Mega Thread 2024-2025 MLB Hot Stove

[Dixie Flatline]

The Tampa Bay Rays announced that they have acquired RHP Mason Englert from the Detroit Tigers in exchange for minor league LHP Drew Sommers. The Rays put LHP Nate Lavender on the 60-day IL in order to add Englert to their 40-man roster.

Englert was taken by the Tigers in the 2022 Rule 5 draft from the Rangers and stuck with Detroit in the last two seasons, but after his Rule 5 restrictions expired at the end of the 2023 season, he was moved between the major league team and Triple-A. In the last two seasons, Englert pitched a total of 77 2/3 innings, with a 5.45 ERA, 16.5% strikeout rate and a 6.4% walk rate.

Englert has a couple of option years remaining.

Lavender was drafted by the Rays in the 2024 Rule 5 draft and underwent Tommy John surgery in May 2024. He is unlikely to return to pitching until the second half of the season at the earliest, and he will officially miss the first two months of the season by being placed on the IL.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

RHP Nick Pivetta is in agreement with the San Diego Padres on a four year contract, according to reports. The value of the contract is $55 million and contains multiple opt-outs. Pivetta receives a $3 million signing bonus, and a $1 million salary for the 2025 season. He is then paid $19 million in 2026, $14 million in 2027 and $18 million in 2028. Pivetta is able to opt out after the second and third seasons. The deal is not yet official as it is pending the successful completion of a physical.

At the start of the off-season, Pivetta received and declined a qualifying offer from the Boston Red Sox. Accordingly, by signing Pivetta, the Padres will need to forfeit a draft pick and the Red Sox will pick up a compensatory draft pick.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

The Detroit Tigers announced that they have signed RHP John Brebbia to a one year contract with a $2.75 million guarantee. He will be paid a salary of $2.25 million for the 2025 season and will receive $500,000 on a club option worth $4 million for 2026 if the Tigers decline the option.

Brebbia also will be paid up to $2 million per season in performance bonuses by the Tigers. He will receive an extra $250,000 each for 50, 55, 60 and 65 appearances and $250,000 at 40, 45, 50 and 55 games finished. Further, the value of the 2026 option climbs depending on his 2025 performance. It will increase by an additional $500,000 at 65 appearances, $1 million apiece at 45 and 50 games finished and by $2 million for 55 games finished. The maximum escalator value is capped at $4 million, so the appearance threshold would be nullified if Brebbia finishes 55 games and pushes the option value to $8 million based on that criteria.

Brebbia started the 2024 season with the White Sox, and put up a 4.50 ERA during his time on Southside, with a .235/.288/.389 slashline across 160 plate appearances. However, Brebbia had a number of meltdowns between the All-Star Break and the trade deadline that tanked his value as a trade chip for the rebuilding White Sox and he ended up being released by the White Sox in August 2024. He signed with Atlanta and pitched 6 2/3 innings, giving up two earned runs in the process.

Brebbia has also previously pitched for the Giants in his MLB career.

 

[largebus]

Bregman to Red Sox 3 yrs 120m, here we go.

Strange one, I assume he supplants Devers at 3B and Rafael goes to DH/SS?

 

[Dixie Flatline]

As per largebus above, the Boston Red Sox are in agreement with 3B Alex Bregman on a three year contract, worth $120 million, although there is an unspecified amount of deferred money in the contract. Bregman has opt-outs after the first and second years.

Bregman had a six year, $156 million offer on the table from early in the off-season from the Astros, and Bregman's agent, Scott Boras, said in January that he was not interested in taking a short-term deal as he looked at multiple six-year offers. However, it appears that the Red Sox's desire to sign him that put one of the biggest annual average value in front of Bregman tilted it in favour of the shorter term deal.

Bregman will reunite with Alex Cora, who was the bench coach of the Astros in 2017.

Bregman has previously signalled that he is prepared to play a position other than third base. It appears that the Red Sox will put Bregman at second base, thereby keeping Rafael Devers at third base (there was speculation earlier in the season that the Red Sox were looking at moving Devers to first base, but Devers made it clear through his agent that he was not interested in moving to a new position) and Casas at first base.

Red Sox, Alex Bregman agree to three-year, $120 million deal: Source

In joining the Red Sox, Bregman reunites with former Astros bench coach and current Boston manager, Alex Cora.

www.nytimes.com

 

[RPCB]

Sports contracts have gone through the roof, damn. $40M AAV for the average version of Alex Bregman is wild. He has been meh for about 4-5 years.

 

[largebus]

Sports contracts have gone through the roof, damn. $40M AAV for the average version of Alex Bregman is wild. He has been meh for about 4-5 years.

Hits mid 20 HRs, doesn't strike out much so he won't decline too much with age and won a gold glove this year. Compared to what some spuds in the NBA earn its pretty reasonable.
The problem is they move him to second base so he has to turn double plays now and they apparently have a great prospect at that position

 

[Dixie Flatline]

First base is traditionally where you hide your worst infielder and/or you put your left handed position player if they're not quick enough to play the outfield. Shortstop is the premium infield position, then third base needs to have good reflexes to grab the line drives that are pulled down the line (it's the "hot corner" for a reason). Second base is less demanding than third base. Yes, you have to turn the 4-6-3 double play, but Bregman would have experience turning the 5-6-3 double plays anyway as a third baseman.

I actually believe he played shortstop in college and was converted into a third baseman by the Astros, because they had Correa playing shortstop and Altuve playing second base on the team when he joined.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

The Los Angeles Dodgers officially re-signed LHP Clayton Kershaw overnight, but he told reporters that he expects to be placed on the 60-day IL to start the year, with a return date of late May. Kershaw announced in November 2024 that he would require surgery on his lower left leg, partly due to a bone spur on the big toe in his left foot, which put him on the IL in 2024. The surgeries would also repair a ruptured plantar plate and torn meniscus in his knee.

With Kershaw ruling himself out of the picture for the first two months of the season, the Dodgers are likely to use a six-man starting rotation featuring LHP Blake Snell, RHP Tyler Glasnow, RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto, RHP Roki Sasaki, RHP Dustin May and RHP Tony Gonsolin. Shohei Ohtani has resumed pitching in Spring Training, but is not likely to pitch until May 2025 at the earliest.

Once Kershaw and Ohtani are ready to pitch, the Dodgers will need to consider how they juggle their starting rotation as they would have eight starters available to pitch but only six spots in the rotation. Sasaki and Gonsolin are the only two pitchers who can be sent down to the minors via option, but it is unlikely that Sasaki would be optioned to the minors. Gonsolin is also only 20 days away from five years of MLB service time, at which point he would have the right to refuse being optioned.

Kershaw also is no longer reliable as a starter. He hasn't pitched over 132 innings since 2019, and only pitched 30 innings in 2024 after he needed time to recover from shoulder surgery in the 2023-2024 offseason and then suffered the foot issues that put him on the IL last year.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

Further information about Alex Bregman's contract with the Red Sox has come out. According to Buster Olney of ESPN, the deferred money in the contract reduces the net present value of the three year deal into the $90 million range, and the annual average value will be calculated at $31.7 million per year for CBT purposes. Bregman will receive a $5 million signing bonus, a $35 million salary in 2025, then $40 million salaries in the final two seasons (assuming Bregman does not exercise his opt out).

Bregman signing with the Red Sox and being pencilled in at second base is as a result of the Red Sox's deference to incumbent third baseman, Rafael Devers, who has made it clear he does not want to move to a new position. Bregman will play second base for the Red Sox, at least in 2025, which has ramifications for the Red Sox's best prospect, Kristian Campbell. He had been in line to be promoted to the majors to open the season after tearing through the minor leagues in 2024, but it seems likely that he'll start the 2025 season in Triple-A. However, while Campbell seems best suited for second base, he does have experience playing at shortstop and at all three outfield positions, so he will likely receive an opportunity to play in the majors at some point during the 2025 season, though not necessarily at second base.

It appears that the Red Sox wanted to juggle the boost that signing Bregman is expected to provide to their team with the longer term goals of fitting Campbell in the team as an every-day player. According to reports, the Red Sox weren't prepared to offer Bregman longer than three guaranteed years, but in return, Bregman now has the sixth highest annual average value (pre-deferral) in MLB history.

Bregman was offered (and declined) a qualifying offer from the Astros last off-season, meaning that the Red Sox will forfeit their second-round draft pick (54th overall) in the 2025 MLB draft, together with $500,000 from their international signing bonus pool in 2026. However, the Red Sox will receive a compensatory pick in return for the Padres signing RHP Nick Pivetta (who also declined a qualifying offer from the Red Sox).

The Astros paid the luxury tax last season, so their compensation for losing Bregman will be a pick after the fourth round.

Alex Speier (@alexspeier.bsky.social)

Small update/correction: The AAV is $31.7M, rather than $31.9M.

bsky.app

Breaking down the Alex Bregman contract: The Red Sox reached a deal that keeps both sides happy - The Boston Globe

The player opt-outs carry enormous value for Bregman, arguably tens of millions of dollars.

www.bostonglobe.com

 

[Dixie Flatline]

The St Louis Cardinals have been busy trying to trade 3B Nolan Arenado all off-season but they now appear to be resigned to Arenado being on their opening day roster. It appeared that the Red Sox was the last, best hope of the Cardinals being able to trade Arenado after he vetoed a trade to Houston earlier in the off-season (primarily on the basis that while he was open to the move to the Astros, he was not sure about the Astros' direction when they traded OF Kyle Tucker to the Cubs).

Jeff Jones (@jmjones.bsky.social)

“I think the mindset right now is he’s likely going to be a part of our club at this point,” John Mozeliak said of Nolan Arenado this afternoon. “I definitely feel like it’s a better chance than not” that he’s on the team of opening day.

bsky.app

 

[Dixie Flatline]

The Los Angeles Angels have signed RHP Shawn Anderson to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training. Anderson made six MLB appearances for the Rangers and Marlins, allowing 15 earned runs in 16 1/3 innings, for an ERA of 8.27, although his 4.70 FIP and 4.59 SIERA indicated that he was more unlucky than anything else.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

The Baltimore Orioles announced that OF Daz Cameron (son of Mike Cameron) whom they designated for assignment last week, has gone through waivers unclaimed and has accepted the outright assignment to the minor leagues. He will now be in Orioles Spring Training as a non-roster invitee. Cameron spent 2024 with the Oakland Athletics but was traded to Baltimore at the end of October in exchange for cash considerations. Cameron had the right to reject an outright assignment and go to free agency because he was previously outrighted by Baltimore in 2022-2023 off season when he was claimed off waivers from Detroit.

Cameron has not shown much production at the plate, hitting .201/.263/.330 in 430 plate appearances between the Tigers and Athletics, but he is also 14 from 14 on steal attempts.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

The Philadelphia Phillies have signed infielder Christian Arroyo to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training as a non-roster invitee. Arroyo was once ranked a top-100 prospect but has not been able to convert that potential into production with the Giants, Rays or Red Sox. He is a career .252/.299/.394 hitter in 992 plate appearances. He has spent most of his time at second base, but has experience at all four infield spots and in right field. He is rated highly at second base by Defensive Runs Saved.

Arroyo has not appeared in the majors since 2023, spending 2024 in the Brewers' organisation but never making it to the majors.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

The Cleveland Guardians are in agreement with RHP Jakob Junis on a one year, $4.5 million contract, pending a physical.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

The Los Angeles Dodgers are in agreement with RHP Luis Garcia on a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training.

Garcia signed with the Angels last off-season and pitched his way into a setup capacity for Angels manager Ron Washington. He managed a 3.71 ERA on 43 2/3 innings, with 22% strikeout rate, 7.7% walk rate and a 51.2% groundball rate. Garcia recorded four saves and 11 holds, while only blowing two opportunities.

Garcia was traded to the Red Sox in exchange for four players (including three players near the majors), and Garcia didn't work out for Boston in the second half of the season. After missing a couple of weeks with elbow inflammation, Garcia was hit for 15 earned runs across 15 1/3 innings, which blew out his season ERA to 4.88 in 59 innings.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

The Chicago White Sox are in agreement with DH/OF Joey Gallo on a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training. Gallo signed a $5 million contract with the Nationals last off-season but failed to show anything with the bat, hitting an awful .161/.277/.336 with 10 homeruns across 260 plate appearances. He struck out 39.2% of the time and walked at just 12.3% of the time.

Gallo has struggled after leaving Texas, hitting .165/.289/.384 in over 1,200 plate appearances with four different teams, while he hit .211/.336/.497 in parts of seven seasons with Texas. He won consecutive Gold Gloves in the outfield in 2020-2021, but his defence has taken a step back thanks to declining sprint speed, though he can still play right field. The Nationals mostly used Gallo at first base, putting up 500 innings at that position while only starting seven games in the outfield.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

The Washington Nationals are closing in on a deal with RHP Lucas Sims, though the details are not yet publicly made known. The Nationals have a full 40-man roster so would need to make a move in order to add Sims on a major league deal. Sims spent most of his career to date with the Reds, but was acquired by the Red Sox at the 2024 trade deadline, in exchange for prospect Ovis Portes. Sims struggled in his brief tenure with the Red Sox, posting a 6.43 ERA across 15 appearances while also missing three weeks of the season with a lat strain.

The Nationals are banking on Sims returning to the form he displayed with the Reds. Between 2019-2021, Sims pitched a combined 115 2/3 innings with a 4.05 ERA. He had a 35.2% strikeout rate, matched with a 10.1% walk rate, but also a 50.6% fly ball rate (significantly higher than the league average which sits between 35-40%). Since Sims played his home baseball at Great American Ballpark (one of the most hitter-friendly venues in the league), that was not great and Sims was probably punished for his fly ball tendency at a greater rate than his peripherals suggested, as he had a 3.69 FIP and a 3.15 SIERA over the same time frame.

Sims missed most of the 2022 season with a back injury that forced him to undergo surgery to repair a herniated disc, and as a result, he only made six appearances. He returned to have a healthy 2023, pitching 61 innings for a 3.10 ERA, but his strikeout rate dropped to 27.9%, and his walk rate climbed to 15.1%. He thrived on a low average on balls in play, putting up a .212 BABIP, which helped suppress his earned run average when compared to his peripherals (4.37 FIP and 4.58 SIERA).

Sims backed that up with a 3.57 ERA in 2024, but his strikeout rate fell further to 26%, though he did bring his walk rate down to 13%.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

The Boston Red Sox have announced that they signed OF Trayce Thompson to a minor league contract and he will be in their Spring Training camp. Thompson has 1,058 plate appearances in the majors, batting .212/.300/.411. He has previously played for the White Sox, Dodgers, Athletics, Cubs and Padres, and he spent the 2024 season in the minor leagues with the Cubs and Mets affiliates, without playing any major league games. Thompson turns 34 in March and has over 600 innings in all three outfield spots. He figures to be a platoon bat at best with Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu and Masataka Yoshida (though Yoshida's shortcomings in the outfield probably restrict him to a full-time designated hitter role).

 

[Dixie Flatline]

After the Rangers traded their incumbent first baseman, Nathaniel Lowe, earlier in the off-season, it appears that they are giving Joc Pederson an opportunity to take on the role as they are reportedly giving Pederson reps at first base during Spring Training. While he is expected to be primarily a designated hitter, Pederson could spend some time at first base during the season.

Joc Pederson sidelined at Texas Rangers camp with flu

Pederson was absent from camp on Monday with the flu, the second player this spring to deal with the virus. Chris Martin also had it after arriving in Arizona.

www.dallasnews.com

 

[Dixie Flatline]

The Rangers also announced that they have signed RHP Luke Jackson to a one-year, major league contract. The Rangers put RHP Josh Sborz on the 60-day IL as he continues to recover from shoulder surgery he underwent in November 2024.

Jackson returns to the franchise that drafted him back in the 2010 draft. He was traded to the Braves in 2016, and Jackson turned himself into a viable set-up man for the Braves, earning a championship in 2021. Jackson underwent Tommy John surgery in 2022, which cost him the last year of his deal with Atlanta. He signed a two-year free agent deal with the Giants before the 2023 season. After pitching well in the first year, he struggled in year 2 and was traded back to Atlanta by the Giants last trade deadline in a salary dump. Jackson pitched 18 innings for Atlanta in his return after the deadline, for a 4.50 ERA, with a 13% walk rate.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

The Chicago White Sox have successfully claimed RHP Owen White off waivers from the Yankees, according to both clubs. The White Sox put LHP Ky Bush on the 60-day IL to allow White to be added to their 40-man roster. Bush is expected to miss the entire 2025 season after Tommy John surgery.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

The Sacramento Athletics have announced that they have signed INF Luis Urias to a one-year, major league contract. In order to create space on the 40-man roster, the Athletics put RHP Luis Medina on the 60-day IL.

Urias spent the 2024 season with the Mariners, but struggled in a platoon set up with Josh Rojas. In 109 plate appearances at the majors, Urias hit .191/.303/.394, making it the second consecutive season he hit for a sub-.200 average, and represents a steep decline from the success he enjoyed with Milwaukee between 2021-2022, when he hit .244/.340/.426 with 39 homeruns in 1,042 plate appearances.

Urias will add some veteran depth for the Athletics at third base, shortstop and second base, though defensive metrics rate him as a below-average fielder at shortstop. He is average at second base and while DRS ranks him positively at third base, OOA ranks him negative at that position.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

It was generally accepted that when Alex Bregman signed with the Red Sox, he would shift off third base to play second base for Alex Cora, but Cora was non-committal over the weekend on how he would play his infield. Cora noted to reporters that Bregman is a "Gold Glove third baseman. He hasn't played second base in the big leagues. I do believe he can be a Gold Glove second baseman, too. There's other stuff that comes into play as far as roster construction and what's better for the team and what can be the best lineup".

According to reports at the weekend, Cora's hesitancy over publicly naming Bregman to any one position reflects the organisational uncertainty about how Bregman will fit in with the Red Sox defrence. According to those reports, the Red Sox are keen on seeing their top infield prospect Kristian Campbell get promoted to the major league roster in time for Opening Day. Campbell has experience at shortstop, but seems better suited for second base. Accordingly, Bregman could split his time between second and third base, while Campbell may be forced to play at left field with Jarren Duran going into centre field. When Bregman plays third base, Rafael Devers would likely be the designated hitter.

However, Devers has reportedly thrown a spanner in the works by reiterating through his interpreter to beat reporters at Red Sox spring training that he wants to play third base and that third base is his decision. For his part, Alex Cora indicated that the Red Sox have not made decisions on how to align the infield at this stage, but that whatever decision they make is going to be for the benefit of the team.

Asked if he would seek a trade if the Red Sox sought to move him away from third base, Devers indicated that he had not ruled that out but that it was not a focus for him.

Red Sox don’t know Alex Bregman’s position yet — and Kristian Campbell is why

The Red Sox haven't decided whether Alex Bregman will play second base or third base for them. The reason, according to sources, is a clear one.

www.masslive.com

Rafael Devers says he won’t give up third base, move to DH if Red Sox ask him

Rafael Devers made his position clear Monday in Fort Myers: He's not willing to move off third base or be the designated hitter to accommodate Alex Bregman if asked.

www.masslive.com

 

[Dixie Flatline]

RHP Frankie Montas is set to miss up to two months of baseball after he was diagnosed with a lat strain during Mets Spring Training earlier today. Montas will undergo a platelet-rich plasma injection to help accelerate recovery, but it appears likely that he will not be available to pitch in the first month of the season.