MLB Player News

Jasson Domínguez went 0-for-3 today, as both played with Aaron Judge and Juan Soto resting. That won’t happen in the postseason, of course. We’re guessing the Yankees will favor Verdugo in the ALDS, in part because of Domínguez’s defensive issues. Still, we’ll have to wait and see. Verdugo ends the year at .233/.291/.356 in 621 plate appearances. A free agent this winter, he’d benefit as much as anyone in the league from having a strong October.

The 27-year-old hurler spent the 2024 campaign in the Tigers’ organization where he registered a 3.14 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and a 56/17 K/BB ratio across 51 2/3 innings in 43 appearances at Double-A Erie. He’ll function as extra bullpen depth for the Giants in the upper minors.

The 25-year-old was originally a first-round pick of the Yankees as a catcher back in 2018 and spent the past seven seasons in their minor league system. In 2024 he transitioned to second base full time and slashed .234/.350/.398 with 12 homers, 49 RBI, 29 stolen bases (in 32 attempts) and a 77/64 K/BB ratio across 433 plate appearances. He’ll add infield depth for the Brewers.

“I think we will have a spring training ABS test that will provide a meaningful opportunity for all major league players to see what the challenge system will look like,” baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said at the owners’ meeting on Wednesday. Triple-A stadiums used ABS in 2024 for the second straight season, but the league has suggested they will continue to look for ways to improve the technology before potentially introducing it during MLB games. “I would be interested in having it in ‘26,” Manfred said. If robot umpires were going to be introduced in MLB games, there would need to be an agreement reached with the Major League Baseball Umpires Association, whose collective bargaining agreement expires on December 1.

The 38-year-old is coming off back-to-back solid seasons and just won his first Gold Glove while slashing .238/.328/.420 with 23 homers and a 114 wRC+ in 594 plate appearances. Santana would provide a veteran presence that the Mariners are reportedly interested in, and he would pair nicely with Luke Raley at 1B/DH since Santana is a switch hitter and the Mariners struggled against lefties in 2024.

The Heroes have decided against bringing back De Jesus, even though the 27-year-old went 13-11 with a 3.68 ERA and a 178/44 K/BB in 171 1/3 innings in his lone season with the team. A former Red Sox prospect, De Jesus pitched briefly in the majors for the Marlins in 2023 before going to Korea.

Red Sox president of baseball operation Craig Breslow also said at the start of the offseason that the Red Sox would likely try to trade away some left-handed hitting this offseason, so Morosi’s report seems consistent with that. Even though Abreu received AL Rookie of the Year votes and just won his first Gold Glove, the Red Sox have plenty of outfield options and could see Abreu as the ticket to get a young starting pitcher onto their roster. Morosi specifically mentions the Mariners as a trade partner, and we know the Red Sox reached out to them last offseason about trading for one of their young starters. If the Red Sox were to land Juan Soto, trading Abreu would make even more sense. Still, even without Soto, the Red Sox also have Jarren Duran, Ceddane Rafaela, Roman Anthony, who is the top prospect in baseball, and Kristian Campbell, who is the 10th overall prospect in baseball, all competing for MLB at-bats in 2025.

Feinsand notes that Fried “may be the most sought-after arm” this offseason. That’s, in part, due to a career 3.07 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, and 863 strikeouts in 884 1/3 innings, but also because Fried is expected to command less on the open market than both Burnes and Snell. Given that the Red Sox need a left-handed starter and that Lucas Giolito and Max Fried were high school teammates, Feinsand suggests that Boston couldn’t be an intriguing destination for the 30-year-old. Other likely suitors are the Braves, Blue Jays, Dodgers, Giants, and Mets.

Bellinger exercised his player option following the 2024 season, which means he will be playing on a one-year, $27.5 million deal in 2025. The 29-year-old regressed following his resurgent 2023 season and finished this year hitting .266/.325/.426 with 18 home runs and nine steals in 130 games. Rosenthal also added that the team is expected to have some trouble trading Bellinger since the veteran can also opt in for another $27.5 million season in 2026, so he’s not really on a one-year deal. Given that he was slightly above league average in 2024, teams may be hesitant to pay that much money over two years if they don’t feel he can get back to his 2023 form.

The Red Sox’s interest had already been noted over the weekend, but now we know that Snell has already met with them. Boston seems dead set on adding a frontline starting pitcher this offseason, and they have no lefties in their rotation so Snell would make some sense. The Dodgers also seem intent on adding at least one big starting pitcher this offseason since their injury-plagued rotation caused them to rely on bullpen games in the postseason. Snell signed a two-year, $62 million deal with the Giants last offseason but opted out after a tremendous year, so he will likely be looking for a much longer contract this time around.

Hill looked good in his start on Wednesday night, throwing four scoreless innings against Team Japan, the number-one ranked team in the tournament. The 44-year-old allowed two runs in 3 2/3 innings out of the bullpen for the Red Sox in 2024 and will hope that another team gives him a chance to prove himself.