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Rangers Sign Nick Ahmed To Minor League Deal

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The Rangers announced that they have signed veteran infielder Nick Ahmed to a minor league deal. The Excel Sports Management client will be in big league spring training as a non-roster invitee.

At this point, clubs know what to expect from Ahmed, who turns 35 years old in March. He’s not going to provide much at the plate but he’s one of the best defensive shortstops in the game. Last year, he did a tour of the National League West, suiting up for the Giants, Dodgers and Padres throughout the year. He got into 71 games and hit .229/.267/.295.

Most of his career was spent with another NL West club, as he was with the Diamondbacks from 2014 to 2023. His 80 Defensive Runs Saved in that stretch were second among big league shortstops, behind only Andrelton Simmons. Ahmed’s 110 Outs Above Average in that span was also second among all shortstops, with Francisco Lindor at the top in that category.

The offense has never been as impressive. He has a career .234/.287/.371 batting line, which translates to a 71 wRC+. His best stretch was from 2018 to 2020, as he hit .248/.307/.421 for an 89 wRC+ over those years. When combined with his excellent shortstop defense, FanGraphs credited him with 4.0 wins above replacement in the first of those three years, followed by 3.4 fWAR in 2019 and 1.5 fWAR in the shortened 2020 season.

His production at the plate has dipped since then, as he has hit .221/.271/.327 for a 62 wRC+ over the past four seasons. Still, his glovework has been enough to keep him employed in part-time roles over time. Though he’s mostly lined up at short, he has a bit of experience at second base as well.

The Rangers have Corey Seager as their everyday shortstop, though he has a checkered injury history. Over the past four seasons, he has only once played more than 123 games. Josh Smith got a lot of the shortstop playing time late last year when Seager was hurt but his defensive metrics aren’t strong at the position. Ezequiel Durán has played a bit of short but has spent far more time at other positions. Second baseman Marcus Semien is a workhorse but is now 34 years old. If the need for some middle infield help arises, Ahmed gives them an experienced glove-first option they could potentially call upon.

Poll: Who’s Winning The Offseason In The NL Central?

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The calendar has flipped to February and the start of Spring Training is just a matter of days away. While some notable free agents (including nine of MLBTR’s Top 50 MLB Free Agents for the 2024-25 offseason) remain unsigned, most clubs have already done the heavy lifting in terms of preparing their roster for the 2025 season. In the coming days, we’ll be taking a look around the league at which clubs have had the strongest offseason to this point. After the Mets decisively won yesterday’s poll on the AL East, the focus now shifts to the NL Central.

It was another down season for the Midwest’s NL teams, as they sent just one club to the postseason and were not represented in the NLDS for the third consecutive year. Three of the division’s teams haven’t made it to the postseason at all in a 162-game season this decade, and the pressure is on for those clubs to start winning again while the two that have found more recent success try to keep their windows open. Which team has done the most to set themselves up for success this winter? Teams are listed in order of their 2024 record.

Milwaukee Brewers

As is typical for Milwaukee, this offseason has seemingly been about balancing the club’s present against their future. The loss of star shortstop Willy Adames was an expected but nonetheless tough blow for the Brewers, and it spurred them to complete their lone major move of the offseason back in December. With a hole on the infield after losing Adames, Milwaukee traded longtime relief ace Devin Williams to the Yankees ahead of his final year of team control. In return, they added big league ready infielder Caleb Durbin as well as southpaw Nestor Cortes.

Cortes, also in his final year of team control, appears poised to join an impressive prospective playoff rotation in Milwaukee alongside Freddy Peralta and Brandon Woodruff. Durbin, meanwhile, will turn 25 later this month and has yet to make his big league debut but hit quite well both at Triple-A and in the Arizona Fall League. He could help solidify the club’s infield situation as soon as Opening Day. Outside of those additions, however, the Brewers have been extremely quiet: one-year pacts with depth arms Grant Wolfram and Elvin Rodriguez are the only two major league free agent signings they’ve made this winter.

St. Louis Cardinals

There isn’t much to say about the Cardinals’ offseason, as the club’s focus has been entirely consumed by their as-of-yet unsuccessful attempts to move on from veteran third baseman Nolan Arenado. That’s led the club to make zero big league free agent signings and trade for zero established MLB players, meaning the only roster changes of note to this point in the winter for St. Louis have been the losses of free agents like Paul Goldschmidt and Andrew Kittredge. Off the field, the biggest move of the Cardinals’ offseason to this point has been to announce the day the 2024 campaign ended that Chaim Bloom will take over for John Mozeliak as president of baseball operations following the 2025 season.

Chicago Cubs

It’s been a busy offseason for the Cubs. Most notably, they swung perhaps the biggest trade of the offseason when they acquired star outfielder Kyle Tucker from the Astros, though it cost them All-Star third baseman Isaac Paredes and young starter Hayden Wesneski from their big league roster in order to do so and they subsequently had to deal Cody Bellinger to the Yankees to make room for Tucker in the lineup. Paredes has not been replaced in free agency or via trade to this point, with that hole seemingly set to be addressed internally by top prospect Matt Shaw. A pair of solid bench moves round out the club’s activity on the positional side. Carson Kelly should help to improve things at catcher and the addition of Jon Berti could help make up for the loss of production on the bench created by the decision to non-tender Mike Tauchman.

The biggest reported goal of the Cubs’ offseason was to upgrade the pitching staff, but those additions have been far more modest as compared to Tucker. It’s not as flashy as the club’s reported interest in players like Max Fried, Jack Flaherty, and Tanner Scott may have suggested, but Matthew Boyd figures to be an upgrade over Kyle Hendricks in the rotation and Ryan Pressly should solidify things in the ninth inning after the club acquired him in a separate trade with Houston. Beyond those two more significant names, the club has added depth in the form of swing men Colin Rea and Cody Poteet as well as southpaw Caleb Thielbar.

Cincinnati Reds

Following a mixed bag of a 2024 season where Elly De La Cruz and Hunter Greene established themselves as star-caliber players but the rest of the roster largely struggled with injuries and/or ineffectiveness, the Reds have been quite busy in hopes of turning things around for 2025. They kicked off the winter by adding Terry Francona as their new manager, and traded Jonathan India and Joey Wiemer to land Brady Singer from the Royals not long afterwards. They also retained Nick Martinez (who accepted their Qualifying Offer) and brought back veteran lefty Wade Miley on a non-guaranteed deal to further deepen the rotation.

The only guaranteed free agent signing the club has made was signing non-tendered outfielder Austin Hays to a one-year deal, but Hays is joined by a number of trade acquisitions even beyond Singer. The Reds acquired Jose Trevino from the Yankees in order to pair with Tyler Stephenson behind the plate, and Gavin Lux was brought in to help replace India’s production in the lineup. Rounding out the club’s notable trade acquisitions this winter is southpaw Taylor Rogers, who comes over from the Giants to join Alexis Diaz and Emilio Pagan at the back of Cincinnati’s bullpen.

Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pirates’ biggest move of the offseason was its first one of significance, as the club traded right-hander Luis Ortiz to the Guardians alongside a pair of prospects in order to land infielder Spencer Horwitz, who figures to serve as the club’s everyday first baseman this year. In addition to adding Horwitz, the Pirates have retooled their bullpen following the departure of Aroldis Chapman in free agency by signing southpaws Tim Mayza and Caleb Ferguson while also working out minor trades for Chase Shugart and Brett de Geus. Reports have indicated that Ferguson will stretch out during Spring Training and could be a candidate to start, but the club has otherwise not added to a rotation that remains a strength even after losing Ortiz.

On the positional side of things, Horwitz is joined by the additions of Adam Frazier in free agency and Enmanuel Valdez via trade. Both Frazier and Valdez figure to help shore up second base for the club while adding some left-handed options to the club’s predominantly right-handed bench mix. Veteran and longtime franchise face Andrew McCutchen also re-upped with the Pirates on his third consecutive one-year deal as he plays out the twilight of his career as a veteran leader on a young Pirates team. For all the club’s additions this winter, however, right field remains a major question mark after the club non-tendered Bryan De La Cruz without replacing him to this point in the winter.

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The 2024-25 offseason has been one defined almost entirely by major trades for the NL Central’s five clubs, with four of the five clubs having worked out at least one major swap and the fifth still hard at work attempting to do the same. The Cubs, Pirates, and Reds have all supplemented those trades with notable but relatively modest free agent signings as they attempt to claw their way back into playoff contention, and Cincinnati also added a likely future Hall of Famer to the dugout in the manager’s chair to help guide their young ballclub. The Brewers and Cardinals have been quieter by comparison, with Milwaukee largely standing pat outside of the Williams trade while the Cardinals have been paralyzed by their efforts to trade Arenado but have opened up playing time for a number of notable young players like Alec Burleson and Ivan Herrera.

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

Orioles Designate Luis Vazquez For Assignment

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The Orioles announced Tuesday that they’ve designated infielder Luis Vazquez for assignment. His spot on the 40-man roster will go to newly signed outfielder Ramon Laureano, whose previously reported one-year deal is now official.

Vazquez’s stay on Baltimore’s 40-man roster will last less than a week. Baltimore picked him up from the Cubs, who’d also designated him for assignment, in a cash swap just last week. Emmanuel Rivera, who was designated to clear roster space for Vazquez, hasn’t even seen his own DFA resolved before Vazquez’s spot has been similarly vacated.

A 25-year-old shortstop who made his big league debut with the Cubs this past season, Vazquez has only 14 big league plate appearances and one hit under his belt. However, he slashed .263/.347/.432 in Triple-A last season, marking his second straight year with better-than-average production at the top minor league level. While he’d struggled in a smaller sample over parts of two prior Triple-A campaigns, Vazquez has popped 17 homers, walked at an 11.6% clip and fanned in a roughly average 22.5% of his plate appearances through 543 appearances there in the past two seasons.

Vazquez has long been regarded as a smooth defender at shortstop, one who’s capable of playing second base or third base as well. The recent bump in production in Triple-A has elevated his stock a bit, but not to the extent that either the Cubs or the Orioles are committed to carrying him on the 40-man roster to begin the season. Baseball America labeled him Chicago’s No. 16 prospect just last year. He profiles as a solid defensive utilityman at the very least, and his recent strides at the plate in Triple-A — coupled with a pair of remaining minor league option years — could garner a look from another club via a small trade or a waiver claim.

The Orioles will have five days to trade Vazquez. At that point, they’d need to place him on outright waivers, as waivers are a 48-hour process and there’s a one-week limit within which they have to resolve his DFA. If he passes through waivers unclaimed, Vazquez will head to Triple-A as non-roster depth and presumably be invited to big league camp when spring training opens later this month.

Orioles Sign Ramón Laureano

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The Orioles announced that they have signed outfielder Ramón Laureano to a one-year deal. It reportedly comes with a $4MM guarantee for the the VaynerSports client and there’s also a $6.5MM club option for 2026. Infielder Luis Vázquez has been designated for assignment as the corresponding move.

Laureano, now 30, once looked like a star in the making in Oakland. But since returning from a PED suspension, he’s settled in as more of a solid role player. He had a career batting line of .263/.335/.465 and a 119 wRC+ in August of 2021, when it was announced that he tested positive for Nandrolone and had been given an 80-game suspension.

Since returning from that absence, he has slashed .230/.300/.392 for a wRC+ of 96. That includes 98 games in the 2024 season, split between Cleveland and Atlanta. He started with the Guardians but hit just .143/.265/.229 through 31 games. By the end of May, he had been designated for assignment, released and then landed a minor league deal with Atlanta.

He turned his fortunes around with that latter club, who had seen Ronald Acuña Jr. go down with a season-ending ACL tear. They brought Laureano in for some extra depth then added him to the roster when Michael Harris II hit the injured list. Laureano got into 67 games and put up a strong line of .296/.327/.505, production that translated to a 129 wRC+.

Although that was an impressive turnaround, there was also reason to suspect it wasn’t sustainable. He had a .380 batting average on balls in play during his time with Atlanta, well above last year’s .291 league average. Presumably, Atlanta was leery of that batted ball luck. They could have retained Laureano for the 2025 season via arbitration, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting a $6.1MM salary. Instead, the club decided to non-tender him, sending him to the open market.

Even if Laureano’s offense regresses a bit closer to league average, he can still be a solid player. His sprint speed was in the 63rd percentile last year, according to Statcast, and he’s been able to swipe about ten bags per full season in his career. Reviews on his outfield defense are mixed. He has 21 Defensive Runs Saved in his career, including three last year, whereas Outs Above Average gave him -6 last year and has him at -14 for his career overall.

The O’s will also likely try to optimize his performance by limiting him to a platoon role. For his career, the righty-swinging Laureano has hit .274/.343/.460 against lefties and .236/.309/.418 against righties, leading to respective wRC+ numbers of 123 and 102. His split was even more extreme in 2024, as he had a .305/.343/.526 line and 139 wRC+ against southpaws, but a .236/.295/.393 line and 92 wRC+ otherwise.

The outfield mix in Baltimore leans left-handed, as does the lineup in general. Tyler O’Neill swings from the right side but Cedric Mullins, Colton Cowser and Heston Kjerstad are lefty-swinging outfielders. Infielders Gunnar Henderson, Ryan O’Hearn and Jackson Holliday also swing from the left side.

Laureano will likely slot into a part-time role for the O’s. He can occasionally spell those lefties to shield them from tough southpaws or just give them a day off. He can serve as a pinch runner or defensive replacement. He also gives them a bit of insurance for the oft-injured O’Neill, who has never played more than 138 games in a season and only topped 113 once.

Acquiring Laureano crowds the club’s bench mix. They have Gary Sánchez set to be the backup catcher and Ramón Urías backing up the infield. Jorge Mateo should have a spot if he’s recovered from last year’s elbow surgery by Opening Day. Laureano, Daz Cameron and Dylan Carlson are candidates for bench outfielder roles, though Carlson has options and could wind up playing regularly in Triple-A. Kjerstad could be down in Norfolk with him, if the regular outfield will feature O’Neill, Mullins and Cowser, with O’Hearn and Ryan Mountcastle in the first base/DH spots.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported that the O’s and Laureano had agreed to a one-year, $4MM deal. Jake Rill of MLB.com first reported the presence of a 2026 club option, with Jon Heyman of The New York Post reporting the $6.5MM value.

Yankees To Re-Sign Tim Hill

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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).

Angels Pursued Anthony Santander On Shorter-Term Deal

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The Angels showed interest in Anthony Santander on a potential three- or four-year deal, writes Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. It’s not clear precisely what they proposed, but it seems their reported interest in the outfielder was genuine enough to consider multi-year offers.

Santander ended up with the Blue Jays on a five-year pact. That was initially reported as a $92.5MM contract, though extreme deferrals dramatically cut the net present value. The MLB Players Association valued Santander’s deal with Toronto just below $68.6MM. He can opt out of that contract after three seasons, though the Jays could override that by preemptively exercising a 2030 club option.

It’s not known if Toronto was the only team willing to stretch to five years. Rosenthal reported last week that the Royals made a three-year offer that included an opt-out after the second season. That came with a $66MM guarantee on the surface, though it reportedly also included deferrals that would have dropped the NPV to some extent.

Assuming the Halos use Jorge Soler more or less as a full-time designated hitter, they’ve yet to do anything of note in the outfield. Late last season, they floated the idea of moving Mike Trout into a corner in an effort to keep him healthier. A free agent class led by Harrison Bader didn’t provide many options to step into center field. It has been similarly quiet on the trade front at the position. It looks like the Halos will stick with Trout in center for another season.

Taylor Ward was the subject of some trade speculation, but it seems he’ll return in left field. Santander would have been a major upgrade in right, where the Angels project to run it back with a Mickey Moniak/Jo Adell platoon. Neither one-time top prospect has been a consistent offensive threat in their major league careers. Angels right fielders hit .210/.287/.368 last season. Only the Royals got a lower on-base mark at the position, while their slugging percentage was fourth from the bottom.

At this stage of the offseason, the Angels are unlikely to find a significant outfield upgrade in free agency. There’d been some speculation that the Halos could make a push for Pete Alonso to play first base, allowing them to move Nolan Schanuel to the corner outfield. That’s theoretically still on the table as long as Alonso is unsigned, but it’d probably make for a very poor outfield defense. That’d also be true if the Angels signed Alonso as a designated hitter and put Soler back in right field.

If an outfield splash probably isn’t happening, the Santander pursuit suggests there could be money for a late-offseason move in another area. The Angels were the most active team within the opening weeks of the offseason. They acquired Soler, Kyle Hendricks, Travis d’Arnaud, Kevin Newman and Yusei Kikuchi before Thanksgiving. They haven’t made a single MLB free agent signing or trade of note since the Kikuchi pickup.

The Angels could still upgrade on the pitching staff. Rosenthal reported last week that the Halos were in contact with free agent relievers and could make multiple bullpen acquisitions. They could certainly accommodate someone like Nick Pivetta, Jose Quintana or Andrew Heaney in the rotation. RosterResource calculates their competitive balance tax number around $206MM, putting them about $35MM below next year’s luxury tax threshold.

Angels, Victor Gonzalez Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Angels agreed to a minor league contract with lefty reliever Victor González last month (h/t to Baseball America’s Matt Eddy). The southpaw had been a free agent since the Yankees released him in September.

González is looking to rebound after a tough year in the Bronx. The Yankees acquired him from the Dodgers over the 2023-24 offseason. González got into 27 games and tossed 23 1/3 innings. While his 3.86 earned run average wasn’t bad, that belied an unimpressive strikeout and walk profile. The southpaw walked a career-high 13.4% of batters faced while carrying a meager 11.4% strikeout rate. González had fanned at least 22% of opponents in all three seasons with the Dodgers.

Among pitchers with 20+ innings, González was one of three — alongside Nick Nastrini and Dakota Hudson — who had more walks than strikeouts. New York ran him through outright waivers in June. While his Triple-A strikeout (20.6%) and walk (8.8%) profile was improved in the minors, the Yanks never brought him back up. That could be in part due to a velocity dip. González averaged 93.3 MPH on his sinker last season; that pitch sat in the 94-95 MPH range during his time with the Dodgers.

Before last season, González had been a solid middle innings arm for L.A. skipper Dave Roberts. The Mexican-born southpaw turned in 89 1/3 innings of 3.22 ERA ball over parts of three seasons. He posted roughly average strikeout and walk numbers while getting a ton of ground-balls. The grounders carried over to the Bronx, but the precipitous drop in strikeouts and career-worst command pushed him off the roster.

The Halos have a few left-handers ticketed for Opening Day bullpen spots. Brock Burke, José Quijada and José Suárez are each out of options. They’ve all been inconsistent in recent years, but the Angels tendered all three (relatively small) arbitration contracts. The Angels also took left-hander Garrett McDaniels out of the Dodgers system in the Rule 5 draft. If they plan to secure his long-term contractual rights, they’d need to keep him in the majors all season. González is also out of options, so if the Angels call him up at any point, they’d need to keep him in the MLB bullpen or send him back into DFA limbo.

Twins To Sign Danny Coulombe

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9:49am: It’s a one-year major league deal that comes with a $3MM guarantee, reports Bobby Nightengale of the Minnesota Star-Tribune. Minnesota has a full 40-man roster and will need to make a corresponding move when the signing is finalized.

8:07am: The Twins have agreed to a deal with free agent left-hander Danny Coulombe, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The ALIGND Sports client’s contract is pending the completion of a physical. It’ll be the veteran reliever’s second stint in Minnesota.

Coulombe, 35, was with the Twins from 2020-22 and pitched quite well during that stretch. In 49 1/3 innings, he logged a 2.92 ERA while punching out 22% of opponents against a 9.3% walk rate. Those rate stats were both a bit worse than average, but Coulombe did a good job keeping the ball in the yard and avoiding hard contact during his original run in Minneapolis.

Despite that strong run and a big spring in 2023 (nine shutout innings, 13 strikeouts, four walks), the Twins somewhat surprisingly let Coulombe go to the Orioles. He’d been back in camp on a minor league contract, and rather than select him to the roster at the end of spring training, the Twins allowed Coulombe to use an upward mobility clause that granted him the ability to opt out of the contract if another club was willing to place him on the 40-man roster. Minnesota sent Coulombe to the O’s in exchange for cash, and the lefty gave Baltimore two excellent years in manager Brandon Hyde’s bullpen.

From 2023-24, Coulombe tossed 81 innings with a 2.56 earned run average. He showed greatly improved rate stats, fanning 28.4% of batters faced versus a tiny 5.4% walk rate. With the Orioles, Coulombe added a cutter, scaled back his usage of a four-seamer, scrapped his changeup and ramped up the usage of his sinker. It was a new-look pitch selection that’s helped him generate more whiffs and far more grounders. With a sinker sitting just under 92 mph, an 86 mph cutter and a 79 mph knuckle curve, Coulombe isn’t the prototypical power-armed reliever most clubs covet in today’s game, but the results in recent years speak for themselves.

Were it not for some elbow troubles last summer, there’s a good chance Coulombe might still be with Baltimore. The lefty underwent surgery in June to remove bone spurs from his left elbow — a procedure that shelved him until late September. He made it back to the mound and tossed 3 2/3 shutout innings with four strikeouts against two walks, adding a scoreless postseason appearance (two-thirds of an inning) for good measure. The Orioles, however, declined Coulombe’s $4MM club option and allowed him to become a free agent.

Coulombe will return to a bullpen that’s still sporting plenty of familiar faces for him, reuniting with Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, Cole Sands and Jorge Alcala — all of whom pitched in the 2022 Twins’ relief corps. The Duran/Jax combo is one of the best one-two punches of any bullpen in the game, and the 27-year-old Sands had a breakout showing of his own in 2024, giving the Twins an outstanding trio of power arms who not only miss bats but show plus command.

One glaring area of need in the ’pen, however, was a reliable lefty. Kody Funderburk and Brent Headrick were the only southpaw relief options on the Twins’ 40-man roster. Neither has established himself in the majors yet. Minor league pickup/non-roster invitee Anthony Misiewicz gave the Twins another option but, like the other in-house candidates, lacks a consistent track record. Coulombe gives manager Rocco Baldelli at least one immediate left-handed option.

Duran, Jax, Sands, Alcala, Coulombe and out-of-options righties Brock Stewart and Michael Tonkin all appear like locks for the bullpen. Rule 5 pick Eiberson Castellano could make the club with a good spring showing, but the Twins are a win-now club in spite of a quiet offseason that’s seen them lie dormant amid payroll concerns and a potential sale of the team. Carrying a Rule 5 pick is tougher for a postseason hopeful, and Minnesota could opt to give that final ’pen spot to veteran Justin Topa (who has minor league options remaining) or out-of-options righty Ronny Henriquez if Castellano struggles during Grapefruit League play.

The Opener: Brasier, Scherzer, MLBTR Chat

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With spring training just days away, and one free agent deal already in the books this morning, here are three things for MLBTR readers to keep an eye out for today:

1. Will Brasier be traded?

Veteran right-hander Ryan Brasier pitched quite well for the Dodgers last year when healthy, with a 3.54 ERA and 3.31 FIP in 28 innings of work. He was squeezed off the club’s roster due to the addition of Kirby Yates, however, and as such was designated for assignment last week. Brasier’s DFA doesn’t need to be resolved for another two days, but given his solid work out of the bullpen last year and affordable contract it would hardly be surprising if a trade was worked out. Brasier would have to be placed on waivers 48 hours before the end of his DFA window, however, so if he’s going to be traded it’ll very likely have to come together today. Will a deal get done?

2. Blue Jays 40-man move incoming:

Yesterday saw three signings get finalized: Ha-Seong Kim’s two-year deal with the Rays, Jorge Polanco’s one-year pact with the Mariners, and Tim Mayza’s one-year agreement with the Pirates. All three of those moves required a 40-man roster move, and those clubs made space for their new additions by designating Osleivis Basabe, Cade Marlowe, and Alika Williams for assignment, respectively. One other as-of-yet not finalized addition that’s been reported is Max Scherzer’s one-year contract with the Blue Jays.

Toronto’s 40-man roster is full, meaning the club would need to clear a spot in order to officially add Scherzer to the mix. Perhaps that would come in the form of a DFA like the aforementioned trio of corresponding moves did, or maybe the Jays will be able to work out a trade involving a 40-man roster player in the coming days. One other alternative at the club’s disposal would be to wait out the nine days remaining until Toronto’s pitchers and catchers are set to report for spring training, at which point the 60-day IL opens. The Blue Jays are among a number of teams with likely 60-day IL candidates, and they could theoretically take advantage of that status in order to avoid losing a player from their 40-man roster to accommodate Scherzer.

3. MLBTR Chat Today:

With spring training creeping ever closer, we’re nearing the point where the baseball offseason starts to give way to preseason excitement even as major free agents remain unsigned and team needs remain unfulfilled. Whether you have questions about what’s left for your team to do before Opening Day or a trade proposal in the back of your mind, MLBTR’s Steve Adams will be here to answer your questions during a live chat scheduled for 1pm CT. You can click here to ask a question in advance, join in live once the chat begins, or read the transcript once the chat is complete.

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

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