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Angels Planning To Interview Torii Hunter, Kurt Suzuki For Manager

Anthony Franco — Fri, 17 Oct 2025 01:48:49 +0000

The Angels plan to interview Torii Hunter and Kurt Suzuki in their managerial search, reports Sam Blum of The Athletic. That comes less than a week after The Athletic reported that Albert Pujols was in talks for the position. Blum writes that while Pujols remains the favorite, owner Arte Moreno is now opting for a more comprehensive search.

Like Pujols, Hunter and Suzuki are former Angels players who remain affiliated with the organization. Hunter made two All-Star teams and won a pair of Gold Gloves during his run with the Halos between 2008-12. Suzuki spent the final two years of his playing career there from 2021-22. They’re now each special assistants to general manager Perry Minasian.

Neither has any MLB coaching or managerial experience. Hunter has spent nearly a decade in special assistant roles and was a candidate for the job that went to Ron Washington in 2023. Suzuki is on the radar of at least one other team this offseason, as he already interviewed with the Giants. Hunter has been very loosely floated as a potential candidate in Minnesota, where he was a star player and has previously worked as a special assistant. It’s not clear if the Twins plan to interview him.

While the three known interviewees all have ties to Moreno, they’re at least considering other possibilities. Blum lists Rangers special assistant Nick Hundley, Cubs bench coach Ryan Flaherty, former Orioles manager Brandon Hyde, and former Twins skipper Rocco Baldelli as other potential targets. Hundley has already interviewed with the Giants and is reportedly the favorite for that job. Flaherty has been linked to the Orioles and Padres. Neither has managed in the big leagues before.

Hyde has said he hopes to continue to manage and was linked to the Giants’ opening. Baldelli told Dan Hayes of The Athletic this week that he’s open to managing again as well, though he indicated he’ll spend the early part of the offseason focusing on his family. Baldelli acknowledged that might not align with clubs’ timelines for hiring a manager but said he “fully (expects) to stay active” in some capacity with a team next year.

It may all end up being moot if the Angels hire Pujols. That’s not as certain as it seemed just a few days ago. Perhaps not coincidentally, the future Hall of Famer is also expected to interview with the Orioles.

Latest On Tigers, Tarik Skubal

Anthony Franco — Fri, 17 Oct 2025 00:54:16 +0000

The Tigers are now down to their final season of control over the American League’s best pitcher. Tarik Skubal is entering his last year of arbitration and trending towards the largest pitching contract in history if he stays healthy.

Jon Heyman of The New York Post wrote this evening that Skubal could seek a deal of at least $400MM. Heyman reports that Detroit’s extension offer last offseason was shy of the $170MM which Garrett Crochet received from the Red Sox in April. Heyman specifies that the Tigers’ offer came before Crochet’s extension.

Much will be made of the more than $200MM gap between those two numbers, but that doesn’t consider the timing of Detroit’s offer. The front office certainly wouldn’t be under any illusions now that a sub-$200MM proposal would be close. Their previous offer came when Skubal was two years from free agency and before the Crochet precedent.

It wasn’t clear last offseason that Crochet would command as strong a deal as he did. That contract was nearly $50MM above the previous top extension for a pitcher with between four and five years of service time (Jacob deGrom’s $120.5MM deal with the Mets from 2019). The Red Sox certainly don’t have any regrets after Crochet’s dominant ’25 season, but that deal pushed the extension market dramatically forward. While it’s not clear precisely what Detroit had offered, it’s safe to presume it was north of the deGrom extension and would have been a record within his service class before the Crochet signing.

Skubal bet on himself and is in position to truly cash in as a result. He’s going to win his second consecutive AL Cy Young Award after posting a 2.21 ERA with 241 strikeouts across 31 starts. He is two and a half seasons removed from the flexor surgery that ended his 2022 campaign. Most importantly, he’s now 12 months away from the open market.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto received the largest guarantee for a pitcher in MLB history when he signed with the Dodgers for $325MM. That was in large part due to his unusual circumstances coming over from Japan. He was an established ace in NPB and widely viewed as one of the two best pitchers (alongside Paul Skenes) who had yet to pitch in MLB at the time. Yamamoto came over before his age-25 season — earlier than any MLB ace could accrue the necessary six years of service time to hit free agency. He commanded a 12-year deal that was three years longer than any other pitching contract.

Among domestic free agent pitchers, Gerrit Cole has the record on his nine-year, $324MM contract with the Yankees. Cole had yet to win a Cy Young but was coming off two straight top five finishes. He hit the market at age 29, while Skubal is on track to become a free agent at 30. Cole’s deal is six years old, so there’ll surely be an adjustment for inflation.

Cole’s $36MM average annual value was a record for a pitcher at the time. It’s now down to sixth — not including the Shohei Ohtani deal — on an annual basis. Late-career aces Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer and Zack Wheeler have each reached or topped $42MM on two- or three-year contracts. deGrom received $37MM annually on his five-year deal with Texas, while Blake Snell is making $36.4MM per season from the Dodgers (albeit with deferrals that drop the net present AAV to the $31-32MM range).

Those are all free agent precedents. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects Skubal for a $17.8MM salary in his last arbitration year. Detroit wouldn’t get much of a discount on an extension, but a long-term deal this offseason would come with the risk that he suffers an injury next year.

The Tigers have signed two contracts above $200MM: Prince Fielder’s free agent deal and Miguel Cabrera’s franchise-high $248MM extension. They’re each more than a decade old and came under the ownership tenure of the late Mike Ilitich. Since his son Christopher Ilitch took control of the organization in 2017, they’ve signed one nine-figure deal — the $140MM Javier Baez addition. Detroit has a relatively clean long-term payroll outlook aside from Baez’s $24MM salaries over the next two seasons. Jack Flaherty has a $20MM player option for 2026, while Colt Keith is signed for $4-5MM for the next four years.

[Related Poll: Should The Tigers Consider A Skubal Trade?]

There’s enough payroll space that it’s conceivable the Tigers could make a competitive extension offer to Skubal. If talks don’t gain traction, they’d need to decide whether to hold him for a final season or entertain trade possibilities. Detroit is coming off consecutive playoff berths and spent most of the ’25 season in control of the AL Central. It’s difficult to envision the Tigers being legitimate contenders in 2026 if they were to trade Skubal, even if they built a return around controllable big league talent. There’s a strong argument for simply holding Skubal in the hope that he carries them to a deep postseason run and making a qualifying offer next winter. If they struggle in the first half, he’d be a marquee deadline trade chip.

The alternative this offseason would be to follow the respective Red Sox, Padres and Astros precedents with Mookie Betts, Juan Soto and Kyle Tucker. Those teams all traded their superstar before his final season of arbitration. That went terribly for Boston. San Diego did very well on the Soto return and has won at least 90 games in each of the past two seasons. The jury is still out on Houston’s trade of Tucker. They got a strong three-player return but came up shy of the postseason this year. Those teams were all navigating short-term payroll restrictions from ownership that shouldn’t be an issue for Detroit with how little money they have on the books.

President of baseball operations Scott Harris gave a non-answer when asked about Skubal’s future during the Tigers’ end-of-season presser on Monday. “I can’t comment on our players being traded … so I’m going to respond by not actually commenting on it,” Harris said. “Tarik is a Tiger. I hope he wins the Cy Young for the second consecutive year. He’s an incredible pitcher and we’re lucky to have him.”

Offseason Outlook: Arizona Diamondbacks

Anthony Franco — Thu, 16 Oct 2025 23:02:56 +0000

The Diamondbacks' pitching staff was battered by injuries, leading to a deadline sell-off of most of their impending free agents. Arizona played surprisingly well in the second half to remain in the Wild Card picture. They came up a little short of a postseason berth, and they're now faced with the task of rebuilding the pitching while navigating an expected payroll cut.

Guaranteed Contracts

Corbin Burnes, RHP: $170MM through 2030 ($10-11MM deferred annually; Burnes can opt out after '26)
Ketel Marte, 2B: $102.5MM through 2031 (Marte can opt out after '30)
Corbin Carroll, RF: $102MM through 2030 (including buyout of '31 club option)
Eduardo Rodriguez, LHP: $46MM through 2027 (including buyout of '28 mutual/vesting option)
Geraldo Perdomo, SS: $45MM through 2030 (including buyout of '31 club option; 2028-30 salaries likely to escalate with expected top 10 MVP finish)
Brandon Pfaadt, RHP: $45MM through 2030 (including buyout of '31 club option)
Lourdes Gurriel Jr., LF: $18MM player option for 2026 (including buyout of '27 club option)
Justin Martinez, RHP: $14.5MM through 2029 (deal includes club options for 2030-32)

Option Decisions

LF Lourdes Gurriel Jr. has $18MM player option ($13MM salary plus $5MM buyout on '27 club option valued at $14MM)

Additional financial commitment: Owe $100K buyout to released RHP Kendall Graveman

2026 guarantees: $101.1MM
Total future commitments: $543.1MM through 2031

Arbitration-Eligible Players (service time in parentheses; projected salaries courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)

Ildemaro Vargas (5.129): $1.4MM
A.J. Puk (5.124): $3.3MM
Ryan Thompson (5.095): $3.9MM
Kevin Ginkel (5.033): $3MM
John Curtiss (4.078): $1.2MM
Pavin Smith (4.015): $2.4MM
Alek Thomas (3.103): $2.2MM
Kyle Nelson (3.081): $1MM
Jake McCarthy (3.074): $1.9MM
Gabriel Moreno (3.061): $2.4MM
Ryne Nelson (3.020): $3.3MM

Non-tender candidates: Vargas, Puk, Thompson, Ginkel, Curtiss, Kyle Nelson, McCarthy

Free Agents

Zac Gallen, Jalen Beeks, James McCann

A few hints about the Diamondbacks' winter have already emerged courtesy of owner Ken Kendrick. The team's solid performance after the trade deadline ensured that skipper Torey Lovullo and his coaching staff would be back with as little as one change. The expectation will still be to contend, but the front office will have less payroll room with which to work. Kendrick said that the club plans to reduce spending after pushing the payroll to a franchise-record $187MM Opening Day mark this year (via Cot's Baseball Contracts).

Arizona will have around $100MM in guaranteed commitments once Lourdes Gurriel Jr., who is recovering from ACL surgery, inevitably passes on the chance to opt out of the remaining $18MM on his contract. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects the arbitration class to come in around $26MM if everyone were tendered a contract. Only Gabriel Moreno, Ryne Nelson, Alek Thomas and probably Pavin Smith feel like locks for that. Ildemaro Vargas, John Curtiss, Kevin Ginkel and Kyle Nelson should all be fairly easy cuts. That leaves a handful of borderline tender decisions.

Whether to bring back A.J. Puk is entirely a health question. He's one of the best left-handed relievers in the game, but he underwent internal brace surgery in June. That's the second UCL procedure of his career. The internal brace usually comes with a lesser recovery timeline than the full Tommy John reconstruction. If the D-Backs expect Puk to return around the All-Star Break, they should pay the $3-4MM which he'd make in arbitration.

If they're projecting more of a 14-15 month timeline that'd raise doubts about his availability for the entire season, a non-tender has to be a consideration. Puk will be a free agent after the '26 campaign, so there's no point tendering him a contract just to rehab. The Snakes could also reach out to Puk's camp before the non-tender deadline to see if they're open to a two-year deal that'd ensure the pitcher gets paid next year while the team gets the upside of a full season in 2027.

Ryan Thompson is coming off a middling season and missed most of the second half with a shoulder strain. He pitched well in September and the Snakes need bullpen help, but a near-$4MM projection feels a bit rich. Meanwhile, Jake McCarthy is coming off a sub-replacement season in which he hit .204/.247/.345 across 222 big league plate appearances. He'll be out of minor league options. McCarthy has had flashes of MLB success and is projected for a sub-$2MM salary, but the Snakes could try to shop him in a sell-low trade. If they don't find any interest, they'll need to decide whether to tender him a contract as a fourth or fifth outfielder.

While the Diamondbacks have a fairly large arbitration class, their deadline sale left them with only three impending free agents. Journeyman reliever Jalen Beeks and backup catcher James McCann each played their roles well enough. The Diamondbacks could get either of them back on a cheap one-year deal. Their biggest potential loss is Zac Gallen, a one-time candidate for a nine figure deal who hits the market after an uneven showing.

Gallen pitched so poorly in the first half that Arizona didn't find a trade offer to their liking. They were comfortable making him a $22.025MM qualifying offer if other clubs didn't meet their asking price. Gallen is still expected to decline the QO coming off a 4.83 ERA over 33 starts. He's represented by the Boras Corporation, which has had success finding two-year deals with an opt-out rather than straight one-year pillow contracts. Gallen, who is going into his age-30 season, is a candidate for that kind of deal.

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Joey Loperfido Replaces Anthony Santander On Blue Jays’ Playoff Roster

Anthony Franco — Thu, 16 Oct 2025 22:58:22 +0000

Major League Baseball has officially approved the substitution of Joey Loperfido for Anthony Santander on the Blue Jays’ playoff roster. Manager John Schneider told reporters (including Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet) this evening that Santander was dealing with back stiffness. His season is over.

Teams set their postseason rosters at the beginning of each series. They can only make changes mid-series in the event of an injury. A player removed midway through a series is ineligible for the following series if his team advances, so Santander could not participate in the World Series if the Jays come back to beat the Mariners.

Injuries essentially ruined Santander’s first season in Toronto. He was out between the end of May and the middle of September with a left shoulder issue. He didn’t return until the final week of the regular season. Santander has appeared in five of the Jays’ seven postseason games. He missed Game 2 of the ALCS with lower back soreness. Santander returned to the lineup for Game 3 but was replaced by Myles Straw as a defensive substitute in the fifth inning. He finishes his postseason with a 3-15 showing with a pair of runs batted in.

While Davis Schneider drew into the lineup when Santander was out for Game 2, it’s Isiah Kiner-Falefa who picks up the extra playing time tonight. He’s in at second base and batting eighth against Luis Castillo. That pushes Ernie Clement to third base and Addison Barger from the hot corner to right field.

The Jays have carried the same 13 position players for their Division Series and the ALCS. Loperfido had been inactive for both series despite hitting .333/.379/.500 across 41 games during the regular season. He was the only real candidate to join the roster as a left-handed bench bat in Santander’s place. Bo Bichette and Ty France are injured and weren’t ready to go for the beginning of the series. Leo Jiménez finished the season on the Triple-A injured list, leaving light-hitting outfielder Jonatan Clase (who spent the entire second half in Triple-A) as the only other healthy position player on the 40-man roster.

Mitch Bannon and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported that Santander would be removed from the roster. Nicholson-Smith was first to confirm that Loperfido would be the replacement.

Blue Jays Plan To Remove Anthony Santander From Playoff Roster With Back Injury

Anthony Franco — Thu, 16 Oct 2025 22:27:22 +0000

The Blue Jays intend to remove Anthony Santander from their ALCS roster, report Mitch Bannon and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Manager John Schneider told reporters (including Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet) that Santander was dealing with back stiffness. The move is still pending approval from Major League Baseball and has not officially been announced by the team or the league.

Teams set their postseason rosters at the beginning of each series. They can only make changes mid-series in the event of an injury. That requires MLB to sign off to prevent teams from gaming the system by faking injuries. There’s no reason to doubt the league will approve this change, which would officially end Santander’s season. A player removed midway through a series is ineligible for the following series if his team advances, so Santander could not participate in the World Series if the Jays come back to beat the Mariners.

More to come.

Poll: Will Anthony Volpe Be The Yankees’ Shortstop In 2026?

Nick Deeds — Thu, 16 Oct 2025 21:58:44 +0000

All things considered, it was a solid year for the Yankees even if it didn’t live up to the perennial World-Series-or-bust expectations of their fans. Despite Gerrit Cole not throwing a single pitch for the team this year and Juan Soto signing elsewhere last winter, they managed to win 94 games thanks to a few key additions like Max Fried and Cody Bellinger, big steps forward from Ben Rice and Trent Grisham, and another MVP-caliber campaign from Aaron Judge.

Not everything went right for the Yankees this year, however, and that’s even ignoring the outcome of the postseason. Some young players who looked like key pieces of the organization’s future this time last year took steps backwards in 2025. While that’s true of Austin Wells and Luis Gil, there’s no player who better exemplifies this than shortstop Anthony Volpe. Volpe was once a consensus top-15 prospect in the sport and even won the Gold Glove in his rookie season with the Yankees, but he’s never quite been able to muster even a league average slash line at the plate.

An 87 wRC+ last year was enough to make him a three-to-four win player thanks to his stellar defense. But this season, the wheels came off. The biggest reason for that is the decline of Volpe’s glove. After being one of the best defenders in all of baseball last year with +14 Outs Above Average, he flipped the script entirely and put up one of the worst performances of any defender in the sport with an OAA of -7.

That’s the sort of defense that might not cut it for a strong bat at the infield’s most important defensive position, so it certainly wasn’t cutting it while Volpe hit a paltry .212/.272/.391 (83 wRC+) in 153 games this year. Some of that can be attributed to poor fortune on batted balls, as his BABIP dropped 50 points relative to the year prior despite a career-high barrel rate of 10.5%. That’s not the whole story, however, as he also hit the fewest line drives of his career this year (15.4%) and struck out at an elevated 25.2% clip. Even his baserunning took a step back, as he went just 18-for-26 on the basepaths after stealing 28 bases in 35 last year.

It’s possible that a partial labrum tear that Volpe spent most of the season playing through is to blame for at least some of his struggles this season. He had a .237/.328/.456 slash and 119 wRC+ through the end of April, just a few days before injuring his shoulder. He hit .205/.255/.374 for a 74 wRC+ from the start of May onwards. He underwent surgery to repair that shoulder but will start 2026 on the injured list.

That might make it seem obvious that the Yankees should either move on from Volpe entirely or at least bring in a player who can handle the majority of shortstop duties while Volpe slips into a smaller role. Things aren’t likely to be that simple, however, in large part due to the weakness of the coming class of shortstops. The prize of this class is Bo Bichette, but he comes with defensive concerns of his own and has long been viewed as a player who would profile better at either second or third base.

The pickings are quite slim outside of Bichette when it comes to shortstops, however. Ha-Seong Kim might opt out of his contract with Atlanta, but he’s coming off an even more difficult season than Volpe. Trevor Story might be a modest upgrade, but he offers limited upside headed into his age-33 season and might not opt out of his contract with the Red Sox. The trade market might feature CJ Abrams but his defense is questionable enough that he may not stick at that spot for much longer. Without another replacement who would be a clear upgrade over Volpe, the Yankees may be forced to choose between either shelling out for a defensively-flawed solution in Bichette or sticking with their internal options.

Those internal options don’t necessarily have to lead to Volpe starting the majority of the Yankees’ games at shortstop next year, though that might be the most likely outcome. Jose Caballero will be back next season and earned plenty of fans in the Bronx for his work on both sides of the ball in 40 games down the stretch. Perhaps he could share time with Volpe at shortstop in the early part of 2026, with the possibility of top-100 prospect George Lombard Jr. stepping up later in the season. Lombard spent most of 2025 at Double-A, so a debut in 2026 isn’t entirely unrealistic. However, he also hit just .215/.337/.358 at the level, suggesting he might need more time to develop before arriving in the show.

How do MLBTR readers view New York’s shortstop situation? Will Volpe be the solution at the position next year? Will they bring in a free agent or trade for someone to handle things? Or will an internal candidate like Caballero or Lombard take the job from Volpe by the end of next year? Have your say in the poll below:

Coaching Notes: Varitek, Ramirez, Molina

Leo Morgenstern — Thu, 16 Oct 2025 21:40:59 +0000

Jason Varitek has filled various roles for the Red Sox since he hung up his catching gear after the 2011 season. For the past five years, he has held a full-time role on Boston’s coaching staff. Initially, the team’s game planning coordinator, he later added catching coach to his duties. When the Red Sox hired Parker Guinn last offseason, Varitek’s title changed to game planning and run prevention coach for the 2025 campaign.

The three-year deal Varitek signed before the 2023 season expired at the end of this year, but MassLive’s Chris Cotillo reports that the Red Sox and their former captain are hammering out the details of a new contract. The “likeliest outcome,” according to Cotillo, is that Varitek will return in the same capacity in 2026. Earlier this week, Cotillo reported that all but one of Boston’s coaches were expected to return to their roles next season, with assistant hitting coach Ben Rosenthal the only exception.

Of course, the fact that Varitek has not yet signed a contract with the Red Sox leaves open the possibility that he could seek a more prominent role elsewhere. Several teams are still hunting for new managers, and while Varitek’s name hasn’t come up in many managerial rumors recently, the Giants reached out to him with interest in 2023, and he interviewed with the Mariners in 2015.

In other coaching news…

Another Red Sox great is looking to break into the coaching game. Nine-time Silver Slugger winner Manny Ramirez, who won two World Series titles alongside Varitek in Boston, has once again expressed his desire to become an MLB hitting coach, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Heyman notes that Ramirez is “getting word out to all 30 teams” that he is interested and available. The 12-time All-Star reportedly offered his services as a hitting coach to one unspecified MLB manager last offseason (per MassLive’s Sean McAdam), but this is his most overt attempt to secure such a gig. His accomplishments on the field speak for themselves – a .312 batting average, 555 home runs, and 1,831 RBI – but his coaching experience is limited. He spent a few months as a player-coach for the Triple-A Iowa Cubs in 2014 and continued on as an organizational hitting consultant through 2016. Years later, he signed on with the Sydney Blue Sox of the Australian Baseball League as a player-coach for the 2020-21 campaign. However, COVID-19 delayed the start of the season, and Ramirez was eventually released two games into the year due to injuries. This past September, he told Foul Territory that he spoke to the Red Sox about a potential coaching opportunity last year, but their conversations never progressed to anything serious.
Yadier Molina, himself a former perennial All-Star and two-time World Series champion, has also thrown his hat in the proverbial ring for a coaching job. He posted a message on his Instagram account today saying that he is “ready to return to the field – whether as a coach or a manager – in MLB, Mexico, or wherever.” Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch notes that Molina’s desire to coach isn’t new information, but his comments today move up the timeline. Meanwhile, MLB.com’s John Denton reports that Molina has already had conversations with the Cardinals and manager Oliver Marmol about taking on a formal coaching role with the club. The nine-time Gold Glove winner returned to St. Louis this past summer as a guest coach for two games. At the time, he told reporters, including Denton, that coaching and managing were in his future plans, but that he was focusing on his family for the time being. He has, however, gained international managerial experience in recent years, including managing Team Puerto Rico at the 2023 World Baseball Classic. He will return to manage the team in this winter’s upcoming WBC.

Rays Re-Sign Kodi Whitley To Minor League Deal

Leo Morgenstern — Thu, 16 Oct 2025 19:46:01 +0000

Kodi Whitley will return to the Rays organization in 2026. According to Matt Eddy’s minor league transactions roundup at Baseball America, the right-hander has signed a new minor league pact with the club.

Now 30 years old, Whitley joined the Cardinals organization in the 2017 draft and made his MLB debut for St. Louis in 2020. Over parts of three seasons with the Cardinals, he pitched to a 3.38 ERA in 42.2 innings of mostly low-leverage relief before he was outrighted at the end of the 2022 campaign. He has not pitched in the major leagues since.

Whitley spent 2023 at Triple-A with the Memphis Redbirds (Cardinals) and, after his mid-July release, the Gwinnett Stripers (Braves). Unfortunately for the righty, his 5.49 ERA and 5.12 FIP in 57.1 innings seemed to scare off potential suitors the following year. The Braves organization released him weeks before Opening Day in 2024, and he went unsigned the rest of the season.

A year later, however, the Rays came calling, inking Whitley to a minor league deal. While he missed about half of 2025 with injuries and failed to make his way back to the big leagues, he showed signs of promise when he took the mound. In 28.2 innings of minor league work, he struck out 38 batters and walked only four. Evidently, the Rays saw enough to want to take another look at his arm in 2026. If Whitley manages to make it back to the majors, he will have one option year remaining, which could help him to stick around on Tampa Bay’s 40-man roster.

Kevin Alcántara Undergoes Sports Hernia Surgery

Leo Morgenstern — Thu, 16 Oct 2025 19:15:38 +0000

Cubs outfielder Kevin Alcántara has undergone surgery to repair a sports hernia, the team announced. Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times was the first to report the news.

The Cubs have not offered a clear timeline for Alcántara’s recovery, but the surgery was successful, according to Lee, so there’s no reason to believe this will affect his 2026 campaign. Corey Seager is a prominent recent example of a player who returned from sports hernia surgery. He had a hernia on his left side repaired in late January 2024 and recovered quickly enough to start at shortstop on Opening Day just two months later. The following September, he needed another hernia repair, this time on the right side, and he returned in plenty of time to post a .950 OPS in 18 games in spring training. Barring a setback, Alcántara should still have a relatively normal offseason.

Acquired from the Yankees in the 2021 Anthony Rizzo trade, the 23-year-old Alcántara is one of Chicago’s top prospects. The latest lists from Baseball America and MLB Pipeline have him ranked fifth in the system, while FanGraphs and Keith Law of The Athletic are even higher on his skills, ranking him as the Cubs’ No. 1 and a top-50 prospect in the game. His calling card is huge slugging potential. He hit 26 doubles and 17 home runs across 102 games at Triple-A in 2025, and evaluators who are bullish on his bat think he has even more power to unlock. It’s easy to see why that’s so tantalizing, especially coming from a center fielder with plus speed.

Alcántara has taken a couple of sips of coffee at the big league level in each of the past two Septembers but has yet to establish himself in the major leagues. In truth, he could probably benefit from some more minor league seasoning in 2026; his .273/.356/.470 slash line and 111 wRC+ in 137 career games at Triple-A aren’t quite as impressive as his numbers from the lower levels of the minors. In particular, his 29.6% strikeout rate is concerning. Unfortunately for the Cubs, however, they’ll soon have to make a difficult decision. Alcántara will be out of minor league options next season. Presuming he’s healthy, he’ll need a spot on Chicago’s Opening Day roster next year – unless they trade him first.

Aaron Judge Will Not Require Elbow Surgery; Rodón, Volpe Expected To Start 2026 On IL

Darragh McDonald — Thu, 16 Oct 2025 17:05:04 +0000

Yankees manager Aaron Boone held a press conference today and provided some notable updates about players on the roster. Outfielder Aaron Judge will not require offseason surgery on his right elbow. However, left-hander Carlos Rodón underwent a procedure to remove loose bodies from his left elbow. He will be no-throw for eight weeks and will likely miss the start of next season. Shortstop Anthony Volpe, who had shoulder surgery this week, won’t be able to hit for four months and won’t be able to dive for six months. Chris Kirschner of The Athletic was among those to relay the updates (tweet one, two and three). General manager Brian Cashman also confirmed, per Greg Joyce of The New York Post, that Volpe will indeed start the season on the injured list.

The news on Judge is obviously good. He was diagnosed with a flexor strain in July. Though his stint on the IL was minimal, he was limited to designated hitter duties in August. This was a bit awkward, as it forced Giancarlo Stanton into the field, surely more than the Yankees had planned on. Judge gradually played the outfield more throughout September and into October.

If Judge had required Tommy John surgery or some other significant elbow operation, that would have had lingering impacts into the 2026 season, though it seems Judge will be expected to be a full-time outfielder again next year. That should allow the Yankees to go into 2026 planning on having Judge in right and Stanton in the DH slot.

The outfield will still be a focus this offseason, however. Trent Grisham is an impending free agent. Cody Bellinger is going to opt out of his contract and hit the open market as well. That leaves Judge and Jasson Domínguez as the two outfield holdovers. A former top prospect, Domínguez has yet to fully break out. 2025 was his largest stretch of big league playing time. He produced roughly league average offense with poor defense.

Per Kirschner, Boone expects Domínguez to be a regular with the Yanks next year but the skipper added the caveat that it depends what moves happen this offseason. The Yanks could pursue reunions with Bellinger and/or Grisham while the free agent market also features names like Kyle Tucker, Harrison Bader and Cedric Mullins. The trade market should feature names like Lars Nootbaar, Alec Burleson, Adolis García and others. Per Jack Curry of the YES Network, Cashman said he would love to have Bellinger back but the Yankees haven’t had any offseason discussions yet. Per Kirschner, Cashman says that prospect Spencer Jones has also put himself in the mix for a job next year, though that also depends on what happens in the offseason.

The Rodón news is obviously less pleasant. It doesn’t appear as though he’s slated for a huge absence, but the Yanks will go into the season with a few guys on the IL. Gerrit Cole had Tommy John surgery in March of last year. He should return at some point in 2026 but Boone confirmed today, per Kirschner, that Cole would not be ready by Opening Day. Clarke Schmidt had his own TJS in July and will be out well into the 2026 campaign.

Those arms could provide nice in-season boosts to the rotation but the Yanks will have to begin the campaign without them. As of right now, the Opening Day rotation projects as Max Fried, Luis Gil, Cam Schlittler and Will Warren. The Yankees will presumably look to bolster that before Opening Day. It’s possible they end up with a crowded group once Rodón and Cole get back on the mound but other injuries are fairly inevitable. The free agent market is headlined by guys like Framber Valdez, Tatsuya Imai, Dylan Cease and Ranger Suárez, while the trade market could feature MacKenzie Gore, Joe Ryan and plenty others.

As for Volpe, it seems Boone still views him as the shortstop once he’s healthy. “Yeah, he’s right in the mix to do that,” Boone said today, per Kirschner. Cashman also admitted today, per Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, that the shoulder issue was impacting Volpe during the season.

That’s backed up by the numbers. Volpe’s defensive metrics dropped significantly this year. He had six Defensive Runs Saved and 14 Outs Above Average in 2024 but 2 DRS and -7 OAA in 2025. His offense finished in a similar spot to previous seasons but he seemed to drop off a cliff once he suffered the injury. He had a .237/.328/.456 slash and 119 wRC+ through the end of April, just a few days before injuring his shoulder. He hit .205/.255/.374 for a 74 wRC+ from the start of May onwards.

Going into 2026, the Yankees could look to external options, though there aren’t surefire answers out there. The free agent market is headlined by Bo Bichette, who is an excellent hitter but a poor defender. Guys like Ha-Seong Kim and Trevor Story could be out there via opt-outs, though there are issues there as well. Kim is coming off a poor season after recovering from shoulder surgery. Story had a bounceback year after his own injury odyssey but he’s about to turn 33 and may not opt out anyway. CJ Abrams may be available in trade but he’s not a great defender either and the bat is inconsistent.

Perhaps the Yankees will let José Caballero hold the job until Volpe is healthy. Caballero played well after being acquired at the deadline. Braden Shewmake is on the roster as depth and the Yanks could bring in some veteran utility types.

Photo courtesy of Brett Davis, Imagn Images

Aaron Judge Will Not Require Elbow Surgery; Rodón, Volpe Likely Unavailable To Begin 2026

Darragh McDonald — Thu, 16 Oct 2025 16:30:04 +0000

Yankees manager Aaron Boone held a press conference today and provided some notable updates about players on the roster. Outfielder Aaron Judge will not require offseason surgery on his right elbow. However, left-hander Carlos Rodón underwent a procedure to remove loose bodies from his left elbow. He will be no-throw for eight weeks and will likely miss the start of next season. Shortstop Anthony Volpe, who had shoulder surgery this week, won’t be able to hit for four months and won’t be able to dive for six months. He is also likely to begin next season on the injured list. Chris Kirschner of The Athletic was among those to relay the updates (tweet one, two and three).

The news on Judge is obviously good. He was diagnosed with a flexor strain in July. Though his stint on the injured list was minimal, he was limited to designated hitter duties in August. This was a bit awkward, as it forced Giancarlo Stanton into the field, surely more than the Yankees had planned on. Judge gradually played the outfield more throughout September and into October.

More to come.

Cubs Notes: Tucker, Imanaga, Horton, Coaching Staff

Darragh McDonald — Thu, 16 Oct 2025 15:03:30 +0000

The Cubs had a solid season in 2025 but it came to an end on Saturday when they dropped Gave Five of the Division Series to the Brewers. That turns the focus to the offseason and some upcoming decisions. President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer held an end-of-season press conference yesterday but largely avoided tipping his hand about anything. Reporters such as Patrick Mooney of The Athletic, Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic and Jordan Bastian of MLB.com provided dispatches from the presser.

Kyle Tucker’s impending free agency will be a big storyline this winter and Hoyer provided some boilerplate comments about trying to retain the player. “Everyone can use a guy like Kyle Tucker. Everyone gets better by having a player like that,” Hoyer said. “We’ll certainly be having those conversations.”

The Cubs obviously think highly of Tucker. Back in December, they gave up Isaac Paredes, Hayden Wesneski and Cam Smith in order to acquire Tucker’s final year before free agency. They saw Tucker near his best for a while. He slashed .291/.395/.537 through the end of June for a 157 wRC+ while stealing 20 bases.

But his results tapered off as the season went along. A finger fracture suffered in early June didn’t immediately slow him down but seemed to catch up with him eventually. A calf strain also popped up later in the season. From July through the end of the season, Tucker slashed just .225/.348/.342 for a 103 wRC+. He had a .259/.375/.370 line and 118 wRC+ in the postseason.

Despite the tepid finish, Tucker has shown remarkably well-rounded production when healthy and should still be in high demand this winter. From 2021 to the present, he has a combined .277/.365/.514 line and 143 wRC+. He stole 105 bases in there with strong defensive grades, though the glovework seems to be trending down. FanGraphs credited him with 23.4 wins above replacement, making him one of the ten most valuable position players in that stretch.

Though he is limping towards free agency, it’s still possible Tucker’s market will be strong enough that he could secure something like a ten-year, $400MM deal. The Cubs could do that, in a sense. They are a big-market club and their future payroll is quite clean, with Dansby Swanson the only guy really locked in beyond 2026. However, they would need to shatter precedent, as the largest contract in franchise history is Jason Heyward’s $184MM deal from a decade ago.

One other guy who is technically on the books beyond 2026 is left-hander Shota Imanaga, thanks to his convoluted contract. In the next few weeks, it will be determined if he stays on the books or not. The Cubs will soon have to decide whether or not to trigger a three-year, $57.5MM club option for the 2026-28 season. If they turn that down, Imanaga has a $15.25MM player option for 2026. If he triggers that, after 2026, the Cubs have to decide on a two-year, $42.5MM club option. If that is turned down, Imanaga would get another $15.25MM player option.

Hoyer technically responded to a question about Imanaga yesterday but without really answering anything. “When we signed Shota, if you’d shown us his production over the last two years, we would have taken that in a heartbeat,” Hoyer said. “So not only has he produced for us, but he’s just a great teammate and terrific asset to the organization. Obviously we have decisions to make and discussions to (have). Over the next two or three weeks we’ll do that, but I’ve got nothing but positive things to say about Shota.”

After Imanaga’s MLB debut in 2024, the club option seemed like a no-brainer. He posted a 2.91 earned run average over 29 starts. Despite his fastball averaging just 91.7 miles per hour, he was able to strike out 25.1% of batters faced and only gave out walks 4% of the time. But his results backed up here in 2025. As he averaged just 90.8 mph on his fastball, he posted a 3.73 ERA with a 20.6% strikeout rate and 4.6% walk rate. That includes a rough second half with a 4.70 ERA.

Since Imanaga is now 32 years old and his trends aren’t great, it’s possible the Cubs may look to quit while they’re ahead. Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon and Cade Horton will have spots in next year’s rotation. Horton finished the season on the injured list due to a rib fracture but is healthy now. He actually would have been on the NLCS roster if the Cubs had advanced, per Bastian. Justin Steele will be back from his UCL surgery at some point. Colin Rea can be retained via a $6MM club option, which has a $750K buyout. Guys like Ben Brown, Javier Assad and Jordan Wicks will be in the mix.

Subtracting Imanaga from the group would further thin out a group that already looks lacking. On the other hand, adding Imanaga back in there would leave the rotation feeling decent but lacking in upside. There’s an argument that they should turn down their option and use the money saved to pursue more of a front-of-rotation arm. This winter’s free agent market will feature guys like Framber Valdez, Dylan Cease, Tatsuya Imai, Ranger Suárez and others. The trade market could feature MacKenzie Gore, Joe Ryan, Sonny Gray and others.

As for the coaching staff, Hoyer noted they would all be invited back. That makes it possible the Cubs face minimal turnover this winter but it’s also possible some staffers get poached by other clubs. There are eight managerial vacancies and bench coach Ryan Flaherty has already been connected to a few of them. Once those new managers are hired, they will likely have some ability to make coaching decisions. That should lead to a lot of coaching musical chairs this winter, so time will tell if that impacts anyone with the Cubs.

Photo courtesy of Christopher Hanewinckel, Imagn Images

The Opener: ALCS, NLCS, Waiver Wire

Nick Deeds — Thu, 16 Oct 2025 13:13:54 +0000

Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. ALCS moves to Game 4:

The Blue Jays were down 0-2 in the ALCS when they arrived in Seattle, but they didn’t let that stop them from delivering a 13-4 drubbing to the Mariners last night. They’ll look to preserve that momentum in an effort to tie up the series at 5:33pm local time this evening, when future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer (5.19 ERA) takes on Luis Castillo (3.54 ERA). Despite Scherzer’s status as one of the greatest pitchers of his generation, it’s a pitching matchup that pretty clearly favors Seattle. Castillo not only had much stronger regular season numbers than the 41-year-old Scherzer, but he delivered in the ALDS with 4 2/3 scoreless innings in a Game 2 start against the Tigers before offering 1 1/3 innings of crucial relief in a marathon Game 5. Scherzer, meanwhile, was left off the ALDS roster entirely by the Blue Jays due to concerns over his matchup against Yankees hitters.

2. NLCS moves to Game 3:

Before the primetime game in the AL kicks off, the Dodgers and Brewers will be facing off in Los Angeles at 3:08pm local time. The Brewers will be looking to follow in Toronto’s footsteps and win their first away game of the series after dropping back-to-back home games. They’ll do so with an as-of-yet-unannounced starting pitcher, though Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel notes that southpaw Jose Quintana (3.96 ERA) expects to pitch in today’s game in one role or another. He’ll face off against right-hander Tyler Glasnow (3.19 ERA). Both have enjoyed success so far this postseason, as Quintana threw three scoreless frames in bulk relief against the Cubs in Game 3 of the NLDS while Glasnow has ten strikeouts in 7 2/3 scoreless innings of work between a relief outing in the Wild Card Series against Cincinnati and a start in Game 4 of the NLDS against Philadelphia.

3. Movement on the waiver wire?

As the start of the offseason approaches, some of the clubs that are no longer in the hunt have begun to do 40-man roster maintenance to prepare for the coming winter. That’s led to a bit of activity on the waiver wire in recent days. The White Sox outrighted four players to the minor leagues earlier this week, and two waiver claims have occurred: Pittsburgh’s claim of Will Robertson, and Minnesota’s claim of Ryan Kreidler after he was designated for assignment to make room for Robertson on the Pirates’ roster. No corresponding move was necessary for Kreidler in Minnesota, but could any other clubs look to expose some of their borderline 40-man roster players to waivers in the coming days?

MLB Playoffs News & Moments: League Championship Series 10/16/2025

Steve Drumwright — Thu, 16 Oct 2025 13:00:22 +0000

Vlad erupts with 4-hit day, hits one of 5 HRs to pull Jays within 2-1.

The post MLB Playoffs News & Moments: League Championship Series 10/16/2025 appeared first on Pitcher List.

A.J. Preller Discusses Padres’ Rotation

Anthony Franco — Thu, 16 Oct 2025 05:24:45 +0000

Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller met with reporters (including Dennis Lin of The Athletic and Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune) on Tuesday afternoon. While the ramifications of Mike Shildt’s resignation were the main topic, Preller also touched on the Friars’ uncertain rotation going into 2026.

San Diego’s front office leader acknowledged that the starting staff “is a clear area of need” as they face free agent losses of Dylan Cease and Michael King. Cease is a lock to reject a qualifying offer and has long seemed likely to sign elsewhere. King will decline his end of a mutual option in favor of a $3.75MM buyout. The Padres seem likely to issue him a QO as well, and there’s a good chance he rejects that even after an injury-riddled season.

The Padres could try to bring King back. He was on track for a nine-figure deal until he suffered a nerve injury in his throwing shoulder. That initially seemed to be a minor concern but wound up costing him almost three months. King missed a couple more weeks in August with knee inflammation and did not look as sharp in September. The Padres didn’t fully trust him in the postseason, using him out of the bullpen in the Wild Card Series. It’s possible the rocky finish drops King from a five- or six-year asking price to a two- or three-year deal with opt-outs. That could be more in the Padres’ financial wheelhouse than a $125-150MM commitment would have been had King stayed healthy.

For the time being, the Padres need to operate as if Cease and King will not be back. That leaves Nick Pivetta as the clear #1 starter. Joe Musgrove should be on track for Opening Day after undergoing Tommy John surgery during last year’s postseason. The Padres could keep an eye on his innings total, however.

Yu Darvish is signed for three more years but is coming off a 5.38 earned run average and entering his age-39 season. Randy Vásquez made 26 starts with a sub-4.00 ERA without missing any bats. Deadline pickup JP Sears was rocked over five MLB starts after the trade. He’s not a lock to be tendered a contract at a projected $3.5MM arbitration salary. The Padres should decline their $5MM option on Kyle Hart, while Matt Waldron is on the roster bubble after struggling in Triple-A.

It’s a thin group after the Padres traded Ryan Bergert and Stephen Kolek to the Royals for catcher Freddy Fermin at the deadline. That’s true even assuming Darvish returns. Kevin Acee of The Union-Tribune wrote earlier this month that Darvish has not firmly stated that he’ll play out his entire contract, which runs through the end of the 2028 season. The veteran righty missed most of the first half to elbow inflammation and just had the worst numbers of his career.

Preller didn’t provide many specifics but noted that he has had some conversations with Darvish early in the offseason. “We’ll keep talking to him over the course of the next couple of weeks to see what it all means for him,” he added. It doesn’t appear that Darvish has made any decision, but that’s another question hanging over an already light starting five.

It’s a familiar position for the Friars, who seemingly enter each offseason with one or two rotation holes and uncertainty about their ability to add short-term financial commitments. Two years ago, that manifested in building the Juan Soto return around King and pulling off a Spring Training deal to land Cease from the White Sox. They waited out the market last offseason to add Pivetta on a heavily backloaded four-year free agent contract.

The Padres have also had a decent amount of success building relievers back into starting pitchers. They gave Seth Lugo that opportunity after he spent years as a reliever with the Mets. King flourished in San Diego after beginning a rotation experiment with the Yankees. Kolek clearly wasn’t as impactful as Lugo or King had been, yet he also found enough success as a starter to pique the Royals’ interest in talks on Fermin.

That history led to speculation about the Padres giving Mason Miller another rotation look as soon as San Diego landed him from the A’s. Miller has been arguably the most dominant reliever in MLB over the past two seasons. He had limited rotation experience — 15 starts in the minors and six starts as a rookie — before the A’s moved him to the bullpen.

That wasn’t a question of talent so much as durability. Miller had fought shoulder and elbow injuries in the minors and lost most of his rookie season in 2023 to forearm tightness. He has stayed healthy as a reliever aside from a three-week absence in ’24 when he fractured his non-throwing hand (reportedly after hitting a table in frustration following a poor outing).

Adrian Morejon has been a full-time reliever for almost four seasons. He also moved to relief because of health concerns but had been a top starting pitching prospect. He had multiple shoulder and elbow injuries, one of which required Tommy John surgery in 2021. Morejon has been healthy for consecutive seasons and developed into one of the game’s best relievers. He’s coming off his first All-Star season and just fired 73 2/3 innings of 2.08 ERA ball in 75 appearances.

Preller didn’t commit to roles for either pitcher but left open the possibility of stretching one or both back out. “We’ll definitely get Mason’s thoughts and hear what he thinks is best. We’ll see how the offseason plays out, roster-wise. Then we’ll have some clear direction for him of what that looks like,” he said regarding Miller. Preller expressed a similar sentiment on Morejon. “(He’s) a lefty that’s throwing three plus pitches with command and the ability to use him in different places in the game. I think that’ll be a conversation as we get into it, similar to Mason, about what that looks like here for next year.”

Moving either pitcher to the rotation would obviously deal a significant hit to a bullpen that was the best in MLB over the season’s last two months. The Padres already seem likely to lose closer Robert Suarez, who’ll opt out of the remaining two years and $16MM on his deal and could command upwards of $15MM annually on a two-year contract in free agency.

Miller would be the heir apparent in the ninth inning if he’s not starting. If they move Miller to the rotation, Jeremiah Estrada probably becomes the favorite to close. Jason Adam could be in the mix as well, but he’s coming back from a season-ending quad rupture. David Morgan and Bradgley Rodriguez showed late-inning potential as rookies and could pitch their way into leverage roles if they’re able to throw enough strikes.

Latest On Mike Shildt’s Resignation As Padres Manager

Mark Polishuk — Thu, 16 Oct 2025 04:52:35 +0000

Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller met with reporters (including The Athletic’s Dennis Lin) in the team’s season wrap-up press conference yesterday. As expected, a lot of the focus was on Mike Shildt’s decision to step down as the team’s manager on Monday, which Preller characterized as “probably more of a surprise than a shock,” given how the two had spoken near the end of the season about the health issues Shildt cited as a reason for his departure. Shildt also asked for a week off at his home in North Carolina once the Padres were eliminated from the playoffs, which created some speculation within the organization about the skipper’s future.

Shildt expanded on his decision in an interview with the San Diego Union-Tribune’s Kevin Acee yesterday, and said that he hopes to return to baseball in a player development role in the future. However, it appears as though his managing days may be through, as Shildt was worn down in every day from the day-to-day grind of running a team. Beyond just the on-the-field stress, Shildt said he received some death threats late in the season.

Since the news broke of Shildt’s departure on Monday, there have been multiple reports about discord among San Diego’s coaches. Jon Heyman of The New York Post first reported that Shildt had a “very poor relationship” with some members of his coaching staff, with one coach almost coming to blows with the manager after the coach felt Shildt insulted him.

Acee also explored some of the internal criticisms leveled at Shildt by some Padres staffers, including the view that Shildt had a short temper and was too quickly heated over any questions about his decision-making or thought process. With Shildt giving the Padres players a wide berth to police their own clubhouse, Shildt was accused by some of micro-managing and being too harsh with his coaches and other team staff members.

“I can accept I had a high standard and I held people to a high standard for the betterment of the players and organization,” Shildt said. “That’s my job. I am completely aware I challenged the staff….I acknowledge and won’t apologize for having high standards. I own that. I had to have hard conversations with players and staff.”

“And of 80 people in a clubhouse, a high percentage of those, I was able to partner with and work toward a common goal. And clearly that was effective, as reflected by our record on the field. There are going to be people who are going to push back and you’re not going to please. And after trying to partner with people, I had to hold people accountable. I understand people don’t like that….That standard is very high for me, and I take it very seriously. To the point of burnout.”

As noted by Shildt himself, the criticisms of his approach were “eerily similar in the two places I’ve managed,” referring to his previous stint as the Cardinals’ manager from 2018-21. Shildt led the Cards to postseason appearances in his three full seasons as the Cards’ skipper, yet was surprisingly removed from his position following the 2021 campaign. Acee writes that multiple St. Louis coaches and staffers were threatening to quit their jobs if Shildt was brought back in 2022, which contributed to the Cardinals’ decision to part ways. The situation wasn’t quite this intense with the Padres’ staff, though Acee notes that “multiple coaches indicated they would leave if they found opportunities elsewhere.”

Still, Shildt was ultimately expected to return as manager in 2026, leaving the Padres now in the midst of another managerial search. Preller said there isn’t any timeline for hiring a new bench boss, which makes sense given how Shildt’s unexpected departure is still so fresh. The next hire will be the ninth different manager (both full-time and interim) to run the dugout since Preller took over the front office in August 2014, adding to the tumult of what has been a very eventful 11-plus years for the PBO.

Preller’s latest contract is up after the 2026 season, and he didn’t provide any details on extension talks apart from saying “I look forward to having conversations with [team chairman John Seidler] and the group here this offseason.” In Lin’s view, an extension could be a matter of time since there doesn’t appear to be any sense that Preller’s job is in danger. Despite the many ups and downs of Preller’s tenure, San Diego has reached the postseason four times in the last six seasons, after getting into the playoffs just five times in the franchise’s previous 51 years of existence.

Diamondbacks Hire J.R. House As Third Base Coach

Anthony Franco — Thu, 16 Oct 2025 03:35:20 +0000

The D-Backs are hiring J.R. House as third base/catching coach, reports Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic. The 45-year-old has held that role with the Reds for the past seven seasons.

House had a brief big league playing career as a part-time catcher. He coached and managed in the D-Backs’ farm system for most of the 2010s and still lives in Arizona. House tells Piecoro that the proximity to home was a big reason for him to leave the Reds for what amounts to a lateral move.

The Diamondbacks had hired a first-year third base coach, Shaun Larkin, last offseason. Larkin struggled in that role and had a few bad sends that led manager Torey Lovullo to remove him from the job in the middle of August. Larkin remains on staff as an infield instructor. Piecoro writes that Tim Bogar, who worked as third base coach for the final five weeks of the season, will return to a minor league player development role.

That may be the only change to Arizona’s staff. Lovullo told The Burns & Gambo Show earlier this month that they’d bring back all their coaches, though he left the door open to some role shuffling. The Reds will now need to make at least one coaching change going into Terry Francona’s second season at the helm.

Albert Pujols Expected To Interview For Orioles’ Managerial Opening

Charlie Wright — Thu, 16 Oct 2025 02:23:39 +0000

The Angels aren’t the only team vying for Albert Pujols’ managerial services. Alden Gonzalez and Jeff Passan of ESPN reported the Orioles are expected to interview Pujols for their opening. Baltimore fired Brandon Hyde in May of this past season. Tony Mansolino took over on an interim basis, and he remains in the mix for the full-time gig.

The ESPN story comes less than a week after reports of Pujols closing in on the Los Angeles job. The Hall of Fame first baseman was regarded as the frontrunner for the position at the beginning of October, and follow-up stories have supported that notion, though there’s been no report of an official offer from the Angels. Gonzalez and Passan noted that Los Angeles is still the most likely landing spot for Pujols.

Baltimore dismissed Hyde after a 15-28 start. The team entered the season with plenty of fanfare after two consecutive postseason appearances, but fell well short of expectations. The Orioles did improve to 60-59 under Mansolino. Hyde had elevated the team from the basement of the American League to a contender in the challenging NL East. He earned AL Manager of the Year honors in 2023 after bringing home the club’s first division title since 2014.

Despite the poor 2025 campaign, there’s a lot to like about the Orioles’ outlook. The team is loaded with proven young talent, including Gunnar Henderson, Jackson Holliday, Adley Rutschman, and Jordan Westburg. Fellow youngsters Colton Cowser, Samuel Basallo, and Coby Mayo have shown flashes in limited action. The pitching staff is a question mark, but Trevor Rogers broke out as an ace, and Kyle Bradish has shown considerable upside when healthy. The team should also have the flexibility to add in free agency. FanGraphs’ RosterResource tool estimates Baltimore’s payroll to be around $81MM for next season. That’s about half the amount they spent in 2025.

In addition to the enticing roster, a couple of St. Louis connections could make Baltimore a desirable landing spot for Pujols. As Gonzalez and Passan point out, Orioles president of baseball operations Mike Elias was a scout for the Cardinals during Pujols’ playing days. Pujols is still close to Cardinals teammate Matt Holliday, the father of Orioles infielder Jackson Holliday.

If Pujols does land a job with an MLB team, it’ll be his first in affiliated ball. He managed Leones del Escogido, a Dominican winter ball team, last offseason. Pujols has been tabbed to lead the Dominican Republic national team in the upcoming World Baseball Classic, though that would likely change if he earns a major-league position.

Rocco Baldelli Interested In Managing Again

Charlie Wright — Thu, 16 Oct 2025 01:30:50 +0000

After getting fired by the Twins at the end of the season, Rocco Baldelli didn’t have to wait long for more opportunities to come his way. Baldelli told Dan Hayes of The Athletic that as many as 10 teams reached out after he was let go by Minnesota. The former manager didn’t specify the roles, but it’s clear there’s interest around the league in hiring him. While he might not jump back into coaching right away, Baldelli said he’d be open to returning to a managerial role. “If (the situation) matches, I’ll do it again someday. I’d love to be able to do it again. But I owe my family a little time.”

Baldelli took over as Minnesota’s skipper in 2019. He was the youngest manager in the league when he was hired. He led the club to immediate success, winning 101 games in his first season. It was a 23-win improvement on the previous season and the first time the Twins had won 100+ games since 1965. Minnesota won the AL Central for the first time since 2010, though they were swept in the ALDS by the Yankees. The standout 2019 campaign earned Baldelli AL Manager of the Year honors.

Minnesota won the AL Central again in the shortened 2020 season, but was bounced in the Wild Card round by Houston. The club struggled in 2021 and 2022, finishing well below .500. Baldelli got the team back on track in 2023, leading them back to the postseason. The skipper would earn his first playoff series victory that year, sweeping Toronto in the Wild Card round. The Twins would then be dispatched by the Astros in the ALDS.

The Twins finished with a winning record in 2024, but fell short of a playoff bid. This past season was the worst in Baldelli’s tenure. The club managed just 70 wins, finishing fourth in the AL Central for the second straight season. The disappointing result ultimately cost Baldelli his job.

After his playing days ended following the 2010 season, Baldelli signed on with the Rays as a Special Assistant to Baseball Operations. He worked in the front office until 2015, when he became Tampa Bay’s first base coach. After three seasons manning the first base box, Baldelli spent a year as the team’s Major League Field Coordinator.

With the Padres now in the market for a new manager, we could have as many as eight teams looking to fill the role. Skip Schumaker landed the Rangers’ gig, but the Giants, Angels, and Braves all have vacancies, in addition to Baldelli’s former spot in Minnesota. The Nationals, Orioles, and Rockies closed the 2025 season with interim managers, and none have stated whether the fill-ins will return. Baldelli’s name will likely be floated for all of those gigs. Even if he doesn’t get a head job, he plans to work for a team in some capacity for 2026. “It’s possible I may not manage this year, but I fully expect to stay active.“

Devin Williams: Open To Reunion With Yankees

Charlie Wright — Thu, 16 Oct 2025 00:33:42 +0000

Devin Williams endured a tumultuous season in the Bronx, but the free agent has expressed interest in returning to New York. Williams told Bryan Hoch of MLB.com he’d “definitely be open” to rejoining the Yankees in free agency. “I really enjoyed my experience here. … There’s a lot to like about this city, but it took me some time to adjust.”

New York acquired Williams from Milwaukee this past offseason. The Yankees gave up left-hander Nestor Cortes and infielder Caleb Durbin for a year of the elite closer’s services. The team’s previous stopper, Clay Holmes, bolted in free agency for a starting opportunity with the Mets. New York was able to replace Holmes with one of the premier relievers of the decade, though the move didn’t pan out as expected.

Williams earned a save against his former team on opening night. He gave up three base runners and needed 36 pitches to get three outs, but got the job done. Williams had a couple of uneven performances in the ensuing weeks, including an extra-inning loss against Pittsburgh, though none came in save situations. He locked down all four of his initial save chances. Williams coughed up a four-run lead on April 19 against Tampa Bay, leading to another extra-inning defeat. In his next appearance, Williams gave up three runs and recorded zero outs to blow his first save. The rough outing cost him the closing gig.

The next few months saw Williams work himself back into the late-inning mix after initially working in low-leverage spots. Luke Weaver earned six saves in May, but a hamstring strain cost him most of June. Williams returned to the closer role and went 12-for-13 on save chances from June through July. New York added a slew of relievers at the trade deadline, including a pair of closers in Camilo Doval and David Bednar. It was Bednar who would assume the role for New York, picking up 10 saves over the final two months of the season. He added two more saves in the playoffs.

Williams’ 4.79 ERA stands out as easily the worst of his seven-year MLB career, but he looked more or less like himself after regaining the closer’s role. Williams posted a 3.92 ERA with an elite 38.6% strikeout rate from June through the end of the regular season. He ripped off nine straight scoreless outings heading into the playoffs, then put up four more zeroes in the postseason. Williams averaged 94.1 mph on his fastball this year, which was down slightly from 2024 (94.7 mph), but right in line with 2023 (94.2 mph) and 2022 (94.1 mph).

The most encouraging sign for Williams, and maybe the biggest factor as he enters free agency, was durability. He made it through 2025 unscathed in the health department, leading to career highs in innings (62) and appearances (67). Williams missed the first four months of his final season in Milwaukee with stress fractures in his back. He was his usual dominant self when he returned, but the 21 2/3 innings he totaled were his fewest in a season since his rookie year.

Williams is entering a crowded reliever market. Proven closers Ryan Helsley and Raisel Iglesias are the headliners, along with Williams. Edwin Díaz and Robert Suarez could join them if they opt out of their current contracts. Emilio Pagan and Shawn Armstrong are coming off career years as fill-in closers. Veterans like Kenley Jansen, Kirby Yates, and Kyle Finnegan have plenty of late-inning experience. Weaver might’ve earned himself a look as a closer after two strong seasons in New York.

Age is certainly on Williams’ side compared to the other available bullpen options. He’s now entering his age-31 season, making him one of the youngest notable free agent relievers. Williams is well-positioned to earn one of the longest and most lucrative contracts of the group, despite the hiccup to begin his New York tenure.

The Yankees will have Bednar and Doval under team control for next season, so they don’t have a strong need to reunite with Williams. Bednar’s ascension to the closer role after joining the team may also be a factor. Williams said it “depends on the scenario” regarding whether being the closer would impact his free agency decision.

With both Williams and Weaver potentially on the move, New York likely needs another piece or two to solidify the backend of the bullpen. The Yankees ranked just 23rd in bullpen ERA in 2025. They slipped to 26th after the trade deadline. Given their history of spending, the franchise will likely be in the mix for every notable name on the market.

Nine Players Elect Free Agency

Darragh McDonald — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 22:17:51 +0000

Now that the season is over, we’ll start seeing several players choose to become minor league free agents. Major League free agents (i.e. players with six-plus years of big league service time) will hit the open market five days after the end of the World Series, but eligible minor leaguers can already start electing free agency.

To qualify, these players must have been all outrighted off their team’s 40-man rosters during the 2025 season without being added back. These players also must have multiple career outrights on their resume, and/or at least three years of Major League service time.

We’ll offer periodic updates over the coming weeks about many other players hitting the market in this fashion. Unless otherwise credited, these free agent decisions are all listed on the official MLB.com or MILB.com transactions pages, for further reference.

Catchers

Eric Haase (Brewers)
Chad Wallach (Angels)

Outfielders

Akil Baddoo (Tigers)
Dominic Fletcher (White Sox) (per Scott Merkin of MLB.com)
Corey Julks (White Sox) (per Merkin)

Pitchers

Carl Edwards Jr. (Rangers)
Trevor Richards (Diamondbacks)
Keegan Thompson (Cubs)
Randy Wynne (Reds)

Photo courtesy of Jonathan Hui, Imagn Images

Twins Claim Ryan Kreidler

Darragh McDonald — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 20:20:40 +0000

The Twins announced that utilityman Ryan Kreidler has been claimed off waivers from the Pirates. Pittsburgh designated Kreidler for assignment two days ago. Minnesota’s 40-man roster count jumps from 38 to 39.

Kreidler, 28 next month, is a multi-positional player who hasn’t yet hit in limited chances the big leagues. He has appeared in the past four big league seasons but with a total of just 211 plate appearances over those four years. He struck out in 31.8% of those trips to the plate and produced a dismal .138/.208/.176 line.

His minor league numbers are naturally greater in quality and quantity. He has a .236/.342/.401 line and 106 wRC+ in 1,963 plate appearances in his minor league career. That includes a .238/.363/.389 line and 109 wRC+ in 401 plate appearances in 2025. If he could bring some more of that offense up to the majors, he could become a useful utility guy. He has experience at the three infield spots to the left of first base, as well as center and left field.

However, his grip on a roster spot with the Tigers was slipping. 2025 was his final option year, meaning he will be out of options going forward. The Tigers designated him for assignment in August when they selected left-hander Drew Sommers. The Pirates claimed him but put him back on the wire this week when they claimed outfielder Will Robertson.

The Twins have loads of questions about their roster going into the offseason. They underwent a big sell-off at the deadline, trading away many pieces, including infielder Carlos Correa and outfielder Harrison Bader. It’s possible they do some more rebuild-type moves this winter, which could include trading guys like Trevor Larnach, Matt Wallner or Royce Lewis.

With so much uncertainty, it’s possible there will be a path for guys like Kreidler to fill in some of the open playing time. It’s also possible that the Twins put him back on waivers in the winter and hope that he clears so that they can keep him as non-roster depth.

Photo courtesy of Steven Bisig, Imagn Images

Twins To Interview Nick Punto About Managerial Vacancy

Mark Polishuk — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 20:13:10 +0000

The Twins’ search for a new manager has taken them to a familiar name, as The Athletic’s Dan Hayes and Dennis Lin report that the club will be speaking with former utilityman Nick Punto. The Padres currently employ Punto as a coach on their big league staff, and granted the Twins permission for an interview with the 14-year MLB veteran.

Seven of Punto’s seasons (2004-10) were spent in a Twins uniform, and his nickname of “the Shredder” sums up Punto’s style of play. Despite below-average hitting numbers for his entire career, Punto enjoyed a long career based on defensive versatility, speed, and a focus on solid fundamentals. As Hayes/Lin note, Minnesota team president Derek Falvey stressed that the next version of the Twins is “going to be a really good base running team, we’re going to be on the details, we’re going to be leaning into the fundamentals.”

On paper, this would seemingly make Punto an ideal match, plus his past ties to the Twins organization certainly help. What Punto (who turns 48 next month) lacks in comparison to other candidates is a lot of coaching or managerial experience, certainly at the big league level. Punto was a manager in MLB’s Prospect Development Pipeline League in 2021 and he coached at the high school level in 2023-24 before taking the job on San Diego’s staff. Punto didn’t have a defined role with the Padres, but Hayes and Lin wrote that his duties included “working with the team’s infielders.”

Punto is the fourth candidate publicly linked to the Twins’ search for Rocco Baldelli’s successor. Former Pirates skipper Derek Shelton is the only known candidate with MLB managerial experience, as Punto, Yankees hitting coach James Rowson, and Red Sox bench coach Ramon Vazquez would all be first-time managers (apart from Vazquez’s single game as a fill-in for Alex Cora when Cora was attending his daughter’s graduation this past May).

“Another hot name internally” for the Twins is Cubs bench coach Ryan Flaherty, according to Hayes and Lin, but it isn’t known if the Twins have yet been given permission to speak with Flaherty. Already a popular name amidst the many managerial vacancies around baseball this fall, Flaherty has been cited as a likely candidate for the Padres and Orioles jobs. Flaherty has bench coaching experience with the Cubs and Padres but would be another first-time skipper at the MLB level.

NPB’s Rakuten Eagles Re-Sign Luke Voit

Mark Polishuk — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 17:44:07 +0000

After an outstanding start to his career in Japan, Luke Voit is sticking around for another year, as the Rakuten Eagles announced that they have re-signed the first baseman to a new contract for the 2026 Nippon Professional Baseball season. (Hat tip to Yakyu Cosmopolitan.)

Voit signed with the Eagles in June and made a quick impact with his new team. Over 276 plate appearances and 67 games as a DH and first baseman, Voit hit .300/.384/.498 with 13 home runs. Despite his late entry to the 2025 campaign, Voit still led the Eagles in homers, and had the second-most RBI (39) on the team. Retaining Voit was a logical move for the power-starved Eagles, whose 70 homers were the fewest of NPB’s 12 clubs.

A veteran of seven Major League seasons, Voit last appeared in the Show in May 2023 playing with the Brewers. He has spent the last two seasons outside of affiliated ball entirely with stints in the Mexican League and Nippon Professional Baseball, and that sojourn now looks to extend into 2026.

Voit led the majors with 22 home runs during the shortened 2020 season, and hit a very impressive .271/.363/.520 with 68 homers over 1133 PA with the Yankees from 2018-21. An injury-plagued down year for Voit in 2021 led New York to deal him to the Padres that offseason. The slugger’s last bit of real notoriety in the majors came when San Diego included him as the only experienced piece of the prospect-heavy trade package sent to the Nationals for Juan Soto at the 2022 trade deadline.

Poll: Will The Phillies Trade Alec Bohm This Winter?

Nick Deeds — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 16:47:13 +0000

Philadelphia’s season came to an abrupt end when they were trounced by the Dodgers in four games during the NLDS, and now they’re facing down a crucial offseason where a number of key players are headed for free agency. With Kyle Schwarber, Ranger Suarez, and J.T. Realmuto all already headed to the open market, it seems likely that big changes are coming to the Phillies one way or another. The club’s pending free agents aren’t the only places where the possibility of change can be seen, however.

Last winter, the Phillies floated the possibility of more substantial change and made regulars like Alec Bohm and Nick Castellanos available. Neither ultimately ended up getting traded last year, but perhaps that could change this winter. Given that Castellanos endured a career-worst season and lost playing time down the stretch this year, the question surrounding his trade candidacy seems less to be about whether the Phillies would like to move on from him and more about what team might be interested in adding him and how much of his salary Philadelphia would need to pay down to facilitate a move.

Bohm, on the other hand, is a more intriguing trade candidate. The Phillies apparently set an extremely high asking price in trade talks regarding the infielder last winter, as they reportedly sought either Logan Gilbert or George Kirby from the Mariners and Mason Miller from the Athletics in exchange for his services. That asking price, naturally, was not met, and the teams that passed on Bohm are surely glad they so based on his performance in 2025. After a 2024 campaign where Bohm posted a 113 wRC+ with solid defense at third base en route to his first career All-Star appearance, he took a clear step backwards this year as he slashed just .287/.331/.409 (105 wRC+) with 11 homers, a 5.8% walk rate, a 16.3% strikeout rate, and less robust defensive metrics.

In other words, he regressed in virtually every aspect of his game. After his middling 2025 campaign and the club’s inability to find a trade partner for Bohm last winter coming off a career year, it goes without saying that the Phillies would need to massively lower their expectations for a return in order to work out a deal involving Bohm. That might be reason enough for the Phillies to pass on the idea of trading him this winter, if they believe a bounce back is coming next season. If the club is risking the loss of Schwarber from the lineup already, any possibility of downgrading offensively at the hot corner would surely be looked at with skepticism.

On the other hand, Bohm is entering his final year before free agency, so it stands to reason that the Phillies might have an easier time accepting a less-than-elite return for the 29-year-old infielder at this point. Perhaps more importantly, Bohm’s departure could clear the way for the Phillies to upgrade the third base position, either immediately or in the long-term. Alex Bregman figures to be one of the winter’s top free agents and would be a big upgrade over Bohm if acquired, and Bo Bichette is another intriguing option even if he’d have to be convinced to move off shortstop. Going after one of those players could be an especially sensible decision if Schwarber ends up signing elsewhere this winter.

Even if the Phillies aren’t interested in adding a big-ticket free agent, it must be remembered that internal help is on the way. Aidan Miller is a consensus top-30 prospect in the sport and got promoted to Triple-A shortly before the end of the regular season. He looked quite comfortable in eight games at the level, going 9-for-27 (.333) with two doubles, a home run, and more walks (9) than strikeouts (7) in 34 trips to the plate. It should be expected that he’ll be ready for the big leagues at some point next year, and the possibility of Bohm blocking him at third base doesn’t seem especially appealing. Utility man Edmundo Sosa remains in the organization as a potential bridge to Miller if he isn’t ready for the majors out of Spring Training, as well.

Of course, much of whether or not it would make sense for the Phillies to deal Bohm will come down to what they can get in return for his services. Fortunately, an offseason with this much uncertainty baked in also comes with plenty of flexibility in terms of what the Phillies can look for in a return package. Suarez’s potential departure will leave a hole in the rotation the club would do well to fill, but there’s also room for improvement in the outfield, where Harrison Bader and Max Kepler are both scheduled to hit free agency, and in a bullpen that figures to lose David Robertson and might also lose Jose Alvarado if the Phillies don’t exercise his club option. Perhaps Bohm can be packaged with prospect capital in order to bring back a starter, or he could be swapped with a similarly-controllable outfield bat if there’s a team with surplus in the outfield in need of infield help.

How do MLBTR readers think the Phillies will handle Bohm headed into this winter? Will he be placed on the trade block in order to clear the way for someone else at third base, be it Miller or a free agent addition? Or will they hold onto him and hope for better results in 2026? Have your say in the poll below:

Orioles Interview Luis Rojas In Managerial Search

Mark Polishuk — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 15:54:35 +0000

The Orioles have interviewed Yankees third base coach and former Mets manager Luis Rojas amidst their ongoing managerial search, according to SNY’s Andy Martino. Rojas is the first candidate known to have formally interviewed for the position. Baltimore interim skipper Tony Mansolino also remains in the running, while Jon Heyman of The New York Post suggested that former O’s infielder and current Cubs bench coach Ryan Flaherty could be in the mix.

Rojas, 44, has served as the Yankees’ third base coach for the last four seasons. Beginning his coaching career with the Nationals’ Dominican League team in 2006, he joined the Mets organization the following year and began a long stint as a coach and manager at various levels of the organization. A promotion to the big league staff as the Mets’ quality control coach came in 2019, and Rojas was then unexpectedly elevated to the top job in January 2020. Carlos Beltran had been hired as the Amazins’ manager just over two months earlier, yet after the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal broke, Beltran stepped down from the post before he’d ever managed a single regular-season game.

This sudden promotion for Rojas came right before the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, making for quite a trial by fire for the first-time skipper. The Mets finished with just a 26-34 record in Rojas’ first year, yet he was retained for a second year in 2021. New York was in first place for a big chunk of that season but collapsed down the stretch, going just 29-45 after the All-Star break to finish with a 77-85 record.

Rojas’ club option for 2022 wasn’t picked up by the Mets, and he then stayed in the Big Apple by joining the Yankees’ coaching staff in November 2021. Before heading to the Yankees, Rojas interviewed with the Padres about their managerial vacancy that autumn, and he also interviewed with the Marlins in 2022 before Skip Schumaker was hired.

With so few public candidates identified in Baltimore’s search, it isn’t yet clear if the team is primarily focused on people with big league managerial experience (like Rojas or Mansolino) or if the O’s are more partial to Flaherty or another first-timer being elevated to the job. Whomever the choice may be, they’ll face a challenge in trying to get the Orioles and their young core back on track after a very disappointing 2025 campaign. The Orioles followed up consecutive playoff appearances with a 75-87 setback this year, though Mansolino did post a 60-59 record after he took over from Brandon Hyde in May.

Guardians Re-Sign Austin Hedges

Anthony Franco — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 15:29:55 +0000

The Guardians announced Wednesday morning that they’ve re-signed catcher Austin Hedges to a one-year deal. The Boras Corporation client reportedly receives a $4MM guarantee and the deal includes another $500K in performance bonuses: $125K each for 70, 75, 80 and 85 starts behind the plate.

Hedges returns to Cleveland on the same contract he has signed in each of the last two offseasons. It’s his third straight one-year deal to serve as the Guardians’ backup catcher. Cleveland continues to place enough emphasis on his receiving and game-calling ability to live with a complete dearth of offense out of that position.

Over parts of 11 seasons, Hedges is a .185/.244/.313 hitter. That includes a .157/.229/.251 mark in 326 plate appearances over the last two years. The 33-year-old isn’t going to provide anything offensively, yet he remains an elite defensive catcher. Statcast routinely grades him as one of the sport’s best pitch framers. He typically rates as high-end blocker, though this past season’s metrics were average in that regard. Hedges also cut down a third of the 45 runners who attempted to steal against him, well north of the 22.3% league mark.

While Hedges already grades very well by the quantifiable aspects of catcher defense, he’s probably even more highly-regarded for the intangibles. He has earned a fantastic reputation as a game-caller and for his rapport with pitchers. The Guardians aren’t pricing in any drop in his value with the forthcoming introduction of the challenge system to supplement the home plate umpire on balls and strikes.

There’d been speculation about the ABS being a potentially bad rule change for defense-only catchers. The Guardians seemingly don’t think that deals a hit to Hedges’ value. Catcher framing will still be a part of the game since teams are limited to two unsuccessful challenges until extra innings. The ABS obviously also doesn’t take away from a catcher’s game-calling acumen.

Cleveland catchers hit .187/.269/.344 on the season. That was almost entirely split between Bo Naylor and Hedges, with Dom Nuñez picking up the final seven plate appearances. Naylor didn’t hit at all through the end of August, though he did finish with a strong September. Unless they include Naylor in a trade package for a bigger bat behind the plate, they’ll stick with that tandem for a third straight season.

Hedges was one of three impending free agents for the Guardians. Reliever Jakob Junis and outfielder Lane Thomas are set to hit the market in a few weeks. The Guards also have a $6MM club option on lefty John Means. Hedges is their fifth player under contract for 2026, though that includes a $6MM salary for Emmanuel Clase. The former star closer is currently on administrative leave as MLB conducts a gambling investigation.

José Ramírez ($21MM), Tanner Bibee ($4MM) and outrighted reliever Trevor Stephan ($3.5MM) are the only other players on guaranteed salaries. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects the team’s arbitration class to make around $20MM, nearly half of which is in Steven Kwan’s $8.8MM projection. Non-tenders of Ben Lively, Will Brennan, Nolan Jones, Matt Festa, Kolby Allard and/or Sam Hentges could knock the arb class down by $5-10MM.

The Guardians have opened the past two seasons with a player payroll right around $100MM, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts. Cleveland isn’t likely to be huge spenders in free agency, but they could make a couple mid-level acquisitions similar to last winter’s deals to bring back Carlos Santana and Shane Bieber. The Guardians will be in the outfield market and could also look for an innings eater to complement a young rotation nucleus.

Jon Heyman of The New York Post first reported that Hedges had agreed to a $4MM deal with Cleveland that contained $500K in incentives. The Associated Press reported the bonus structure. Image courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images.

Anthony Volpe Undergoes Shoulder Surgery

Mark Polishuk — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 14:38:53 +0000

Anthony Volpe spent much of the 2025 season playing through a partially torn left labrum, and the Yankees shortstop addressed the problem in the form of a surgical procedure yesterday, according to Joel Sherman and Greg Joyce of the New York Post. The exact timeline for Volpe’s recovery isn’t yet clear, but if everything goes normally, a source tells Sherman/Joyce that Volpe would be ready for the start of the 2026 season.

The injury to Volpe’s non-throwing shoulder occurred in early May, when Volpe said he heard “a pop” in his shoulder after diving to try and snag a grounder. What seemed like a minor issue at the time ended up being a lingering source of discomfort throughout the season, and Volpe received two cortisone shots (one at the All-Star break, one in September) to try and manage the pain. The Yankees never played Volpe on the injured list, but he didn’t play for the week following his second shot in September.

More to come…

Mets Sign Joe Jacques To Minors Contract

Mark Polishuk — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 14:33:40 +0000

The Mets have signed left-hander Joe Jacques to a minor league contract, MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo reports. Jacques will receive $800K in prorated salary if he makes New York’s active roster, and he will receive an invitation to the Mets’ Spring Training camp.

More to come…

Ottoneu Arbitration All Stars

Chad Young — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 14:15:18 +0000

Happy Arbitration Day, to those who celebrate! Today is the day Ottoneu Arbitration opens, both for vote off leagues and allocation leagues. If you are new to Ottoneu and not familiar with arbitration, there is a ton of information here – a quick Google search for “FanGraphs Ottoneu Arbitration” will bring up a decent number […]

Source

MLBTR Podcast: Murakami To Be Posted This Offseason, Managerial Vacancies, And More!

Darragh McDonald — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 13:48:18 +0000

The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Munetaka Murakami to be posted for MLB clubs this offseason (2:20)
Ten teams will go into 2026 with a new manager, with eight of those jobs currently vacant (18:50)

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

Can the Mets get Tarik Skubal from the Tigers? (29:55)
Would Pete Alonso return to the Mets if they offered $150MM over five years? (38:20)
The White Sox have a lot of #4 or #5 starters. Which other teams might be interested in them? (40:00)
The Nationals have lots of outfielders, one of whom is 6’7″ tall, and no first baseman. Is it stupid to consider James Wood for first base? (44:20)
Will this finally be the Mariners’ year and can they keep Josh Naylor? (49:20)

Check out our past episodes!

Rockies’ Front Office Changes, Skip Schumaker, And ABS Talk – listen here
Mike Elias On The State Of The Orioles – listen here
The Tigers And Astros Try To Hang On, And Brewers’ Rotation Issues – listen here

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff. Check out their Facebook page here!

Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images

The Opener: ALCS, Re-Signings, Cubs

Nick Deeds — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 13:30:16 +0000

Here are three things for MLBTR readers to keep an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. ALCS continues in Seattle:

The ALCS is set to resume today after the two clubs traveled to Seattle yesterday. The Mariners will be looking to win a third straight game, while the Blue Jays will be hoping to get themselves back into the series with a win of their own. Right-hander George Kirby (4.21 ERA) is on the mound for Seattle opposite righty Shane Bieber (3.57 ERA). Bieber struggled in his lone start of the ALDS against the Yankees, where he surrendered three runs (two earned) in 2 2/3 innings of work. Kirby, meanwhile, struck out 14 Tigers in ten innings of three-run ball across two starts for Seattle in the ALDS. Tonight’s game is scheduled to begin at 5:08pm local time.

2. Could more pending free agents re-sign?

The Guardians and longtime backup catcher Austin Hedges worked out a one-year, $4MM contract for the 2026 season yesterday that will allow Hedges to avoid free agency. It’s typically fairly uncommon for players this close to free agency to decide to re-up with their current club without testing the open market, but it’s certainly not completely unheard of. Pending free agents won’t be able to negotiate with clubs besides their current team until five days after the World Series concludes. Could any other teams and players make use of the exclusive negotiation window the next couple of weeks provide in order to get a deal done, as the Royals and right-hander Michael Wacha did last year?

3. Cubs end-of-season press conference:

The Cubs were the last team to be knocked out of the playoffs before the LCS began, as they fell to the Brewers in Game 5 of the NLDS on Saturday. Now that the loss is a few days in the past, however, the club is starting to gear up for the coming offseason. That will begin with a press conference held by president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer, which Patrick Mooney of The Athletic notes is scheduled for later today. Coming off their first full-season playoff berth since 2018, the Cubs are in for a big offseason with star outfielder Kyle Tucker ticketed for free agency and a complicated option structure for 2024 All-Star Shota Imanaga looming. Will today’s presser provide any hints on their plans for the winter?

MLB Playoffs News & Moments: League Championship Series 10/15/2025

Steve Drumwright — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 13:00:02 +0000

Yamamoto dominates Brewers to put Dodgers in command of NLCS.

The post MLB Playoffs News & Moments: League Championship Series 10/15/2025 appeared first on Pitcher List.

Alex Bregman Will Opt Out Of Red Sox Contract

AJ Eustace — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 04:55:34 +0000

Alex Bregman will be opting out of his contract with the Red Sox, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. He has two years and $80MM remaining on his deal, although some of that money is deferred.

Bregman, 31, is coming off a strong season in which he batted .273/.360/.462 with a 125 wRC+ in 114 games for Boston. After posting an uncharacteristically low 6.7% walk rate in 2024, he rebounded to 10.3% in 2025, while his strikeout rate increased only modestly to a still-excellent 14.1%. His batted ball metrics back up his performance, with his 90.1 mph average exit velocity and 44.4% hard-hit rate both representing career highs. Despite missing seven weeks in the first half of the season with a right quad injury, Bregman was worth 3.5 fWAR this year, ranking seventh among major league third basemen with a minimum of 400 plate appearances.

Defensively, Bregman graded out as above average, if a step down from his 2024 season. In 972 1/3 innings at third base, he was worth one Defensive Run Saved and three Outs Above Average in 2025, with Statcast valuing his range in the 83rd percentile. For comparison, he was worth 6 DRS and 8 OAA with the Astros last year. Defensive metrics are notoriously tricky, of course, but it appears Bregman remains a defensive asset as he continues into his 30s.

By opting out, Bregman is forgoing two years at a $40MM AAV. That figure is somewhat misleading, though, as $60MM of the $120MM total is deferred through 2035-46, per Ronald Blum of the Associated Press, which lowers the contract’s AAV significantly. In any case, Bregman will undoubtedly look to top that guarantee in his second straight trip to the free agent market. Prior to this year’s quad injury, he had three consecutive seasons of good health from 2022-24 and is a reasonable bet to stay healthy moving forward.

Under the terms of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement between the owners and the MLB Players Association, Bregman is ineligible to receive a qualifying offer after receiving one from the Astros last offseason. A prospective team will not need to forfeit draft pick compensation to sign Bregman this time around. A look at our 2025-26 MLB Free Agents list shows Bregman as the clear headliner at third base, with Eugenio Suarez representing the next-best option. Suarez, 34, hit 49 home runs this season and matched Bregman’s 125 wRC+, but he’s three years older and an inferior defender.

Given the state of the market, his ineligibility for another qualifying offer, and his strong platform season, Bregman will likely be seeking a long-term contract this offseason. He reportedly sought a $200MM contract early last winter. He declined an early six-year, $156MM offer from the Astros and eventually turned down a six-year, $171.5MM proposal from Detroit late in the offseason. Heyman writes today that Bregman had countered with an offer in the $180MM range before taking the shorter deal with Boston at a much higher annual rate.

A reunion with the Red Sox is certainly possible, with the team having traded Rafael Devers to the Giants this past June. The team did not exceed the luxury tax threshold in 2024, although they appear on track to exceed this year’s $241MM threshold by several million, according to RosterResource. The team will see Steven Matz’s $12.5MM salary come off the books this offseason. They might also decline their end of Lucas Giolito’s $19MM mutual option depending on the severity of his recent elbow issue. Liam Hendriks underwent ulnar nerve transposition surgery in September and will likely see his $12MM mutual option declined.

If the team runs a similar payroll in 2026 following this year’s postseason appearance, the club might make a run at resigning Bregman. The Tigers and Cubs were both in on Bregman last winter and might be have some interest in him as well. The Cubs were reportedly only interested in Bregman on a short-term deal, though, and their incumbent third baseman, Matt Shaw, showed promise in his debut this year. In contrast, Tigers third basemen ranked 26th in the majors this year with a 76 wRC+ and would benefit substantially from a player of Bregman’s caliber. If Bregman departs Boston, the Red Sox could hand the reins to Marcelo Mayer or make a play for Suarez in free agency.

Guardians To Re-Sign Austin Hedges

Anthony Franco — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 03:29:55 +0000

The Guardians are in agreement with Austin Hedges on a one-year deal, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. The Boras Corporation client receives a $4MM guarantee and the deal includes another $500K in incentives.

Image courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images.

Yankees Part Ways With Coaches Mike Harkey, Travis Chapman

AJ Eustace — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 02:59:34 +0000

The Yankees are making changes to their coaching staff. Bullpen coach Mike Harkey as well as first base and infield coach Travis Chapman will not be returning to the club in 2026, per Andy Martino of SNY.

Harkey, 58, has served two separate stints as the team’s bullpen coach. His first stint was from 2008-13, which included the World Series winning 2009 season. After spending 2014-15 as the pitching coach for the Diamondbacks, he returned as the Yankees’ bullpen coach in 2016 and had been in that role ever since, until today’s news. The club has generally churned out a strong relief corps in those ten seasons. Since the start of 2016, Yankees relievers have posted a 3.63 ERA which ranks third-best among all major league teams. They are tied for third-best with a 16.7% K-BB rate in that time and have been worth a combined 56.3 fWAR, which is second only to the Dodgers.

This year, however, the Bronx bullpen did not perform up to its usual standards. Yankees relievers ranked 23rd in the league with a 4.37 ERA. While they struck out plenty of hitters, tying the Guardians bullpen for fifth-best with a 24.9% strikeout rate, they also walked 9.7% of hitters, which was ninth-worst. Key offseason acquisition Devin Williams posted a 4.79 ERA in 62 innings, although his 3.07 xERA and 2.68 FIP are much more favorable. Luke Weaver also underperformed relative to 2024, and while David Bednar proved invaluable following his acquisition at the trade deadline, fellow relievers Camilo Doval and Jake Bird were not as successful, with Bird almost immediately being optioned to the minors.

Obviously, responsibility for the bullpen’s performance is not Harkey’s alone. Underperformance in 2025 aside, Harkey has been a steady presence on the team’s staff for the past decade and now departs the organization with 19 years of coaching experience on his resume.

Chapman, 47, began his coaching career in New York’s farm system before being promoted to the major league staff following the 2021 season. Since the start of 2022, the club’s defense on the left side of the infield has generally been solid. With solid performances at the hot corner from the likes of DJ LeMahieu, Josh Donaldson, Oswaldo Cabrera, and now Ryan McMahon, Yankees third basemen have combined for 35 Defensive Runs Saved and 33 Outs Above Average in that time. Shortstop has also been a defensive strength, with Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Anthony Volpe leading the team to a combined 35 DRS (4th in the majors) and 8 OAA (14th) at that spot. First and second base have been more serviceable than excellent, being valued at 0 DRS and -6 DRS respectively.

This year, the infield defense was not quite as strong. Jazz Chisholm Jr. was worth 8 OAA at second base, but he was also forced to spend time at third base in the first half and was a negative there, which partly necessitated the trade for McMahon. Notably, Anthony Volpe regressed mightily at shortstop, as he was valued at -7 OAA after being lauded for his defense from 2023-24. As with Harkey, Chapman is not entirely to blame for the infield’s regression. Nonetheless, it appears the Yankees are moving on in hopes of improving their infield defense in 2026.

Other coaching changes are on the horizon as well. Per Martino, hitting coordinator Jake Hirst is being promoted to the major league staff. Assistant hitting coach Pat Roessler will not return in that role, although the team is discussing other potential roles with him. Meanwhile, hitting coach James Rowson is reportedly set to interview for the Twins’ managerial vacancy. In any case, the Yankees will look to have a capable staff in place under manager Aaron Boone in hopes of making a deeper postseason run in 2026 following their ALDS loss to the Blue Jays.

Qualifying Offer Price Set At $22.025MM

Anthony Franco — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 01:49:40 +0000

Major League Baseball has officially set the qualifying offer price at $22.025MM, according to an Associated Press report. Joel Sherman of The New York Post had reported last month that the QO would be around $22MM, and it indeed lands just above that mark.

The qualifying offer is calculated as the average salary for the league’s 125 highest-paid players. It tends to rise year over year as salaries on the top of the market generally inflate. Last year’s QO price was set at $21.05MM, so this represents a $975K bump. The previous years’ QO figures were as follows:

2012-13: $13.3MM
2013-14: $14.4MM
2014-15: $15.3MM
2015-16: $15.8MM
2016-17: $17.2MM
2017-18: $17.4MM
2018-19: $17.9MM
2019-20: $17.8MM
2020-21: $18.9MM
2021-22: $18.4MM
2022-23: $19.65MM
2023-24: $20.325MM
2024-25: $21.05MM

Teams have until five days after the conclusion of the World Series to decide whether to issue the qualifying offer to any of their impending free agents. Players who are issued the QO have 15 days to decide whether to accept the one-year deal or decline in search of a better (usually multi-year) contract. They are free to speak with all 30 teams during that 15-day period to get an early read on their market.

Not all free agents are eligible to receive a qualifying offer. A player cannot be tagged with a QO more than once in his career. Alex Bregman, Pete Alonso and Cody Bellinger are among this year’s free agents who have previously been issued the qualifying offer and thus cannot be tagged again. A team can only issue a QO to a player who spent the entire preceding season on their roster. Trade deadline acquisitions Eugenio Suárez, Josh Naylor and Merrill Kelly are all ineligible, as is August waiver claim Ha-Seong Kim (if he opts out of his deal with the Braves).

The qualifying offer entitles the former team to draft compensation if a player declines and signs elsewhere. Luxury tax paying clubs receive a draft choice after the fourth round. Revenue sharing recipients would get a pick at the end of the first round if the player signs for a guarantee of at least $50MM; the extra draft choice would otherwise fall between Competitive Balance Round B and the beginning of the third round (roughly 75th overall). Teams that neither pay the luxury tax nor receive revenue sharing get a pick after Competitive Balance Round B regardless of the contract value.

Signing a qualified free agent from another team comes with draft and/or international bonus pool penalties. Luxury tax payors lose their second- and fifth-highest picks in the 2026 draft, plus $1MM from their ’27 bonus pool for international amateurs. Revenue sharing recipients lose their third-highest 2026 draft choice. Teams that neither paid the luxury tax nor receive revenue sharing forfeit their second-highest draft pick and $500K from their ’27 international pool. If a team signs multiple qualified free agents within the same offseason, they’d lose another draft pick and take a second matching hit to their international pool.

Last offseason, teams issued qualifying offers to 13 players, one of whom accepted. This winter will certainly see each of Kyle Tucker, Bo Bichette, Framber Valdez, Dylan Cease, Kyle Schwarber and Ranger Suárez receive and reject one. Brandon Woodruff, Michael King, Edwin Díaz, Zac Gallen and Trent Grisham are each likely to decline a QO as well.

The Cubs would probably make one to Shota Imanaga even if they don’t exercise their three-year, $57MM option on his services. Jack Flaherty would be a borderline QO candidate if he declines his $20MM player option, while Lucas Giolito, Gleyber Torres and Devin Williams are long shot possibilities. There are usually one or two surprise QO decisions each winter, with Nick Martinez and Nick Pivetta each being unexpected recipients a year ago.

Twins To Interview James Rowson, Derek Shelton In Managerial Search

Darragh McDonald — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 01:40:22 +0000

8:40pm: Rowson, Shelton and Vázquez will all indeed get interviews, according to a Minnesota Star-Tribune report.

3:37pm: The Twins are looking for a new manager and are considering a current Yankee coach. According to reporting from Greg Joyce, Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman of The New York Post, the Twins are interested in Yankees hitting coach James Rowson. Clubs generally don’t stand in the way of their staff members seeking promotions with other clubs and the report notes that the Yanks have already given the Twins permission to speak with Rowson about the gig. The report also mentions Derek Shelton and Ramon Vazquez as potential candidates. MLBTR covered Vazquez earlier today.

Rowson, 49, has no managerial experience but has a long track record as a hitting coach. The Twins are surely familiar with his coaching abilities, as he was their hitting coach from 2017 to 2019. Minnesota’s bats fared well during that time, putting up a collective .260/.330/.445 line over those three campaigns. That translates to a 105 wRC+, which trailed only four clubs for that span. The 2019 club was particularly successful, hitting 307 home runs. That was the juiced-ball season but the Twins still led the league in putting that ball over the fence.

Going into 2020, he jumped to the Marlins with the titles of bench coach and offensive coordinator. Miami didn’t have especially strong offense during his time there but the club wasn’t trying especially hard to win, playoff appearance in the shortened 2020 season notwithstanding. Rowson then spent 2023 with the Tigers as assistant hitting coach before getting his current gig as the Yankees hitting coach.

Separating the contributions of the players versus a coach is always difficult but the Yanks have performed well under Rowson. The Yanks had a .248/.333/.429 line last year, translating to a league-leading 118 wRC+. This year, it was a .251/.332/.455 slash, again topping the league with a 119 wRC+.

Obviously, having a slugger like Aaron Judge on the roster helps but Rowson appears to be respected around the game, based on his continued employment. Whether his experience with hitters can translate to the larger role of manager is something the Twins will have to debate as they pursue various candidates to replace Rocco Baldelli, who was fired last month. For the Yankees, they will have to find a new hitting coach if Rowson ends up getting the gig in Minnesota.

Shelton brings more managerial experience, though without much success in the role. He managed the Pirates from 2020 to 2025, getting fired in May of this year. He produced a 306-440 record while at the helm of the Pirates. That’s obviously a poor mark but Pittsburgh has been rebuilding for that stretch, so it’s debatable how much of that record should be attributed to Shelton’s managerial abilities.

Photo courtesy of John Meore, Imagn Images

Offseason Outlook: Tampa Bay Rays

Mark Polishuk — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 00:01:14 +0000

The Rays have a new owner and (hopefully) their old ballpark, as the plan is for a renovated and restored Tropicana Field to be ready for the start of the 2026 season. Beyond those significant details, it may be an otherwise relatively normal Rays offseason, as the team looks to juggle payroll and churn the roster in the hopes of returning to contention.

Guaranteed Contracts

Yandy Diaz, 1B: $12MM through 2026 (Rays hold $10MM club option for 2027; becomes guaranteed for $13MM if Diaz has 500 plate appearances in 2026)
Drew Rasmussen, SP: $6MM through 2026 (includes $500K buyout of $8MM club option for 2027)

Option Decisions

Pete Fairbanks, RP: $12.5MM club option ($1MM buyout)
Brandon Lowe, 2B: $11.5MM club option ($500K buyout)
Taylor Walls, SS: $2.45MM club option ($50K buyout; Rays have arbitration control over Walls through 2027 whether they exercise the option or not)

2026 financial commitments (if Fairbanks/Lowe options are exercised): $41.5MM
Total future commitments (if Fairbanks/Lowe options are exercised): $42MM

Other Financial Obligations

Wander Franco, SS: Owed $164MM through 2032, but isn't being paid while on MLB's restricted list.

Arbitration-Eligible Players (service time in parentheses; projected salaries courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz))

Shane McClanahan (4.158): $3.6MM
Cole Sulser (4.096): $1.2MM
Taylor Walls (4.092): $2MM
Griffin Jax (4.091): $3.6MM
Garrett Cleavinger (4.060): $2.1MM
Shane Baz (3.158): $3.1MM
Nick Fortes (3.149): $2.4MM
Christopher Morel (3.117): $2.6MM
Stuart Fairchild (3.114): $900K
Josh Lowe (3.093): $2.9MM
Bryan Baker (3.049): $1.5MM
Ryan Pepiot (3.005): $3.7MM
Alex Faedo (2.169): $800K
Richie Palacios (2.156): $1MM
Kevin Kelly (2.156): $1MM
Edwin Uceta (2.150): $1.4MM
Non-tender candidates: Walls, Fortes, Morel, Fairchild, Faedo, Kelly

Free Agents

Adrian Houser

Matt Silverman and Brian Auld have stepped down from their longtime roles as Rays co-presidents, and some other internal changes are inevitable now that Patrick Zalupski's ownership group has taken the reins. However, the changes won't extend to president of baseball ops Erik Neander, with Zalupski making a point of stating during his introductory press conference that his group has a "self-imposed rule" that "none of us, and none of the partners, are allowed to talk to or have any influence on baseball operations."

The chief short-term goal for Zalupski's group is to finally secure a new ballpark in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area, with the lofty aim of having this new stadium in place for the start of the 2029 season. It seems like a lot to achieve in less than three and a half years' time, but the bottom line is familiar for Rays fans --- the player payroll doesn't seem likely to change until that new stadium is in place, and new revenues start flowing.

Assuming that the Trop's renovations are completed on schedule, returning to their former ballpark at least represents some relief for the Rays after a season spent at Steinbrenner Field. The adjustment to suddenly playing home games in a minor league park, and playing outdoors in the tough Florida weather, seemed to take its toll on the Rays as the 2025 campaign rolled along. Tampa Bay was 47-36 on June 28 and in the thick of the AL East race, but stumbled to a 30-49 record the rest of the way.

Since the Rays were also 80-82 in 2024, this season's subpar record can't be entirely written off as a creation of Steinbrenner Field. The magic formula hasn't entirely worked for Neander and company in the last two years, even if the Rays have remained quasi-competitive. This could mean that Tampa Bay might not be far away from a full-fledged return to contention, since a lot still went right for the team in 2025.

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Poll: Should The Tigers Consider A Tarik Skubal Trade?

Nick Deeds — Tue, 14 Oct 2025 23:08:30 +0000

The Tigers lost a heartbreaker in Game 5 of the ALDS when they fell to the Mariners in 15 innings. Detroit was viewed as one of the best teams — if not the best team — in baseball throughout the first half but slumped to a 34-43 record from the start of July onward. They lost control of the AL Central despite boasting an 11.5-game lead on August 23rd, but they managed to put away the Guardians in the AL Wild Card Series even after ceding the division crown to them just days earlier.

It’s easy to argue that Detroit would not have made it to the postseason at all if not for ace Tarik Skubal, the reigning AL Cy Young winner and 2025 Cy Young frontrunner. Over the past two seasons, Skubal has posted numbers that few pitchers can hope to match — 387 1/3 innings, 2.30 ERA, 31.2 K%, 4.5 BB% — and he’s been essential to both of Detroit’s runs into the playoffs for the past two years.

Skubal won’t be around forever, however. He’s scheduled to hit free agency during the 2026-27 offseason. With just $28.3MM on the books in guaranteed contracts for 2027 according to RosterResource, one can argue that the Tigers must do whatever it takes to extend Skubal or re-sign him in free agency. An extension doesn’t appear likely, though. If Skubal turns in a season anything like his 2024-25 campaigns, he could justifiably take aim at setting a new record among starting pitchers. Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s $325MM deal with the Dodgers stands as the current mark after narrowly edging out Gerrit Cole’s $324MM deal with the Yankees.

The Tigers have never spent more on a player than they did Miguel Cabrera, who they inked to an eight-year, $248MM extension back in 2014. The Tigers of the past few years haven’t come close to approaching the sort of overall spending they put forward during the 2016-17 seasons, when they carried a payroll in the $200MM range.

Would the Tigers be willing to give out a franchise-record deal to keep their ace? Asked about the matter after his season ended, Skubal himself told the Tigers’ beat that his job is “to go out there and play” and that such conversations are better left to the front office (via The Athletic’s Cody Stavenhagen). President of baseball operations Scott Harris isn’t tipping his hand publicly one way or another, however.

“Listen, I totally understand the question and understand that you have to ask me,” Harris said at the team’s end-of-season press conference when asked about Skubal’s future (video link, with the Skubal question landing around the 16:00 mark). “I’ve kind of learned over time, especially with this question, that general comments tend to get chopped up and forced into narratives. I can’t comment on our players being traded. I can’t comment on free agents, and I can’t comment on other teams’ players. So, I’m going to respond by just not actually commenting on it. Tarik is a Tiger. I hope he wins the Cy Young for a second consecutive year. He’s an incredible pitcher, and we’re lucky to have him. That’s all I can say on that.”

Fans of other clubs are understandably captivated with the idea of seeing their favorite clubs make a run at a Skubal trade. One could argue that if the Tigers don’t believe a long-term deal is possible, they’re better prioritizing long-term health of the organization than employing a win-at-all-costs-in-2026 mentality.

It goes without saying that having Skubal at the front of the team’s rotation would give Detroit its best chance of bringing home a championship next year. In addition to his dominant regular season work, he’s been a menace in the postseason with a 2.04 ERA, 1.92 FIP, and a 37.8% strikeout rate across his six starts. Skubal has not just been essential to the Tigers getting to October over the past two years, but he’s managed to shine when the lights are brightest.

Zooming out to look at the larger Tigers organization reveals that Detroit may not be particularly close to full power yet. Star pitching prospect Jackson Jobe made just ten starts this year before he was sidelined by Tommy John surgery, which is likely to eliminate his entire 2026 campaign. Even setting Jobe aside, the Tigers are bringing along a number of elite prospect talents who figure to make their big league debuts in the next few years. Shortstop Kevin McGonigle is considered one of the sport’s top 10 prospects and should make his way to the majors next year. Outfield prospect Max Clark is also frequently ranked as a top-10 leaguewide prospect, while catcher Josue Briceno and shortstop Bryce Rainer are typically regarded as top-50 talents.

That upcoming crop of youngsters could pair with Jobe and the team’s existing young core to produce a behemoth that competes for years to come. Riley Greene, Kerry Carpenter, and Spencer Torkelson are all controlled through 2028, while Reese Olson is controlled through 2029, Dillon Dingler will be in town through 2030 and Colt Keith is locked up through 2032.

Proponents of a trade would argue that Skubal would fetch the sort of high-end talent who can help replace not only Skubal himself but also other key veterans like Casey Mize, Gleyber Torres, and Jake Rogers. On the other hand, the Tigers already have a touted farm system and know all too well how uncertain the future of even elite prospects can be.

It wasn’t long ago that Mize and Torkelson were viewed just as highly as McGonigle and Clark are now. They both contributed to the 2025 team, but neither has turned out to be the sort of franchise-defining player the Tigers hoped to be getting when each was drafted with the No. 1 overall pick. Even Skubal battled through four seasons of injuries and mediocrity before coming into form as a superstar last year.

How do MLBTR readers think the Tigers should proceed with Skubal this winter? Should they trade him to load up for the future or should the maximize the 2026 even with no guarantees of signing him long-term? Have your say in the poll below:

Mets To Hire Kai Correa As Bench Coach

Darragh McDonald — Tue, 14 Oct 2025 22:15:20 +0000

The Mets are going to hire Kai Correa as their new bench coach, reports Pat Ragazzo of SI. He’ll replace John Gibbons, who held that job with the Mets for the past two seasons. Correa has been with the Guardians for the past two campaigns with the title of major league field coordinator, director of defense/strategy/baserunning.

Correa, 37, is a Hawaii native who is clearly respected around the game. After many years coaching in college ball, he was hired by the Guardians in 2018 to coach in the minors. Ahead of the 2020 season, he was hired by the Giants as bench coach and infield instructor.

Towards the end of the 2023 season, the Giants fired manager Gabe Kapler. Correa was tapped as the interim skipper for the final three games of the season. The Giants went 1-2 in those contests. Correa received an interview for that open managerial position going into 2024 but Bob Melvin got the gig. It was then that he returned to the Guardians, this time in a major league coaching role.

After a disappointing 2025 season, the Mets are making a number of coaching changes. One of the departed is Gibbons, with Correa stepping in to take over as manager Carlos Mendoza’s bench coach. It has also been reported today that Jeff Albert will join the staff to run the hitting department, with another hitting coach hire to come. Albert and that unknown other coach will replace outgoing hitting coaches Eric Chavez and Jeremy Barnes.

Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images

Mets To Add Jeff Albert To Coaching Staff

Darragh McDonald — Tue, 14 Oct 2025 22:00:17 +0000

The Mets are adding Jeff Albert to their uniformed coach staff, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. Previously the director of hitting development, he will run the club’s hitting program next year. Passan doesn’t explicitly say what Albert’s title will be, though he notes that the club plans add another hitting coach to complement him.

It’s possible Albert ends up with a classic hitting coach title, though some clubs get creative with these kinds of things. Perhaps the Mets will call him an offensive coordinator or a senior director of hitting strategy or something like that.

Either way, the larger point is that he’ll be atop the club’s hitting hierarchy. He previously served as the hitting coach for the Cardinals from 2019 to 2022. It’s always tough to separate the contributions of a coach from the players on his team, but for what it’s worth, the Cards slashed a combined .246/.321/.411 during Albert’s time with that club. That translated to a league-average wRC+ of 100.

He decided not to return to the Cards after that 2022 season, even though they were planning to offer him a multi-year extension. He was then hired by the Mets as director of hitting development and has been working with the club’s minor leaguers for the past three years.

After a disappointing 2025 season, the Mets are making a number of notable coaching changes. The offense wasn’t a big part of the club’s poor performance, as their .249/.326/.427 line led to a 112 wRC+, a mark that was bested by just three MLB teams. Regardless, hitting coaches Eric Chavez and Jeremy Barnes are two of the guys who won’t be coming back. Albert will step up and take over, though as mentioned, another hitting coach will be added at some point. It’s unclear if that additional hitting coach will be an internal hire or if the Mets will conduct an external search.

Photo courtesy of Jeff Curry, Imagn Images

Rockies Have Interviewed James Click, Scott Sharp, Matt Forman In Front Office Search

Darragh McDonald — Tue, 14 Oct 2025 21:30:13 +0000

The Rockies are looking outside the organization for a new front office leader. Brittany Ghiroli of The Athletic reports that they have interviewed James Click of the Blue Jays, Scott Sharp of the Royals and Matt Forman of the Guardians. It’s possible that the club has spoken with others but that’s at least three external candidates to have interviewed.

Colorado just wrapped up a third straight season of at least 101 losses. They haven’t had a winning record since 2018. Understandably, changes are necessary, even for a famously loyal and insular club like the Rockies. Manager Bud Black was fired in May. A few weeks ago, it was revealed that general manager Bill Schmidt and the club would also be parting ways. When the Rockies announced the Schmidt news, they noted that they would be looking for an external candidate to be the new head of their baseball operations. That’s a notable shift for the Rockies, who have received criticism for always promoting from within. It seems they are following through on the plan to look elsewhere, based on these potential candidates.

Of the three, Click is the one with experience running a front office. After many years working for the Rays, the Astros hired Click to be their general manager going into the 2020 season. The Astros were already a good club at that time but previous general manager Jeff Luhnow had been fired in the wake of the sign-stealing scandal.

While Click had a head-start by inheriting a very strong team, he at least kept the good times rolling. They made it to the ALCS in the shortened 2020 season. In 2021, they won the West and made it to the World Series, though they lost to Atlanta. They managed to win it all in 2022, toppling the Phillies in the World Series that year.

Despite that continued success, Click and owner Jim Crane reportedly didn’t get along behind the scenes, leading to a rare instance of a club parting ways with a front office leader on the heels of a World Series title. A few months after leaving Houston, Click joined the Blue Jays as vice president of baseball strategy. He was reportedly a candidate for the Red Sox job a couple of years ago before pulling himself out of the running due to family considerations. The Sox eventually hired Craig Breslow to run their front office.

Sharp has been with the Royals since 2006, initially hired in a player development role. He got the assistant general manager title in 2015 and later added senior vice-president to his nameplate. Years ago, he received reported interest from clubs like the Mets and Angels. Last winter, he was connected the Giants general manager job working under president of baseball operations Buster Posey. Sharp withdrew his name from the running due to family considerations and Zack Minasian ultimately got that job. Last month, Sharp was connected to the Nationals’ front office search, before they hired Paul Toboni as president of baseball operations.

Forman joined Cleveland back in 2013 in a scouting role, getting promoted to assistant general manager after the 2016 season. He later added the title of executive vice-president to his office door. Like Sharp, he was connected to the Washington job last month before Toboni was hired.

Time will tell if any of these three are frontrunners or if they are just some of many names under consideration. What is also unknown is how much interest these three, or front office candidates in general, will be interested in joining the Rockies. Building a winner in Colorado will be a unique challenge. The altitude conditions are famously awful for pitchers. Even the hitters face a unique challenge, as breaking balls move differently in the mountains than at sea level. That means the bats are constantly adjusting when going on the road and back, leading many Rockies to have very wide platoon splits. It’s also been supposed that the thin Denver air present difficulties for injury management.

Those particular conditions may scare off some executives. On the other hand, the unique conditions might also attract a certain individual who is drawn to solving the puzzle and getting the recognition that would go along with that feat. There’s also the standard observation that there are only 30 jobs running a front office, so an individual who wants such a job may not want to close any doors. Teams generally don’t stand in the way of their employees interviewing for promotions elsewhere, so it’s unlikely the Jays, Royals or Guardians would stand in the way of these guys pursuing the job.

Photo courtesy of Troy Taormina, Imagn Images

Review: Jeff Zimmerman’s 2025 BOLD Predictions

Jeff Zimmerman — Tue, 14 Oct 2025 20:59:54 +0000

Some close calls but overall ... disappointing.

Source

Yankees Permit Twins To Speak With James Rowson About Managerial Vacancy

Darragh McDonald — Tue, 14 Oct 2025 20:37:22 +0000

The Twins are looking for a new manager and are considering a current Yankee coach. According to reporting from Greg Joyce, Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman of The New York Post, the Twins are interested in Yankees hitting coach James Rowson. Clubs generally don’t stand in the way of their staff members seeking promotions with other clubs and the report notes that the Yanks have already given the Twins permission to speak with Rowson about the gig. The report also mentions Derek Shelton and Ramon Vazquez as potential candidates. MLBTR covered Vazquez earlier today.

Photo courtesy of John Meore, Imagn Images

Brad Keller Interested In Re-Signing With Cubs

Darragh McDonald — Tue, 14 Oct 2025 20:06:39 +0000

Right-hander Brad Keller is slated for free agency but would seemingly be very happy to be a Cub again next year. “Chicago is my favorite city,” Keller said, per Patrick Mooney of The Athletic. “I love being in Chicago. I love playing for the Cubs. This is definitely a place that I want to come back to and enjoy. I know a lot of these guys are returning to this clubhouse, and I feel like there’s something special here. I would love to be a part of it, for sure.”

Keller, 30, is going to have a far more robust market than he did a year ago. Coming into 2025, he had to settle for a minor league deal with the Cubs. He spent a lot of 2023 on the injured list due to shoulder problems and then had surgery to address thoracic outlet syndrome in the fall of that year. He was back on the mound in 2024 but tossed 41 1/3 innings between the White Sox and Red Sox with a 5.44 earned run average.

No one was willing to give him a big league spot last winter but he has raised his stock considerably since then. The Cubs added him to their 40-man roster after the Tokyo Series but before domestic Opening Day. He went on to toss 69 2/3 innings out of the Chicago bullpen this year with a 2.07 ERA. He struck out 27.2% of batters faced, limited walks to an 8% clip and got opponents to hit grounders on 56.1% of balls in play.

The ERA is probably a bit misleading. Keller’s .243 batting average on balls in play and 81.6% strand rate were both the fortunate side. But his 2.93 FIP and 3.04 SIERA still suggest it would have been a great year even with neutral luck from the baseball gods. The Cubs moved him into a leverage role as the year wore on, with Keller eventually earning three saves and 25 holds. He made the postseason roster and tossed 5 2/3 playoff innings with just one run allowed.

Some teams may still have some hesitations about committing to Keller based on one strong season but we’ve seen clubs spend on players in these kinds of situations before. Last winter, Jeff Hoffman got three years and $33MM from the Blue Jays after two good years in Philadelphia’s bullpen. He actually had higher offers from Baltimore and Atlanta before concerns about his shoulder tamped down his market somewhat. The prior offseason, Robert Stephenson was able to get the same $33MM over three years from the Angels after just half a season of dominance with the Rays.

It’s also possible some team envisions Keller as a possible starter next year. He was largely in the rotation with the Royals from 2018 to 2022, with some decent results in there as a ground ball guy. He had a 3.50 ERA over the first three years of that span. His 16.8% strikeout rate was subpar but he got grounders at a 52.1% clip. His ERA rose above 5.00 in his final two years in Kansas City and he had his aforementioned injury-marred 2023 and uninspiring bounceback season in 2024.

Some pitchers have been put back into starting roles after reaching free agency lately, with mixed results. Seth Lugo got $15MM over two years from the Padres but then opted out of the second year of that deal and got $45MM over three years from the Royals. Last winter, Clay Holmes got three years and $38MM from the Mets. He had a longer track record of relief success than Keller but hadn’t really started in the majors. That deal has worked out well so far, with Holmes posting a 3.53 ERA in 165 2/3 innings this year. Jordan Hicks, another ground ball specialist, also got $44MM over four years but his rotation conversion didn’t go nearly as well. Reynaldo López got $30MM over three years from Atlanta and the first year went great but the second year was marred by injuries.

Whether or not any club wants to try Keller in the rotation remains to be seen. Even as a pure reliever, he has a case for a strong multi-year deal. That’s more than the Cubs like to spend on the bullpen. Since Jed Hoyer took over as president of baseball operations five years ago, the club hasn’t given out a multi-year deal to a reliever. As shown in MLBTR Contract Tracker, Hoyer has only once given out more than $5MM, which was a $9MM deal for Héctor Neris.

The club clearly prefers to find diamonds in the rough, like they did by getting Keller in his minor league deal last winter. Perhaps that means Keller will get paid elsewhere as the Cubs look to find another Keller in the bargain bin. If they do want to bring him back, they should have the ability to do it. RosterResource estimates that the Cubs had a $206MM payroll in 2025 with just $136MM slated for next year’s roster.

They will have other needs, including the rotation. It’s also possible they look to re-sign Kyle Tucker or perhaps make another run at Alex Bregman. But the bullpen should also be a focus this winter. In addition to Keller, Caleb Thielbar, Drew Pomeranz, Ryan Brasier, Michael Soroka and Aaron Civale are impending free agents. Andrew Kittredge could be added to the list, though he has a $9MM club option for next year with a $1MM buyout. Colin Rea has a $6MM club option with a $750K buyout. In short, bolstering the bullpen will be on the to-do list this winter.

Photo courtesy of Matt Marton, Imagn Images

Phillies Notes: Schwarber, Realmuto, Suarez

Steve Adams — Tue, 14 Oct 2025 18:48:47 +0000

The Phillies are keeping manager Rob Thomson in place for the 2026 season, but there are still some potentially notable changes coming to the roster. Kyle Schwarber, Ranger Suarez and J.T. Realmuto are among the team’s most notable free agents. Zack Wheeler’s health outlook is a question mark after he required thoracic outlet surgery. With Suarez and Wheeler’s status uncertain at best and Aaron Nola coming off an ERA north of 6.00, Philadelphia’s rotation isn’t the typical powerhouse to which we’ve become accustomed in recent seasons.

First and foremost, it sounds as though retaining Schwarber will be one of the top’s top priorities — if not the very top item on president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski’s to-do list. Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes that executives with other clubs expect owner John Middleton to do whatever it takes to keep Schwarber in the City of Brotherly Love. Matt Gelb of The Athletic suggests that Schwarber, who’ll turn 33 next spring, is planning to seek a five-year contract in free agency.

That’d be unheard of for a designated hitter at his age, but Schwarber’s 2025 season was the best of his career. He clubbed an NL-best 56 home runs en route to a .240/.365/.563 slash. Schwarber topped the century mark in both runs scores and runs driven in for a third consecutive season.

Schwarber’s 14.9% walk rate was 6.5 percentage points higher than the 8.4% league average, and while Schwarber’s 27.2% strikeout rate was also considerably higher than average (22.2%), it was also his lowest since 2021. The NL home run leader has also made immense gains against left-handed pitching in recent seasons, shedding platoon concerns that followed him earlier in his career. Schwarber was actually better against lefties than righties, hitting same-handed opponents at a .252/.366/.598 against clip.

If one were to set MLBTR’s Contract Tracker to show the number of position players commanding a five-year free agent deal beginning in their age-33 season, well … there aren’t any. In fact, the only free agent hitters in the past decade to sign even a four-year deal beginning at age 33 or later are Ben Zobrist ($56MM), Starling Marte ($78MM) and Josh Donaldson ($92MM). All are at least four years old now (10, in Zobrist’s case), and Schwarber is coming off such a prodigious offensive showing that he should top all of them with ease.

Gelb also suggests that Realmuto is expected to seek a three-year deal — a hefty ask considering he’ll turn 35 next spring. Again, looking to our Contract Tracker to find catchers who signed for three or more guaranteed years beginning with their age-35 season (or older) reveals only two: Carlos Ruiz’s three-year, $26MM deal to return to the Phillies all the way back in 2013 and Yadier Molina’s three-year, $60MM extension back in 2017.

Realmuto showed in 2025 that there’s still plenty left in the tank, but his days as a premium all-around catcher also look to be in the past. His .257/.315/.384 batting line was 6% worse than league-average, by measure of wRC+, but still checked in a bit better than that of the average catcher, specifically. He’s still plus when it comes to controlling the run game (29.7% caught-stealing rate), but Realmuto has now registered negative blocking grades (according to Statcast) in consecutive seasons and has seen his once-vaunted framing grades decline sharply.

The market offers little in the way of starting-caliber catchers, which could work to Realmuto’s benefit. Victor Caratini and Danny Jansen are arguably the most notable alternatives on the open market. The former has posted nice rate stats in the batter’s box but has primarily operated as a backup. The latter has now had back-to-back poor seasons at the plate. Potential non-tenders (e.g. Jonah Heim, Joey Bart) could add some change-of-scenery candidates to the list of options, and the trade market will surely offer a few names to ponder (e.g. Ryan Jeffers, Jake Rogers, Ivan Herrera).

Turning to Suarez, he made no secret of his hope to remain in Philadelphia. MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki writes that the left-hander was among the last players to leave the clubhouse after the 2025 season ended. He told reporters at the time: “I don’t want it to be the last year with the team.”

The 30-year-old Suarez has been a rock in the Philly rotation, averaging 26 starts per season across the past four years and pitching to a 3.59 ERA in that time. He’s been even better in the playoffs, with a sub-2.00 ERA in his postseason career. Suarez doesn’t throw especially hard, sitting 91-92 mph with his sinker, but he still consistently posts better-than-average strikeout, walk and ground-ball rates.

As it stands, the Phillies’ rotation will include Nola, Cristopher Sanchez and Jesus Luzardo. The team hasn’t yet provided a timetable for Wheeler’s recovery from his thoracic outlet procedure. Taijuan Walker is signed for $18MM in 2026, but the Phillies would probably welcome the opportunity to shed the some or all of that remaining sum. Top prospect Andrew Painter could make his long-awaited debut next year, but he posted uneven minor league results in his return from Tommy John surgery. Mick Abel was traded to the Twins in the Jhoan Duran swap.

Retaining Suarez would go a long way toward solidifying a rotation with an atypical number of red flags, but the Phillies already project for a nearly $228MM payroll before making any additions or bringing back any potential free agents (via RosterResource). It’s hard to imagine them keeping all three of those prominent impending free agents — particularly when there are other needs elsewhere on the roster.

MLB Mailbag: Alonso, Skubal, Grisham

Tim Dierkes — Tue, 14 Oct 2025 17:33:12 +0000

This week's mailbag gets into Pete Alonso's reported contract demand, the Tigers and Tarik Skubal, possible Trent Grisham suitors, and much more.

Chris asks:

Alonso saying he is seeking a 7 year deal is essentially him saying that he's out of Queens. So if you're Stearns, is the play to go all out for Murakami? Short-term on a Josh Naylor? Or give the keys to Clifford, strengthen up elsewhere like CF, 3B, DH to supplement the offense now you don't have Pete? Or just really go all in on your "Run Prevention" Plan, go get a Skubal or Skenes, sign Valdez or Cease and fortify the defense. There's a lot of questions for the Mets who honestly feel like they are only a few pieces for being a legit World Series Contender again.

Abner asks:

Pete Alonso is asking for a 7 year deal (he will be 31 by the beginning of next season) and David Stearns does not like that type of commitment for players in the wrong side of the 30's. It is known that the Mets are showing interest in NPB player Munetaka Murakami who is a slugger in Japan, but is not yet proven against MLB pitching. Murakami also comes with some concerns (poor plate discipline/not excel with defense), but based on recent Japanese stars that have come to MLB (Roki Sasaki/Yoshinobu Yamamoto/Seiya Suzuki) we could expect him to command a longer and more expensive deal than the one Alonso is looking for. Additionally, there will be no other first basemen of that same caliber available in this offseason free agency class. So, how feasible for the Mets would be to get a deal done with Pete Alonso and how that deal would look like? Thanks in advance.

On Saturday, Mike Puma of the New York Post wrote, "Alonso, who turns 31 in December, is expected to seek a contract of at least seven years — a length consistent with deals the player’s agent, Scott Boras, completed in recent seasons for Marcus Semien and Matt Chapman at the same age (Chapman received a six-year extension from the Giants after his first season with the club on a different contract)."

Start with the fact that both of those comps are a major stretch for Alonso.

Semien did indeed sign a seven-year deal heading into his age-31 season. This came off a monster 6-WAR campaign, Semien's second in three years. Alonso has not even reached 4 WAR since he was a rookie. The gap in defensive value on the two is enormous. Semien was a Gold Glove second baseman who was also capable of playing shortstop.

Puma makes a case that Alonso's first base defense isn't as bad as the metrics suggest, because he's good at making scoops. That may be true, but he's still a pretty clear net negative given what two completely different metrics, Outs Above Average and Defensive Runs Saved, say.

More crucially, Semien was an up-the-middle player, not a first baseman who's expected to move to DH soon. Semien's defensive abilities have sustained 2+ WAR value even as his offense has slipped below league average. And Semien's seventh year, brought about by a level of free agent competition Alonso is unlikely to have, looks regrettable.

Chapman's deal was not signed on the open market. It's a six-year extension covering age 32-37. I suppose a case can be made that if a 32-year-old can get six years, a 31-year-old should get seven. Like Semien, defense is a huge part of Chapman's game, making him a poor comp for Alonso.

The correct comps are other first basemen, plus designated hitters. Modern GMs have clearly demonstrated they will not give first basemen and DHs long-term deals. The fact that no one offered Alonso a good one last year was not entirely due to the qualifying offer. It has been nearly four years since a free agent first baseman of any age signed for even five years. That was Freddie Freeman getting six in March 2022. Freeman clearly a better hitter than Alonso is.

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Twins Ask Permission To Interview Red Sox’s Bench Coach Ramon Vazquez

Anthony Franco — Tue, 14 Oct 2025 15:18:20 +0000

The Twins have sought permission from the Red Sox to interview bench coach Ramón Vázquez in their managerial search, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. It’s standard practice for clubs to allow coaches or front office personnel to interview for potential promotions, so it’d be a shock if the Red Sox didn’t grant that request.

Vázquez, 49, would become the first known candidate to interview for the Minnesota position. A native of Puerto Rico, he played parts of nine MLB seasons across six clubs as a utility infielder during the 2000s. He has spent over a decade in the coaching ranks since ending his playing career. Vázquez worked as a minor league coach in the Houston system and spent a season on the Padres’ MLB staff before joining Alex Cora in Boston for the 2018 season. The Sox promoted him to bench coach three years ago.

Aside from one game filling in while Cora was attending his daughter’s graduation, Vázquez has no MLB managerial experience. He has managed in the Puerto Rican winter league and managed one season in A-ball while coming up through the Houston system. This would be his first publicly reported interview for an MLB managerial job.

The Twins are one of eight teams with a vacancy after firing Rocco Baldelli at season’s end. The team never really recovered from their late-season collapse in 2024, when they squandered a playoff berth despite peaking at 17 games above .500 in the middle of August. They had a 13-game winning streak early this past season but were otherwise a well below-average team.

After injuries decimated the starting rotation in June, they embarked on a massive deadline sell-off that sent Carlos Correa back to Houston for salary relief. The deadline also left Baldelli and his staff with a bullpen consisting mostly of waiver pickups and journeymen. The Twins went 19-35 in the final two months and finished with a 70-92 record that had them as the second-worst team in the American League. Only the White Sox, who lost over 100 games for a third straight year, kept Minnesota from the bottom of the AL.

An incoming manager seems likely to step into a rebuild. The Pohlad family had considered selling the franchise but reversed course in August, instead bringing on minority investors to pay down significant debt which the team had reportedly accrued. Their season-ending payroll has dropped in consecutive seasons (per Cot’s Baseball Contracts) following the collapse of their local broadcast contract. They have a handful of question marks at the bottom of the lineup and arguably MLB’s worst bullpen.

That won’t all be fixed in one offseason, meaning they should be active sellers this winter and at next summer’s deadline. Ryan Jeffers is headed into his final season of arbitration control. Joe Ryan is down to two arbitration years, while Pablo López is signed for two more seasons at $21.75MM annually. They could listen on role players like Trevor Larnach and Matt Wallner as well. Minnesota added upper level starting pitchers (e.g. Mick Abel, Taj Bradley) in a couple of their trades last summer, so perhaps there’s a path back to contention in 2027, but they’re facing an uphill battle to compete next year.

The Opener: NLCS, Managerial Openings, Blue Jays

Nick Deeds — Tue, 14 Oct 2025 13:30:34 +0000

Here are three things for MLBTR readers to keep an eye on throughout the day today:

1. NLCS Game 2:

The Dodgers took home a hard-fought victory in Game 1 of the NLCS yesterday when Blake Treinen struck out Brice Turang with the bases loaded to preserve a one-run lead in the ninth inning. Now, the Brewers will be looking to avoid falling into an 0-2 hole before they head to L.A. for Game 3, while the Dodgers will try to keep the good times rolling and build on their lead.

The game is scheduled for 7:08pm local time, with Yoshinobu Yamamoto (2.49 ERA) on the bump opposite Freddy Peralta (2.70 ERA). Yamamoto dominated the Reds in the Wild Card series with two runs (zero earned) and nine strikeouts across 6 2/3 innings of work, but he didn’t fare quite as well against the Phillies in the NLDS as he surrendered three runs in four innings of work. As for Peralta, he made two starts against the Cubs in the NLDS where he allowed five runs in 9 2/3 innings of work. While he struck out 15 batters, he also allowed three home runs.

2. Another manager job opens up:

Yesterday, Padres skipper Mike Shildt announced his decision to step down from the manager’s chair. That creates yet another opening in the dugout for an MLB club, and San Diego will now join the Giants, Braves, Orioles, Rockies, Angels, Twins, and Nationals in the hunt for a new manager. Cubs bench coach Ryan Flaherty has already emerged as a candidate in San Diego, and he’s getting a look in Baltimore, too. He’s surely far from the only candidate for either role, however, and with so many vacancies around the game it may take a little bit longer than usual for teams to find the right fit on the market.

3. Blue Jays in a bind:

After a dominant performance against the Yankees in the ALDS, the Blue Jays find themselves in a bind. Right-hander Trey Yesavage was unable to replicate his previous dominance and surrendered five runs in four innings of work to take the loss in what ultimately became a 10-3 win for Seattle. That leaves Toronto down two games as they head to the west coast for the next three games of the series. With the Mariners now enjoying a one-game cushion as they look to clinch a trip to the World Series at home, the Blue Jays will be looking for their offense to wake up and start scoring runs like they did against New York if they’re going to represent Canada in the World Series for the first time since 1993. The ALCS has no game today as the two teams travel to Seattle. Will the day off be enough for the Jays to bounce back?