MLB Player News

Judge’s home run was his first in the playoffs this year and 14th of his postseason career. He blasted a two-run shot to centerfield off Hunter Gaddis in the seventh inning. Judge only has three hits in six games in the playoffs so far and the Yankees are two wins away from going to the World Series. The obvious advice to Yankees opponents for the rest of the month is don’t let Judge get hot.

One of the least surprising moves of the offseason. Moncada has never lived up to his immense prospect hype and has played more than 104 games just once since 2019. However, he has a career .756 OPS and nine percent barrel rate, so somebody is likely going to take a gamble on him entering his age-30 season. Perhaps being in a part-time role will keep him healthier, but he’s likely to sign a short and inexpensive prove-it deal this offseason in the hopes of resurrecting his value across the league. He will receive a $5 million buyout as compensation for his option being declined.

Grichuk will receive a $500,000 buyout and will now enter free agency. The 33-year-old is coming off a season in which he hit .291/.348/.528 in 106 games with 12 home runs, 40 runs scored, and 46 RBI while lowering his strikeout rate to just 16.5 percent. A big portion of his success was because he only had 91 at-bats against right-handed pitching, so it’s likely the veteran will have to settle for a deal with a team that wants him to primarily face left-handed pitching.

Middleton has a $1 million buyout in his contract and will now be a free agent after missing all of the 2024 season while recovering from injury. He posted a 3.38 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, and 64/23 K/BB in 50 2/3 innings back in 2023 but suffered a forearm injury at the start of the 2024 season and underwent surgery in June. He plans to be fully healthy by spring training but will likely have to prove that to teams before anybody signs him to another contract.

He’ll receive a $1 buyout and will now enter free agency. Gibson will be 38 years old next season and is coming off a year in which he posted a 4.24 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, and 151/68 K/BB ratio in 169 2/3 innings. He is likely to find a short deal somewhere.

Lynn has a $1 million buyout and will now enter free agency coming off a season in which he posted a 3.84 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, and 109/44 K/BB ratio in 117 1/3 innings. He should be able to find a prove-it deal somewhere.

Venable will be the 44th manager in White Sox franchise history. Venable played nine seasons in MLB, splitting time between the Padres, Rangers, and Dodgers before retiring after the 2016 season. He then served as a special assistant to Cubs president Theo Epstein, as well as a minor league first-base coach from 2018-2020. He then worked as the Red Sox bench coach during the 2021 and ’22 seasons and was an associate manager for the Rangers for the past two years. The Princeton graduate was involved in managerial interviews last season but decided to go back to Texas and will now take over his own team with plenty of work to be done. “Will is widely recognized as one of the premium managerial candidates within the game, and we are very excited to bring him into our organization as our new manager,” said general manager Chris Getz.

The 25-year-old Kemp has four home runs and a .310/.488/.759 slash line through his first 10 games in the Arizona Fall Leagues. Kemp hit .285/.392/.489 at four minor league levels this year, and his power has been his carrying tool so far. Since Kemp went undrafted out of Point Loma Nazarene, his ascent close to the big leagues is quite a story.

The 26-year-old announced his retirement from baseball on his Twitter account Monday morning, saying, “After nine seasons in professional baseball, I’m announcing my decision to step away from the game today...In my nine professional seasons, I’ve encountered numerous injuries, which led me to search for new ways to overcome the pain. These challenges have taken a toll on me mentally and physically; over time, I’ve realized that my passion for playing the game has shifted. Baseball demands an ‘all-in’ approach, something I’ve brought to every season. However, I can no longer give it the total commitment it requires.” A one-time top prospect, Kirilloff struggled through injuries and finished his career hitting .248 (198-for-799) with 40 doubles, five triples, 27 home runs, 116 RBI, 62 walks, two stolen bases, 92 runs scored, and a .721 OPS in 249 career games across four seasons.

After missing the entire 2024 season while recovering from surgery, Painter has looked electric in his recent AFL starts, with a 0.90 ERA in four outings. Painter used all four pitches on Wednesday for the first time this fall. His four-seam fastball got up to 99 mph while sitting 97, and he flashed his low-80s curve, harder, upper-80s slider, and also debuted a power change-up in the low-90s. “That’s something I’ve been working on. The changeup has been the last to come and something we were looking forward to working on here. There’s an outside chance Painter could compete in the spring for a shot in the Phillies 2025 rotation.

With the World Series over, reporters were quick to ask Soto about his offseason plans, and the 26-year-old said, “I don’t know what’s the teams that are going to come after me... I don’t have any doors closed. I’m gonna be available for all 30 teams.” While Soto may not be closing any doors, there are certainly countless teams that, for some indefensible reason, aren’t going to offer him a contract near his value. That means there will likely be a bidding war among the big-budget teams in baseball for his services, namely the Yankees, Mets, Dodgers, Phillies, Cubs, and Blue Jays. Where he ends up will certainly be the story of the off-season.