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Diamondbacks Outright Four Players

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The D-Backs outrighted four players off the 40-man roster, according to the MLB.com transaction log. Right-handers John Curtiss and Casey Kelly, lefty Kyle Nelson, and infielder Connor Kaiser all went unclaimed on waivers. They can all elect free agency and will presumably do so within the next day or two.

Nelson is the only member of that group who spent more than one season with Arizona. The Snakes claimed the 29-year-old reliever off waivers from Cleveland over the 2021-22 offseason. Nelson pitched to a 2.19 ERA across 43 appearances during his first season in the desert. His numbers tailed off in 2023 and he hasn’t been much of a factor over the past two seasons. Nelson missed most of the ’24 campaign due to thoracic outlet syndrome. He only made three big league appearances while allowing more than a run per inning over 42 Triple-A games this year.

Curtiss signed a minor league contract with the Snakes over the offseason. They called him up in late June. He tossed 36 2/3 innings across 30 MLB appearances. Curtiss managed a respectable 3.93 ERA but only punched out 17% of batters faced. The 32-year-old righty carries a 4.03 ERA across 145 1/3 innings over parts of eight seasons. This amounts to an early non-tender instead of a projected $1.2MM arbitration salary.

Kelly and Kaiser got cups of coffee as late-season stopgaps. The 36-year-old Kelly pitched in a pair of games in August, pitching around a hit and a walk to work 1 2/3 scoreless innings. He spent most of the year working out of the rotation at Triple-A Reno, pitching to a 5.63 ERA with a well below-average 11.5% strikeout rate over 115 innings. Kaiser, who turns 29 in a few weeks, played in 11 games after his contract was selected in August. He picked up his first two big league knocks. The Vanderbilt product is a glove-only middle infielder who hit .236/.345/.406 with a 27.5% strikeout rate in Triple-A.

The cuts get Arizona’s 40-man roster to compliance for tomorrow’s deadline. Teams need to reinstate all players from the 60-day injured list by Thursday. The D-Backs had been at 44 players including those who’ll come off the injured list.

Joc Pederson Exercises Player Option

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Joc Pederson has officially exercised his $18.5MM player option for the 2026 season, according to a report from The Associated Press. The deal contains a matching mutual option for 2027. This was the only option decision for the Rangers this offseason.

It was also one of the easiest option calls of the winter. Pederson’s first season in Arlington was terrible. He signed as a near full-time designated hitter who was supposed to tee off on right-handed pitching. He instead hit .181/.285/.328 with nine home runs over 306 trips to the plate. He started the year slowly, fractured his right hand when he was hit by a pitch in May, and was only marginally better in the second half. Pederson had a strong August but otherwise struggled throughout the year.

He obviously wouldn’t have come close to an $18.5MM salary on the open market. That made it a no-brainer to stick around for what he hopes to be a rebound season. Pederson mashed at a .275/.393/.515 clip with the Diamondbacks two seasons ago. The Rangers probably don’t have much choice but to run it back with him as their primary DH. They’d be unable to offload more than a couple million dollars in a trade.

Texas is likely to reshape the offense via trades or non-tenders of the likes of Adolis García, Jonah Heim and Josh Jung. They’d have a tougher time finding a taker for the underwater Pederson and Marcus Semien deals. It’d be surprising if they trade Corey Seager, whose contract would be prohibitive for all but a handful of teams and who remains one of the team’s two or three best hitters.

A’s Outright Three Players

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The A’s announced that three pitchers have gone unclaimed on outright waivers: righty Anthony Maldonado and left-handers Ben Bowden and Jared Shuster. Maldonado and Bowden have each elected free agency, as is their right as players who have been outrighted more than once in their careers. This is the first outright for Shuster, so he’ll be assigned to Triple-A Las Vegas and remain in the system going into 2026.

These were three of five players whom the A’s placed on waivers this week. Righty Michel Otañez and catcher Willie MacIver were claimed by Texas. This gets their 40-man roster count down to 38. All teams need to be at or below 40 by Thursday, when they’re required to activate everyone from the 60-day injured list.

Maldonado was a waiver claim from Miami last winter. The A’s outrighted him shortly before the start of Spring Training but put him back on the roster in May. He held his 40-man spot for the remainder of the season but spent most of his time on optional assignment to Triple-A Las Vegas. The 27-year-old posted a 5.10 ERA despite an impressive 29% strikeout rate at the top minor league level. Maldonado walked almost 12% of opponents and gave up a decent number of home runs across 47 2/3 frames. He only pitched six times for the A’s at the MLB level, allowing eight runs on a trio of homers in six innings.

Bowden, 31, signed an offseason minor league contract. The 6’4″ southpaw had not pitched in the big leagues since his 2021 rookie season in Colorado. He made it back to the highest level early in the second half. Bowden posted a 1.36 ERA over 39 2/3 Triple-A innings to get an MLB look. He tossed 10 2/3 frames over 11 appearances, allowing six runs (five earned) with seven strikeouts and five walks. He went down with a season-ending lat strain in August.

Shuster, the only member of this trio who’ll stick with the organization, is probably the most well-known. That’s mostly a testament to his status as a former first-round pick of the Braves. He has pitched in parts of three MLB campaigns between Atlanta and the White Sox. The Wake Forest product carries a career 5.27 ERA with a well below-average 15.1% strikeout percentage in 141 2/3 innings. The A’s claimed him off waivers from Chicago around the trade deadline. He spent the rest of the season in Triple-A, where he was tagged for nearly a run per inning with seven strikeouts and walks apiece over 10 appearances.

Shane Bieber To Exercise Player Option

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Shane Bieber has surprisingly exercised his $16MM option to remain with the Blue Jays, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. He’s passing on a $4MM buyout, so he’ll pick up an extra $12MM to remain in Toronto for a second season.

The decision removes one of the better starting pitchers from the free agent market. Bieber was midway through a Tommy John rehab when he hit free agency for the first time in his career last offseason. He re-signed with the Guardians, then the only organization he’d known, on a two-year deal that allowed him to opt out after season one. Bieber was on a minor league rehab assignment when the trade deadline rolled around. Cleveland, then believing they were out of contention, traded him to Toronto for pitching prospect Khal Stephen.

The Blue Jays made one of the more fascinating risk-reward decisions of the deadline. They surrendered a legitimate prospect for a potential rental starter who hadn’t pitched in an MLB game in more than 14 months. It worked out well, as Bieber returned as the #3 caliber starter he had been with the Guards in 2023. He made seven regular season starts and turned in a 3.57 earned run average across 40 1/3 innings. Bieber fanned an above-average 23.3% of opposing hitters against an excellent 4.4% walk rate. He looked fully healthy and averaged 92.6 MPH on his four-seam fastball — his best velocity since 2021.

Bieber added another 18 2/3 frames over five postseason appearances. He pitched pretty well overall, allowing nine runs (eight earned) with 18 punchouts against six free passes. Bieber did surrender three playoff home runs, including the World Series-deciding Will Smith longball in extra innings of Game 7. It ended in disappointment, but Bieber was generally effective for the Jays both in the regular season and October.

That seemingly positioned him well for a return free agent trip this winter. Bieber turns 31 in May. While he’s unlikely to recapture the ace form that earned him the AL Cy Young award in the shortened 2020 season, he’d certainly have gotten plenty of interest as a mid-rotation starter who is still young for a free agent. A nine-figure deal didn’t seem entirely out of the question. At the very least, he looked set for a higher average annual value on a two- or three-year guarantee that allowed him to opt out after the first season.

The $12MM difference between the option price and the buyout is well below market value for a pitcher of Bieber’s caliber even if he were determined to take a one-year deal. As shown on MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, that’s less than Walker Buehler, Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Alex Cobb, Charlie Morton and Tomoyuki Sugano pulled on free agent contracts last winter. It’s a few million dollars above the guarantees signed by Michael Soroka ($9MM) and Michael Lorenzen ($7MM).

Bieber will nevertheless lock that in and try to help the Jays get over the top in 2026 after their heartbreaking near miss. Only his camp knows the specific reasoning behind that decision. Speculatively speaking, it’s possible he’s hopeful of hammering out a longer-term deal with the Jays. He’s clearly comfortable with the city and the organization. However, there hasn’t been any reporting to suggest the sides have opened extension talks, much less made significant progress. That’s not to say it’s impossible that such conversations have taken place behind the scenes, but the option decision is a huge development for the team.

Toronto had been facing the free agent departures of Bieber, Max Scherzer and Chris Bassitt in the rotation. They’re balancing their starting pitching needs against their desire to retain Bo Bichette, who could command a $200MM+ contract that makes him the second highest-paid player in the free agent class. Bieber voluntarily locking in a below-market salary to rejoin Kevin Gausman, Trey Yesavage and José Berríos is a major boost. They’ll still look to add at least one more starter, but this could give the Jays more flexibility to make a competitive offer to Bichette and/or upgrade the late innings.

Image courtesy of John Sokolowski, Imagn Images.

White Sox’s GM Chris Getz Discusses Free Agency, Luis Robert

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The White Sox remain amidst a full rebuild on the heels of their third straight 100-plus loss season. Unsurprisingly, they don’t seem to be in for an exciting winter.

General manager Chris Getz downplayed the possibility of making any multi-year free agent pickups. “Free agency is an avenue to bring in players to help in the win total, but to go beyond this upcoming season I think would be a little premature considering the state of our club right now,” the GM told Scott Merkin of MLB.com. The Sox gave out one multi-year free agent contract over Getz’s first two offseasons — the two-year, $15MM deal to bring Erick Fedde back from Korea in 2023.

Chicago handed out six major league free agent contracts last winter. They were all one-year deals worth no more than $5MM. The long-term books are wide open. Their only commitments for 2027 are a $14.5MM salary for Andrew Benintendi to close his five-year deal and a $2MM buyout on a $20MM club option to Luis Robert Jr. The White Sox could afford to make multi-year commitments even if they’re obviously not going to be in the Kyle Tucker bidding. It appears they’re content to essentially sit out mid-tier free agency yet again.

Perhaps the Sox will find another situation like the Fedde one that leads them to at least consider a modest two-year offer. Cody Ponce, Anthony Kay and Foster Griffin all pitched in Asia this past season but could explore a return to MLB. Ponce would seemingly have the best chance of that group to land a two-year contract. A rehabbing injured pitcher like Jordan Montgomery, Griffin Canning or Nestor Cortes could pull a cheap, backloaded two-year deal.

Merkin writes in a separate column that the White Sox will keep an eye on the market for a veteran starter who can take a few innings off the plate of their in-house arms. That could simply be on a one-year deal. The Sox tried that route with a $5MM signing of Martín Pérez last winter. It didn’t really work, as Pérez was limited to 10 starts by forearm and shoulder injuries. He pitched well — probably better than the Sox expected — but wasn’t able to eat many innings or net them a lottery ticket prospect at the deadline. Candidates for that kind of contract this winter include Tyler Anderson, Patrick Corbin, Michael Lorenzen and old friend Jose Quintana.

It seems likely to be a quiet winter on the trade front as well. Getz made the biggest move of his GM tenure when he shipped out Garrett Crochet for four prospects last offseason. They don’t have anyone close to that on the trade block now. Robert is their most notable veteran player, but he’s unlikely to move until closer to the deadline. As MLBTR’s Steve Adams explored when the Sox exercised their option this morning, other teams are unlikely to meet Chicago’s high asking price on the center fielder coming off another inconsistent and injury-plagued season.

Robert showed enough in the second half for the White Sox to roll the dice on a $20MM salary. Getz said this evening that while the front office won’t close the door on any trade opportunities, they’re expecting him to be on the team going into next season. “We’re planning on (Robert) being in a White Sox uniform,” Getz told reporters (via Merkin). “What he did in the second half was very indicative of what he’s capable of doing and how that can impact our team. … If there are opportunities for us to strengthen the organization, we’ll have those conversations. But as it stands today, we’re very much preparing for having Luis Robert play center field.”

If not Robert, there probably won’t be any headline-grabbing White Sox trades. They have an uphill battle finding any interest in Benintendi, who is owed $31MM over the next two seasons. They could find a modest return for veteran corner outfielder Mike Tauchman, utility infielder Lenyn Sosa or third catcher Korey Lee.

Marlins To Hire Chris Hess, Corbin Day As Assistant Hitting Coaches

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The Marlins will hire Chris Hess and Corbin Day as assistant hitting coaches. WEEI’s Rob Bradford first reported the Hess hiring, while Christina De Nicola of MLB.com was first on the Day addition. Derek Shoman, their assistant hitting coach from this past season, is leaving the organization to take the lead hitting coach job with the White Sox.

The 30-year-old Hess is a University of Rhode Island product who was drafted by the Yankees in 2017. He played a couple seasons in A-ball before retuning to URI as an assistant coach. Hess joined the professional ranks with the Red Sox organization in 2021. He spent the last two years as the hitting instructor with Boston’s Double-A affiliate, where he worked with the likes of Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer and Kristian Campbell. This is his first job on an MLB staff.

It’s also the first MLB coaching opportunity for Day. He played two seasons of NAIA college ball at Mount Mercy University in Cedar Rapids, Iowa between 2018-19. Day then spent a few seasons coaching JUCO ball in his home state. His first professional opportunity also came in Cedar Rapids, as the Twins hired him as hitting coach with their High-A affiliate in that city. Day moved up to the Double-A Wichita coaching staff in 2024 and worked for Minnesota’s big league team in an advance scouting /game-planning role this year.

Pedro Guerrero was Miami’s lead hitting coach this year. Assuming he returns for a second season under skipper Clayton McCullough, he’ll lead what is now a three-person hitting staff.

William Contreras Undergoes Finger Surgery

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Brewers catcher William Contreras underwent a minor procedure to repair his broken left middle finger, president of baseball operations Matt Arnold told reporters (link via Adam McCalvy of MLB.com). It’ll keep him from participating in baseball activities for 5-6 weeks but is not expected to impact his availability for Spring Training.

Contreras played through the fracture for the entire 2025 season. The injury is believed to have occurred during the ’24 campaign, though the team didn’t announce the presence of a break until this past May. Contreras did not spend any time on the injured list and has not had a single IL stint in his career. Only J.T. Realmuto logged more starts or innings behind the dish this year.

The injury did seem to weigh down Contreras a little bit at the plate. He hit .260/.355/.399 with 17 home runs through 659 trips. That’s still strong production, especially from a catcher, but is below the .285/.366/.462 combined slash he posted over his first two seasons in Milwaukee.

Milwaukee declined a $12MM option on Contreras this afternoon. That’s a procedural move that isn’t related to the injury. He remains eligible for arbitration. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects him for an $11.1MM salary. Contreras collected a $100K option buyout, so any arbitration salary under $11.9MM would mean the Brew Crew saved themselves a little bit of money with the option decision. Contreras will go through arbitration once more and is on track to hit free agency during the 2027-28 offseason.

Royals Sign Salvador Perez To Two-Year Extension

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Salvador Perez will remain in Kansas City for at least another two seasons. The Royals announced an extension with the nine-time All-Star that covers the 2026-27 campaigns. It’s reportedly a $25MM guarantee for the Beverly Hills Sports Council client, though it actually amounts to $23MM in new money. Perez had been guaranteed a $2MM buyout on a $13.5MM club option for the upcoming season.

There’s a decent amount of deferred money that reduces the net present value. Perez receives a $7MM signing bonus that will be paid in annual installments between 2030-34. He makes $9MM salaries for the next two seasons, with $2.5MM annually deferred until 2030-34. The Royals will only pay Perez $13MM during the next two years. Meanwhile, the decent-sized signing bonus ensures he’d get that money even if a work stoppage threatens players’ salaries in 2027.

General manager J.J. Picollo said at the end of September that the Royals would bring Perez back, though he left open the possibility of a new contract rather than simply exercising the option. That’s indeed how things played out. Teams and players have until Thursday to decide on all option decisions. That presumably served as an unofficial deadline for the Royals and Perez to get a new deal in place. The deferrals save the Royals $7MM next year compared to the option value, while the catcher locks in more money down the line with some protection against a lockout.

Perez, 36 in May, is headed into his 15th full season in the big leagues. He’s obviously one of the most accomplished players in team history and seems likely to be a Royal for life. He’s seventh in franchise history in games played and trails only George Brett in both home runs and runs batted in. Perez isn’t going to make up the nearly 600 RBI he’d need to run down Brett, but he should become the franchise’s home run leader next season barring a significant injury. He has 303 longballs, placing him 14 behind the Hall of Famer’s career total.

A healthy Perez should still easily hit 15+ homers in 2026. He drilled 30 round-trippers this year and has eclipsed 20 homers in all but one full schedule dating back to 2014. The lone exception was the ’19 season which he missed due to Tommy John surgery. Perez trailed only Cal Raleigh, Shea Langeliers and Hunter Goodman in home runs among primary catchers this past season. Raleigh is the only other catcher who drove in at least 100 runs.

While Perez remains a legitimate power threat, the flaws in his game are equally well known. He has never been a patient hitter, and he’s coming off his third sub-.300 OBP in the past four seasons. Perez hit .236/.284/.446 across 641 trips to the plate. The overall slash line is a little worse than league average despite the gaudy homer and RBI tallies. It is still strong production from the catcher position, but Perez has begun to branch out to first base or designated hitter a little more often as he has gotten into his mid-30s.

The five-time Gold Glove winner still has a plus arm and did an excellent job shutting down the running game. Pitch framing metrics have panned his receiving work throughout his career. That remained the case in 2025. Statcast also graded him as the second-worst blocking catcher in the sport, better only than Marlins’ rookie Agustín Ramírez (who somehow committed 19 passed balls in 73 games).

There’s very little chance that Wins Above Replacement models are going to look favorably on this deal. Both FanGraphs and Baseball Reference had Perez only marginally above replacement this year. The Royals have long valued the player a lot more highly than public advanced metrics would suggest. He has always been a revered clubhouse presence and fan favorite, and he won the Roberto Clemente award in 2024 for his contributions in the community (both in Kansas City and his native Venezuela). He served as the bridge between their 2015 World Series team and the ’24 club that returned to the playoffs after a nine-year drought.

They weren’t able to get to October this past season. A lack of offense and some late-season rotation injuries combined to drop them to an 82-80 record. Perez will be back as the primary catcher and should split first base/DH work with Vinnie Pasquantino and Jac Caglianone. The Royals will want to work rookie Carter Jensen into the mix more frequently behind the dish. The 22-year-old was called up in September after K.C. traded longtime backup Freddy Fermin to the Padres at the deadline. Jensen hit .300 with three homers in his first 20 games, an impressive follow-up to a .290/.377/.501 season at Triple-A Omaha.

The Royals have around $140MM in estimated commitments for next season, according to RosterResource. Perez joins Bobby Witt Jr. ($19MM), Seth Lugo ($20MM), Michael Wacha ($14MM) and Cole Ragans ($7.5MM) as their players with contracts for 2027. They’re also locked in to at least a $2MM buyout on a club option for Carlos Estévez.

Anne Rogers of MLB.com first reported the $25MM guarantee, the $7MM bonus, and the presence of deferrals. The Associated Press had the specific deferral structure. Image courtesy of William Purnell, Imagn Images.

Royals’ Alec Marsh Undergoes Labrum Surgery

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Royals starter Alec Marsh underwent labrum surgery, reports Anne Rogers of MLB.com. The right-hander did not pitch at all this season because of recurring shoulder issues. He’s going to miss most or all of the 2026 season as well. Rogers suggests it could be a yearlong rehab process.

A second-round pick in 2019, Marsh debuted as a swingman four years later. He held a rotation spot for most of the ’24 season, tossing 129 innings over 26 appearances. The Arizona State product put up a 4.53 ERA with slightly better than average strikeout and walk rates. He averaged 94 MPH on a four-seam fastball that headlined a six-pitch mix. Marsh looked like a fine fifth starter and would have battled for a spot at the back of Matt Quatraro’s rotation had he been healthy.

The 27-year-old is now in line for a second straight mostly lost season. There’ll be uncertainty about how well he’ll bounce back until the team finally sees him on the mound. Marsh spent this past season on the 60-day injured list. Kansas City reinstated him — along with James McArthur and Kris Bubic — this afternoon. Their roster count sits at 38.

Marsh has a little over two years of major league service. He will not qualify for arbitration until the end of next season and wouldn’t have the body of work to rack up significant earnings, at least in year one. If the Royals keep him on the roster all winter, they can place him back on the 60-day IL at the beginning of Spring Training.

Kansas City will go into 2026 with Cole Ragans, Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo locked into rotation spots. Bubic will be in there as well unless the Royals trade him for a hitter. Noah Cameron projects as the fifth starter, while Ryan Bergert, Stephen Kolek and Luinder Avila are on the 40-man roster and have minor league options. Bailey Falter and Kyle Wright hold 40-man spots for now, but there’s a good chance the Royals non-tender them. It’s a talented group but one that was hit hard by injuries late in the season, so it’d make sense for K.C. to add an innings eater even if the offseason focus is on upgrading the outfield and second base.

Rays Hire Ozzie Timmons As Assistant Hitting Coach

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The Rays hired Ozzie Timmons as an assistant hitting coach on Monday, according to a club announcement. He replaces Brady North, who departed Kevin Cash’s staff at the end of the regular season.

Timmons is back on an MLB staff after spending the 2025 campaign in a special assistant role. The 55-year-old had been on Cash’s coaching staff as a first base coach/assistant hitting coach between 2018-21. The Brewers hired him as one of two co-hitting coaches over the 2021-22 offseason. Timmons spent three years in that position before parting ways with Milwaukee last winter.

A Tampa-area native, Timmons suited up for the Devil Rays in 2000 as part of a brief MLB playing career spread across four teams. He’d worked as their Triple-A hitting coach before getting his first crack on the MLB staff in 2018. He’ll work underneath lead hitting instructor Chad Mottola, who has been the club’s hitting coach for the past nine-plus seasons.

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