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Yankees, Tyler Matzek Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Yankees are in agreement with free agent reliever Tyler Matzek on a minor league deal, reports Chris Cotillo of MassLive. There’s presumably a non-roster invite to MLB camp for the PSI Sports Management client.

Matzek held a showcase for teams last month. He evidently showed enough for the Yanks to give him a look in Spring Training. Matzek is looking to rebound after injuries limited him to 11 big league appearances in 2024 — none of which came after May 4.

The veteran southpaw began the year in the Braves’ bullpen. Opponents tagged him for 11 runs over 10 innings. Atlanta placed him on the injured list with elbow inflammation during the first week of May. Matzek remained on the shelf for more than three months. Atlanta dealt him to the Giants as a salary offset in the Jorge Soler deadline acquisition.

San Francisco released Matzek rather than plug him into the MLB bullpen when he was healthy. Atlanta circled back to re-sign the 34-year-old to a minor league deal. He pitched four times with Triple-A Gwinnett and didn’t earn a call up. He qualified for free agency at season’s end.

Elbow issues have derailed Matzek in consecutive seasons. He underwent Tommy John surgery during Atlanta’s postseason run in 2022. That cost him the entire ’23 campaign. He’d had a strong three-year run for the Braves between 2020-22. Matzek combined for a 2.92 earned run average while striking out more than 27% of batters faced in 135 2/3 innings. His fastball had sat in the 94-96 MPH range during that time. The velocity ticked down ever so slightly in his return from surgery; he averaged 93.6 MPH on the heater last year.

There should be a decent opportunity for Matzek to break camp if he impresses in Spring Training. New York only has one lefty reliever on their 40-man roster: the recently re-signed Tim Hill. Aside from Matzek, they’re bringing two southpaws to camp as non-roster invitees. Brandon Leibrandt has seven MLB appearances, while Jayvien Sandridge has yet to reach the majors.

Poll: Who’s Winning The Offseason In The AL East?

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The calendar has flipped to February and the start of spring is just a matter of days away. While some notable free agents (including seven of MLBTR’s Top 50) remain unsigned, most clubs have already done the heavy lifting in terms of preparing their roster for the 2025 season. For the past week, we’ve been taking a look around the league at which clubs have had the strongest offseason to this point. The Mets, Cubs, Dodgers, and Tigers have decisively won the polls covering the National League’s three divisions and the AL Central, but things were much closer in the AL West where the Athletics narrowly beat out the Rangers. Today, we’ll turn our attention to the league’s final division: the AL East.

While the Yankees managed to make it all the way to the World Series before losing to Los Angeles in five games, 2024 was a less than stellar year for the rest of the division. The Blue Jays and Rays sold off pieces at the deadline after underperforming badly in the first half, while the Red Sox struggled down the stretch and ultimately missed the playoffs despite adding at the deadline. The Orioles, meanwhile, managed to make the postseason for the second year in a row but have still yet to win a playoff game between those two appearances after getting bounced by Detroit in two games during the AL Wild Card series. All five teams in this division are ostensibly attempting to compete again in 2025, however, and there’s been noteworthy moves all throughout the division this offseason.

Which team has done the most to set themselves up for success this winter? Teams are listed in order of their 2024 record.

New York Yankees

A discussion of what the reigning AL champions have added this winter can’t begin without addressing what they’ve lost. Juan Soto signed a record-shattering contract to move across town to the Mets, and in doing so removed a vital piece from the heart of New York’s lineup. Down one perennial MVP candidate, the Yankees focused this winter on fixing up their roster around the one that still remains in Aaron Judge. The club kicked off the offseason by calling the bluff of veteran ace Gerrit Cole when he opted out of his deal with the club only to agree to return on his current deal rather than test free agency when the Yankees declined to tack on an extra year and $36MM to his contract to force him to stay. They then paired another veteran ace with Cole at the top of the rotation by signing southpaw Max Fried away from Atlanta, which freed them up to trade Nestor Cortes to the Brewers as part of a package that landed them star closer Devin Williams. Trading for Fernando Cruz and reuniting with both Tim Hill and Jonathan Loaisiga in free agency further bolstered the club’s strong bullpen mix.

While the club’s pitching moves have been quite impressive, the same can’t necessarily be said for the lineup. The club swapped Cody Poteet to the Cubs to acquire Cody Bellinger in what amounted to a salary-dump move for Chicago, and the addition of Bellinger allowed the club to move Judge back to his natural position of right field. With that being said, however, their only other move of note on offense has been to sign Paul Goldschmidt coming off a career-worst season. Those additions are likely upgrades over Alex Verdugo and Anthony Rizzo, but losses of Soto and Gleyber Torres on offense have not been addressed. The Yankees have tried to trade Marcus Stroman to free up funds for further lineup additions, but that goal has not yet borne fruit.

Baltimore Orioles

The Orioles haven’t made the splashy addition many expected this winter after a difficult season that saw them get swept out of the playoffs for the second year in a row. Right-hander Corbin Burnes departed for Arizona and was replaced by veteran arms Charlie Morton and Tomoyuki Sugano rather than a true ace. Aside from those rotation additions, the club has also added Andrew Kittredge to its bullpen mix as a set-up man for returning closer Felix Bautista. Most of the focus has been on the lineup this winter, however, as they’ve added Tyler O’Neill to replace Anthony Santander, Gary Sanchez to replace James McCann, and then further bolstered the club’s outfield depth with deals for Ramon Laureano and Dylan Carlson. That leaves the club set to enter 2025 with a position player mix that might be even deeper than last year’s, but a pitching staff that carries even more question marks.

Boston Red Sox

The Red Sox set out to improve their rotation this winter and accomplished just that. They swung a trade for White Sox southpaw Garrett Crochet at the Winter Meetings, shipping out top prospects Kyle Teel and Braden Montgomery in a four-player package that brought back a lefty ace with two years of control remaining before free agency. They followed that addition up by replacing outgoing veteran right-hander Nick Pivetta with a high-upside roll of the dice on Walker Buehler, who struggled in 2024 coming off a return from Tommy John surgery but was among the best pitchers in the sport before going under the knife.

Outside of those moves, however, the Red Sox have been surprisingly quiet. They were involved in the sweepstakes for top free agents like Juan Soto and Max Fried but ultimately did not sign any of those impact players, or even players in the next tier down like Nathan Eovaldi and Teoscar Hernandez.  The additions of Aroldis Chapman and Justin Wilson should help to improve the bullpen, but the team’s long-acknowledged need for a right-handed bat who can help balance their lineup has gone unaddressed. That could change as they appear to be involved in the markets for both Alex Bregman and Nolan Arenado, but for now the offense has gone largely unaddressed.

Tampa Bay Rays

The Rays’ offseason moves have largely been overshadowed by the situation regarding Tropicana Field, which was badly damaged by Hurricane Milton and will not be usable for the 2025 season. That’s forced the Rays to temporarily relocate to Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, but the new location hasn’t stopped the club from being fairly active this winter. The club was long expected to deal from their starting pitching surplus this winter, and did so when they shipped Jeffrey Springs to the A’s alongside Jacob Lopez in a return highlighted by flamethrowing right-hander Joe Boyle. The club also traded Jose Siri to the Mets shortly before the non-tender deadline, leaving them with plenty of question marks in the outfield, but did manage to address other key areas of the roster in free agency.

After entering the winter with catcher as their biggest question mark, the club added the winter’s top free agent at the position in Danny Jansen. More recently, the Rays addressed their lackluster mix of players at shortstop by bringing Ha-Seong Kim into the fold on a sh0rt-term deal. The club’s lack of solid outfield options, which will likely force infielders like Christopher Morel, Richie Palacios and Jose Caballero onto the grass in 2025, leave a major question mark on the club’s roster, but the additions of Jansen and Kim along with the impending return for ace Shane McClanahan from injury leave the club into a relatively good place headed into 2025.

Toronto Blue Jays

Long considered to be the bridesmaid but never the bride when it comes to landing top talent in free agency, the Jays once again came up short in their pursuit of top free agents like Soto, Burnes, and Roki Sasaki. That didn’t stop them from upgrading the roster this winter, however, as they’ve been one of the more active teams around the league. Jeff Hoffman, Josh Walker, Nick Sandlin and Yimi Garcia were both brought in to shore up the club’s lackluster bullpen mix after the club non-tendered closer Jordan Romano, while future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer will be tasked with replacing Yusei Kikuchi in the club’s rotation as he enter his age-40 campaign.

In addition to those pitching moves, the Jays made two major additions to their lineup: they traded Spencer Horwitz to land Guardians second baseman Andres Gimenez alongside Sandlin during the Winter Meetings, providing them with a quality defensive option at the keystone and a viable long-term alternative to Bo Bichette at shortstop. That move was followed up by signing slugger Anthony Santander to a five-year deal, with Santander set to offer power in the lineup as well as some protection for Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in his final season before free agency. Guerrero’s future has been a key topic of Toronto’s offseason to this point, and while the sides have discussed an extension there’s been no signs of a conclusion in sight even with Guerrero’s self-imposed deadline just a week away.

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The AL East stands out among the other divisions around the league in part because all five teams have at least a couple of notable additions to their roster in a winter where a surprising number of clubs mostly stood pat. With that being said, however, most of those additions either left a hole in the roster unaddressed or fell short of what outside observers felt was needed to push the team to contention in 2025. All five teams made worthwhile moves this winter, but will it be enough for the Yankees to overcome the losses of Soto and Torres, or the Orioles to overcome the loss of Burnes? Will the Red Sox be able to to get by without adding to the lineup, and will the Rays be able to compete with questions all over the outfield? Are the Blue Jays’ aggressive additions enough to put them back into the playoffs for Guerrero’s walk year? With all five teams trying to win in 2025 despite holes and question marks, the AL East figures to be perhaps the most interesting of the league’s divisions this year, top-to-bottom.

Of the five AL East clubs, which one has had the strongest offseason so far? Have your say in the poll below:

Yankees Re-Sign Tim Hill

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TODAY: The move has been officially announced by the Yankees.

February 4: The Yankees are bringing left-hander Tim Hill back on a one-year, $2.85MM contract, reports ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Hill, a client of Paragon Sports International, will be paid $2.5MM in 2025 and has a $350K buyout on a $3MM club option for the 2026 season.

Hill, 34, opened the 2024 season with the White Sox but was released in June after being tagged for a 5.07 ERA in 23 innings with the South Siders. He turned his entire season around upon signing with the Yankees, for whom he posted a pristine 2.05 earned run average in 48 innings from mid-June through season’s end. He tossed another 8 1/3 innings during postseason play and held opponents to one run during that time.

The veteran Hill is a sidearming sinker specialist who relies far more on grounders than on missing bats. A whopping 68.2% of batted balls against Hill were grounders. Conversely, his paltry 10.7% strikeout rate was the second-lowest among all pitchers who tossed at least 40 innings in 2024. No pitcher allowed a higher contact percentage than Hill’s 88.7%, and none had a lower swinging-strike rate than Hill’s 5.7% mark. Even with the lack of missed bats, that huge ground-ball rate and a terrific 6.5% walk rate (5.2% with the Yankees) helped Hill to mitigate damage.

As one might expect from a player who so rarely misses bats, Hill yielded quite a few hits in 2024. Opponents batted .290 against him — an average of 10.3 hits per nine innings pitched. However, the overwhelming majority were singles. Hill faced 291 hitters and only yielded nine extra-base hits (seven doubles and two homers). He was more effective against lefties than righties, but neither hit for any power against him. Southpaw swingers hit .273/.321/.322, while righties hit .303/.352/.352. Hill’s penchant for allowing contact could theoretically get him into trouble, but with so many singles, so few walks and so many grounders, he saw eight double plays induced behind him; only 11 relievers in all of MLB generated more (five of whom also simply pitched more innings).

Prior to their agreement with Hill, the Yankees didn’t have a lefty projected to be in the bullpen. They didn’t even have a left-handed reliever on the 40-man roster. He’ll now join a relief corps headlined by trade acquisition Devin Williams but also featuring Luke Weaver, Ian Hamilton, Fernando Cruz (another trade pickup), Mark Leiter Jr. and JT Brubaker. Jonathan Loaisiga, on the mend from last year’s April UCL procedure, will join the group eventually but could open the season on the 60-day injured list.

The bullpen could expand further if and when the Yankees trade Marcus Stroman, who they’ve been shopping throughout the winter. The roster would have six starters if the season began today, but a trade of Stroman will thin out the rotation and perhaps free up some money to bring in another lefty and/or add the infielder the Yankees have sought this offseason.

Adding Hill’s guarantee to the books pushes the Yankees’ projected cash payroll to just over $285MM, per RosterResource. They’re already in the top tier of luxury penalization, which means Hill will come with a 110% tax against the $2.85MM AAV of his contract. That weighs in at a $3.135MM tax hit, bringing the total expenditure for re-signing Hill to $5.985MM. RosterResource now has the Yankees’ luxury ledger at a bit more than $305MM. Of course, trading Stroman could reduce that bill substantially, though there’s no feasible way that the Yankees would duck the tax entirely (or even scale their overages back to less than $40MM, which would be required to avoid the penalty that drops next year’s top draft pick by 10 spots).

Orioles Claim Roansy Contreras, Designate Daz Cameron

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The Orioles have claimed right-hander Roansy Contreras from the Yankees, according to announcements from both clubs. There was no previous indication that the Yanks had removed Contreras from their roster, so their 40-man count drops to 39. The Orioles designated outfielder Daz Cameron for assignment as the corresponding move. The O’s also announced that infielder Luis Vázquez, who was designated for assignment earlier this week, has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Norfolk. The Yankees also announced that right-hander Allan Winans, who was himself designated for assignment this week, has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre. Both Vázquez and Winans receive non-roster invites to big league camp with their respective clubs.

The players mentioned in today’s announcements have been involved in many transactions this winter, none more so than the 25-year-old Contreras. He finished the 2024 season with the Angels but has since gone to the Rangers, Reds, Orioles, Yankees and now the O’s again via waiver claims.

That is a reflection of both his intriguing numbers and also the fact that he’s out of options, making it hard for him to cling to a roster spot. Back in 2022, he seemed to be cementing himself as a big league starter, logging 95 innings with the Pirates with a 3.79 earned run average, 21.1% strikeout rate and 9.6% walk rate.

Things went downhill in 2023, as his ERA spiked to 6.59 and he got moved into more of a relief role. Last year, he got his ERA down to 4.35. His 18.8% strikeout rate and 10.4% walk rate were both subpar numbers, but it was a course correction nonetheless. The O’s are clearly intrigued, since this is the second time they’ve claimed him this winter.

Since this didn’t come in connection with another move for the Yankees, it’s possible they were trying to pass him through waivers since the 60-day injured list opens up next week when pitchers and catchers report to spring training. That will open up many roster spots around the league, making it harder for guys to go unclaimed. The gambit didn’t pay off in this case, but it’s possible the O’s will try the same thing in the coming days.

Cameron, 28, was acquired by the O’s from the A’s in a cash deal at the end of October. Like Contreras, he is also out of options. Since that time, the O’s have added Tyler O’Neill, Ramón Laureano and Dylan Carlson into their outfield mix. Those moves have likely bumped Cameron down the depth chart and into DFA limbo.

The O’s will now have a week to trade Cameron or pass him through waivers. He has a previous career outright, so he would have the right to elect free agency if he clears. He has a .201/.263/.330 batting line in 430 MLB plate appearances but has stolen 14 bases without being caught. He has less than two years of service time and can therefore be controlled for the next five seasons if anyone acquires him.

Vázquez, 25, was designated for assignment by the Cubs last month and flipped to the O’s for cash. Baltimore quickly bumped him off the roster and has now passed him through waivers. Since this is his first career outright and he has less than three years of service time, he’ll give the club some extra depth in a non-roster capacity. He has only 14 MLB plate appearances but solid numbers in the minors. He slashed .268/.356/.448 for a 109 wRC+ over the past two years while playing plenty of shortstop, second base and third base.

The Yankees just claimed Winans, 29, off waivers from Atlanta last month. By passing him through waivers unclaimed now, they get to keep him as non-roster depth. He doesn’t have a previous career outright nor three years of big league service time, meaning he doesn’t have the right to elect free agency. He has a 7.20 ERA in 40 big league innings thus far in his career.

Yankees Claim Owen White, Designate Allan Winans

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The Yankees have claimed righty Owen White off waivers from the Reds, per a team announcement. It’s their second waiver claim in the past 20 minutes, as New York also claimed infielder Braden Shewmake from the Royals. The Shewmake claim brought their 40-man roster to capacity, so the Yankees have designated righty Allan Winans (another waiver pickup) for assignment in order to open a roster spot for White.

Like Shewmake, White is a former top pick — No. 55 overall to the Rangers in 2018 — whose original club has moved on. He ranked among the game’s top-100 prospects head into the 2023 season but has seen his stock tumble in the years since. White posted a 4.22 ERA with a middling 17.2% strikeout rate and 11.9% walk rate in 108 2/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A in 2023. He spent most of the 2024 campaign back in Triple-A and was tagged for a 5.64 ERA in 99 frames with slightly improved strikeout and walk rates.

The 25-year-old White has pitched in the majors, but with exceeding brevity. He’s tossed a total of seven MLB frames and been clobbered for 13 runs in that time. His velocity ticked up a bit when the Rangers moved him to the bullpen last year, but Baseball America noted in this year’s scouting report on him that his stuff had dropped in general relative to the point at which he was drafted. For a pitcher whose pro debut was delayed for about three years due to Tommy John surgery and the canceled 2020 minor league season, a loss in stuff and step backward in development is unfortunate but not necessarily shocking.

Baseball America also notes that after a midseason grip change, White’s slider sharpened; the Yankees could well be betting on some in-season changes that are obscured by his broader struggles. White still has a minor league option remaining, so they can afford to take a gamble on the former top prospect and see if they can unlock some of those gains over a larger sample and convert White into a viable relief option.

Winans, 29, pitched in the majors with the Braves in both 2023 and 2024 but was hit hard. Opponents tagged him for a 7.20 ERA in 40 innings. The Yankees claimed him off waivers about two weeks ago.

Winans sits 90-91 with his four-seamer and 89-90 mph with his sinker, so he’s not the prototypical power arm that today’s front offices covet, but he does have a strong Triple-A track record and a minor league option remaining. In 256 innings of Triple-A work, he carries a 3.26 ERA, 21.8% strikeout rate and 6.9% walk rate. Between that performance and the remaining option, another club could look at him as a worthwhile depth addition. The Yankees will have five days to trade Winans, after which he’d have to be placed on outright waivers, which last for 48 hours.

Yankees Claim Braden Shewmake

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The Yankees announced Wednesday that they’ve claimed infielder Braden Shewmake off waivers from the Royals. He’ll bring their 40-man roster to capacity, meaning New York will now need to make a roster move once lefty Tim Hill’s deal is finalized. Kansas City designated Shewmake for assignment last week. They’d claimed him off waivers from the White Sox earlier in the season.

The 27-year-old Shewmake spent the 2024 season with the White Sox after being acquired in the trade that sent left-hander Aaron Bummer from Chicago to Atlanta. The former first-round pick has appeared in parts of two big league seasons but has posted a bleak .118/.127/.191 batting line in 71 plate appearances between the Braves and Sox. He hasn’t offered much more offense in the upper minors, where he’s a .240/.299/.395 hitter in 866 Triple-A plate appearances.

Shewmake clearly doesn’t hit much, but he’s regarded as a surehanded infielder with strong defensive tools at multiple positions. He’s spent the bulk of his career at shortstop but has experience at second base and third base as well. Statcast credits him with better-than-average sprint speed and arm strength, though he’s not plus in either regard.

The addition of Shewmake is a depth play for the Yankees and surely not intended to address the hole in their lineup at either second base or third base (depending on where Jazz Chisholm Jr. plays). Shewmake has a minor league option remaining and could provide depth at multiple spots around the diamond if he sticks on the 40-man roster into the season. However, with a move needed to open space for the aforementioned Hill, Shewmake could find himself designated for assignment once again, with the Yankees hoping to pass him through waivers and keep his glove in Triple-A as a non-roster depth piece.

Players Who Could Move To The 60-Day IL Once Spring Training Begins

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Most of the clubs in the league currently have a full 40-man roster, which means that just about every transaction requires a corresponding move these days. Some extra roster flexibility is on the way, however. The 60-day injured list goes away five days after the World Series but comes back when pitchers and catchers report to spring training.

Per R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports, most clubs have a report date of February 12th or 13th. The Cubs and Dodgers are a bit earlier than most, on the 9th and 11th, respectively. That’s due to the fact that those clubs are heading to Tokyo, with exhibition games in mid-March, followed by regular season games against each other on March 18th and 19th. All the other teams have Opening Day scheduled for March 27th.

It’s worth pointing out that the 60 days don’t start being counted until Opening Day. Although a team can transfer a player to the 60-day IL quite soon, they will likely only do so if they aren’t expecting the player back until end of May or later. A team also must have a full 40-man roster in order to move a player to the 60-day IL.

There are still plenty of free agents still out there, including big names like Alex Bregman and Pete Alonso, as well as Nick Pivetta, Andrew Heaney, David Robertson, Randal Grichuk, Kenley Jansen, Harrison Bader, Lance Lynn, Jose Quintana and many more. Perhaps the extra roster flexibility will spur some deals to come together in the next week or so. It could also increase the ability of some clubs to make waiver claims or small trades for players who have been designated for assignment.

Here are some players who are expected to miss some significant time and could find themselves transferred soon.

Angels: Robert Stephenson

Stephenson underwent a hybrid Tommy John surgery with internal brace in late April. Given the 14-plus months required to recovery from such a procedure, he’s not likely to be ready in the early parts of the 2025 season.

Astros: Cristian Javier, J.P. France, Bennett Sousa

Javier underwent Tommy John surgery in June and is targeting a return in the second half of 2025. France is recovering from shoulder surgery and hoping to return in July. Sousa’s timeline is less clear but he underwent surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome in April. Other possibilities include Luis Garcia and Lance McCullers Jr., who are expected to start the season on the IL but returning in April or May still seems possible.

Athletics: Luis Medina, Ken Waldichuk

Medina underwent Tommy John surgery in August and Waldichuk in May. Medina might miss the entire season while Waldichuk is likely to miss a few months at least.

Blue Jays: Angel Bastardo, Alek Manoah

The Jays grabbed Bastardo from the Red Sox in the Rule 5 draft in December, even though he had Tommy John surgery in June. Manoah also had Tommy John around that time and is hoping to be back by August.

Braves: Joe Jiménez

Jimenez had knee surgery in November with a timeline of eight to twelve months, so he might miss the entire season. Spencer Strider and Ronald Acuña Jr. are also possibilities, though those will be more borderline. Strider had internal brace surgery in April, so returning in May is somewhat possible. Acuña is recovering from a torn ACL last year and it’s possible he’ll miss the first month or so of the season. Given how important both of those players are, Atlanta probably won’t put them on the 60-day IL unless it’s 100% certain that they can’t come back in the first 60 days of the season.

Brewers: Robert Gasser

Gasser had Tommy John surgery in June and will be looking at a late 2025 return even in a best-case scenario.

Diamondbacks: Kyle Nelson

Nelson’s timeline is unclear, but he underwent surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome in May and missed the remainder of the 2024 season.

Dodgers: Gavin Stone, Brusdar Graterol, River Ryan, Kyle Hurt, Emmet Sheehan

Stone underwent shoulder surgery in October that will cause him to miss the entire year. Graterol also underwent shoulder surgery and isn’t expected back until the second half of 2025. Each of Ryan, Hurt and Sheehan required Tommy John surgery in 2024: Ryan in August, Hurt in July and Sheehan in May.

Guardians: Sam Hentges, David Fry, Shane Bieber, Trevor Stephan

Hentges required shoulder surgery in September, with an expected recovery timeline of 12 to 14 months. Fry underwent UCL surgery in November with a more fluid timeline. He won’t be able to throw at all in 2025 but could be cleared for designated hitter action six to eight months from that surgery. Bieber is perhaps a borderline case, as he underwent Tommy John surgery in April. Given his importance, the Guards may not transfer him to the 60-day IL until it’s assured that he won’t be back in the first 60 days of the season. Stephen underwent Tommy John surgery in March and perhaps has a chance to avoid the 60-day IL, depending on his progression.

Mariners: Matt Brash, Jackson Kowar

Brash underwent Tommy John surgery in May. Given the typical 14-month recovery timeline from that procedure, he would be looking at a midsummer return. However, it was reported in November that he’s ahead of schedule and could be back by the end of April. That’s an optimistic timeline but the Mariners will probably hold off moving him to the 60-day IL until the door is closed to an early return. Kowar underwent Tommy John in March, so an early return in 2025 is possible for him, depending on how his recovery is going.

Marlins: Braxton Garrett, Eury Pérez

Garrett just underwent UCL surgery last month and is going to miss the entire 2025 season. Pérez underwent Tommy John surgery in April of last year and will miss at least part of the beginning of the 2025 campaign.

Mets: Christian Scott

Scott required a Tommy John surgery and internal brace hybrid procedure in September and will likely miss the entire 2025 season.

Nationals: Josiah Gray, Mason Thompson

Gray required a Tommy John surgery and internal brace hybrid procedure in July, meaning he’ll miss most or perhaps all of the 2025 season. Thompson required Tommy John surgery in March, so he has a better chance to make an early-season return if his recovery is going well.

Orioles: Kyle Bradish, Tyler Wells

Bradish and Wells each required UCL surgery in June, so they’re both slated to miss the first half of the upcoming campaign.

Padres: Joe Musgrove

Musgrove had Tommy John surgery in October and will therefore miss the entire 2025 season. However, the Padres only have 36 guys on their 40-man roster at the moment, so they’ll need to fill those spots before moving Musgrove to the 60-day IL.

Pirates: Dauri Moreta

Moreta required UCL surgery in March, so an early-season return is possible if his rehab is going well, though he could end up on the 60-day if the club goes easy with his ramp-up or he suffers any kind of setback.

Rangers: Josh Sborz

Sborz underwent shoulder surgery in November and is expected to miss the first two to three months of the upcoming season.

Rays: Nate Lavender, Ha-Seong Kim

The Rays took Lavender from the Mets in the Rule 5 draft, even though he had Tommy John in May and will miss the start of the season. Kim’s status is more up in the air after he had shoulder surgery in October. Various reports have suggested he could return anywhere from April to July. The Rays made a sizable investment in Kim, their largest ever for a position player, so they probably won’t shelve him until they get more clarity on his status.

Red Sox: Patrick Sandoval, Garrett Whitlock, Chris Murphy

Sandoval had internal brace surgery in June of last year and should miss the first half of the season. Whitlock had the same surgery in May, so he could have a bit of a better chance to return in the first 60 days of the season. Murphy underwent a fully Tommy John surgery in April and will certainly miss the beginning of the upcoming season. Another possibility is Lucas Giolito, who had internal brace surgery in March, though he expects to be ready by Opening Day.

Reds: Julian Aguiar, Brandon Williamson

Aguiar underwent Tommy John surgery in October and Williamson in September, so both are likely slated to miss the entire 2025 season.

Tigers: Sawyer Gipson-Long

Gipson-Long underwent internal brace surgery in April. On top of that, he underwent left hip labral repair surgery in July, with the club hoping to address both issues at the same time. It seems likely that he’ll miss some of the early 2025 schedule, but his IL placement will depend on how he’s been progressing.

White Sox: Jesse Scholtens

Scholtens underwent Tommy John surgery in early March. Whether he goes on the 60-day IL or not will depend on how he’s progressed since then and when the White Sox expect him back.

Yankees: Jonathan Loáisiga

Loáisiga underwent internal brace surgery in April, so he could potentially be back on the mound early in the 2025 season. It was reported in December that the Yankees are expecting him to be in the bullpen by late April or early May, so he’ll only end up on the 60-day IL if he suffers a bit of a setback.

Yankees, Carlos Carrasco Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Yankees have agreed to a minor league contract with veteran righty Carlos Carrasco, reports Jack Curry of the YES Network. Presumably, he’ll be in camp as a non-roster invitee this month. Carrasco, who’s represented by ACES, would earn $1.5MM if he makes the roster and can push that salary to $2.5MM via incentives, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

Carrasco, 38 in March, spent the 2024 season with the Guardians after returning to Cleveland on a minor league pact last offseason. He was hit hard for a second straight season, following up on 2023’s 6.80 ERA (90 innings) with a 5.64 ERA in 103 2/3 frames. Carrasco’s 91.6 mph average four-seamer and 91.1 mph average sinker, per Statcast, were both career-low marks.

Carrasco, of course, was one of the game’s premier starters during his peak in Cleveland, finishing fourth in 2017 American League Cy Young voting. From 2014-18, he tossed 856 innings of 3.27 ERA ball with plus strikeout and walk rates. He ranked seventh among all pitchers in FanGraphs’ wins above replacement metric during that span and was sixth among all qualified pitchers in terms of the differential between his strikeout and walk rates (22.6 K-BB%).

At this stage of his career, Carrasco is no longer a borderline ace and is a pure depth addition for the Yankees. His last productive season came with the Mets in 2022, when he tossed 152 innings of 3.97 ERA ball with a strong 23.6% strikeout rate and 6.4% walk rate.

Carrasco has had an ERA of 5.64 or worse in three of the past four seasons, but he still shows good command and misses bats at a passable enough level to think he could produce better results. He’s been far too homer-prone, however, which doesn’t necessarily bode well for a fit in Yankee Stadium — though he’s actually been far more susceptible to long balls versus righties than versus left-handed opponents.

The Yankees’ rotation is already deep enough that the club has traded Nestor Cortes and is likely to move Marcus Stroman if general manager Brian Cashman can find a trade partner. Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, Carlos Rodon, Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt will take the top five spots in the roster. Stroman and his $18.5MM salary are on the trade block. Other depth options on the 40-man roster include JT Brubaker, waiver claim Allan Winans and prospects Will Warren, Clayton Beeter and Yoendrys Gomez.

Yankees Win Arbitration Hearing Over Mark Leiter Jr.

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The Yankees defeated reliever Mark Leiter Jr. in an arbitration hearing, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.  Leiter will earn $2.05MM for the 2025 season, rather than the $2.5MM salary he was looking to land.

New York picked Leiter up from the Cubs at the trade deadline, and the right-hander posted a 4.98 ERA over 21 2/3 innings in the pinstripes over the rest of the regular season.  Overall, Leiter finished the 2024 campaign with a 4.50 ERA in 58 combined innings with Chicago and New York, along with a very strong 33.6% strikeout rate and some of the best chase and whiff rates of any pitcher in baseball.

Beyond the big strikeout numbers and a 46.2% grounder rate, however, Leiter had a below-average 8.6% walk rate, and his homer rate spiked after the trade to the Bronx.  On the plus side, Leiter got on track for the Yankees during their playoff run, delivering a 1.69 ERA over 5 1/3 innings across six appearances in the ALCS and World Series.

Leiter turns 34 next month, but he is only in his second trip through the arbitration process due to the late-breaking nature of his MLB career.  The righty didn’t make his big league debut until age 26, and it wasn’t until his age-31 season with the Cubs that Leiter started to emerge as a solid bullpen arm.  Leiter has earned 43 holds over the last two seasons, but since arbitration panels generally favor saves as the primary counting stat when gauging reliever salaries, it perhaps isn’t surprising that this panel ruled in the Yankees’ favor.

MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz predicted a $2.1MM salary for Leiter in 2025, so the right-hander’s final salary clocks in just slightly below that projection.  The Yankees’ control over Leiter runs through the 2026 campaign, and today’s decision officially closes the book on all of the Bombers’ arbitration business for the offseason.

Yankees Checked In On Enrique Hernandez, Yoan Moncada

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As the Yankees continue to looking for infield help, the team has shown some degree of interest this offseason in Enrique Hernandez and Yoan Moncada, the New York Post’s Mark W. Sanchez writes.  Regarding Moncada, Sanchez writes that the club asked for Moncada’s medicals “early in the offseason,” but a source tells Sanchez “the Yankees have [since] not re-engaged” on the former White Sox third baseman.

This isn’t the first time that the Yankees have been linked to Hernandez, as New York was a finalist for the veteran utilityman’s services when he was a free agent last winter.  Hernandez instead re-signed with the Dodgers to a one-year, $4MM deal, and the decision paid off in the form of another championship ring.  The Yankees got a direct look at Hernandez during the postseason, when he hit .278/.316/.389 over 20 plate appearances during the Dodgers’ five-game triumph over the Bronx Bombers in the World Series.

There hasn’t been any public buzz about Hernandez’s free agent market this offseason, which could be due to the perception (as Sanchez notes) that a reunion with the Dodgers is inevitable.  Today, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said, “The door will never be closed on Kiké” at DodgerFest.

Los Angeles could be waiting until Spring Training opens and roster space can be created when players are shifted to the 60-day injured list, but until that happens, another team could theoretically be able to swoop in and make Hernandez a more attractive offer.

For instance, New York could offer Hernandez more playing time than he might find on the crowded L.A. roster.  The right-handed hitting Hernandez could complement Jazz Chisholm Jr. or Cody Bellinger (both left-handed bats) on the infield or in center field, or complement the switch-hitting Jasson Dominguez in left field.  Hernandez’s versatility gives the Yankees even more flexibility in figuring out Chisholm’s eventual position at either second base or third base, and in deciding how DJ LeMahieu, Oswaldo Cabrera, and Oswald Peraza all fit into the roster picture.

Hernandez’s offense has tended to ebb and flow over the course of his 11-year MLB career, balancing out at a .238/.308/.405 slash line and 93 wRC+ over 3896 career PA.  Come October, however, Hernandez has surged to hit .278/.353/.522 in 259 postseason PA with the Dodgers and Red Sox, earning the 33-year-old a reputation as a big-game player.  This kind of production from an unheralded spot on the roster could be just what the Yankees need to take that final step towards another title after falling short to Los Angeles this past season.

Moncada hasn’t played second base since the 2018 season, so he would more directly slot into the third base mix if he indeed ended up in New York.  Sanchez’s note about the Yankees’ seeming lack of follow-up about Moncada might indicate that the Bombers were simply doing a due-diligence ask and have since moved onto other targets.  The Mariners, Cubs, and Blue Jays are among the clubs who have also been linked to Moncada this offseason, as he begins a new chapter in his career after the White Sox declined their $25MM club option on the infielder last fall.

Chicago’s decision came as no surprise given how Moncada played in only 12 games in 2024 due to a left adductor strain, though that total could’ve been bumped up by a few games had the White Sox not sparingly used Moncada after he was activated from the 60-day injured list in mid-September.  It marked a tough end to an up-and-down eight-season run for Moncada on the South Side, as he hit .254/.332/.425 over 3122 PA in a White Sox uniform.  Much more was expected given Moncada’s past status as an elite prospect, and the five-year, $70MM extension he signed with the Sox prior to the 2020 season.

Now looking to rebuild his value after a few injury-marred seasons, Moncada might have to settle for a minor league contract given this increasingly late date in the offseason, or a low-cost one-year guarantee.  The amount of interest Moncada has received indicates that multiple teams believe he might have some change-of-scenery potential once removed from what became an increasingly dismal situation in Chicago.

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