Managerial misstep results in Noah Schultz’s exit

The 42-year-old right-hander expects there to be a lockout this off-season and he plans on pitching in “lockout games” to see how his body responds and to gauge whether or not he’ll pitch in 2027. The insane competitor is just three strikeouts behind former teammate Justin Verlander for ninth place on the all-time strikeout list, which could add extra motivation to return. Injuries limited Scherzer to just 84 2/3 mostly ineffective innings during the 2026 campaign, though he did pitch well down the stretch. Even if he does return, his days of fantasy relevancy are in the rearview mirror.

The 32-year-old had a strong season for the Padres in 2026, slashing .295/.363/.502 with 21 homers and 72 RBI in 500 plate appearances. He should be able to parlay that success into a multi-year deal this offseason, with Sammon noting that “the first baseman could find a deal quickly.”

Tseng pitched two scoreless innings for Taiwan in the WBC this year before posting a 1.58 ERA as Fubon’s closer. It’s unlikely that major league teams will look at him as a closer, but he throws in the mid-90s and would seem to have enough on his slider to be useful.

Marte is hitting .349/.368/.540 through 15 games, giving him the DWL’s sixth-highest OPS. He’s also a perfect 7-for-7 stealing bases. He probably needs a fresh start somewhere other than Cincinnati at this point, but there’s still ample talent here. He only just turned 25 last month.

Both Astros relievers are native of the Dominican Republic, but they hadn’t received the opportunity to take part in the Winter League before. Ullola is getting the chance this year probably in part because his move from the rotation to the bullpen curtailed his workload. He had a 2.16 ERA over 16 2/3 innings during his stints with the Astros, and he should be in decent position to win a spot in the Houston pen next spring.

Escarra spent the second half of last season in Triple-A after the Yankees figured out it really didn’t make sense to pair Austin Wells with a fellow left-handed hitter behind the plate. That should get sorted out this winter, with the Yankees bringing in a better backup than Ali Sánchez and hopefully sending Escarra to a team with which he’d be a more useful No. 2 catcher.

The 23-year-old Ferrer was a fourth-round pick out of Florida State in 2024. He hasn’t shown the same kind of promise as a minor leaguer that he did while hitting .317/.418/.665 with 22 homers as a Junior at Florida State, but there’s still hope for him as a potential lefty masher at first base or in left field. He finished at .244/.343/.407 with 15 homers between High-A and Double-A last season.

Zebrowski, a 13th-round pick in 2021, broke out offensively last season, hitting .255/.333/.551 with 22 homers in 83 games between Double- and Triple-A. He doesn’t have a particularly strong defensive reputation, so he’s probably not going to be viewed as a potential full-time backup catcher in the majors. However, he’s now in position to potentially see MLB time at some point.

Long opened 2026 in the independent Frontier League after going undrafted out of Harding University in 2025. The Tigers picked him up in late June, and he went on to post a 3.74 ERA and a 44/11 K/BB over 33 2/3 innings in two starts and eight relief appearances between the Complex League and A-ball. Now he’s been one of the most effective pitchers in Arizona, amassing a 1.59 ERA and a 14/6 K/BB in 17 innings, and he looks like someone who could be pretty useful in middle relief.

DeBarge’s 1.098 OPS ranks fifth in the league, and he’s first with 26 runs scored in 20 games. The 33rd overall pick in the 2024 draft, DeBarge had a very disappointing minor league season, hitting just .221/.325/.352 with a 26 percent strikeout rate in his Double-A debut. He does have some defensive value as a second baseman or as a possible utilityman and he’s a prolific basestealer, so he’s not going to need to excel offensively in order to carve out a major league role. We’ll find out next year whether he’s started to turn the corner some or if is AFL success is more of a product of the environment.