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Orioles, Blue Jays Discussed Franchise-Record Contracts With Corbin Burnes

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Perhaps the most surprising deal of the offseason came together late last night when the Diamondbacks and right-hander Corbin Burnes reportedly reached an agreement on a six-year deal that guarantees Burnes $210MM. It’s a deal that Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports came together rapidly after Burnes’s camp expressed the right-hander’s desire to pitch in the desert. Prior to Burnes pivoting to Arizona, the three teams most frequently connected to the right-hander were the incumbent Orioles, their division rival Blue Jays, and the Diamondbacks’ own division rival Giants.

USA Today’s Bob Nightengale previously reported that the Jays and Giants both offered Burnes more than he ultimately received from the Diamondbacks, but subsequent reports have shed more light on the offers Burnes received prior to signing, particularly from Baltimore and Toronto. The Orioles, according to Danielle Allentuck of The Baltimore Banner, made a “competitive offer” for Burnes that did not ultimately reach the level of the deal he signed in Arizona. The exact specifics of the club’s offer to Burnes aren’t entirely clear, but it’s worth noting that Nightengale later reported that the Orioles and Blue Jays both discussed franchise-record contracts with Burnes while adding that one AL East club offered Burnes a seven-year, $250MM contract that did not come with an opt-out opportunity. The New York Post’s Jon Heyman, meanwhile, described the Blue Jays, Orioles, and one other team from the East divisions as the three biggest bidders for Burnes. That report tracks with Nightengale’s reporting but conflicts with that of Allentuck as Heyman appears to suggest that the Orioles outbid the Diamondbacks for Burnes’s services.

It’s unclear which AL East club made the $250MM offer Nightengale mentioned, and it’s worth noting that both the Yankees and Red Sox were regarded as serious contenders for Burnes’s services before pivoting away from the right-hander to land Max Fried and Garrett Crochet respectively. Both the Orioles and Blue Jays needn’t have gone anywhere near that $250MM level to offer Burnes the largest contract in franchise history; Toronto’s current record for guaranteed money is the six-year, $150MM contract they gave to outfielder George Springer, while the Orioles’ current record is held by former first baseman Chris Davis and his seven-year, $161MM deal. Those relatively low benchmarks make offering Burnes a franchise-record guarantee a somewhat obvious step for either club to take if at all serious about pursuing the right-hander, as he was wildly expected to land a deal in the $200MM range even from the outset of the offseason before the winter’s hot market for starting pitching came into focus.

Regardless of how competitive the offers Burnes received from Baltimore and Toronto ultimately were, both clubs will now have to turn their attention to other options as they look to fortify their rotations. The Blue Jays’ top priority is surely attempting to hammer out an extension with star first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. that will keep him in town following the 2025 season, when he’s currently scheduled to hit free agency. Aside from that, however, the club has expressed a desire to both bolster their starting rotation while also bringing in a solid hitter who can help protect Guerrero in the lineup. On the rotation front, the club has reportedly shown interest in right-hander Nick Pivetta, but another possibility for the club could be focusing on adding a bat like Anthony Santander or Jurickson Profar and then focusing on a lower-level rotation signing like Michael Lorenzen or Spencer Turnbull.

As for the Orioles, the club already landed Tyler O’Neill and Gary Sanchez for its lineup earlier this winter and figures to be focused squarely on replacing Burnes at the front of its rotation going forward. A reunion with Jack Flaherty, who struggled with the club down the stretch in 2023 but looked much better with the Tigers and Dodgers this past season, has been floated as a possible back-up plan in the past. It’s also not difficult to imagine the club opting to explore the trade market, as they did when they first landed Burnes last winter. Padres right-hander Dylan Cease is available as a potential rental ace who mirrors last year’s acquisition of Burnes to a T, but it’s possible the Orioles would prefer to land a more controllable piece such as Mariners right-hander Luis Castillo, who they’ve reportedly joined a number of teams in inquiring after this winter.

Diamondbacks To Sign Corbin Burnes

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The Diamondbacks are in agreement with free agent right-hander Corbin Burnes on a six-year deal worth $210MM, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The Boras Corporation client will have the opportunity to opt out following the 2026 campaign.

The news is a shocking turn of events, as Burnes had garnered plenty of interest in free agency but had not been connected to Arizona at any point in the offseason. While some rumored suitors for the right-hander’s services such as the Yankees and Red Sox turned to alternative options for the front of their rotations by signing Max Fried and trading for Garrett Crochet respectively, a number of known interested parties remained in the mix. That included not only the incumbent Orioles but also the big-market Giants and Blue Jays, both of whom USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports offered Burnes a higher guarantee.

However, Burnes lives in Scottsdale, and playing close to home seems to have inspired the right-hander’s decision. According to Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic, Burnes was the one who approached the Diamondbacks “expressing a desire to pitch in Arizona.” John Gambadoro of 98.7FM Arizona Sports radio (multiple links to X) reports that the deal came together quickly, as talks between Burnes’ camp and the Snakes only started within the last three or four days. Diamondbacks chairman Ken Kendrick viewed signing Burnes as “too good of an opportunity to pass up,” as a source told Piecoro, and thus Kendrick okayed the biggest contract in franchise history.

Burnes will get a $10MM signing bonus up front, and he’ll earn $30MM in each of the 2025 and 2026 seasons, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports. That means Burnes will be leaving $140MM on the table if he chooses to exercise his opt-out clause and walk away from the remaining four years of his contract. Gambadoro writes that the contract contains “a significant amount of” deferred money, and a full no-trade clause covering just the 2025-26 seasons. If Burnes doesn’t opt out, Nightengale notes that Burnes’ no-trade protection is then limited to 14 teams over the final four seasons of the deal. Piecoro, meanwhile, goes into further detail regarding the deferred money. Per Piecoro, Burnes’s contract includes “a little north” of $60MM in deferred money, or between $10MM and $11MM per year deferred. Should Burnes decide to opt out following the 2026 campaign, the more than $20MM in deferred money accrued during the first two years of the deal would then need to be paid out within the following year.

Earlier this offseason, Blake Snell landed a $182MM guarantee from the Dodgers ahead of his age-32 season, and a look at MLBTR’s Contract Tracker reveals that Zack Greinke, Max Scherzer, and Jacob deGrom have all signed free agent contracts that guaranteed nine figures ahead of their age-32 campaigns or older. Burnes’ deal falls short of his previously-reported goal of matching the $245MM guarantee the Nationals offered to right-hander Stephen Strasburg during the 2019-20 offseason.

By total guarantee, Burnes’ contract lands close to the seven-year, $200MM prediction that MLBTR made at the start of the offseason as part of our annual Top 50 MLB Free Agents list, where Burnes ranked second in the class behind only Juan Soto. A closer look at the deal reveals that Burnes followed in the footsteps of virtually every other pitcher this winter, however, and landed a deal that exceeds expectations. The $35MM average annual value of the deal dwarfs the $28.57MM AAV predicted by MLBTR and even matches Strasburg, while the opt-out opportunity provides its own value in the form of flexibility.

For the Diamondbacks, it’s a massive financial outlay that beats out Greinke’s aforementioned six-year, $206.5MM deal for the largest guarantee in franchise history. Setting a club record for total guarantee in free agency would be noteworthy for any club, but it’s especially surprising coming from an Arizona team that previously indicated that they planned to run a payroll for 2025 that more or less matched their 2024 figure. As noted by RosterResource, Arizona spent just $173MM on payroll in 2024 and after signing Burnes are projected for a $194MM payroll in 2025. That hike of more than $20MM brings payroll to a completely unprecedented level for the franchise after setting a record for payroll just last year. It’s hardly a secret that the club is trying to move on from left-hander Jordan Montgomery on the trade market this winter, but even if the club manages to shed the majority of his salary they’ll have still put themselves into uncharted territory financially by signing Burnes.

That’s not to say the risk is a poor one to take, of course. Burnes established himself as among the league’s very best starters with Milwaukee during the shortened 2020 campaign, where he broke out to finish sixth in NL Cy Young award voting. He followed that performance up by going out and winning the award the following year, and the four-time All-Star has been on the shortlist for the game’s top rotation arms ever since. Over the past five seasons, Burnes ranks fifth among qualified MLB starters in innings pitched, second in fWAR, fourth in ERA, sixth in FIP, and third in strikeouts. Of course, much of that is due to a dominant 2021 season that saw Burnes lead the sport in ERA (2.43), FIP (1.69), and strikeout rate (35.6%).

Some red flags have emerged in the right-hander’s profile since then, as he’s started to go deeper into games at the expense of rate-basis dominance. His fastball velocity isn’t quite at the level it was during his Cy Young-winning campaign, and his strikeout rate has declined in each of the past five seasons until it ultimately fell to a roughly league average 23.1% this year. On the other hand, that relatively pedestrian figure started to tick back up towards the end of the season, when he struck out 27.7% of opponents faced in September. While he’s not quite matched the dominance of his otherworldly 2021 campaign in the years since, his 3.08 ERA and 3.49 FIP in 590 innings over the last three seasons ultimately still cast him as a starter who is clearly capable of fronting a playoff-caliber rotation.

He’ll be tasked with doing exactly that in Arizona this year, as the Diamondbacks appear to be all-in after narrowly missing the playoffs in 2024 despite winning more games than the 84-win 2023 club that managed to secure the NL pennant. Burnes will pair nicely with longtime club ace Zac Gallen at the front of the rotation, with veterans Merrill Kelly and Eduardo Rodríguez bringing up the middle. Brandon Pfaadt and Ryne Nelson represent intriguing options at the back of the club’s rotation, as will Montgomery if he’s not traded before the start of the season. Overall, the club’s rotation mix is among the most robust in the league at the moment on paper and should help to support an offense that lost both Joc Pederson and Christian Walker to free agency this winter. The front office swung a trade to land first baseman Josh Naylor in hopes of helping to plug that hole, but the club nonetheless seems likely to lean heavily on its internal youngsters like Corbin Carroll, Geraldo Perdomo, and top prospect Jordan Lawlar at the plate in 2025.

It’s unclear what’s in store for the Diamondbacks going forward this winter given their unprecedented current payroll commitments. The club has long been known to be pining after help at the back of its bullpen this winter, with a trade for Ryan Helsley or signing Kirby Yates among the potential options the club has reportedly considered. Another hitter would also make sense for the club after losing both Walker and Pederson to free agency, preferably a right-handed bat to complement a heavily left-handed lineup. With that being said, it’s entirely possible that the club won’t have room to make additional moves of significance without first shedding salary in the form of Montgomery or another potential trade candidate.

Because Burnes turned down the Orioles’ qualifying offer, Baltimore will receive a compensatory pick after the first round of the 2025 draft. Gaining what currently stands as the 30th overall selection isn’t a bad consolation prize for the Orioles, but since they had designs on retaining Burnes themselves, the O’s are still on the lookout to add more frontline pitching to their rotation.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

D-backs Among Teams With Interest In Kirby Yates

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The D-backs have been in the market for a high-leverage reliever throughout the offseason, and they’re among the clubs with interest in right-hander Kirby Yates, per Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. The Snakes have checked out several options on the trade market but balked at the asking price for Devin Williams — since traded to the Yankees — and their interest in Cardinals stopper Ryan Helsley might be moot if St. Louis ultimately opts to hold him.

Arizona GM Mike Hazen has left no doubt about his team’s desire to add a closing option this offseason. “I still feel like a back-end bullpen guy to help out with [Justin Martinez] and with [A.J. Puk] and those guys, I still see that,” Hazen said in a radio appearance back in early November. “I thought when [Paul Sewald] was closing, we had the best version of who we were, frankly. … But, we know [Martinez and Puk] can close, too, so we’ll see.

Yates, 38 in March, is fresh off a dominant rebound campaign with the Rangers, for whom he saved 33 games while pitching to a 1.17 ERA over the life of 61 2/3 innings. Yates earned his second career All-Star nod, fanned 35.9% of the opponents he faced, and issued walks at a 9.6% clip (higher than average but generally offset by the gaudy strikeout rate).

The 2024 season was Yates’ second consecutive year with 60-plus innings pitched, but injuries have hindered the righty at various points in his career. He threw only 11 1/3 big league innings from 2020-22; he was limited to six appearances in 2020 thanks to an elbow injury — one that wound up requiring Tommy John surgery a year later in 2021 (his second TJS operation). That procedure wiped out his entire 2021 season and the majority of his 2022 campaign.

When healthy, Yates has been a lights-out late-inning option in recent years. He’s the epitome of a late bloomer, as he didn’t truly solidify himself as a quality big league reliever until his age-30 season and didn’t break out in full until his age-31 campaign with the Padres, in 2018. Since that breakout, Yates boasts a scintillating 2.21 ERA with 93 saves, 30 holds, a 35.5% strikeout rate and a 10% walk rate.

Yates would (clearly) fit the Diamondbacks’ desire for a bona fide stopper at the end of the bullpen. The question is whether he’ll fit into the budget. After last year’s brilliant showing, he’s in position to command an eight-figure salary, perhaps even over a multi-year deal if a team isn’t scared off by offering two years to a 38-year-old who’s twice required UCL surgery.

Hazen said in the aforementioned radio appearance that he expected payroll to be in the general vicinity of 2025’s $173MM mark. RosterResource currently projects a $160MM payroll for the Diamondbacks. Yates could command the bulk or perhaps even the entirety of the remaining budget, though it’s always possible that other trades will impact the payroll. The D-backs have received trade interest in their young outfielders and in their starting rotation. The club surely still hopes to shed at least a portion of the $22.5MM owed to Jordan Montgomery.

A multi-year deal for Yates would be nearly unprecedented for a reliever this old. As shown in MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, the only free agent relievers in the past decade to sign multi-year deals beginning in their age-38 season are Jason Grilli and Darren O’Day, both of whom signed for a total of $8MM or less. The only real comp for a pitcher of this age commanding a multi-year deal at a premium rate is Daniel Bard’s two-year, $19MM extension with the Rockies back in July 2022 — a deal that obviously did not pan out.

Diamondbacks Acquire Josh Naylor

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The Diamondbacks announced they’ve acquired Josh Naylor from the Guardians for right-hander Slade Cecconi and a Competitive Balance Round B draft pick.

An All-Star for the first time in 2024, Naylor hit a solid .243/.320/.456 (118 wRC+) with a career-high 31 homers in 152 games for the Guardians this past year. That continues a three-year run of solid production from Naylor in Cleveland, as he’s posted an even better .267/.330/.465 (121 wRC+) slash line since becoming a regular fixture of the Guardians’ lineup in 2022. In addition to that solid 20-to-30 homer power Naylor has displayed, he’s posted impressive contact numbers with a strikeout rate of just 15.6% across the past three seasons. He’s paired that low strikeout rate with an improving walk rate that reached 9.2% in 2024. In Arizona, the 27-year-old Naylor joins an offense that not only lost Christian Walker at first base when he landed in Houston on a three-year deal earlier this week but also figures to provide the left-handed pop the club lost when DH Joc Pederson elected free agency last month.

He’s a solid fit for that role, though with free agency just one season away at an arbitration salary that MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects to land at $12MM, he lacks the surplus value more attractive trade targets typically offer. That increasing price tag in arbitration combined with the presence of youngster Kyle Manzardo as an obvious successor at first made Naylor somewhat expendable for the Guardians, however, and this evening’s addition of veteran first baseman Carlos Santana to the Cleveland lineup on a one-year deal suggests that the Guardians may have preferred to reallocate Naylor’s projected salary and playing time to the 15-year MLB veteran.

In exchange for parting ways with the slugger, they’ve added some draft capital and an intriguing young arm in Cecconi. Competitive Balance Round B encompassed the 66th through 73rd picks in the 2024 draft. As noted by MLB.com’s Joe Trezza, the Guardians already had the first pick of Competitive Balance Round B in 2025. Now, the club will get a second pick in that same round as the Diamondbacks were slated to pick third behind Cleveland and Baltimore.

Meanwhile, Cecconi is a former first-round selection by the Diamondbacks who has pitched in parts of the last two seasons for the club but has yet to establish himself in the majors. He flashed league average numbers in an up-and-down role with Arizona in 2023, pitching to a 4.33 ERA (102 ERA+) with a 4.37 FIP in 27 innings spread between four starts and three relief appearances. Those numbers took a tumble in a longer stint with the big league club this year, however. Cecconi struggled to a 6.66 ERA (63 ERA+) in 77 innings of work. While his 5.02 FIP was substantially better, that figure was still well below league average. Cecconi enjoyed an excellent 5% walk rate in the majors last year, but his 18.9% strikeout rate was lackluster and he allowed an eye-popping 16 homers in just 20 games.

Disastrous as his 2024 season was, however, Cecconi will now get an opportunity to move to a club well-regarded for its ability to develop young pitchers. Still just 25, the right-hander’s 3.04 ERA and 29.5% strikeout rate in 47 innings at the Triple-A level this year offer some reason for optimism regarding his future in the big leagues, whether that winds up being out of the rotation or the bullpen. After losing Matthew Boyd and Alex Cobb in free agency and with Shane Bieber expected not to pitch until midway through the 2025 season, Cleveland already added Luis Ortiz to their rotation earlier this winter. Cecconi may not be able to break a rotation that now projects to include Ortiz alongside Tanner Bibee, Ben Lively, Gavin Williams, and Triston McKenzie on Opening Day, but he’ll provide depth for the club nonetheless.

Turning back to Arizona, the acquisition of Naylor brings the club’s estimated payroll to $160MM according to RosterResource. That leaves the club with some additional flexibility before they reach their 2024 figure of $173MM, which Diamondbacks brass has previously indicated the 2025 payroll will likely end up in the vicinity of. The club is known to be in the market for relief pitching and has previously expressed interest in a reunion with Pederson, though it’s possible they believe the addition of Naylor fills the void created by Pederson’s departure.

With Naylor now set to join Eugenio Suarez, Zac Gallen, and Merrill Kelly as key contributors slated for free agency next winter, it’s possible the club could also benefit from being in longer-term help for its lineup or rotation that can help preserve continuity alongside core pieces like Ketel Marte, Corbin Carroll, and Gabriel Moreno. Jordan Montgomery is also slated to reach free agency next winter, but the Diamondbacks haven’t been shy about looking to move him this winter and could free up additional payroll space by doing so.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post first reported the Diamondbacks were nearing a deal for Naylor. Jeff Passan of ESPN had the full trade terms.

Blue Jays, Diamondbacks Have Expressed Interest In Ryan Helsley

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As the Cardinals eye a reset focused on younger players in 2025, Mark Feinsand, John Denton, and Bryan Hoch of MLB.com report that the club has received interest from the Blue Jays and Diamondbacks regarding closer Ryan Helsley. A subsequent report from John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 confirms the interest in Helsley on the part of the D-Backs, though Gambadoro adds that the Cardinals do not appear to be interested in dealing their closer.

That apparent disinclination to deal Helsley meshes with a report from earlier this month that characterized St. Louis as unlikely to part ways with Helsley this winter, with president of baseball operations John Mozeliak suggesting at the time that they plan on Helsley remaining with the team for 2025. Given the perennial desire for high-end relief talent at the trade deadline each summer, it stands to reason that if Helsley pitches anything like he did in 2024 (2.04 ERA, 49 saves, 29.7% strikeout rate) in the first half of 2025 the Cardinals would still be able to land quite the haul for his services in the event they aren’t in position to push for a return to the playoffs.

Given that reality, it’s perhaps not a shock that the Cardinals have seemingly set an incredibly high bar for even considering moving on from the two-time All-Star. The 30-year-old has been among the league’s most dominant relievers in recent years, with a 1.83 ERA and 82 saves to go with a 34.6% strikeout rate in 167 2/3 innings of work since the start of the 2022 campaign. That sort of dominant relief profile can net an impressive return even with just one year of team control remaining, as the Brewers demonstrated when they acquired Nestor Cortes and Caleb Durbin from the Yankees in exchange for star closer Devin Williams.

Considering a report earlier this week suggested that the Snakes had interest in Williams before he was ultimately traded to the Yankees, it’s perhaps no surprise that Arizona has made contact with the Cardinals regarding Helsley. Club brass has made plain their goal of adding high-leverage relief help this winter following the loss of Paul Sewald to free agency. The club’s current back-end trio of Justin Martinez, A.J. Puk, and Kevin Ginkel is a solid one, but it’s easy to see why the Diamondbacks would have interest in bumping a young arm like Martinez out of the closer role and bringing in someone more established.

The Blue Jays, meanwhile, appear to be in the market for upgrades to virtually every area of their roster after a disappointing 2024 season that saw them finish dead last in the AL East. As star first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. enters his final year of team control before free agency, Toronto appears to be focused on adding a bat to the lineup who can help offer him protection and bulking up a starting rotation that lost Yusei Kikuchi to a midseason trade and stands to lose Chris Bassitt to free agency next winter. In addition to those two issues, however, it can’t be ignored that the Jays non-tendered longtime closer Jordan Romano last month and currently figure to rely on Chad Green and the recently re-signed Yimi Garcia in the late innings. Adding a more proven closer to that mix would surely help turn around a Blue Jays club that saw its relievers struggle to the second-worst ERA and the worst FIP in baseball last year.

Other options beyond Helsley exist for strengthening either club’s bullpen corps, of course. It’s unclear whether either club would spend what it takes to land a top-of-the-market closing option like Tanner Scott or Jeff Hoffman, but veteran closers like Kenley Jansen, Kirby Yates, and David Robertson are all available in free agency this winter and could be had on a shorter commitment. Sewald, José Leclerc, and Chris Martin are among the other relievers available who could impact a club’s late-inning mix and could be more affordable than other options available.

Christian Walker Reportedly Seeking Four-Year Deal

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Christian Walker has been a popular target in free agency thus far in the offseason, drawing interest not only from the incumbent Diamondbacks but also the Yankees, Mariners, Astros and Nationals, among other clubs. ESPN’s Jeff Passan writes that interested teams have been unwilling to extend their offers beyond three years but that Walker’s camp “would love to get a fourth year.”

Widespread interest in Walker is only logical. He’s been among the most underrated players in the sport for several seasons. The 33-year-old slugger’s .251/.335/.468 slash from 2024 is a near mirror image of the broader .253/.332/.464 line he carries in nearly 3200 plate appearances dating back to 2019. At the time, it would’ve seemed utterly nonsensical to think that the Diamondbacks would be able to successfully replace perennial All-Star Paul Goldschmidt with a journeyman waiver claim, but Arizona did just that and has been rewarded handsomely.

Not only has Walker been consistently productive at the plate — 13% better than average overall, including 20% better over the past three seasons — he’s emerged as one of the game’s best defenders at his position. Walker has won three straight Gold Gloves for his work at first base. Walker’s 33 Defensive Runs Saved over the past three seasons lead all big league first baseman by a wide margin. Matt Olson is second, at 27. Statcast is even more bullish, crediting Walker with 39 Outs Above Average — nearly double that of second-ranked Carlos Santana (20). He’s made only eight errors since 2022.

Quietly excellent as Walker has been, however, a four-year deal is a lofty ask when considering his age. He’ll turn 34 in March. As shown in MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, only four position players in the past decade have secured a four-year deal beginning in their age-34 season or later: Josh Donaldson (four years, $92MM with the Twins), Ben Zobrist (four years, $56MM with the Cubs), Nelson Cruz (four years, $57MM with the Mariners) and Victor Martinez (four years, $68MM with the Tigers. Donaldson’s deal, now almost five years old, is the most recent of the bunch. Of the four, only Cruz’s contract played out well.

Suffice it to say, four years would break any recent precedent for a position player of this age. Speculatively speaking, he could go the route some other veterans have in the past to secure the additional years they seek on longer-term deals: throw in (in this instance) the fourth year at a discounted rate. General expectations for Walker have been that he’ll command something in the vicinity of $20MM per year. If he were to tack on a fourth year at, say, $8-10MM, that’d get him his fourth season and also lower the luxury-tax hit for the signing club. For many of Walker’s reported suitors, that won’t be a factor, as they’re not CBT payors anyhow. For a team like the Yankees or Astros, it could prove significant.

Walker’s asking price is likely one of the reasons that the Yankees “appear increasingly likely to go with a more inexpensive option at first base,” as reported by Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The others include the qualifying offer that’d cost them an additional two draft picks (after already punting two for Max Fried) and the plethora of options available on the free agent market  (Santana, Justin Turner, Goldschmidt) and trade market (Josh Naylor, Yandy Diaz, Nathaniel Lowe).

Diamondbacks, Cristian Pache Agree To Minor League Deal

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The D-backs and outfielder Cristian Pache have agreed to a minor league deal, reports Steve Gilbert of MLB.com. Pache, a client of MVP Sports Group, will head to spring training as a non-roster invitee and compete for a bench job.

The 26-year-old Pache split the 2024 season between the Phillies, Orioles and Marlins. A lights-out defender with an anemic bat, Pache posted a combined .200/.273/.279 batting line with an alarming 35% strikeout rate in 183 plate appearances on the season. He’s out of minor league options, so none of those clubs ever had the chance to send Pache down for additional work.

Once one of the game’s top prospects with the Braves, Pache was always regarded as an elite defender whose future would hinge on whether the bat would come around. That’s still yet to happen. He’s seen 610 plate appearances between the Braves, A’s, Phillies, Orioles and Marlins but managed only a .181/.243/.275 line (46 wRC+). Injuries have perhaps contributed — he had both elbow and knee surgery in 2023 — but that alone can’t explain away the extent of his struggles in the majors.

Though he’s never shown that he can hit in the majors — or even all that much in Triple-A — Pache has posted superlative defensive grades. Scouts and defensive metrics agree that he’s sensational in the field, evidenced by career marks of 12 Defensive Runs Saved and 17 Outs Above Average in just 1503 big league innings.

Pache’s glove alone would make him a sensible enough depth pickup for any team, particularly on a minor league deal like this one. He fits the D-backs better than most, however, as he offers a right-handed complement to Jake McCarthy, Alek Thomas and Corbin Carroll. Pache can play any of the three outfield spots, and while he’s not really a true platoon option, his career .230/.299/.370 (87 wRC+) against lefties at least makes him playable when there’s a southpaw on the bump.

The D-backs have drawn trade interest in outfielders like McCarthy and Thomas, though it seems unlikely there’s any correlation at play. Rather, the Snakes likely pounced on the opportunity to bring in a plus-plus defender who could complement their existing outfield nicely and do so at a negligible cost without any real risk.

KBO’s NC Dinos Sign Logan Allen

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The NC Dinos of the Korea Baseball Organization announced Wednesday that they’ve signed left-hander Logan S. Allen (not to be confused with current Guardians lefty Logan T. Allen) to a one-year contract (hat tip: Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net). Allen is represented by Roc Nation Sports. He’ll be guaranteed $700K between his salary and signing bonus, and he can earn another $300K worth of incentives.

It’ll be the first stint overseas for the 27-year-old Allen — a former top prospect who’s now bounced to seven different MLB organizations in his career, appearing in the majors with four of them. Allen spent the 2024 season with the Diamondbacks, pitching 28 innings of 5.46 ERA ball in the majors and adding another 96 1/3 frames at the Triple-A level.

Allen breezed through the lower minors and had a terrific season between Double-A and Triple-A as a 21-year-old back in 2018, but his results both in the majors and in Triple-A have generally been subpar since that time. He altered his repertoire this past season, however, debuting a new splitter that seems to have caught the Dinos’ attention. The pitch generated strong results and drew positive grades from both Statcast and Sports Info Solutions. The Dinos mentioned it in their press release, wherein GM Seon-nam Lim noted that Allen is expected to join their rotation.

Allen heads over the the KBO for his age-28 season, giving him plenty of time to potentially parlay a strong showing in Asia into a big league return. He’d hardly be the first player to do so. Because Allen debuted in the majors less than a month after his 22nd birthday, he’s perhaps younger than many fans might expect of a journeyman who’s been with seven MLB organizations over a nearly decade-long pro career. If he can make further gains with that new split-changeup, it’s feasible that he could garner a look from big league clubs in future offseasons.

Diamondbacks, Ildemaro Vargas Agree To Minor League Deal

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The D-Backs are in agreement with infielder Ildemaro Vargas on a minor league contract, reports Aram Leighton of Just Baseball. The 33-year-old will get an invite to MLB camp.

Vargas has spent the last two and a half seasons in Washington. The switch-hitting utilityman has played in a bit more than half of the Nationals’ games since the start of the 2023 campaign. Vargas puts the ball in play but rarely walks and has very little power. He hit .257/.302/.354 across 785 plate appearances with the Nats. Washington outrighted him off their 40-man roster at the end of the season, essentially non-tendering him in lieu of a $1.8MM arbitration projection.

Before this recent run in Washington, Vargas had spent the majority of his career with the Diamondbacks. He debuted with Arizona in 2017 and remained with the organization into 2020. Arizona traded him to the Twins during the shortened season but brought him back in a minor trade with the Pirates the following year. That ended up being a brief stint, as Arizona waived him at the start of the 2021-22 offseason.

Vargas has evidently made a positive impression on team brass. They’ll bring him back for a third stint in a non-roster capacity. Arizona has a decent amount of infield depth. Blaze Alexander and Tim Tawa are on hand as potential utility options behind the presumptive starting infield of Pavin Smith, Ketel Marte, Geraldo Perdomo and Eugenio Suárez. Top prospect Jordan Lawlar will probably open the season in Triple-A but could get his first extended MLB look next season. Vargas is stretched at shortstop but grades as a capable defender at both second and third base.

D-backs Had Interest In Devin Williams Prior To Yankees Trade

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The Diamondbacks are known to be on the lookout for high-leverage options in the bullpen — general manager Mike Hazen has said as much on record — and they spoke to the Brewers about a potential deal for Devin Williams before Milwaukee traded him to the Yankees, John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 reports.

On the one hand, it’s entirely unsurprising that a team seeking a leverage arm would throw its hat into the ring with regard to Williams. On the other, it’s at least tangentially notable, given the number of similarly priced late-inning arms on the market. If the Snakes were trying to engage the Brewers on Williams, it stands to reason that Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley, Rays closer Pete Fairbanks and perhaps Houston’s Ryan Pressly are all of varying levels of interest. (At $14MM, Pressly costs significantly more than the other listed options, it should be noted.)

The bullpen market, unlike in many recent offseasons, has been slow to develop this winter. That could be in part due to the presence of names like Williams, Helsley, Fairbanks and Pressly (among others) all potentially being available. To this point, the only signings of note have been Aroldis Chapman (one year, $10.75MM to the Red Sox), Blake Treinen (two years, $22MM back to the Dodgers), Yimi Garcia (two years, $15MM back to the Blue Jays) and Jordan Romano (one year, $8.5MM to the Phillies). None of the market’s top relievers have come off the board, save for righty Clay Holmes, who signed a three-year deal to convert to a starting role with the Mets.

After last week’s Winter Meetings drew to a close, D-backs general manager Mike Hazen told Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that both free agent and trade scenarios are still in play. Arizona did not complete any deals at last week’s event, but Hazen expressed confidence that the groundwork for future transactions was laid.

“There’s free-agent situations and trade situations that are both out there for all the areas that we’re looking at,” said Hazen, who is also looking for help at first base. “Trying to find what combinations go together in different ways is part of what we’re discussing right now.”

The top names still on the free agent market include Tanner Scott, Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estevez. All figure to command multi-year deals, with Scott in particular standing a chance at landing four years. That type of contract length could be an issue for the D-backs. Under Hazen, they’ve never signed a free agent reliever for more than two years and never gone higher than a $7MM annual value (as shown in MLBTR’s Contract Tracker). The market has plenty of intriguing one-year options as well, though any of David Robertson, Kirby Yates or Kenley Jansen would require pushing well past that $7MM highwater mark.

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