. While having a solid .270/.399/.442 slash line with 42 homers and 222 RBIs across five minor-league seasons, Black has only seen 23 games of action at the MLB level with the Brewers, with a .211/.357/.263 slash line. Canada has never advanced out of pool play in its five WBC appearances. View the full article

According to Will Sammon and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the San Diego Padres would like to add another starting pitcher this offseason, though it comes with the caveat that the Padres may need to trade Nick Pivetta to clear salary space. Free-agent starters still on the board include Framber Valdez, Ranger Suárez, Zac Gallen, Nick Martinez, Chris Bassitt, Zack Littell, Patrick Corbin, Erick Fedde, Justin Verlander, Miles Mikolas, Nestor Cortes, Lucas Giolito, Jose Quintana, Aaron Civale, Marcus Stroman, Jordan Montgomery, John Means, Alex Cobb, and Walker Buehler. With the Padres still wrestling with budget concerns and expressing an interest in trading Pivetta, it will be difficult to find a net improvement in the rotation. View the full article

Jason Ross and Brock Beauchamp analyze the five-year contract the Cubs gave to third baseman Alex Bregman just days after trading for Edward Cabrera. What does this mean for the Cubs' infield in 2026 and beyond, particularly Matt Shaw and Nico Hoerner? 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

We are already a week into January. That means we are less than a week from the start of the 2026 International Free Agent Signing Period. Clubs will be scrambling to finalize deals that had been informally agreed upon with handshakes with their prospects and finding the talent that will round out their programs in the years to come. Projecting young baseball talent is hard in any context, but international free agency pushes that challenge to an extreme. In the United States, scouts evaluate high school players who are 15-18 years old. College players are typically 18-22 years old. By then, bodies have developed a little more, skill sets are a little clearer, and the physical projection window is narrower. Even then, teams often miss. Now imagine trying to do these three or four years earlier, in a foreign country, where creating opportunities means working with very young people just entering the early years of growth and development. On the international market, scouts begin following players at 13 or 14 years old—sometimes even younger. These aren’t fully formed athletes yet; they’re children whose bodies, strength, mechanics, and maturity will change dramatically before they turn 20. Yet by 16 or 17, many of them are signing professional contracts with Major League Baseball organizations. The projection gap is enormous, and the risk is baked into the process. When comparing U.S. and international scouting, several key differences stand out. U.S. players are typically scouted between ages 15 and 21, while international prospects are often evaluated as early as 12 to 16. This age difference also affects body maturity: domestic players are mostly physically developed, whereas international teenagers are still rapidly growing and changing. These factors contribute to the relative risk of bust, which is generally medium for U.S. players but very high for international signees, making projection and player evaluation considerably more challenging. Players drafted in college, instead of early on in their formative years of 17/18, are at a much higher risk of being a bust than international players. Take for example Twins outfielder, Austin Martin. Martin was not an international player, but he attended Trinity Academy in Florida and while there, he played for Team USA at the age of 14 in 2014. In 2017, he was drafted by Cleveland in the 37th round, he turned down the offer and went to Vanderbilt. For him, it was an opportunity to mature physically and emotionally. He had an outstanding collegiate career. He was considered the top hitter in the 2020 draft and as the fifth overall pick by the Blue Jays, he got a $7mm signing bonus. Things haven't come easily for Martin in pro ball. He came to the Twins in the Jose Berrios trade in 2021. Since then, he has bounced back and forth between the minors and the big-league club and has yet to secure a full-time roster spot, with what was a slam dunk draft pick. On the international market, scouts must project what 13-14-year-olds will look like when they are 23-27, a nearly impossible task. Before 2020, the signing date was July 2. Since 2021, January 15 has aligned scouting with the offseason and provided better structure. Twins Daily, specifically ramps up reports for prospects and international signings for January 15, so check out our coverage as we move forward. This article is not to say that international scouting doesn’t work. In fact, it has worked for a lot of teams, including the Twins, but it’s not as simple as showing up to a scouting event like in the U.S. and leaving with the confidence that the junior in high school has the potential to be ready in a year or two, or after college. It means they have to “see the potential” and know that those kids could be developed into an asset to the team. At a minimum, someone they can get good trade value for. International scouting is built on long-term relationships, trust, and projection. While scouts look at players in their younger years, they cannot sign until they are 16, which means a lot of watching, evaluating, and building trust with the families. It’s selling your organization’s facilities in the Dominican Republic, but also in the United States. The Twins have very nice arrangements for young minor leagues with new complexes built in Boca Chica and in Fort Myers. In 2017, the Twins opened their baseball academy in the Dominican Republic on Tuesday, hosting a grand opening in Boca Chica with the Phillies, who share the facility. The two clubs entered a partnership to help build the $18 million academy, which is housed on 45 acres. It features six baseball fields and housing for prospects. It will allow prospects for both teams to live and train at the facility while also participating in education and cultural development programs. Parents know their child will be fed. Most organizations provide these players with an education so they can reach a GED which will serve them well if baseball isn’t in their future. The same is available when the recruits come to Fort Myers in Florida. The Twins have the Lee Sports Complex which comes with the Development Academy, and a 112-room residence hall for players, coaches and staff. While it hosts the Clubs spring training, it serves as a year-round facility for the international students where they can not only train, but an education as well. They also have access to common areas and a play room for down time, when they get it. Adding to the complexity, teams often unofficially agree to deals years before the signing date. These “handshake agreements” are an open secret in baseball and mean that clubs commit significant resources to players before they have fully matured, leaving the team with even less margin for error. They must also be registered with Major League Baseball before any signings and meet residency requirements, meaning they must reside outside the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. This article at Baseball Tips does a great job of breaking down what is expected from all sides of the coin. Still, the heart of the challenge remains: projection is guesswork, and the volatility of international talent is extraordinarily high. Some mega-bonus signings never reach the majors. Others, who received far smaller bonuses, became All-Stars. For every highly touted prospect, dozens never leave the complex leagues. If the Twins want to stay competitive and do so within a budget, creating a strong farm system of all signees internationally and from the draft is the only way to do that. With all of this complexity swirling around the international landscape, one big question rises for Twins fans: How well has Minnesota navigated this uniquely challenging market? View the full article

In 2025, Craig Counsell had one of the better starting rotations in the big leagues, based on results. Several of the successes won by the 2025 version of this club emanated from the bump. Yet, the team ran out of starter steam in the postseason, so they made a significant addition to their mix this week. Let's review where the rotation stands, as the beginning of spring training comes into view on the horizon. Cade Horton Featuring an outstanding array of pitches and command that earned him second place in last season's NL Rookie of the Year voting, Horton is the ace of this staff. Entering last season, we knew his fastball, slider and curveball had a chance to be special. However, what he did with his changeup, a pitch that yielded just a .115 average from opposing batters last season, took him to a new level. Only his durability is in question. He missed the team's crucial final stretch heading into the postseason with a rib injury, and was denied his playoff debut after the Cubs were ousted from the tournament before he could recover. Matthew Boyd The 34-year-old veteran returns to the rotation after enjoying perhaps his best season in the big leagues. In his All-Star campaign, Boyd showed both command and composure. With an excellent walk rate and feel for several pitches, he gutted his way through a season in which his workload far exceeded what the team expected to need from him when they signed him to a two-year deal last winter. Depending on how quickly newcomer Edward Cabrera ascends through the rotation, Boyd's spot could slide, though he still stands as one of the vital pieces of this staff. Edward Cabrera The shiniest new toy at 1060 W. Addison (at least on the pitching side), Cabrera, 27, is a near-bottomless well of talent and upside. While he has certainly struggled with injuries, the strikeout-heavy righty features a dominant curveball with which he punched out 54 batters last season. His changeup borders on being a splinker, with the ability to push it past 95 MPH. Cabrera will also enjoy better offense and defense in support of his outings than he received in Miami. If he stays healthy, he'll be the bat-misser the rotation lacked in 2025. Jameson Taillon Pitching just shy of 130 innings last season, Taillon had a 1.06 WHIP in 2025. He, too, excelled at limiting walks, and kept the team in the game nearly every time he took the mound. In only five of his 23 starts did he hurt the team's win probability by more than 2.7%. Entering his 10th major-league season, Taillon is a steady presence in the clubhouse. You know what to expect from him every five days on the mound, and every day off of it. For a team with a stable of young starters, his veteran presence will augment the youth movement. Shota Imanaga In a 2024 season that ultimately ended in oppressive disappointment for the Cubs, no one endeared himself more to fans of North Side baseball in Chicago than Imanaga. He was cruising, legitimately flirting with a 20-win season, and warranted Cy Young talk until sputtering in the second half of the campaign. Sadly, in 2025, the charismatic starting pitcher more closely resembled what he was in the second half of his rookie season. A hamstring injury kept him out longer than anyone had hoped, and throughout the second half, he was plagued by home runs that often put the Cubs in an early hole. In what will likely be his final year in a Cubs uniform, Imanaga looks to bounce back with a return to his 2024 form. That will depend on whether or not he can execute his splitter better, especially throwing it below the zone for chases. Should he reclaim that command, the fan favorite could be a sneaky weapon—albeit an expensive one. Justin Steele An elbow injury early in 2025 wiped out nearly all of the southpaw's season. The setback led to Steele's second career Tommy John surgery. His injuries, in fact, created the impetus for the Cubs to seek and develop other viable starting pitchers, which led to the rotation's current composition. Not since his impressive 2023 16-5 season have we seen what Steele can really do. His cut-ride heater and slider form a solid combination. An intentional and gradual ramp-up will be the key to Steele's success in 2026. Luckily, the squad has some depth, with Colin Rea and Javier Assad. All told, his return will be a welcome one, but it needn't be hurried. The five probable starters in this forecasted rotation each bring something unique to the table. They're not a dominant group, but they've moved from perhaps average to a tier higher. Their depth should ensure that they stay in contention throughout 2026, and if they reach October, they'll be better-equipped to advance this time. View the full article

Dear readers, today we are going to take you back to 1982, when the Milwaukee Brewers reached the World Series for the first and only time in franchise history. It seems like only yesterday that this 22-year-old sat intently before the television, watching every minute of every game of that exciting Series. This multi-part series talks about how the Brewers got there and offers a chronological timeline of the 1982 campaign, including player profiles, game recaps, and other events that affected the season. The 1981 Brewers Season, Complete With a Work Stoppage In 1981, the Milwaukee Brewers reached the postseason for the first time in franchise history, albeit during a strike-shortened campaign. The stoppage began on June 12 and lasted until the players and management reached an agreement on July 31. An All-Star game was played on August 9, and the regular season resumed the next day. The season was split into two halves, with first-half winners playing second-half winners in both leagues for the right to advance to the League Championship and the World Series. The Brewers finished three games behind the New York Yankees in the first half, and it looked like the second half was going to be more of the same, with Milwaukee trailing the Detroit Tigers by three games with only 17 games to go in mid-September. But the Brewers got hot and won 11 of those games and edged both Detroit and Boston by 1 ½ games to win the second-half title in the American League East. Sadly for Milwaukee, the Yankees took three of five games to end the Brewers' season. After the final game, Brewers manager Bob Rodgers said, “We came a long way. This was Step One. Step Two will be in spring training” (Wisconsin State Journal, October 12, 1981). Reliever Rollie Fingers was rewarded for his major league-leading 28 saves, 333 ERA+, and 0.87 WHIP season by winning both the Cy Young Award and the Most Valuable Player Award in the American League, one of only 11 hurlers to claim both honors in the same season. The Brewers Offseason and the Beginning of Spring Training 1982 The Brewers made few moves in the off-season. Their biggest deal was when they traded pitcher Rickey Keeton to the Houston Astros for reliever Pete Ladd. (The pitcher nicknamed ‘Bigfoot’ spent most of 1982 at Triple-A Vancouver but was promoted to Milwaukee in mid-July when pitcher Jamie Easterly went on the disabled list.) Also, just before Thanksgiving, Lorn Brown stepped down from the Brewers radio team when flagship station WISN announced that Bob Uecker’s workload would be increased to six innings, while Brown would be the play-by-play broadcaster for only three innings (Wisconsin State Journal, November 20, 1981). In December, Paul Molitor—who played only 46 games in the outfield and 16 at designated hitter due to ankle surgery—and Brewers management discussed a potential move to third base for the 1982 season (Capital Times, December 4, 1981). The Baseball Hall of Fame called Hank Aaron in January, along with outfielder Frank Robinson. The former Milwaukee Brave and Brewer was named on 406 of the 415 ballots cast. Wonder why nine people left him off their lists… In more broadcast news, it was announced in early February that former Brewer Mike Hegan would join Steve Shannon to do broadcasts for WVTV. The Milwaukee station planned on airing 60 games during the regular season (Wisconsin State Journal, February 4, 1982). Outfielder/designated hitter Larry Hisle, who had played in only 44 games the previous two years, was making his third attempt at a comeback for the Brewers (The Capital Times, February 22, 1982). Unfortunately for Hisle, he would last only nine games during the regular season before going on the DL once again after rotator cuff and other surgeries on his right shoulder. He would announce his retirement after the season. Remember Bob Rodgers, the prophetic Brewers manager? In early March, he told reporters that “If we don’t win, I’m gone. It’s as simple as that” (The Capital Times, March 4, 1982). How did he do? Find out in Part 2. View the full article

Edward Cabrera brings frontline stuff and cost-controlled youth to the Chicago Cubs' rotation, but is the 27-year-old's injury history too blinding to ignore? View the full article

Alex Bregman will be the straw that stirs the drink for the Cubs over the balance of this decade. He joins the team as a dynamic offensive force designed to make up for the team's otherwise left-leaning core pieces, and as a forceful personality who fits perfectly into their clubhouse. Craig Counsell's daily duty of filling out the lineup card just got a lot easier. Let's project a few ways the team's batting order could take shape each day, based on matchups and the talent they've collected over the last handful of years. First, when they face a right-handed starter, things seem likely to shake out in pretty straightforward fashion: Michael Busch - 1b Alex Bregman - 3b Ian Happ - lf Seiya Suzuki - rf Moisés Ballesteros - dh Nico Hoerner - 2b Pete Crow-Armstrong - cf Miguel Amaya - c Dansby Swanson - ss This (effectively) has the Cubs alternating left- and right-handed batters all the way down to the bottom of the order, where righties Miguel Amaya and Dansby Swanson double up. It gives them four extremely well-established on-base standouts at the top of the order, each with 20-homer power, and it leaves lots of upside clustered into the remaining spots. Bregman's arrival takes considerable pressure off Moisés Ballesteros, pushing him down to fifth in this configuration of the lineup. Speaking of which, against lefties, Ballesteros might not need to start at all. Here's one way the team could set up against southpaw starters. Nico Hoerner - 2b Ian Happ - lf Alex Bregman - 3b Seiya Suzuki - dh Tyler Austin - 1b Dansby Swanson - ss Carson Kelly - c Kevin Alcántara - rf Pete Crow-Armstrong - cf Swapping out Michael Busch and Ballesteros for Tyler Austin and Kevin Alcántara makes the team very stout against lefties. Bregman's .280/.372/.489 career line against lefties comes with more walks (196) than strikeouts (181); he's the lefty-masher the lineup needed in its upper half. Subbing Busch in for Austin as soon as the opponent goes to a righty would still leave him protected by righty sluggers Suzuki and Swanson, so the opposing manager would be in a tough spot if they sought to bring in another lefty to face Busch the next time around. One notable name doesn't appear in either of the formulations above. Thus, let's consider a third setup, most likely to be deployed against lefties but designed to maximize different strengths, and perhaps platoon-neutral. Nico Hoerner - 2b Alex Bregman - dh Ian Happ - lf Seiya Suzuki - rf Michael Busch - 1b Dansby Swanson - ss Pete Crow-Armstrong - cf Miguel Amaya - c Matt Shaw - 3b Bregman is a good enough hitter to add value even when he doesn't play the field. Sliding him to the DH spot occasionally makes room in the lineup for Matt Shaw, whose opportunities will otherwise be limited for a team now loaded with infield options. Shaw had an uneven rookie season, but he's developed into a plus defender at the hot corner, and when going well, he can be a boost at the bottom of the batting order, too. This is probably the best defensive alignment the team can muster, though to truly maximize that, they could swap Alcántara in for Suzuki in right field. Without Bregman, lots of these potential setups left Ballesteros or Austin batting cleanup, or Busch in a key lineup spot against lefties. They were likely to be reliant on getting the good things they've seen from Pete Crow-Armstrong, Miguel Amaya and Shaw over the last two years, without the bad. That's a lot to hope for, and they no longer need to pray on those dice rolls with the same fervor. Bregman ties the lineup together, and even if the group lacks an elite power hitter, they've achieved depth they had lacked ever since they traded away the core of their championship team. View the full article

In case you missed it, the Cubs made a move to acquire right-handed starter Edward Cabrera from the Marlins. In exchange, they sent over three prospects: Owen Caissie (No. 47 prospect overall), middle infielder Cristian Hernandez (No.11 CHC prospect), and corner infielder Edgardo De Leon. It’s a big move for the Cubs’ rotation for several reasons, but here at Brewer Fanatic, we only care about how it affects us on the north side of I-94. We’ve already established that Milwaukee’s front office doesn’t let the moves of even its closest rivals drive the pace at which they operate their offseason, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t been paying attention. They weren’t looking to acquire Cabrera, nor did they care about any of Chicago’s prospects sent to Miami,but his price could dictate what other teams may be willing to pay for Freddy Peralta. Let’s start by getting a high-level overview of how these two starting pitchers stack up against each other in 2025: Freddy Peralta Edward Cabrera IP 176.2 137.2 ERA 2.70 3.53 ERA- 65 83 FIP 3.64 3.83 FIP- 88 93 fWAR 3.6 2.0 K% 28.2% 25.8% BB% 9.1% 8.3% On paper, it seems like Freddy was clearly the better pitcher. He had better results in every major statistical category other than walk rate over a larger sample size. If you want to get into the weeds about what Cabrera did better, you can point out his slightly higher chase rate or his greater run value efficiency with breaking pitches, but ultimately, he didn’t do as much for the Marlins as Peralta did for the Brewers. However, performance over a single season or even over several past seasons is far from the only thing that front offices look at when assessing trades. Another important factor is the player's future value. Team control and future upside are both key decision-making components as well. 2026 will be Peralta’s final season under team control, which is exactly the reason Milwaukee is tempted to trade him. Making a competitive offer to retain him in free agency simply doesn’t fit with their organization’s modus operandi, and like Devin Williams, Corbin Burnes, and Josh Hader, selling high on pitching talent is more their speed. For the acquiring team, the incentive to acquire him would be to serve as a one-year boon to a rotation that’s ambitious about making the playoffs but may not have the pieces to do so right now. This could be because of waiting on younger talent to debut and/or develop, injuries, or a mix of several factors. The Cubs’ acquisition of Kyle Tucker last offseason fell into this camp, giving them a much-needed boost to make the postseason for the first time since 2020. Of course, this comes under the assumption that the player will be as productive as usual in that one year and not face injuries or steep regression over a short-lived tenure. On the other hand, Cabrera is much more of a long-term investment. He won’t hit free agency until 2029, and up to that point, he’ll come at an affordable price. He made just $1.95 million in 2025 and agreed to a $4.45 million contract with the Cubs shortly after being traded. Cabrera is also younger by almost two years and, according to our good friends at North Side Baseball, has a lot of potential just waiting to be unlocked by Chicago’s pitching development staff. Before we assess how Peralta’s market value compares to that of Cabrera’s, it’s also important to touch on the state of other starting pitching offerings, specifically free agents. It’s a fairly skewed set of offerings this winter with Framber Valdez and Ranger Suarez likely exceeding the financial restrictions of most MLB organizations while also being significantly more enticing than the rest of the offerings. This makes someone like Peralta, who is great but not quite elite, an appealing middle-of-the-road option, especially given his team-friendly $8 million salary for this upcoming season. In turn, this gives the Brewers’ negotiating leverage as they have no obligation to let him go but would be more than willing to move him for the right price. In exchange for a player with two more years of team control, respectable promise, and recent numbers that are a step below what Peralta posted in 2025, the Marlins were able to get three prospects, including one that was in the MLB Top 100. Should Peralta expect to get something similar? To me, the answer is complex. Because of his cheap contract, it’s not the end of the world if Milwaukee doesn’t get anything out of him by way of prospects this year. In fact, earlier in the offseason, Matt Arnold said it wasn’t something he was thinking about, but that could be yet another front office psyop. But if it is true, it leads to a situation where he’d only be traded if the return was significant. A recent move that serves as an apt comparison is the deal that sent Burnes to Baltimore. Similarly, he had a single year of team control remaining, and Milwaukee turned him into Joey Ortiz (No. 99 overall prospect in 2023), DL Hall (No. 97 overall prospect in 2023), and a compensatory draft pick. A fairly good haul, especially considering that draft pick was used to select Blake Burke in 2024. There was more urgency to trade Burnes, but he was also considered more of an ace that could be slotted at the top of nearly any rotation in MLB at the time, which leads me to believe Peralta could absolutely net a similar prospect package. With all of this in mind, it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary to see Peralta bring Milwaukee a compelling set of prospects. He has a more established body of work and, along with his contributions on the mound, can also bring leadership and other veteran qualities to any clubhouse. The Brewers won’t let him go for just anyone, but the Edward Cabrera trade established a baseline of what teams should expect to pay if they want him for 2026. View the full article

Zebby Matthews did not deliver the season many had hoped for in 2025, especially after his breakout minor league season. The surface numbers were rough, the contact quality was worse than expected, and the results often failed to live up to the promise that followed him up the minor league ladder. Still, writing him off after one uneven year would miss the bigger picture. When you look beyond the ERA and dig into how Matthews actually pitched, there are plenty of reasons to believe his 2026 season could look very different. The run prevention was ugly. Matthews finished his rookie campaign with a 5.56 ERA across just under 80 innings, and the batted ball profile worked against him. Too many balls were hit hard (38.8 Hard-Hit%), and too many were lifted into the air, leaving little margin for error. Even the expected numbers did not entirely bail him out, reinforcing that hitters were squaring him up more often than a pitcher with his stuff should allow. That said, the Twins have every incentive to keep giving Matthews opportunities. He currently projects to be one of the team’s options for the back of the rotation, but there are plenty of arms to consider, including David Festa, Taj Bradley, Mick Abel, and Simeon Woods Richardson. The rotation could also look very different by midseason. With trade speculation swirling around established arms, Matthews is positioned to climb the depth chart simply by staying healthy and available. Opportunity alone matters, and Matthews is likely to get it. What makes that opportunity intriguing is how strong his underlying performance actually was. Matthews posted a 3.79 FIP and paired it with an 18.1 K-BB% that sat well above league average. Those numbers paint the picture of a pitcher who was doing many things right, even as the results lagged behind. For a young starter, that combination is usually a sign of future growth rather than a dead end. There was also tangible progress in his raw stuff. Matthews added velocity to his fastball, pushing it from 95.2 mph to 96.3 mph without sacrificing movement or shape. The issue was not quality but approach. Matthews lived in the heart of the strike zone far too often, and big league hitters rarely miss those mistakes. A more selective fastball plan, especially later in counts, could go a long way toward cutting down the damage. His slider remains the calling card. Thrown harder (88 mph) with tighter action, it became a legitimate bat-missing weapon against right-handed hitters (39.6 Whiff%). Matthews consistently buried it on the outer edge, generating chases and whiffs while limiting quality contact (0.260 xwOBACON). When the slider stayed down, hitters had little chance. When it drifted back into the zone, especially against left-handed bats, it became vulnerable. That is a command refinement issue, not a stuff problem. His splits against lefties are where the puzzle gets interesting. Matthews' K-BB% barely changed by handedness, yet the run prevention gap was massive. He held righties to a 2.73 FIP and lefties to a 4.97 FIP. That points almost entirely to home run susceptibility rather than to an inability to compete. Against left-handed hitters, most of his pitches were punished when they caught too much of the plate. The exception was his changeup. Quietly, it was his best answer to lefties. Matthews located it well on the outer third and avoided the heart of the zone, keeping contact relatively soft. However, he rarely threw the pitch with two strikes and only had one strikeout using arguably his best offspeed pitch for lefties. The result was a pitch that looked useful but never had the chance to impact outcomes. This could be a confidence issue for a player getting accustomed to big-league hitters. Pitch usage is one of the easiest adjustments a pitcher can make, and Matthews feels like a prime candidate. Reducing reliance on fastballs, especially in finishing counts, would better leverage his deep arsenal. Trusting the changeup against lefties, particularly when ahead, could directly address his biggest weakness from a year ago. These are not mechanical overhauls or health gambles. They are strategic tweaks. When you zoom out, Matthews still checks every box teams look for in a mid-rotation starter. He has size, velocity, multiple usable pitches, and command that already grade above average. The foundation is there. The challenge is aligning his approach with his strengths. That is why 2026 feels less like a crossroads and more like an opportunity. If Matthews makes even modest adjustments to how he sequences and deploys his arsenal, the gap between his peripherals and his results should narrow quickly. His 2025 season may have been disappointing, but the 2026 season has all the ingredients for a breakout. Do you believe Matthews can break out in 2026? Leave a comment and start the discussion. View the full article

The Royals have brought on some key free agents this offseason, with dominant setup man Matt Strahm from the Phillies alongside some additional veteran depth pieces in Kevin Newman and Abraham Toro, who will look to compete for a starting role in spring training. However, with the addition of Strahm has come the losses of Angel Zerpa and Hunter Harvey to the Cubs, Taylor Clarke, and Jonathan Bowlan to the Phillies. The losses of Zerpa, Bowlan, and Clarke combined for 164 1/3 innings with a combined 3.76 ERA and a 7-5 record. Reuniting With Scott Barlow Brings Leadership & Consistency The 32-year-old veteran righty signed a one-year, $2.5 million deal with a club option for 2027. Barlow started his career in Kansas City, logging 302 innings with a 133 ERA+ and 440 games. His best seasons came in 2021 and 2022, when he logged 148 innings with a 188 ERA+, a 12-7 record, 40 saves, 46 RAR, and 2.30 ERA. He was a nightmare for hitters in this two-year span, generating a 33.6 hard hit rate, 21.7 line drive percentage, and 2.2 HR%. After struggling in 2023, the Royals sent him to the Padres for prospects Jesus Rios and Henry Williams at the deadline. After appearing in 63 games with the Royals with a 5.35 ERA, RA9 of 6.05, and -4 RAA. He dominated, finishing with his third-best ERA of 3.07 in 25 games and cutting his RA9 in half to 3.99. After one year with the Guardians in 2024,he ranked in the top 94th percentile in whiff rate (33.6), 84th percentile in K% (28.2), 82nd percentile in barrel% (5.8), and 92nd percentile in hard-hit% (32.6). Last season, the Reds brought him in on a one-year deal, where he ranked in the top 1% in hard hit percentage at 30.5 and top 4% in average exit velocity at 86.2. In 68 1/3 innings with the Reds, he finished with a WPA of 1.7 and a career-best 0.86 clutch. He made his first postseason appearance after the Reds made a miraculous NLDS appearance, where they were dominated by the Dodgers. One of the few bright spots for the Reds in this appearance was Barlow’s 1 2/3 innings pitched against the powerhouse Dodgers offense. With the Reds down 5-0 in game two, Barlow entered the game in the bottom of the fourth looking to limit damage. Not only did he do that, but the Dodgers couldn’t find an answer to his sweeper and curveball. He finished the fourth inning, striking out the side, putting away backup catcher Ben Rortvedt on five pitches, Ohtani on seven pitches with a swing and a miss on a low sweeper, and finishing off the inning with a dominant four-pitch strikeout on back-to-back whiffs with the sweeper on Betts. He’d face two batters in the fifth with a lineout by Freeman before another strikeout with his Sweeper against Max Muncy on five pitches. Why is his appearance important, you may ask? After being pulled for Connor Phillips with two outs, the Dodgers would extend their lead with a home run from Teoscar Hernandez. Before Phillips would be tagged with two more runs the next inning with a two-run homer by Ohtani. Barlow will bring a five pitch repertoire led by his +5 run value in his sweeper that generated a whiff rate of 39.4, K% of 33.3, and hard hit% of 19.1, following close behind is his 92 MPH fastball at +2, with a .235 xBA, .476 xSLG, and 21.3 usage right, his curveball is an even zero rating with a 47.6 K%, .149 xBA, and 22% putaway percentage, his worst pitch was his slider at -2 giving up four home runs and allowing a .255 average when used. Finally, his sinker was primarily used against right-handers, coming at a +1 run value, generating a xWOBA of .351. He’d be fairly cheap coming back to a team where he had the best seasons of his career and recent postseason success at a projected two-year, $2.6 million salary. View the full article

This week's Edward Cabrera trade was simple from the Chicago Cubs' perspective. Coming off a wild-card berth in 2025, they believe he can make their starting rotation even stronger. Cabrera is coming off a career year and under club control through 2028. The right-hander's long list of past injury issues cannot be ignored, but by accepting that risk, the Cubs were able to get him without depleting their farm system. In exchange, the Miami Marlins received outfielder Owen Caissie and infielders Cristian Hernández and Edgardo De Leon. Here's what Marlins fans should know about each of them. Owen Caissie Caissie, 23, is the main piece of the return. This is a player who the Marlins have had their eye on for a while now, dating back to last offseason when they were in discussions with the Cubs about a potential Jesús Luzardo trade. These teams held Cabrera talks leading up to the July 2025 trade deadline and Caissie was made available back then, sources tell Fish On First. In Triple-A this past season, Caissie slashed .286/.386/.551/.937 with 22 home runs, 55 RBI and a 139 wRC+. The Cubs called him up towards the end of the season, and in 12 games, he slashed .192/.222/.346/.568 with one home run, four RBI and a 56 wRC+. He will very likely be on the Marlins Opening Day roster, slotting in right field, a source says. Caissie's swing decisions were a lot better compared to 2024, when he also played at AAA. He chased less outside the zone, going from 29.7% to 25.7%. He also made contact 52.0% of the time after only making contact 47.5% of the time the previous year. In Triple-A, Caissie had a barrel rate above 15%, hard-hit rate above 53%, average exit velocity above 92 mph, an xwOBA above .380, and a whiff rate under 28%. The only three MLB players to check all of those boxes last season were Juan Soto, Pete Alonso, and Ben Rice. QndvdmxfWGw0TUFRPT1fQXdaUkFsZFFWMU1BQUFjR1hnQUhBZzVYQUZrQkJsWUFVRndCVVZFRUF3cGRDUXBV (1).mp4 In his first taste of major league pitching, Caissie struck out 40.7% of the time against a 3.7% walk rate. Both of those marks will obviously need to improve for him to be successful. Pitches up and in to the left-handed hitter have given him problems, as shown by the graphic below. That is something the Marlins organization was able to address with Kyle Stowers last season. Slight mechanical adjustments turned him into an All-Star. YkI5OXdfWGw0TUFRPT1fQkZWUlUxVlNYZ0lBRFZ0V1ZBQUhWVk1EQUFNR1ZWUUFDMUJUVWdFRUFBQlNBQVpU.mp4 His power potential is elite, but expect Caissie to have growing pains in the majors. In a best-case scenario, his first full season of production could look similar to what James Wood provided for the 2025 Washington Nationals, consistently blasting extra-base hits to left-center field at loanDepot park. Cristian Hernández Hernández, 22, was a highly touted international prospect who signed with the Cubs out of the Dominican Republic in 2021. Unlike Caissie, he has not been showing much game power in the minors, with only 24 home runs through five professional seasons. This past season, in 115 games at the High-A level, he slashed .252/.329/.365/.694 with seven homers, 53 RBI, 54 stolen bases and a 99 wRC+. He was left unprotected for the Rule 5 draft and did not get selected. One positive is that Hernández has been putting more balls in play as the years go by. After posting a 30.3% strikeout rate in 2022, he has improved every year, dropping down to a 20.7 K% in 2025. "De Leon’s profile questions surround his bat-to-ball skills, as he ran a 34% whiff rate in 2025," notes Geoff Pontes of Baseball America. A lot of refinement is needed. De Leon has played both corner infield and both corner outfield positions in the past. He should be assigned to Low-A Jupiter. View the full article

As someone who covers the Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox for a living — and considers themselves a fan of both teams, though the Cubs will always be my childhood favorite — there is a really complicated mixture of emotions to work through re: the news that Alex Bregman is signing in the Windy City. We'll have a lot more on this signing and what it means for the immediate future of the Red Sox, but for now, I'll just put the spotlight squarely on the man who deserves it: Craig Breslow. The front office chief in Beantown (and former employee of the Cubs), Breslow has done some great work taking the foundation that Chaim Bloom built and bringing it up to the status of a playoff contender. Trading for Garrett Crochet was a brilliant move, and all of the extensions signed by the young core under Breslow's watch should keep Boston in the October picture for the foreseeable future. Plus, despite not making any major-league free-agent signings to this point in the offseason, the Red Sox have augmented their lineup (Willson Contreras) and starting rotation (Sonny Gray and Johan Oviedo) via three distinct trades. Each player brings something to the table that the team was previously missing, be it right-handed power (Contreras), an established track record as a frontline starter (Gray), or a big-bodied, right-handed pitcher with elite raw stuff (Oviedo). In a vacuum, those moves make a team that won 89 games in 2025 even better in 2026. But baseball doesn't exist in a vacuum. And the Red Sox still haven't signed a major-league free agent. You can discuss the long-term efficacy of handing a soon-to-be 32-year-old Bregman $35 million per year for the next half-decade, but the Red Sox just got demonstrably worse for the first time since they were eliminated from the playoffs. And you can't really blame Bregman for taking a huge payday with another big-market contender. Breslow has made some foolish decisions in his time running the club. I maintain my belief that trading Rafael Devers — who was dealt mainly to accommodate Bregman at the hot corner — was one of them. It's too early to say if losing the star third baseman will fall into that category, but there is now a real need for urgency in the front office. Bo Bichette remains a reasonable and high-upside replacement option, but at a $300 million asking price, I'm not really sure how that's a better value than what Bregman just got. Maybe now is the time to trade one of the starting outfielders for an infielder, but that feels like a bad use of resources when the incumbent option was available for just money. Again, the Red Sox have insulated themselves from a disastrous offseason by completing their aforementioned trades. Plus, there's always the chance that they sign Bichette, or trade for Ketel Marte or Brendan Donovan. Losing Alex Bregman doesn't have to be the end of the world. In the immediate aftermath of watching him dart for Chicago, though, it sure feels like Breslow and company just let their golden goose get away. View the full article

The Chicago Cubs and third baseman Alex Bregman have agreed to a five year, $175-million deal, sources confirmed to North Side Baseball. Bregman, who will turn 32 in March, gets the largest AAV in Cubs history, at $35 million. The deal spares the team from having to spread money out into Bregman's late 30s and early 40s, though it almost guarantees that they will surpass the competitive-balance tax threshold for 2026—and perhaps years to come. In exchange for that, the Cubs get a player who fits their offensive philosophy perfectly. Bregman makes exceptionally good swing decisions and has run superb contact rates almost throughout his career. He lacks high-end bat speed, but creates power by excelling at pulling the ball in the air. He also plays a sturdy third base, and his arrival carries interesting implications for Matt Shaw and Nico Hoerner. Things were very different for Bregman this year, untethered from the qualifying offer but one year older and with a platform season in which he hit brilliantly early, got hurt, then struggled at times in the second half. Instead of being open to flexible structures and locking in on deals that offered him quick paths back to free agency, Bregman and agent Scott Boras sought a lucrative long-term deal. The Red Sox, who wooed Bregman with a deferral structure and multiple opt-outs last winter, were willing to go longer than the Cubs in terms of years, but refused to pay the high AAV the Cubs offered. More to come. View the full article

On Monday, the Miami Marlins signed Jesús Tinoco to a minor league deal. The 30-year-old right-hander spent 2025 with the Marlins, but he was squeezed off their 40-man roster after the season and elected free agency when the club outrighted him to the minors. Overall, Tinoco has spent parts of three seasons with Miami (2020, 2024-25). Across 51 total innings pitched (44 G/0 GS), he has posted a 2.98 FIP (3.00 ERA) with a 22.3 K% and 8.3 BB%. He set a career-high with four saves last year. A trade deadline day waiver claim in 2024, Tinoco was arguably the best arm in the Marlins bullpen down the stretch of that 100-loss season. He never looked quite right in 2025, though. On June 6, the Marlins placed him on the injured list with a right forearm strain. In early September, he underwent a hybrid UCL reconstruction and flexor tendon surgery. If Tinoco's rehab progresses normally, he should be cleared to begin a throwing program at some point during spring training. However, it's unlikely that he'll make any MLB appearances in 2026. Former teammate Declan Cronin, who had his own elbow surgery in September, signed a two-year minor league deal with the Texas Rangers in anticipation of being full-go for 2027. Tinoco's contract is probably structured similarly. View the full article

Marlins fans have been treated to a whirlwind of activity over the last several weeks. The most accomplished player that they've acquired is Pete Fairbanks, the former Tampa Bay Rays closer who signed a one-year, $13M free agent deal. Fairbanks is capable of being the reliable ninth-inning solution that the Marlins lacked last season. He has had 75 saves in total since 2023, which is 12th-most in baseball over that time span. Although Fairbanks has an impressive résumé, there are mixed signals regarding his future. Fairbanks has experienced a fastball velocity dip in the past two years. The right-hander who once averaged 99 mph on his heater is down to 97 mph. In a related trend, Fairbanks' strikeout rate peaked in 2022 at 43.7% and remained strong at 37% in 2023, but he's been at 24% since then. bGJlUlZfWGw0TUFRPT1fVndVREJWd0JBMUFBQUZBQVVRQUhVQVZUQUZoV1Yxa0FCRjBEQWd0V0NRcFdVUW9D.mp4 Under the hood, his fastball still performs well. In 2025, the pitch put up a .286 wOBA, .247 xBA, and 21.9% whiff rate—all of those numbers improved from 2024. Fairbanks has had to improve his command to compensate for the velocity dip. The FanGraphs Location+ model graded the pitch with a 105 last season. He was in the zone with his fastball a career-high 53% of the time, which led to a major increase in zone contact from hitters (78.1%), although the damage remained relatively low. The main reason why Fairbanks' fastball has been able to outperform its expected outcomes (FanGraphs Stuff+ of 99) is because of the combination of his arm angle, vertical approach angle (VAA) and induced vertical break (IVB) on the pitch. He had the third-highest arm angle of all qualified MLB right-handed hitters in 2025 at 59°. His -5.6° VAA was one of the lowest averages for a fastball. His IVB of 16.5" ranked in the 71st percentile. The pitch also had less horizontal break (0.3") then batters anticipated. Despite the decline in strikeout ability, Fairbanks has remained an above-average, borderline All-Star-caliber closer. He showed more durability last season by pitching a career-high 60 ⅓ innings last season. The decrease in velo may be a net positive for Fairbanks, limiting the wear and tear of his high-effort delivery. Fairbanks changed his slider in 2025, in prior seasons the pitch was far more "droopy" or curveball-like. The 2025 version was tighter. The pitch had a decrease in hard-hit rate compared to 2024, yet an increase in average exit velo and home-run-to-fly-ball ratio. He also generated more whiffs. Fairbanks' slider will be imperative to his success in 2026. YkI5bzlfWGw0TUFRPT1fVWdVSFZ3VURCQVlBWEFZTFZRQUhCMVJYQUFBRUFnUUFVVlpYVmxFQ0NBcFJVZ0JX.mp4 Moving away from Steinbrenner Field could help Fairbanks, who clearly did not feel comfortable pitching to left-handed hitters at home. His walk rate against them was more than twice as high in Tampa compared to road appearances. His strikeout rate also decreased at home vs. lefties. UHZnUDNfWGw0TUFRPT1fQXdSWFZ3QUZBZ29BQ1ZOVFVBQUhDRlJRQUZnRldsZ0FCd0ZRVkZVREFRTlFBRk5Y.mp4 Fairbanks added a cutter in September and it has the potential to be a deadly pitch. In a sample of 42 cutters thrown, it had an .158 xwOBA, 0% barrel rate, 55% ground ball rate, and a 26.2% swinging strike rate. The Marlins covet pitchers with deep arsenals, so the cutter's usage could rise going forward. V0EyUllfWGw0TUFRPT1fVWdkWkFWUlNVRkVBRDFRREFnQUhBRklDQUFCVFVsZ0FVUVlIVTFVRENGQlVWZ29I.mp4 Even the most generous 2026 projection for Pete Fairbanks as displayed on his FanGraphs player page has the 32-year-old merely matching his 2025 production with 1.0 fWAR. He would need to surpass that for the Marlins to extract fair value for the $13M they're spending on him. That being said, if Fairbanks consistently comes up clutch in close games, his positive impact on the team would go beyond that context-neutral output. The Marlins hope that propels them into postseason contention so that Fairbanks actually spends the entire season in Miami rather than turning into a piece to sell at the trade deadline. View the full article

On the day before the team’s much celebrated Fenway Fest, Craig Breslow remained busy as he brought in more depth to the organization through a minor-league contract. Per SoxProspect’s Andrew Parker, the team has signed right-handed pitcher Seth Martinez. The deal also includes a non-roster invite to spring training. The 31-year-old provides Boston with another experienced arm as insurance for the bullpen that will most likely be kept in Worcester to begin the season. Martinez, who was drafted in 2016 by the then-Oakland Athletics, has spent parts of five seasons in the majors. The bulk of his time came from 2021 through the 2024 seasons as he appeared in 111 games out of the bullpen for the Houston Astros, tossing 137 1/3 innings. 2025 was a rough year for Martinez, as he bounced around on waivers going from the Arizona Diamondbacks to the Miami Marlins to the Seattle Mariners and then back to the Marlins all before the start of the season. Martinez spent most of the year in Triple-A pitching for the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp before getting added to the roster on August 27. In total, he made six appearances and tossed 6 2/3 innings. Miami would go on to designate him for assignment on September 11 and Martinez became a free agent on September 13. View the full article

With Joe Musgrove demanding much of the attention as a key member of the San Diego Padres returning from major surgery early in 2026, it's easy to forget that he isn't the only one on the team's pitching staff set to do so. Jhony Brito underwent internal brace surgery for his UCL back in May, indicating that he could be back within the first couple of months of the upcoming year. For a pitching-starved team like San Diego, it's hard to imagine he won't carve out a role quickly upon his return. The role itself, however, is up in the air. Brito was one of the four players that A.J. Preller acquired when he sent Juan Soto to the Bronx, along with Michael King, Drew Thorpe, and Kyle Higashioka. Thorpe wasn't long for the roster as he was flipped for now-former Padre Dylan Cease, while Higashioka left in free agency at the end of that year. With King now back under contract in San Diego, he and Brito represent the only chance for the team to make good on that deal. There was not a point at which we saw Brito throw a pitch for the 2025 Padres, even before the surgery. His last action came back in 2024, when he logged nearly 44 innings at the big-league level and another 14 in Triple-A. His work at the top level came exclusively in relief, with 26 appearances to a 4.12 ERA and 3.72 FIP. His fastball, averaging 96.3 MPH, sat in the 84th percentile. Most of Brito's appearances that year were of the multi-inning variety. And that's an important part in determining what his role could be. Brito had plenty of work as a starter prior to the 2024 season. He made 20 starts between the minor and major leagues in 2023 and 23 starts in 2022. The results were generally fine, but fell off quite a bit when serving as a starter. His career ERA in 52 2/3 innings as a starter in Major League Baseball sits at 6.32; he's at a 2.88 ERA in 81 1/3 innings in relief. While he's never posted gaudy strikeout numbers, his combination of velocity, command (5.2 BB% in 2024), and groundball contact (48.3 GB%) each make him an enticing option in relief for this particular Padres team. The team, in its current form, has some options in long relief. Kyle Hart could serve such a role. So, too, could any combination of winter signing Ty Adcock or Triston McKenzie, the latter of whom is on a minor-league deal. None of that trio, however, offers the upside we've seen Brito flash in his brief time serving such a role. Hart was knocked around and shuttled between the top two levels in 2025, Adcock presents some command issues, and McKenzie is coming off a multi-year struggle that included a velocity dip wrought by health issues. Brito's skill set would help to contribute to an effective bridge between starting pitchers and a elite group of late-inning relievers. Given that, it's hard to imagine Brito serving any role outside of exactly the one in which we've already seen him. To say nothing of his health in all of this. Even if the team wanted Brito and his remaining years of team control to transition back onto the starting side — something that would only be a consideration given the relative shallowness of the entire starting operation in the short term — they wouldn't immediately transition him into such a position. Assuming a return at the early end of a recovery timeline (May), he'd likely be inserted into exactly the type of role in which we should expect to see him. As such, that multi-inning relief role in which we last saw Jhony Brito is also going to be his best path toward contributing to the 2026 Padres. The aforementioned lack of depth on the starting side will make the multi-inning gig an essential one for this roster, even when assuming more additions to the rotation are on the way. Brito has the skill set to succeed there above all other options, and it's hard to imagine the team would be inclined to let him ply his trade in any role but that upon his return. View the full article

The Brewers added an experienced voice to their front office this week, hiring former Twins general manager Thad Levine as a special adviser to baseball operations. Levine has spent nearly three decades working in Major League Baseball front offices. That includes 11 years with the Texas Rangers as assistant general manager, a stretch that saw the organization make the postseason five times and reach the World Series twice, plus eight seasons with the Minnesota Twins as general manager under chief baseball officer Derek Falvey. During Levine’s tenure, the Twins reached the postseason four times and snapped their long-running playoff losing streak. Levine left the Twins following the 2024 season, which ended with a late collapse that cost Minnesota a postseason berth. The Twins insisted his departure was not tied to that slump, noting that Levine had already planned to step away before the season’s final months. By that point, Levine’s role in Minnesota had evolved. Brought in alongside Falvey in 2016, he played a central role in building out a modern front-office structure and helped develop a deep group of assistants GMs. As that work matured and his responsibilities narrowed, Levine began looking for a new challenge. That mindset came through during a July appearance on the podcast Gleeman and The Geek, when Levine discussed how he believes organizations should operate. “It is very easy to assess and critique deals that are made,” he said. “It is less easy to assess deals that aren’t made. So inactivity is a lot more challenging to judge than activity.” Levine has also cautioned against organizations drifting into comfort. “One thing as a fan I would be attentive to,” he said, “is this notion of: is your team acting in a way that they just want to survive, or that they want to thrive?” Earlier this offseason, Levine was rumored to be a candidate for the Rockies’ general manager opening and has remained active through his Rosters to Rings podcast, which he co-hosts with former NBA general manager Ryan McDonough. When asked about his new role, Levine said the opportunity in Milwaukee aligned with what he was seeking next. “I am energized that the role with the Brewers will give me an opportunity to learn, contribute, and work with extremely dynamic people,” he said. “I am ecstatic to return to the game and work for the Milwaukee Brewers.” That aligns with his values expressed both on the podcast but also when he was leaving the Twins. "What resonates with me is working with exceptional people who are open to me elevating them to a level maybe they never thought they could achieve," he replied when asked what he was looking for in a new position. "And similarly, being willing to invest in me to help me achieve things I never thought were possible." Levine’s exact responsibilities will likely evolve, but the Brewers have added an experienced, team-focused, non-complacent front office veteran who has driven considerable success for his last two teams. That's a good start to wherever he ends up in the organization. View the full article

Context matters with prospects, and Eduardo Tait might be one of the best examples in the Twins system. An 18-year-old holding his own in High-A is not supposed to look clean or finished. It is supposed to look incomplete, with positive signs of what the player can be in the future. That is precisely what Tait showed in 2025, and those clues point directly toward what needs to happen next. At High-A, Tait was not overwhelmed. He was productive. Across 486 plate appearances, he posted league-average offense while being one of the youngest players in the Midwest League. That alone put him on the radar in a more serious way. The Phillies and Twins challenged him aggressively, and he responded by proving the bat belonged. The underlying offensive profile was particularly encouraging. Tait finished with a .174 isolated power and a 103 wRC+, a tick above league average. He had 14 home runs and 32 doubles that tell the story of a hitter already generating real damage even before filling out his frame. The swing path worked. The ball came off his bat with intent. There was obvious room for more. That is where the first significant improvement area for 2026 lives. Tait does plenty of damage, but too much of it still shows up as doubles. With a pull rate north of 47% and nearly 40% of his balls in the air, the ingredients for more home run conversion are already present. Strength gains alone should help, but there is also room for refinement in how he attacks pitches he can lift. Turning a handful of those doubles into home runs would significantly raise the offensive ceiling, especially for a player without defensive questions. The contact foundation gives optimism that this growth will not come at the expense of excessive swing and miss. Tait’s swinging strike rate sat under 13%, and his strikeout rate hovered around 20%. For a teenager facing older pitching, that is more than acceptable. In fact, he faced older pitchers in 100% of his plate appearances. The bat-to-ball skills are fundamental, which makes the next step about selectivity rather than survival. That leads directly to the second area of focus, the walk rate. Around 7% is not disastrous, but it does leave value on the table. Tait showed he could use the whole field, posting a 30% opposite-field rate, suggesting he is not purely a sellout pull hitter. Tightening zone control and learning which pitches he can truly drive should push his on-base percentage forward as he climbs the ladder. For a bat-first catcher, that is not optional. It is required. Of course, none of this exists in a vacuum, because Tait’s future still hinges on where he plays defensively. The bat looks like it can carry a profile, but it carries far more weight if he stays behind the plate. If he can’t catch, he is not one of baseball’s top-100 prospects. Defensive consistency, receiving, and overall polish as a catcher remain the biggest questions in the evaluation. Improvement there would change how the entire industry views him. Even modest defensive progress could solidify his status as a legitimate everyday catching prospect rather than a corner bat with a complicated path. The encouraging part is that none of these issues are red flags. They are checkpoints. Tait is young, left-handed, and already showing power against advanced pitching. He does not need to reinvent himself. He needs incremental growth. Better plate discipline. A bit more home run efficiency. Defensive gains that keep him at catcher. If those boxes start getting checked in 2026, Tait’s profile shifts quickly, and he likely enters next season as a top-50 prospect. The Twins already know the bat is interesting. The next season will determine just how valuable it can become. Can Tait improve in the areas mentioned above? Leave a comment and start the discussion. View the full article

In 1972, the Dodgers were the first team to employ a dedicated, intentional five-man rotation. A novel approach at the time -- despite recent experiments leading up to its inception -- it soon became the standard across MLB, despite constant grumblings about its potential efficacy. From the origins of the five-man rotation to today, criticisms have responsibly evolved — to the extent that calling a five-man rotation a 'failure' back in 2002 isn't altogether preposterous. Fast-forward to today. Baseball is in the midst of another rotation transformation. This renaissance is bumpier, has more variables, and an undetermined conclusion, but the transition continues nonetheless. While I don't yet think we've reached the inflection point of transitioning from a five- to a six-man rotation across the league (especially for the Cubs in 2026), the current landscape of strict pitch counts, third-time-through-the-order fears, and the relatively common use of 'Openers' portends more and more experimentation and change in how rotations are constructed. And while six-man rotations are currently an unknown commodity, their usage in the league -- at least in exploratory form -- feels inevitable. What is clear, however, is that a traditional five-man no longer remains an outright expectation. Arm injuries accumulate at an increasingly alarming rate, especially with pitchers throwing harder than ever with more spin than ever before. Starters returning from injury are monitored closely. Hurlers from Japan, a highly-sought after MLB pipeline, are accustomed to five days of rest. Young starters are handled with extreme caution out of long-term health concerns. All of this leads to the need for quality depth. A depth that not only covers for injury, but preemptively helps push back or skip starts to keep pitchers better rested and less likely to breakdown over the course of a grueling 162-game schedule. The Cubs' trade for Edward Cabrera offers immediate upside, to be sure, and also creates the space for that quality depth to shine. With a robust injury history of his own, the cost-controlled, ace-caliber Cabrera will have his innings and pitch count monitored closely. But he's hardly the only starter the Cubs will be keeping tabs on. They have several arms expected to make double-digit starts in 2026, each with their own concerns: Edward Cabrera (significant injury history) Justin Steele (return date TBD; will definitely be monitored closely upon return) Cade Horton (future ace/workhorse potential, entering first full season after ending last season with a minor rib injury) Shota Imanaga (accustomed to five days rest, significant questions with durability over a full season) Matthew Boyd (mid-30's, injury history, career year in 2025 that eroded down the stretch) Jameson Taillon (typically healthy, typically an innings eater, probably the lowest health concern, floor of a #4/5) Colin Rea and Javier Assad (swing arms, will get play in rotation and long-relief in 2026) Jaxson Wiggins (will likely get his debut in 2026 at some point) Call it the 5.5-man rotation if you must — the clear path forward for the 2026 Cubs will ostensibly feature the framework of a five-man setup, but that perception will not be adhered to by reality. Counsell -- who is no stranger to unique rotation usage -- will figure out ways to best utilize all of this depth. A combination of swingmen starting on occasion to allow for a fifth day of rest for starters, calling up an optionable arm from Iowa, and retooling the 'pen with a presumed Iowa-Chicago pipeline should successfully create flexibility, extra rest, and opportunity for the several arms the Cubs have available. And it would be far from shocking to see Counsell roll out an opener whenever he feels it advantageous to do so, no matter how many starters the Cubs have available at any given moment. Our @Andrew Wright recently explored the Cubs' likely roster come Opening Day — and, of course, he did so just before the trade for Cabrera surfaced. Adding Cabrera to that projected 2026 rotation gives the Cubs six starters right now, to say nothing of Steele's eventual return and Wiggins' expected debut. We won't have a concrete answer on the Cubs' plans for the rotation to open the season until spring training has neared its conclusion. What we do know is that while the Cubs won't employ an intentional six-man rotation, they will certainly be creative with operating a traditional five-man setup. Expect several permutations of the rotation as the season unfolds. And should the Cubs make the expected playoff push the baseball world predicts, it's anyone's guess as to who the four arms will be that start playoff games come October. View the full article

In 1972, the Dodgers were the first team to employ a dedicated, intentional five-man rotation. A novel approach at the time -- despite recent experiments leading up to its inception -- it soon became the standard across MLB, despite constant grumblings about its potential efficacy. From the origins of the five-man rotation to today, criticisms have responsibly evolved — to the extent that calling a five-man rotation a 'failure' back in 2002 isn't altogether preposterous. Fast-forward to today. Baseball is in the midst of another rotation transformation. This renaissance is bumpier, has more variables, and an undetermined conclusion, but the transition continues nonetheless. While I don't yet think we've reached the inflection point of transitioning from a five- to a six-man rotation across the league (especially for the Cubs in 2026), the current landscape of strict pitch counts, third-time-through-the-order fears, and the relatively common use of 'Openers' portends more and more experimentation and change in how rotations are constructed. And while six-man rotations are currently an unknown commodity, their usage in the league -- at least in exploratory form -- feels inevitable. What is clear, however, is that a traditional five-man no longer remains an outright expectation. Arm injuries accumulate at an increasingly alarming rate, especially with pitchers throwing harder than ever with more spin than ever before. Starters returning from injury are monitored closely. Hurlers from Japan, a highly-sought after MLB pipeline, are accustomed to five days of rest. Young starters are handled with extreme caution out of long-term health concerns. All of this leads to the need for quality depth. A depth that not only covers for injury, but preemptively helps push back or skip starts to keep pitchers better rested and less likely to breakdown over the course of a grueling 162-game schedule. The Cubs' trade for Edward Cabrera offers immediate upside, to be sure, and also creates the space for that quality depth to shine. With a robust injury history of his own, the cost-controlled, ace-caliber Cabrera will have his innings and pitch count monitored closely. But he's hardly the only starter the Cubs will be keeping tabs on. They have several arms expected to make double-digit starts in 2026, each with their own concerns: Edward Cabrera (significant injury history) Justin Steele (return date TBD; will definitely be monitored closely upon return) Cade Horton (future ace/workhorse potential, entering first full season after ending last season with a minor rib injury) Shota Imanaga (accustomed to five days rest, significant questions with durability over a full season) Matthew Boyd (mid-30's, injury history, career year in 2025 that eroded down the stretch) Jameson Taillon (typically healthy, typically an innings eater, probably the lowest health concern, floor of a #4/5) Colin Rea and Javier Assad (swing arms, will get play in rotation and long-relief in 2026) Jaxson Wiggins (will likely get his debut in 2026 at some point) Call it the 5.5-man rotation if you must — the clear path forward for the 2026 Cubs will ostensibly feature the framework of a five-man setup, but that perception will not be adhered to by reality. Counsell -- who is no stranger to unique rotation usage -- will figure out ways to best utilize all of this depth. A combination of swingmen starting on occasion to allow for a fifth day of rest for starters, calling up an optionable arm from Iowa, and retooling the 'pen with a presumed Iowa-Chicago pipeline should successfully create flexibility, extra rest, and opportunity for the several arms the Cubs have available. And it would be far from shocking to see Counsell roll out an opener whenever he feels it advantageous to do so, no matter how many starters the Cubs have available at any given moment. Our @Andrew Wright recently explored the Cubs' likely roster come Opening Day — and, of course, he did so just before the trade for Cabrera surfaced. Adding Cabrera to that projected 2026 rotation gives the Cubs six starters right now, to say nothing of Steele's eventual return and Wiggins' expected debut. We won't have a concrete answer on the Cubs' plans for the rotation to open the season until spring training has neared its conclusion. What we do know is that while the Cubs won't employ an intentional six-man rotation, they will certainly be creative with operating a traditional five-man setup. Expect several permutations of the rotation as the season unfolds. And should the Cubs make the expected playoff push the baseball world predicts, it's anyone's guess as to who the four arms will be that start playoff games come October. View the full article

Jesus Made has some of the most freakish athleticism in baseball at just 19 years old. He stole 47 bases in 59 attempts last year. He was regularly sitting at 74 mph in bat speed as at May 2025 (MLB average 71.9 mph) per Brenton del Chiaro's interview on the Just Baseball Podcast. He also displayed extremely polished swing decisions, sitting at league average in zone swing rates in High-A Wisconsin and better than league average chase rates, all mightily impressive from someone who was 18 to start the 2025 season. Combining that with a highly regarded hit tool, using fantastic hands to manoeuvre the barrel to the ball, as Aram Leighton noted. Even when he was beaten on a pitch, his hand control was sublime to square up the baseball. Combine that with a surging development at shortstop in 2025, and you have almost all of the traditional tools covered. The only thing I haven't talked about is the power production, and that's what currently distinguishes Made from the likes of Konnor Griffin. While Made has the present bat speed and a frame that teases even further upside with natural growth, at present, that power isn't being tapped into. Made slashed .285/.379/.413 in 2025, showcasing those impressive plate discipline and hitting tools, but the actual home run and extra base power wasn't quite where one would expect from a top prospect in the game. Contrast that to Konnor Griffin, who, while a year older than Made, traversed the same levels of the minor leagues and stole 65 bases, slugged 21 home runs, and also produced excellent defense at both shortstop and in center field, and Griffin certainly gets the nod for now. Made's age is part of this, and we should expect some rawness in the tools, but that doesn't mean we can't investigate how the Brewers will cut this diamond to produce the best possible results. The Front Leg Jesús Made's issue isn't that he struggles to make quality contact, nor that he doesn't hit the ball hard. It all comes down to elevating the ball. Aram Leighton was talking about Made recently and mentioned that his average launch angle on hard-hit balls was just 5°, meaning his barreled balls weren't leaving his bat at angles that could clear the fence and instead were more predisposed towards doubles power and hard-hit singles. His best quality contact was averaging a low line drive, limiting his offensive ceiling. Again, Made is just 19 years old and has plenty of time to work on this, but something Del Chiaro has noted in the past is how Made's weight at the point of contact, especially from the left-hand side, is very much on his front foot. Here's a freeze frame from a ball Made almost took out to the opposite field (impressive in its own right, given his age), but I thought it best to highlight the mechanics on one of his better swings. If you look at his right leg, his entire weight is balanced on it just before contact. He tries to lean back after in an effort to gain more natural loft, but the sheer weight on that foot (he could almost stand on one leg here) reduces the tilt he can get from the left side, and it prevents him from accessing more loft in his batted ball profile. From there, Made continues to see his weight moving forward over that leg, with his head in front of his hips as he gets too much momentum forward, creating what is a very flat bat path. Yes, he manages to barrel the ball and almost slices it under it enough to take it out of the park, but it's not a consistent way to gain that launch angle. The most remarkable thing about this contact is that he sliced under the ball, using a steep-ish bat path to backspin underneath the ball. How he blasted this ball as far as he did, I have absolutely no idea. It's absurd and speaks to the raw tools the Brewers are working with in this instance. The second video below is from a side angle and presents a different view of the issue. You can see Made doesn't get quite so on top of his lead leg, but his weight is moving forward too far and preventing him from getting that natural loft. Even as he's finishing his swing, the head and the body weight are continuing to move forward through the swing, actually diluting some of the rotational power he's generating and keeping that plane of his swing on a very flat arc. Let's contrast this with someone Jesús Made has oft been compared to, Ketel Marte. A fellow switch hitter with lightning fast hands and covering the middle infield, it feels an apt comparison, and the Brewers would love to see Made find the same level of home run threat out of his physical capabilities. You can see below how Marte's swing looks more balanced at impact, using his lead leg to push his hip and weight back, sling-shotting his bat through the strike zone while also creating a more upward plane for the bat path as he leans back at the point of contact: We mentioned hard-hit launch angles earlier, and these are going to be key for Made's development. For a player who hits the ball as hard as he does, you want to see those barreled balls going for extra bases and home runs, not singles through the infield (a profile Brewers fans will be acutely aware of with Christian Yelich). In 2017, Marte hit six home runs in 70 games, not dissimilar to Made, A couple of seasons later, he instituted changes to his leg kick allowing him to stay more on his back leg, leading to an average launch angle going from 5.2° in 2018 to 11.7° in 2019, all while increasing his average exit velocities and creating even more consistently hard contact. His 2025 hard hit launch angle was 12°, almost 7° above Made's, but his transition in 2019 shows that, with a more optimized loading pattern and weight transfer in his legs, Made can achieve that relatively quickly if all goes according to plan. Looking at the freeze frames of the follow-through, you can see how the weight had shifted through and after the point of contact. Where Made's weight continues to move forward, leaving his head actually ahead of his hips, Marte's has kicked backward, creating a more upward path to the baseball and allowing him to do a lot more damage. As previously mentioned, Made is still just 19. He will be until May this year, and he's likely to be playing at Double-A Biloxi. He's a top prospect for a reason, and it's because people can dream on the tools and freakish athleticism he possesses. If he can find a way to get into his back leg more, particularly from the left side (where he should see more plate appearances), Made will go from being a consistent, strong performer and potential All-Star at shortstop to a perennial MVP candidate. His recent Instagram stories suggest this hasn't been a point of emphasis yet this offseason, still putting a lot of weight on his lead leg, but it's something Brenton Del Chiaro is acutely aware of as the minor league hitting co-ordinator. The Brewers' organisational philosophy is not to step in unless the player approaches them, but with Made now in the upper minors, I would expect to see this emphasized during 2026 spring training and in-season work. It's certainly something to keep an eye on, especially in games. It's not a monumental change, in fact, it's relatively subtle, but the difference it could make to Made's offensive profile is startling. View the full article