#mlb-transactions

#mlb-transactions

Kingery was on the roster for a month and put into eight games, mostly as a pinch runner, only getting four plate appearances. It seems Counsell and the Cubs preferred Nicky Lopez in that bench role.

Valdez hit .209/.294/.363 across 31 games before sustaining a season-ending dislocation of his left shoulder, which required surgery. He is healthy but no longer had much of a path to playing time on the Pittsburgh infield.

The Cubs first picked Cowles up from the Yankees as part of the return for Mark Leiter Jr. at the 2024 trade deadline. Cowles was DFA'd and claimed by the White last September, then the process flipped in January. The 26-year-old infielder has yet to appear in a big league game and has slashed just .235/.299/.368 over around a season's worth of plate appearances at Triple-A.

Kent isn't an especially hard thrower, sitting 93.1 mph with his four-seamer in 2025, but he missed plenty of bats in the upper minors thanks to the quality of his mid-80s slider and low-80s curveball.

And while Monday was a slow news day overall, it was fun to see JR Ritchie and Didier Fuentes named in the top 100 prospects at Fangraphs. While it is surprising that Cam Caminiti was not on the list, these three young arms appear to be the best of Atlanta's farm system currently. Their development will be a big story line this season.

Ben Rortvedt has had an interesting few months since winning the 2025 World Series with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was recently designated for assignment by the Dodgers for a second time since the end of last season, and he has once again been claimed. This time, Rortvedt heads to the New York Mets, giving him the opportunity to compete for their backup job with Austin Barnes.

The World Baseball Classic is starting up next month, and the Atlanta Braves will be well-represented. Ronald Acuña Jr., Ozzie Albies, Jurickson Profar, and Chadwick Tromp are participating. While Acuña Jr. will be suiting up for Venezuela, the remaining three Braves are on the Netherlands' roster and will be led by Andruw Jones. Team USA will have some Braves ties in the dugout, and a couple of former Braves will be suiting up for Colombia and Puerto Rico.

I'm gonna let the tail wag the dog for a minute and say that, because IKF cost the Red Sox real money to sign, and because the Red Sox were willing to give it up at this time, the odds they still believe they can trade for a Nico Hoerner or Matt Shaw (or Isaac Paredes, Ketel Marte, etc.), seem at least somewhat reduced.

The Miami Marlins acquired right-handed pitcher Bradley Blalock from the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday in exchange for minor league right-hander Jake Brooks. Blalock was designated for assignment by the Rockies last week to open a roster spot after Colorado finalized an $8 million, one-year contract with right-hander Michael Lorenzen. The addition of Blalock adds depth to Miami's pitching staff after the Marlins traded Edward Cabrera to Chicago and dealt Ryan Weathers to the New York Yankees earlier this month.

1919 - One day after working out a deal to sell Babe Ruth to the Yankees, Red Sox owner Harry Frazee says his team will deal any player except Harry Hooper. They will then deal Hooper to the White Sox following the 1920 season. 1967 - Red Sox pitcher Jim Lonborg undergoes surgery on his left knee, four days after a skiing accident. Lonborg will struggle to regain his form following the injury.

There was no action from the Atlanta Braves following Christmas Day, so there was plenty of time to analyze the boost that right-hander Joel Payamps could bring to the bullpen. Despite his off-putting 2025, 31-year-old Payamps could turn out to be one of the Braves' most underrated signings this offseason. Let's dig into his contract and what it means for the 'pen.

Last-minute shopping? The hot stove tends to slow down a bit around the holidays and Christmas is on Thursday next week. Will that spur teams and players to get some things done before the shops close? Already this morning, before this post could even go up, the Padres agreed to a deal with Sung Mun Song and the Phillies traded Matt Strahm to the Royals for Jonathan Bowlan.

As first reported by ESPN's Jesse Rogers, the Cubs have re-signed lefty reliever Caleb Thielbar. The southpaw pitched well over 58 innings across 67 appearances, posting a 2.64 ERA and striking out four times as many batters as he walked. Thielbar also did a very good job of keeping the ball in the park, surrendering only five home runs all season.

The Winter Meetings continue to roll on, with the Red Sox maybe meeting with Pete Alonso? Jon Heyman - widely considered to be something of a mouthpiece for Alonso's agent Scott Boras - wrote yesterday that Alonso would be in Orlando and meet with the Red Sox among other teams. But Sox beat reporter Sean McAdam threw a little cold water on that, writing that no meetings were confirmed yet.

Amaya joins the system after spending the 2025 season with the White Sox. He appeared in a career-high 36 games but only batted .106 with one extra-base hit (a double) in 73 trips to the plate. The 27-year-old spent the rest of the season with Triple-A Charlotte. He hit .250/.352/.420 with nine homers across 219 plate appearances. He posted decent batted ball metrics but struck out in 29% of his trips to the dish.

He saw big league action for four different teams (the Diamondbacks, Mets, Mariners, and Orioles) while compiling a 3.94 ERA over 32 innings. Beginning the season on a minor league deal with Arizona, Castillo was designated for assignment in May and then traded to the Mets, and he subsequently bounced around on a series of waiver claims. Castillo actually had three separate stints with the Mets, with the latest coming in early November when he was claimed off Baltimore's waiver wire.

The deadline for teams to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players is this afternoon at 4pm CT. Throughout the day, we'll surely see a handful of arb-eligible players agree to terms with their clubs to avoid a hearing. These so-called 'pre-tender deals' usually, although not always, involve players who were borderline non-tender candidates. Rather than run the risk of being cut loose, they can look to sign in the lead-up to the deadline.