Gabriel Arias remains on the bench on Wednesday

Imai opted into an $18 million salary next year after struggling to a 4.93 ERA over 76 2/3 innings in his first season in Houston. “This guy has great ability,” Boras said. “Obviously, the consistency you want to improve. We’re continuing to have meetings about it and getting him more locked in to a routine that fits in well for the Astros and us.” It’s unclear how much faith Houston has in Imai’s ability to bounce back, but one imagines he’ll get a chance to contend for a rotation spot in spring training.

Joseph, 35, served as an assistant hitting coach in Seattle in 2024 and Baltimore in 2025. As a player, he hit .247/.294/.460 with 43 homers in his only two major league seasons with the Phillies in 2016-17.

That seemed to be the original plan last year after signing O’Hearn, but they saw a chance to further improve the offense by signing a pure DH in Marcell Ozuna and turning O’Hearn into more of an outfielder. Of course, that proved to be a total disaster when Ozuna didn’t hit at all. O’Hearn will probably DH the majority of the time next year and play some first base when Spencer Horwitz is out of the lineup. The Pirates will seek to add outfield help, though if they splurge to keep Brandon Lowe, they might be more inclined to stick with their current group.

The Red Sox were open to moving Duran last winter, but they never received the right offer. They’ll find the offers even more underwhelming this time around, but it seems likely that he’ll be traded anyway. The Red Sox could then pursue Randy Arozarena or Seiya Suzuki as an upgrade as a left fielder/designated hitter. Duran has two seasons left before free agency. He was a big disappointment in hitting .207/.266/.361 in 2026, but he has accrued 14.3 bWAR while posting a 110 OPS+ over the last three seasons combined.

Suzuki is very likely to command a four- or five-year deal with an annual salary at a little above the $23.15 million he’d get in 2027 by accepting the qualifying offer. The Mariners, Padres, Red Sox and Phillies are reported to have interest in him, and the Cubs are expected to make some effort to retain him.

Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix said he thinks Ramírez is capable of being the backup, but the Marlins will weigh alternatives. Ramírez opened last season splitting time with Liam Hicks behind the plate but then spent three months in the minors after Mack was given an opportunity. He returned to the majors after Hicks was traded, but he started just six games at catcher while mostly DHing during the final two months. Ramírez’s glove has always been an issue, and he has yet to show the kind of bat that would make him a quality option at first base or DH, leaving his future in some doubt at the moment. He’s also now out of options.

The 27-year-old Young passed his physical, and the $23 million deal, which buys out his first and potentially his second year of free agency, is now official. Young would have been eligible for arbitration for the first time after hitting .252/.318/.390 with 10 homers and 18 steals in 471 plate appearances last season. That’s twice as many homers as he had in 1,006 career plate appearances coming into the year, and that he’s improved his bat speed and technique some suggests it’s no fluke. He probably won’t gain too much more offensively, but he figures to remain an excellent defender for the length of the deal.

Ramos has regressed since reaching Triple-A at age 22 in 2024; he had a .755 OPS in the White Sox system that season, but he fell to .705 in 2025 and .646 with the Orioles’ Triple-A affiliate last season. He’s still pretty young, having played last season at age 24, but he doesn’t have much else working in his favor right now.

All three are left-handed hitters, but unfortunately for a Phillies team that would like to have a power bat to put in between Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper, there just aren’t any right-handed equivalents out there. The Phillies apparently see Sato as a right fielder if they do sign him. They have third base open, and Sato has considerably more experience at the hot corner than in the outfield. Still, the popular consensus seems to be that he’d be more helpful as an outfielder.

Following one year in Japan, Espada got into one game with the Orioles each of the last two seasons, throwing a total of four scoreless innings. He had a 2.77 ERA and a 49/27 K/BB in 48 2/3 innings for Triple-A Norfolk last season.