Nationals Select Three Players To 40-Man Roster
The Nationals announced that they have selected the contracts of three players. They are outfielder Christian Franklin, left-hander Jake Bennett and right-hander Riley Cornelio. All three are now protected from being selected in next month’s Rule 5 draft. The club’s 40-man roster count climbs from 34 to 37.
Franklin, 26 this month, was just acquired from the Cubs in the deadline deal which sent Michael Soroka to Chicago. A fourth-round pick from the 2021 draft, Franklin is generally considered good at a lot of things without a standout tool.
Between the Nats and Cubs, he spent all of 2025 at the Triple-A level, stepping to the plate 535 times in total. His 15% walk rate and 20.6% strikeout rate were both above average, though he hit only 12 home runs. His .272/.390/.427 batting line translated to a 118 wRC+, indicating he was 18% above league average. He played all three outfield spots and stole 19 bases. He’s not really considered a top prospect but he has shown enough to get a 40-man spot. He’ll look to work his way into the Washington outfield mix, a group that currently includes James Wood, Jacob Young, Robert Hassell III, Dylan Crews, Daylen Lile and others.
Bennett, 25 next month, was Washington’s second-round pick in 2022. He was taken 45th overall and secured a signing bonus of over $1.7MM. He has since been climbing the ladder, although Tommy John surgery in 2023 led to him missing the 2024 season. Here in 2025, he got back on track by logging 75 1/3 innings over 19 appearances, 18 of those officially being starts. He allowed just 2.27 earned runs per nine with a 21.5% strikeout rate, 6.4% walk rate and 47.3% ground ball rate. He just appeared in the Arizona Fall League and added another 20 innings.
Baseball America recently ranked Bennett the #6 prospect in Washington’s system. He hasn’t yet appeared at the Triple-A level but his final ten appearances in 2025 were at Double-A, so bumping up to the top minor league rung should be on the table next year. The Nats don’t have a ton of established arms in the rotation and might even subtract from the group by dealing MacKenzie Gore this offseason. Since they may be rebuilding for another year or two, Bennett could push his way into a major league audition at some point in the near future.
Cornelio, 26 in June, was a seventh-round pick from 2022. In 2025, he climbed from High-A to Double-A to Triple-A. In the process, he threw 134 1/3 innings with a 3.28 ERA, 24.8% strikeout rate, 10.1% walk rate and 37.6% ground ball rate. A few months ago, FanGraphs ranked him #36 in the system, projecting him to end up as a reliever in the long run. The Nats now have three option years, so they could keep trying him as a starter for a while or perhaps move him to the bullpen if they agree that’s where his future lies.
Photo courtesy of Lily Smith, Imagn Images.
Red Sox Designate Nathaniel Lowe, Josh Winckowski For Assignment
The Red Sox announced that first baseman Nathaniel Lowe has been designated for assignment. Chris Cotillo of MassLive reported the move shortly before the official announcement. That opens a 40-man spot for Tristan Gray, who has been acquired from the Rays. The Sox are also designating right-hander Josh Winckowski for assignment, reports Ari Alexander of 7 News. That will open another 40-man spot, presumably for Boston to add someone ahead of today’s Rule 5 protection deadline.
The moves are effectively early non-tenders. Friday afternoon is the deadline for teams to decide whether or not to tender contracts to their arbitration-eligible and pre-arb players. But as mentioned, today is the deadline for adding players to the 40-man in order to protect them from the Rule 5 draft. By cutting these two players now, the Sox have made space for adding Gray and someone else in the coming hours.
It’s not a surprise that Boston isn’t bringing Lowe back. He was a midseason desperation addition. The Sox lost Triston Casas to injury early in the season, leaving a hole at first base. They had been patching that over with guys like Romy González and Abraham Toro. Lowe became available in August when the Nationals released him. He has a good overall track record but was having a bad season. The Sox were able to grab him for essentially nothing to bolster their first base group down the stretch.
The Sox also could have kept Lowe for 2026 via arbitration but it never seemed likely they would do so. He qualified for Super Two status going into 2023, giving him four arb passes instead of the usual three. He had already raised his salary to $10.3MM in 2025. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected him for a $13.5MM salary in 2026, which will be his age-30 season. The Sox presumably had no intention of paying that after Lowe hit .228/.307/.381 for a 91 wRC+ this year. They have Casas potentially coming back in 2026 and they could also pursue external additions.
Technically, Boston has some time to try to trade Lowe but other teams presumably aren’t keen on him at that $13.5MM price point either. He will likely stay in DFA limbo until Friday and then be non-tendered, becoming a free agent.
Once he’s officially on the open market, he will be an interesting bounceback candidate. As mentioned, his 2025 season wasn’t good, but he was a solid everyday first baseman for the Rangers for many years. From 2021 to 2024, he got into at least 140 games in four straight seasons, including at least 157 in the first three. He launched between 16 and 27 home runs in each of those. He also had a walk rate of 12.5% or higher in three of the four. He had a combined .274/.359/.432 slash line and 124 wRC+ for that span. FanGraphs credited him with 10.8 wins above replacement.
That strong performance helped the Rangers win the 2023 World Series and also pushed Lowe’s salary up into eight-figure territory. Those factors combined with his down year to make him a clear non-tender candidate.
Based on his track record, some club should give Lowe a big deal at some point, though at a lesser price point than his projected arbitration salary. He will jump into a first base market that has already seen Josh Naylor come off the board. Pete Alonso, Ryan O’Hearn, Luis Arráez and others are still out there, while Christian Walker and Willson Contreras are potential trade candidates.
Winckowski, 28 in June, has spent the past few years working in a swing role for the Sox. He has logged 242 1/3 innings over 21 starts and 100 relief appearances, allowing 4.20 earned runs per nine. His 18.2% strikeout rate is subpar but his his 8.3% walk rate is around average and his 51.6% ground ball rate quite strong.
He only logged 11 2/3 innings in the majors in 2025. He spent most of the first half on optional assignment in the minors. In June, the Sox called him up and put him on the big league 60-day injured list due to a a flexor strain in his right elbow. That allowed them to open a 40-man roster spot. Winckowski stayed on the IL for the rest of the year, collecting service time along the way. The IL goes away five days after the World Series, so he retook a 40-man spot at that time.
His current health status is unknown but he was going to be on the roster bubble regardless. He exhausted his final option season in 2025. He also pushed his service time just over the three-year mark, therefore qualifying for arbitration. He is projected for a salary of $800K next year. That’s barely above the league minimum, which will be $780K next year. But for a guy who was hurt for most of 2025 and can’t be easily sent to the minors anymore, the Sox aren’t keen to pay him at that level.
While he’s in DFA limbo, they could try to trade him elsewhere. He can be controlled for another three seasons and is relatively cheap. But it’s also possible he gets non-tendered alongside Lowe on Friday and ends up a free agent.
Photos courtesy of Nathan Ray Seebeck, Kevin Jairaj, Eric Canha, Imagn Images
Tatsuya Imai To Be Posted November 19th
TODAY: Imai has officially been posted, as the league informed teams today. Imai’s posting window opens tomorrow at 7am CT and closes on January 2 at 4pm CT.
NOVEMBER 12: It was reported last week that right-hander Tatsuya Imai would be posted by the Seibu Lions of Nippon Professional Baseball. His agent Scott Boras met with members of the media today at the general managers meeting and said the posting will become official on November 19th. Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet was among those to pass it along.
Once the posting becomes official, it will open up a 45-day window for Imai and Boras to negotiate will all 30 major league clubs. Technically, they will have until early January to work something out. It’s probably fair to expect a deal to come together before the holidays, when the hot stove activity tends to slow down.
Imai should garner lots of interest based on his results and also his age. His earned run average in Japan has been 2.34 or lower in three straight seasons now, including a 1.92 mark in 2025. His strikeout rate has ticked up from 24.4% in 2023 to 26.3% last year and 27.8% this year. Meanwhile, his walk rate has dropped from 11.4% to 9.8% to 7% in those years.
He is currently 27 years old, turning 28 in May. Teams have shown that they value that youth. Recent deals for young players like Juan Soto, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Jung Hoo Lee have surged beyond expectations.
Imai won’t have as much earning power as Yamamoto, who secured $325MM over 12 years. Yamamoto was even younger, having just turned 25 when he was posted, and also had the superior track record of performance. Still, Imai should find lots of interest. MLBTR predicted he could secure a $150MM guarantee on a six-year deal.
The signing team will also owe the Lions a posting fee, on top of the guarantee they give Imai. The Lions will get 20% of the contract’s first $25MM, 17.5% of the contract’s next $25MM, and 15% of any money above the $50MM mark. If Imai were to sign a deal matching MLBTR’s $150MM projection, his new team would owe the Lions a $24.375MM posting fee.
The righty has already been connected to the Mets. Jon Heyman of The New York Post reported today that the Yankees will be looking at Imai, as well as Lucas Giolito. The Yanks go into 2026 with their rotation in flux. Due to injuries, it projects to be much different later in the year compared to the end of camp. Gerrit Cole is still recovering from last year’s Tommy John surgery and won’t be ready by Opening Day. Carlos Rodón underwent a procedure to remove loose bodies from his left elbow and is expected to start the year on the injured list as well. Clarke Schmidt had internal brace surgery in July and could rejoin the club in the second half.
With those absences, the Yankees project to start the season with Max Fried, Cam Schlittler, Luis Gil, Will Warren and Allan Winans in the rotation. Adding to that group would be an understandable target. It’s possible that things get tight later in the year as Cole, Rodón and Schmidt get healthy, but other injuries could also pop up along the way.
Giolito should be a far more affordable addition than Imai. MLBTR predicted him for a two-year, $32MM deal. He was once a borderline ace but hasn’t been at that level in a while. His ERA finished near 5.00 in 2022 and 2023. He missed 2024 due to internal brace surgery. He returned in 2025 and posted a 3.41 ERA but with less impressive stuff under the hood. HIs 19.7% strikeout rate was below league average and well below the 33.7% mark he had back in 2020. He also finished the season back on the IL with an elbow issue, though he says that has now passed.
There are plenty of other starting pitchers the Yankees could consider at different price levels. Presumably, their plans in the rotation will depend upon what they do elsewhere. They have to address their outfield, with Cody Bellinger and Trent Grisham having both reached free agency. It’s also possible they look to remake a bullpen that was a source of frustration in 2025.
Photo courtesy of Rick Osentoski, Imagn Images.
The Padres Need To Make A Decision On Luis Campusano
Is Luis Campusano a part of the Padres’ future? President of baseball operations A.J. Preller says he is. “He’s going to be in our mix next year, for sure,” Preller said last month, per Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune. “I’m hoping his experiences this year are going to help him overall as a player.”
Those words don’t align with the club’s actions, as they haven’t shown much faith in him. Campusano was a top 100 prospect a few years ago. He got cups of coffee from 2020 to 2022, never topping 16 games played in any of those seasons. He was called up late in 2020 and didn’t use an option that year, but he burned two of his three options in the following seasons.
In 2023, he was up with the big league club all year but spent a lot of time on the injured list. He was only healthy enough to play in 49 games but put up a huge .319/.356/.491 line and 133 wRC+ in that sample. His defensive grades weren’t great but that offense was certainly enticing. His .331 batting average on balls in play was on the high side but he also had a small 12.1% strikeout rate, meaning he put the ball in play a lot.
The following season was a disappointment, however. He got into 91 games, his biggest sample of big league work to date. His batted ball luck flipped the other way, as his BABIP dropped to .240. That wasn’t just luck as his average exit velocity, barrel rate and hard hit rate all dropped compared to the prior season. He finished the year with a .227/.281/.361 line and 83 wRC+. That kind of offense would have been passable for a glove-first backstop but Campusano was not that. He had a fielding run value of minus-13 and was also credited with minus-17 Defensive Runs Saved, making him one of the worst defensive catchers in the majors that year.
That performance understandably led to a reduction in playing time but he stayed on the roster for a while as Kyle Higashioka and Elias Díaz handled the catching duties. The Padres optioned Campusano to the minors on September 11th, which was seemingly not a coincidence. A player doesn’t burn an option year unless he spends at least 20 days on optional assignment. When the Friars sent Campusano down last year, there were 19 days left on the schedule.
That left Campusano still with one option remaining going into 2025 and they seemed determined to use it. They re-signed Díaz and also signed Martín Maldonado to be the catchers at the big league level. Campusano was optioned to the minors to start the year.
Seemingly, the plan was for Campusano to be honing his craft with Triple-A El Paso but the Padres also made some curious decisions in that context. He was recalled in early May as the Padres had some injuries, not to any of their catchers, but he was optioned back down three days later. He was recalled again in late May and was up with the club for three weeks but only got into six games with 14 plate appearances before getting optioned back down in the middle of June. He was recalled again for a couple of days in July when Gavin Sheets went on the paternity list, getting optioned back down a couple of days later.
Ahead of the deadline, the Padres acquired Freddy Fermin from the Royals. Maldonado was designated for assignment, leaving the Friars with Fermin and Díaz for the stretch run. They re-signed Maldonado to a minor league deal at the end of August. At the end of September, Díaz seemed to be banged up with an oblique injury and he was excluded from the club’s Wild Card roster. Campusano was called up but the club also selected Maldonado back to the roster, giving them three backstops for their series against the Cubs. Fermin got all the playing time behind the plate in that series.
All of this happened while Campusano crushed Triple-A pitching in 2025. He was aided by a .370 BABIP but his 15.2% walk rate and 17.3% strikeout rate were both great figures. He hit 25 home runs in 475 plate appearances. Even in the context of the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, his .336/.441/.595 line translated to a 148 wRC+.
Despite those monstrous numbers, the Padres mostly kept him in El Paso. When they did call him up, he hardly played. They didn’t put him behind the plate in the big leagues at any point this year. They kept rolling with Díaz, Fermin and Maldonado despite none of those three guys hitting. Maldonado, in fact, has been one of the worst hitters in the majors throughout much of his career.
Both Díaz and Maldonado reached free agency at the end of the 2025 season, with Maldonado announcing his retirement shortly thereafter. That leaves Fermin and Campusano as the two catchers on the 40-man roster. Ethan Salas is one of the club’s top prospects but he is only 19 years old and has barely played above High-A. He may be the future but a promotion in 2026 would be ambitious.
Campusano is now 27 years old and out of options, meaning he can’t be easily sent down to El Paso any longer. He actually qualified for arbitration a year ago as a Super Two player, so the Friars paid him $1MM in 2025. Since he hardly played in the majors this year, MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects him to make the same salary in 2026. Friday is the non-tender deadline, giving the Padres a few more days to decide whether or not to tender him a contract again.
The Padres clearly didn’t trust Campusano to be a big league catcher in 2025. They didn’t put him back there at any point and opted for light-hitting veterans instead. They presumably were still hoping to make him a long-term catcher, as they played him there in Triple-A, along with some time at first base. However, they also interrupted his Triple-A routine with sporadic call-ups that featured little playing time. If they were committed to having him maximize his glovework in 2025, then those recalls stand out as odd choices.
If Campusano does survive the winter and comes into camp with the Padres in 2026, is he the backup catcher? If he’s going to be more in the first base/DH mix, they probably would need to add a veteran backstop, which is less than ideal roster construction. Also, even veterans without much upside cost a few million. They had to give Díaz a $3.5MM guarantee last offseason, for instance. That’s not much in baseball terms but it’s notable for a club with ongoing payroll concerns.
There’s an argument for trading Campusano. A rebuilding club without a clear solution behind the plate, such as the Nationals or Twins, could take him on. One of those clubs could let Campusano have some run at the catcher position to see what happens. However, they’re not likely to give up much for a such a flier.
The Padres could tender Campusano a contract and then try to run him through waivers. Since he has at least three years of service time, he has the right to reject outright assignments in favor of electing free agency. However, since he has less than five years of service, he would have to walk away from his remaining salary commitments in order to exercise that right. In the scenario where he has been tendered a contract and is slated to make about $1MM in 2026, he would presumably accept, allowing the Padres to keep him as non-roster depth. However, given his track record and three remaining years of club control, it’s no guarantee he would clear.
Put it all together and the Padres should seemingly pick a lane. If one takes Preller at his word, they already have. With a tight budget and question marks in the rotation, perhaps they will stick with Campusano and find a role for him. But they just finished a season during which they didn’t trust him to catch, despite needing clear upgrades there. Even when he was called up, he didn’t get a lot of at-bats. That doesn’t bode well for him serving as a bat-first bench piece, especially with teams usually preferring to have a bit of defensive versatility from their reserves.
If he gets squeezed off the roster, he’ll be destined for the trade block, the waiver wire or perhaps he’ll just be non-tendered later this week. If he does end up departing San Diego, he’ll be an interesting change-of-scenery candidate. Perhaps there will be some clarity on his status in the coming days.
Photo courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images
Red Sox Likely To Tender Contract To Tanner Houck
The Red Sox are planning to tender a contract to right-hander Tanner Houck, reports Chris Cotillo of MassLive. The club has until Friday evening to change its mind but it seems they are planning to keep Houck on the roster.
Friday at 7pm Central is the deadline for clubs to decide whether or not to tender contracts to pre-arbitration and arbitration-eligible players. Teams and players don’t need to decide on a salary by that date. They have until January 8th to file salary figures. But the team needs to make a decision by Friday as to whether they are committed to paying the player or not. If the player is still on the roster beyond the deadline, the team will have to eventually pay him something, with various outcomes still possible at that point. A non-tender on Friday allows the team to walk away without paying anything.
Houck is arguably a borderline case on account of his health. He just had Tommy John surgery in August. He will likely miss the entire 2026 season. He can be retained via arbitration through 2027, at which point he is slated for free agency.
With 2026 likely to be a recovery year for Houck, the decision is more about 2027. The Sox could pay him for the 2026 season, hoping that the investment pays off in the following year. That’s something that teams often do in free agency. Pitchers recovering from surgery often sign two-year pacts, with the signing team knowing that they are probably only going to get meaningful return on investment in the second year, while the player banks a bit of cash while recovering.
The Sox themselves did this last offseason, as they signed Patrick Sandoval to a two-year, $18.25MM deal. The lefty didn’t pitch for the Sox in 2025 but they will hopefully get something out of him next year. Other pitchers got similar deals recently. Shane Bieber got $26MM from the Guardians last winter, for instance, with an opt-out halfway through. A year earlier, Tyler Mahle got $22MM from the Rangers, with no opt-out. The Brewers gave Brandon Woodruff two years and $17.5MM when he was recovering from shoulder surgery.
Investing in Houck will cost less than that. He made $3.95MM in 2025, his first of three arbitration seasons. He only made nine starts in 2025 due to his arm issues but players going through arb usually see their salaries hold fairly steady when they miss significant time. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects Houck for the same $3.95MM salary in 2026. If he stays on the roster and is tendered a contract for 2027 as well, he would likely end up in the same range again.
Essentially, tendering Houck a contract for the next two years will probably cost the Red Sox about $8MM total. They could also walk away after 2026 if he experiences some sort of setback, cutting their losses. The roughly $8MM would be less than half of what they paid to Sandoval and the guarantees of those other aforementioned deals. Houck doesn’t have the same track record as those guys but has shown plenty of potential, particularly in 2024 when he logged 178 2/3 innings with a 3.12 earned run average, 20.7% strikeout rate, 6.5% walk rate and 55.9% ground ball rate.
If the Sox were to non-tender Houck, it would probably suggest that they don’t expect him to fully return to that level in 2027, though there also could be other contributing factors. There’s no injured list in the offseason, so the Sox do have to keep Houck on the roster throughout the winter. Tomorrow is the deadline to add players to a 40-man roster to protect them from being selected in the Rule 5 draft. The Sox currently have a full 40-man and need to open some spots, assuming they want to add a few guys. Cotillo mentions the possibility of a lockout disrupting 2027, which could prevent the Sox from benefiting from Houck’s eventual return. However, front office still have to plan as though the season will be played, as there’s no certainty around the labor dispute right now.
The Sox currently have Garrett Crochet and Brayan Bello under club control through at least 2030. Other than that, there’s not a ton of certainty. Kutter Crawford has posted decent results and should be in the mix. He’s under club control through 2028. The aforementioned Sandoval is signed for just one more year. Guys like Connelly Early, Payton Tolle and Kyle Harrison are in the mix but still aren’t proven big leaguers. The Sox plan to add to the rotation this offseason but haven’t done so yet.
Even if a pitching staff looks good on paper, injuries are always inevitable, so it’s anyone’s guess what the depth will look like by the time Houck is back on a big league mound. He has also had some success as a reliever, so perhaps there’s a scenario where he gets pushed to the bullpen, especially if there are workload concerns in the coming years. Time will tell how it plays out but it appears the Sox would like the payoff to be with Houck pitching in Boston.
Photo courtesy of Rick Osentoski, Imagn Images
Bob Seymour To Sign With NPB’s Orix Buffaloes
November 14: Seymour is in agreement with the Orix Buffaloes of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, reports Francys Romero.
November 12: The Rays announced that first baseman Bob Seymour has been released to pursue an opportunity in Asia. No details were provided about which team or country he is heading to. He was already off the 40-man roster, as he was designated for assignment last week.
Seymour, 27, has spent his entire professional career with the Rays thus far. A 13th-round pick from the 2021 draft, he crushed homers throughout his minor league career but also struck out quite a bit. In 2024, he launched 28 long balls in 123 games, split between Double-A and Triple-A. He slashed .281/.351/.523 for a 139 wRC+ but was also punched out in 30.6% of his plate appearances. In 2025, he hit 30 homers in just 105 Triple-A games. He had a .263/.327/.553 line and 122 wRC+ while striking out at a 25.7% pace.
He got called up in mid-August and spent about the final six weeks of the season in the big leagues. He stepped to the plate 83 times but struck out in 32 of those, a 38.6% pace, leading to a rough .205/.253/.282 line.
Despite the obvious power, Seymour has never really ranked as a notable prospect. He only plays first base and doesn’t have wheels, which means he has to hit to provide value. Given how often he strikes out, it was going to be hard for him to be a viable big league bat.
He still has a full slate of options. Even if he were claimed off waivers after being designated for assignment this week, he was likely destined for another year of riding the bus in Triple-A. Instead, he’ll head overseas somewhere, presumably for a bigger paycheck and a better opportunity. If he finds success wherever he is going, perhaps he will return to North America someday.
Photo courtesy of Darren Yamashita, Imagn Images
Reds, Tejay Antone Agree To Minor League Deal
The Reds and right-hander Tejay Antone have agreed to a minor league deal, reports Mark Sheldon of MLB.com. Presumably, the righty will receive an invite to big league camp when the deal is made official.
Antone, 32 in December, was establishing himself as a key piece of the Cincinnati bullpen a few years ago. Over 2020 and 2021, he tossed 69 innings with a 2.48 earned run average. His 10.8% walk rate was on the high side but he struck out 32.3% of batters faced and got grounders on 48% of balls in play.
Unfortunately, his career has been derailed by a number of injuries. He underwent Tommy John surgery in August of 2021. That was actually the second such procedure of his career, the first coming back in 2017 when he was in the minors. The second surgery wiped out his entire 2022 season. In 2023, a flexor strain in spring training set him back. He didn’t get back on a big league mound until September. He made five appearances before going back on the IL due to elbow discomfort. In 2024, he made four appearances early in the season before being bit by the injury bug again. He tore a tendon off his bone and suffered a ligament tear, requiring surgery.
Antone spent the rest of 2024 on the injured list. At the end of the season, he was outrighted off the 40-man roster. He was still with the Reds in 2025, but in a non-roster capacity, beginning the season on the minor league injured list. He eventually got healthy enough to make 15 appearances in August and September, logging 15 innings. He allowed 17 earned runs on 23 hits, nine walks and five hit-by-pitches while striking out 15 opponents.
The righty became a free agent at season’s end but he and the Reds have quickly reunited. His numbers in 2025 weren’t good but it was a small sample of work and some rust is understandable after multiple surgeries and so much missed time. For the Reds, there’s no harm in bringing him back on this non-roster deal to see if he can find a new gear as he gets further removed from his most recent surgery.
Photo courtesy of David Kohl, Imagn Images
Latest On Red Sox’ Pursuits
The Red Sox are considering adding a high-leverage reliever to bolster their bullpen, according to reporting from Ken Rosenthal, Will Sammon and Katie Woo of The Athletic. That aligns with recent reporting from Sammon that the Sox are interesting in Devin Williams. Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow acknowledged this possibility, per Alex Speier of The Boston Globe, but maintained that the rotation is a bigger priority.
“We can do a better job of preventing other teams from scoring. There are a bunch of different ways to do that. We’ll be open-minded about all of them,” said Breslow. “The most straightforward is building out a better starting rotation. I’ve talked a bunch about that. Another way is to continue to improve our infield defense, and another is to make sure that when our starters hand the ball to our relievers, any leads that we have we’re preserving. So, I think we’ll look at it from all angles, but I think our priority remains starting pitching and position players.”
The Sox had one of the best bullpens in baseball in 2025. Their collective 3.41 earned run average was second only to the Padres. A lot of that was thanks to Aroldis Chapman being almost unhittable but they also got good results from guys like Garrett Whitlock, Greg Weissert and Brennan Bernardino, who are all slated to be back in 2025. Per The Athletic, the idea would be to add to an area of the roster that is already a strength to create a super bullpen, while keeping Chapman in the closer’s role.
That is one way they could go but Breslow has been pretty open about his desire to target a front-of-rotation arm and a middle-of-the-order bat. As with any baseball executive, it’s possible there’s some gamesmanship at play, but the rotation and the lineup are logical targets for Boston. Their rotation has a clearcut ace in Garrett Crochet but the other options are either uninspiring or unproven. The lineup has a lot of talent but they lost Rafael Devers and Alex Bregman in the past few months, so adding another bopper makes sense.
A baseball offseason can be unpredictable, so it’s understandable that Breslow would be open to pivoting as things change, but it’s probably fair to expect bullpen to be a lesser priority. Dylan Cease, Framber Valdez, Tatsuya Imai, Ranger Suárez, Michael King and Brandon Woodruff are some of the notable starters out there in free agency. MacKenzie Gore, Sonny Gray and Brady Singer could be available on the trade market. Bregman, Pete Alonso, Kyle Schwarber, Munetaka Murakami and Eugenio Suárez are some of the big free agent bats, with Taylor Ward and Adolis García some of the speculative trade candidates.
If the Sox eventually decide they do want to make a splash on the bullpen, they likely wouldn’t go after Edwin Díaz, with Chapman already in the closer’s role. Other notable free agent relievers include Williams, Ryan Helsley, Brad Keller, Robert Suarez, Raisel Iglesias, Kyle Finnegan, Luke Weaver, Tyler Rogers, Seranthony Domínguez and Pete Fairbanks. Some of the notable trade candidates include JoJo Romero, Jose A. Ferrer and Victor Vodnik.
RosterResource projects the club for a payroll of $180MM next year, with a competitive balance tax number of $216MM. They finished last year with a $207MM payroll and $245MM CBT number. Assuming they plan on spending at a similar level in 2026, they have a little more than $20MM in wiggle room but it’s possible their postseason finish in 2025 prompts them to take things up a notch.
Photo courtesy of Jerome Miron, Imagn Images
Edgar Quero Drawing Trade Interest From Multiple Teams
White Sox catcher Edgar Quero is drawing trade interest from multiple teams, reports Francys Romero of BeisbolFR. Romero notes that the Sox would have a high asking price. That aligns with recent comments from White Sox general manager Chris Getz. Per James Fegan of Sox Machine, Getz pushed back on the idea that now was the time to trade a catcher. “Is that time now? I don’t think so. I don’t,” Getz said. “But down the road, you never know.”
The Sox came into 2025 with two notable catching prospects in Quero and Kyle Teel. Both were generally considered top 100 guys by prospect evaluators. Both debuted in 2025. Teel had a better season but he’s a year older.
Quero got into 111 games and stepped to the plate 403 times, producing a .268/.333/.356 line. That led to a 95 wRC+, which indicates he was 5% less productive than the average big league hitter. Catchers are usually about 10% worse than par, so Quero’s production was actually decent for the position. However, outlets like FanGraphs, Statcast and Baseball Prospectus all panned his glovework, particularly his framing.
Teel, meanwhile, got into 78 games with 297 plate appearances. He slashed .273/.375/.411 for a 125 wRC+. His defensive grades weren’t elite but he was often considered to be close to average, give or take.
The Sox also have Korey Lee on the roster. He wasn’t the same level of prospect as Teel or Quero but he was a 32nd overall pick of the Astros back in 2019. He hasn’t clicked in the majors yet, with a .193/.234/.321 batting line and poor defense to boot.
The Sox don’t have to make a trade now, though it does feel as though one is inevitable in the long term. Most clubs have two catchers sharing the catching duties these days. The Sox could certainly do that with Teel and Quero for the time being.
The designated hitter slot can also allow them to get both into the lineup fairly regularly, as they continue to develop as major leaguers. The Sox don’t have a full-time DH, though they might want to have their veteran outfielders in there from time to time. Luis Robert Jr., Andrew Benintendi and Mike Tauchman are all trade candidates and it would be good to keep them fresh and productive for trade possibilities, especially given Robert’s injury history. It’s also possible the roster is changed in the offseason via a trade of one of those three or perhaps even a non-tender of Tauchman.
At some point, a trade should be a real consideration, however. Even if Quero is the 1B catcher behind 1A Teel, other clubs might view him as a viable 1A option. The Sox could trade Quero to bolster another part of the roster, then use Lee or sign some veteran to back up Teel. It’s also theoretically possible that Quero surpasses Teel as the top option in Chicago and the inverse becomes a possibility, though as Fegan mentions, the Sox are probably committed to Teel since they made him such a key piece of the Garrett Crochet trade.
From the perspective of the Sox, there shouldn’t be urgency. The 2025 White Sox showed some progress relative to the 2024 squad, but that’s not saying much. Even the improved 2025 group still lost 102 games. The end of the rebuild is not imminent. This year’s free agent crop of catchers isn’t especially strong, which could tempt them to put Quero out there, but next year’s class doesn’t appear to be much better.
The Sox can continue using their big league playing time to focus on development. Unless they are bowled over by an offer, that can include Quero. As mentioned by Fegan, the Sox don’t feel Quero has reached his potential yet. Some signs of progress in the next year or two would only increase his trade value. By that time, the Sox might also have a better idea of which parts of the roster they need to target in the trade return, in order to best forge a path for future success.
Lee is out of options now, so he may have a hard time sticking around, though there is an argument for keeping him on the bench. As mentioned, the Sox may use the DH spot to have both Teel and Quero in the lineup regularly. If they indeed plan to do that, they could perhaps keep Lee around as a classic backup catcher who is ready to jump in if one of the other two suffers an injury.
Photo courtesy of Jesse Johnson, Imagn Images
Blue Jays Targeting High-Leverage Relievers
The Blue Jays are targeting high-leverage relievers, reports Mitch Bannon of The Athletic. Free agent Edwin Díaz appears to be one possibility, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Rosenthal frames the Jays as the main threat to poach Díaz from the Mets. Rosenthal reports that the Jays recently met with Díaz’s representatives from Wasserman, though he also notes that may not mean anything since everyone meets with everyone at this time of year. Jeff Jones of The Belleville News-Democrat reports that the Jays were interested in Ryan Helsley ahead of the deadline. He is now a free agent and could be a target as well. The Jays were also connected to Pete Fairbanks earlier this week.
The Jays have seemingly been casting a wide net early in the offseason, having been connected to all kinds of different pursuits. The bullpen is one thing on their list and it’s a sensible one. The Jays had a middling relief group in 2025. Toronto relievers had a collective 3.98 earned run average, which was 16th out of the 30 big league clubs. Closer Jeff Hoffman had a 4.37 ERA for the year. He dominated through most of the playoffs but then surrendered the big Miguel Rojas home run when the Jays were two outs away from a title.
Last week, general manager Ross Atkins said that Hoffman would be open to moving to a different role if the Jays found another closer. It seems the Jays are indeed considering that. Díaz is one of the best closers in the game today. He already has 253 saves under his belt. He just wrapped up a season in which he had 1.63 ERA, 38% strikeout rate, 8% walk rate and 48.4% ground ball rate.
He has been with the Mets since 2019 and it might be assumed by some that he will end up back in Queens. He was approaching free agency three years ago but signed a five-year, $102MM deal to stay with the Mets just days before he was set to hit the open market. That deal contained an opt-out after three years, which Díaz triggered. He is now a free agent for the first time.
The Mets could certainly re-sign him but it doesn’t seem to be a fait accompli. Díaz himself said this week he has been talking with the Mets but put the odds of a return at 50/50, per Laura Albanese of Newsday. “If they came with the best deal for me, I’d enjoy to stay with them,” Díaz said, “but at the end of the day, I don’t know what they’re thinking.”
Díaz is still quite a good reliever but he is three years older than when he signed his previous deal. MLBTR predicted him to secure a four-year, $82MM pact this time around, a similar average annual value but on a shorter commitment since he’ll turn 32 years old in a few months. Díaz appears to be setting his sights a bit higher than that. Earlier this week, reporting from Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic indicated he is looking for roughly the same kind of deal he got last time. Bob Nightengale of USA Today echoed that this week, reporting that Díaz is looking for at least $100MM over five years.
That would be a notable expenditure for any club. As shown in MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, the $102MM guarantee from the previous Díaz deal is still the record for a reliever. The $20.4MM AAV is also top of the list, apart from swingman Nick Martinez accepting a $21.1MM qualifying offer from the Reds a year ago.
Whether the Jays would be willing to do that remains to be seen. They’ve never given a reliever more than the three years and $33MM they gave to Hoffman a year ago. They might have to triple that to land Díaz. Perhaps getting so close to a World Series will push them there, both because the bullpen let the last game slip away and because they presumably raked in a bunch of extra money from the deep playoff run.
RosterResource projects the Jays for a $235MM payroll next year, more than $20MM shy of their year-end figure in 2025. It’s unknown how high they are willing to go in the wake of their 2025 run. Presumably, there is a limit somewhere and they will have to balance their desire for Díaz against pursuits of Bo Bichette, Kyle Tucker, starting pitching and so on. Díaz also rejected a qualifying offer. Since the Jays paid the competitive balance tax in 2025, signing a player tied to a QO means they would have to forfeit two draft picks and international bonus pool space.
The Mets have been operating with very few payroll limits in recent years but David Stearns has shown a measured approach to building his pitching staff since taking the president of baseball operations job. Despite having Steve Cohen’s seemingly boundless resources, he hasn’t given a pitcher a deal longer than three years yet. The bullpen has mostly been built with one-year deals. A.J. Minter got two years with an opt-out in the middle, though his lack of health in 2025 means he will be coming back for that second year.
Some may speculate that Cohen would just override Stearns and bring back Díaz as a fan favorite. Rosenthal downplays this notion is his column, linked above, referring back to the 50/50 comments from Díaz.
Turning back to the Jays, they could also shop in a different aisle. As mentioned, they have been connected to Fairbanks, who will be far cheaper than Díaz. That’s also true of Helsley, who has a strong track record but is coming off a poor platform season.
From 2022 to 2024, Helsley tossed 167 2/3 innings with a 1.83 ERA, 34.6% strikeout rate and 9.2% walk rate. In 2025, his ERA jumped to 4.50 as his strikeout rate fell to 25%. He was especially bad after getting traded from the Cardinals to the Mets at the deadline, with a 7.20 ERA after that swap.
That obviously puts a big dent in his earning power but he should still get interest as a bounceback candidate. Plenty of clubs would be happy to try him on a one-year deal with the hope that 2025 was a blip. He might also have enough juice for two years with an opt-out. MLBTR went the latter route, predicting him for a two-year, $24MM guarantee.
There’s no denying the trend lines aren’t good. Helsley’s strikeout rate has gone from 39.3% in 2022 to 35.6%, 29.7% and 25% in the most recent seasons. But he still averaged 99.3 miles per hour on his fastball this year, a tiny drop from his peak of 99.7 mph in in 2023. He may have been tipping his pitches and he also surrendered a fairly high .342 batting average on balls in play. His 14.5% home run to fly ball ratio was far worse than previous seasons. Part of that was him getting hit harder than before but some teams may feel he could be back to his old self with a tweak or two.
If the Jays circle back to Helsley, that would be a far different addition than Díaz. Díaz is about as rock-solid as a closer gets these days and would immediately supplant Hoffman as the top guy in the bullpen. Helsley would be a lower-cost flier and would surely start lower in the pecking order before having to earn his way up. How the Jays play it will presumably depend on the other market factors and how things play out with the other things on their to-do list.
Photo courtesy of Brad Penner, Imagn Images