Rays promote righty Ty Johnson to bolster bullpen

This one comes as a mild surprise, as they’ll have to pay him a $1.25 million buyout anyways and Junis did a nice job out of the Rangers’ bullpen in 2026 — registering a 3.64 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and a 38/18 K/BB ratio over 54 1/3 innings while notching six saves. Perhaps they had already been informed that Junis planned to decline his side of the option. Either way, it shouldn’t be hard for the 34-year-old right-hander to find a new gig on the open market.

The 36-year-old backstop will receive a $1 million buyout on his way to the free agent market. Higashioka provided a major offensive boost once he took over the backup catcher role for the Rangers in 2025, but he wasn’t able to recapture that magic in 2026 — slashing an anemic .218/.306/.370 with seven homers and 18 RBI in 186 plate appearances. He’ll likely have to settle for a minor league deal with an invitation to big league camp.

The news had been broken shortly before the announcement by Ken Rosenthal, Katie Woo and Chandler Rome of The Athletic. The 51-year-old executive had spent the previous 11 seasons in the Cardinals’ organization — the last six of those working as their assistant general manager and director of scouting.

This one seemed like a no-brainer given Soroka’s success in 2026. He’ll receive a $1 million buyout and will hit free agency where he should be able to land a highly lucrative multi-year deal. The 29-year-old hurler made 21 starts for the Diamondbacks in 2026, posting a strong 3.41 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and a 114/29 K/BB ratio across 116 innings. He’ll have no shortage of teams vying for his services on the open market.

The 27-year-old southpaw is now safe from being plucked in the Rule 5 draft. Pinazzi had a breakout 2026 season where he registered a scintillating 0.84 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and a 103/33 K/BB ratio over 64 innings across four minor league levels. He should get an opportunity to pitch out of the Angels’ bullpen at some point in 2027.

The expectation is that the 31-year-old backstop will refuse the assignment and elect free agency, though that hasn’t happened yet. Knizner appeared in 29 games for the Giants in 2026, slashing .219/.288/.356 with a pair of home runs and four RBI in 80 plate appearances. He’ll have no problem latching on somewhere as extra catching depth if he decides to hit the open market.

Armstrong will receive a buyout of $1.5 million and will hit the free agent market. The 36-year-old made 41 appearances out of the Guardians’ bullpen in 2026, compiling a 4.58 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and a 34/19 K/BB ratio over 35 1/3 innings. Given the impressive work that he did for the Rays in 2023 and the Rangers in 2025 though, Armstrong shouldn’t have any problem landing a major league deal this winter.

The 30-year-old hurler will instead receive a $1.25 million buyout and will hit the free agent market. Stephan hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since the 2023 season. He missed the entire 2024 campaign while recovering from Tommy John surgery. He made 22 ghastly appearances at Triple-A Columbus in 2026, posting an 11.12 ERA, 2.07 WHIP and a 23/18 K/BB ratio over 22 2/3 innings. He’ll make for an interesting low-risk flier on what will probably be a minor league contract for someone this offseason.

The move protects the versatile 24-year-old from the upcoming Rule 5 draft. Tolentino spent the entire 2026 campaign at the Triple-A level where he slashed .225/.328/.453 with 21 homers, 74 RBI, 20 stolen bases and a 157/65 K/BB ratio over 497 plate appearances. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him debut with the Guardians at some point in 2027.

Instead, the 32-year-old outfielder will receive a $500,000 buyout and will hit the free agent market. Mullins appeared in 107 games for the American League Champions, slashing an underwhelming .207/.284/.344 with 15 homers, 48 RBI and 21 stolen bases (in 31 attempts). He only had five plate appearances in the postseason, going 2-for-5 with a homer, stolen base and three runs scored. His fantasy value in 2027 will be tied to whether or not he’s able to land a starting or strong-side platoon role someplace.