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American League Non-Tenders: 11/21/25

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Every American League team has officially announced their non-tender decisions. It was a quiet evening in terms of subtractions, with only the Rangers parting with any marquee players. All players who were non-tendered are free agents without going on waivers. A few teams dropped pre-arbitration players from the back of the 40-man roster. It’s possible they preferred not to expose them to waivers and are hopeful of re-signing them to non-roster deals.

Here’s a full list of today’s activity in the AL, while the National League moves are available here. All projected salaries are courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz.

  • The Angels announced they’ve non-tendered outfielder Gustavo Campero and catcher Sebastian Rivero. Campero is a depth outfielder who has hit .202/.272/.346 over the past two seasons. Rivero operated as the club’s third catcher for most of the season but spent the final few weeks on the active roster. Neither player had been eligible for arbitration. All their arb-eligible players were easy calls to retain.
  • The Astros technically made one non-tender, dropping infielder Ramón Urías after he was designated for assignment earlier in the week. He’d been projected at $4.4MM.
  • The Athletics officially non-tendered outfielder JJ Bleday, the club announced. He’d been designated for assignment on Tuesday, so this was inevitable unless they found a trade partner. Bleday had been projected at $2.2MM.
  • The only non-tenders for the Red Sox were first baseman Nathaniel Lowe and reliever Josh Winckowski, each of whom had been designated for assignment on Tuesday. Lowe was projected at $13.5MM, while Winckowski was at $800K.
  • The Guardians non-tendered outfielder Will Brennan and relievers Sam Hentges and Nic Enright. The latter had been designated for assignment on Tuesday. Hentges hasn’t pitched since undergoing shoulder surgery in September 2024. He underwent a right knee procedure a few months ago and will be delayed this offseason. Brennan only appeared in six MLB games this year and underwent Tommy John surgery while in the minors in June. He’d been projected at $900K.
  • The Mariners non-tendered reliever Gregory Santos, reports Francys Romero. He’d only been projected at $800K, narrowly above the MLB minimum, so the move was about dropping him from the 40-man roster. Seattle acquired the 26-year-old righty from the White Sox over the 2023-24 offseason. He has only made 16 MLB appearances with a 5.02 earned run average over the past two years because of lat and knee injuries. Seattle also non-tendered relievers Trent Thornton and Tayler Saucedo (the latter of whom was designated for assignment on Tuesday). Thornton had been projected at $2.5MM and is coming off a 4.68 ERA through 33 appearances. He suffered a season-ending Achilles tear in August.
  • The Orioles non-tendered swingman Albert Suárez, the team announced. Everyone else in their arbitration class was offered a contract, surprisingly including first baseman Ryan Mountcastle (as first reported by ESPN’s Jeff Passan). Suárez, 36, was a solid depth starter in 2024. He was limited to five MLB appearances this past season by a flexor strain but is not expected to require surgery.
  • The Rangers non-tendered each of Adolis García, Jonah Heim, Josh Sborz and Jacob Webb. MLBTR covered those moves in greater detail.
  • The Rays only non-tendered outfielders Christopher Morel and Jake Fraley, each of whom had been designated for assignment earlier in the week. Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times reported last night that the Rays were open to bringing back Fraley at a lower price than his $3.6MM arbitration projection.
  • The Royals non-tendered outfielder MJ Melendez and reliever Taylor Clarke, per a club announcement. Melendez, who’d been projected at $2.65MM, was an obvious decision. The former top prospect never developed as hoped and is a career .215/.297/.388 hitter over parts of four seasons. Clarke isn’t as big a name but comes as the more surprising cut. He’d been projected at just $1.9MM and is coming off a 3.25 ERA with a 21.4% strikeout rate over 55 1/3 innings out of the bullpen.
  • The Tigers are non-tendering utility player Andy Ibáñez, according to Romero. He’d been projected at $1.8MM. The righty-hitting Ibáñez had been a solid short-side platoon bat for Detroit between 2023-24. His production against southpaws dropped this year (.258/.311/.403), limiting his value. The Tigers optioned the 32-year-old to Triple-A in early June and kept him in the minors until shortly before the trade deadline. Detroit also dropped the six pitchers they’d designated for assignment earlier in the week: Tanner Rainey, Dugan Darnell, Tyler Mattison, Jason Foley, Jack Little and Sean Guenther.
  • The only Twins non-tender was outfielder DaShawn Keirsey Jr., who’d been designated for assignment this morning to make room for the Alex Jackson trade. Everyone in the arbitration class was brought back.
  • The White Sox non-tendered outfielder Mike Tauchman, as first reported by Bruce Levine of 670 The Score. The lefty hitter turned in a solid .263/.356/.400 line in 93 games this past season. Tauchman has gotten on base at plus rates in three straight years but was also non-tendered by the Cubs a year ago. The 34-year-old (35 next month) had been projected for a $3.4MM salary. The Sox also announced they’ve dropped lefty reliever Cam Booser and first baseman Tim Elko. Neither had been eligible for arbitration. The former posted a 5.52 ERA in 39 appearances after being acquired from the Red Sox last winter, while the latter hit .134 in his first 23 MLB games despite a 26-homer season in Triple-A.
  • The Yankees announced five non-tenders. Relievers Mark Leiter Jr., Scott Effross, Jake Cousins and Ian Hamilton were all cut loose, as was pre-arbitration righty Michael Arias. Leiter, who’d been projected at $3MM, never clicked in the Bronx after being acquired at the 2024 deadline. He posted a 4.89 ERA in 70 innings as a Yankee. Hamilton, Effross and Cousins were all projected just above the MLB minimum but are cut to clear roster space. Hamilton was on and off the active roster and posted a 4.28 ERA in 40 big league frames this year. Effross was limited to 11 appearances and has been plagued by various injuries for the past three and a half years, while Cousins is working back from Tommy John surgery. Arias has never pitched in the big leagues and could be brought back on a minor league deal.

The Blue Jays tendered contracts to all unsigned players on the 40-man roster.

Yankees Acquire Michael Arias

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The Yankees announced that they have acquired right-hander Michael Arias from the Cubs in exchange for cash considerations. The latter club had designated Arias for assignment earlier this week. The Yankees have multiple 40-man vacancies and don’t need to make a corresponding move.

Arias, 23, was originally an international signing of the Blue Jays. Signed as a shortstop, he was released and then signed by the Cubs, who moved him to the mound. Arias has shown some potential as a pitcher but lack of control has been the biggest drawback, which isn’t especially surprising for a guy who has only been in this role for a few years.

Overall, Arias has thrown 182 innings across multiple levels over the past four years, allowing 4.25 earned runs per nine. His 27.7% strikeout rate in that time is a solid number, but his 16.5% walk rate is quite high.

Despite the issues, the Cubs added him to their 40-man roster in November of 2023 to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. His control didn’t improve in 2024, as he tossed 60 1/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A with a 4.77 ERA, 25.2% strikeout rate and 16.8% walk rate. When the Cubs signed Colin Rea, they bumped Arias off the roster.

For the Yankees, they have a few roster spots open, so there’s little harm in taking a flier. Arias still has a couple of options and can be kept in the minors as they try to help him harness his stuff better. Per Eric Longenhagen and Travis Ice of FanGraphs, his arsenal includes “a mid-90s sinker, a potentially plus-plus changeup, and a righty-dowsing slider.”

Cubs Designate Michael Arias For Assignment

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The Cubs announced Monday that they’ve designated right-hander Michael Arias for assignment. His spot on the 40-man roster will go to fellow right-hander Colin Rea, whose previously reported one-year deal is now official.

Arias, 23, was selected to Chicago’s 40-man roster in the 2023-24 offseason in order to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. The infielder-turned-reliever spent the 2024 season in the upper minors, pitching to a combined 4.77 ERA in 60 innings between Double-A and Triple-A. Arias was more effective at the former than the latter, logging a 3.75 ERA in Double-A but a 5.35 mark in Triple-A.

Command was an issue for Arias at both levels, as has been the case since he moved to the mound. The hard-throwing righty sits mid-90s with his sinker but has walked a dismal 16.5% of opponents in his professional career — including 19.6% of his opponents in 36 1/3 Triple-A frames this past season.

Even with that notable flaw, Arias still landed 11th on FanGraphs’ recent ranking of the Cubs’ farm system. Eric Longenhagen and Travis Ice profiled the righty, touting a potential plus-plus changeup, a bat-missing slider and the ability to work multiple innings in relief. Arias’ location struggles — FanGraphs’ report notes that Arias “hasn’t even progressed to 40-grade control” yet — are prominent enough that the Cubs are comfortable trading him or exposing him to waivers.

While the Cubs may feel they don’t have room for him on their 40-man, Arias is a 23-year-old with a sinker up to 98 mph, a pair of average or better secondaries, and two minor league option years remaining. He seems like he’ll draw interest from another club, be it via a small trade or simply via waivers. The Cubs have five days to trade Arias. After that, he’ll need to be placed on waivers (a 48-hour process).

Cubs Add Three Players To 40-Man Roster

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The Cubs have selected left-hander Bailey Horn as well as right-handers Porter Hodge and Michael Arias to their 40-man roster, per Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times. Today is the deadline for adding players to protect them from being selected in the Rule 5 draft.

Horn, 26 in January, was a fifth round pick of the White Sox in 2020 but came to the Cubs in the 2021 Ryan Tepera trade. He has since climbed his way up the minor league ladder, generally running high strikeout rates but also high walk rates. He tossed 62 innings in 2023 between Double-A and Triple-A, posting an earned run average of 4.21. He punched out 28.7% of hitters but also gave out free passes at a 12.5% clip.

Hodge, 23 in February, was a 13th-round selection of the Cubs in 2019. He had been working as a starter, with a similar profile to Horn with plenty of strikeouts and walks, though he was moved to the bullpen midway through 2023. He had a 5.59 ERA through 12 starts in the middle of June but then a 4.45 ERA as a reliever the rest of the way. Working out of the bullpen, he struck out 29.3% of batters faced but still walked 14.3%.

Arias, who turns 22 tomorrow, originally signed with the Blue Jays as a shortstop but was released in 2020. He was signed by the Cubs, who converted him to a pitcher. Like the other two names on this list, he has struggled with control but has racked up his share of punchouts. In 2023, he made 22 starts between Single-A and High-A, posting an ERA of 4.09 in 81 1/3 innings. He struck out 31.3% of guys who came to the plate but gave 14.5% a free trip to first base.

Baseball America ranks Arias the #22 prospect in the Cubs’ system, has Hodge at #30, though Horn doesn’t crack the list. The three of them will give the Cubs some optionable depth to add to the pitching staff, though each of them have work to do in harnessing their respective stuff for better results.

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