MLB Player News

It’s the age of “Jackson” in major league baseball and Merrill is making his bid to be the best donning that suddenly powerful first name. He stepped to the plate down one in the ninth inning, blasted a home run, and turned back to his dugout shouting and flexing as he rounded first base. It’s a shame Paul Skenes exists because Merrill’s 16 homers, 13 stolen bases, and .294/.325/.482 slash line would be enough to win Rookie of the Year in most seasons.

Like Munetaka Murakami, Okamoto seems to be viewed primarily as a first baseman by major league teams. The Pirates, though, figure to use Spencer Horwitz there against righties. Perhaps they’d be willing to give him a look at third and then utilize him as a first baseman against lefties and a DH if it doesn’t work out. At this point, it’s entirely unclear whether Okamoto will do better than the two-year, $34 million deal that Murakami got. He’s viewed as the safer signing of the two, but he probably doesn’t offer as much upside. Okamoto has until Jan. 4 to sign with an MLB team.

The two teams — Chaim Bloom’s former club and his current club — have already swung a decade’s worth of deals in the last five months, with the Red Sox acquiring Steven Matz at the deadline and Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras in separate trades in the offseason. The Athletic recently placed the Giants and Mariners as the frontrunners for Donovan. The Red Sox and Rays are among the teams that have also sought Ketel Marte for second base, but while Marte is the better player, Donovan has a more varied market because of his ability to play several spots. The Red Sox would probably put Donovan at second, but having him at third and Marcelo Mayer at second might make more sense for them.

Jordan Walker seemed like the biggest beneficiary of last night’s trade, and it still might work out that way, but it could hinge on whether this right-handed bat is someone who would start or someone who would fill in for Lars Nootbaar and/or Victor Scott II against lefties. Austin Hays and Chas McCormick are a couple of guys who could be in the Cardinals’ price range. Tommy Pham, too, but his second stint in the organization didn’t go so well.

That’s potentially doable for the right return. Still, the White Sox don’t necessarily need to eat salary in order to move the 28-year-old Robert. It’d probably help a deal come together if the White Sox happened to have any interest in taking back Gavin Lux’s salary, which should be around $5 million.

That’s a bummer. Henriquez looked like a legitimate closing candidate during a breakthrough 2025, and while we figured the Marlins would acquire a true closer this winter, that they’ve missed out so far had Henriquez shaping up as quite the sleeper. That’s obviously off the table now, so it really is a must that they bring in a couple of quality relief arms. Calvin Faucher is probably the team’s favorite for saves at the moment.

There’s no reason to read much into it, but it’s still hilarious that the Rockies, finally having broken away from the old guard on the baseball operations side, are starting off the Paul DePodesta era by signing the son of their long-time GM Dan O’Dowd. Jack never hit as a second baseman and utilityman at the University of Texas, but he excelled in indy ball last season, batting .333/.449/.642 for Billings in the batter friendly Pioneer League. The 24-year-old has also been doing a little catching, though it’s unclear whether the Rockies will go forward with him there.

With the transaction official, Weaver goes into the 40-man spot opened up by the Jeff McNeil trade. The 32-year-old figures to pitch in front of Devin Williams with the Mets, just as he did with the Yankees at the beginning of last season. Primarily a starter previously, he had a 3.21 ERA, 12 saves, 43 holds and a 175/46 K/BB over 148 2/3 innings in his two years in the Bronx.

The Athletics needed a spot on the 40-man roster after acquiring Jeff McNeil, so Waldichuk was let go. The 27-year-old missed all of 2025 while recovering from Tommy John surgery, so it’s unlikely anybody will claim him on waivers. He will then decide if he wants to stay in the Athletics’ organization or try his luck elsewhere.

Rodriguez is just 17 years old and has pitched 15 1/3 innings in the Dominican Summer League, so this is the epitome of a flyer for the Mets. Considering the Mets also sent money to the Athletics, this move was all about moving on from McNeil and clearing space on the roster. It will take another 2-3 years before we have any idea what type of pitcher Rodriguez will become.

This deal was reported earlier in the day and is now official. It seems likely that McNeil will shift back to the infield for the Athletics and take over the starting second base job. While contact skills remain, McNeil’s production has fallen off from his strong 2022 season. Playing in a minor league ballpark might help him a bit, but the smaller field will actually mean less room in the gap which could hurt his batting average upside more than you’d think.