MLB Player News

Things have been trending in the wrong direction for Azocar, who had 216 plate appearances in the majors as a rookie in 2022, but just 102, 79 and 21 the last three seasons. Overall, he’s hit .244/.290/.319 in 228 games, two of which actually came with the Braves last summer in between stints in the Mets organization. He seems destined to be Triple-A insurance for Atlanta.

Burnes was saying the same at the end of last season, so he’s apparently made steady progress since. Burnes underwent Tommy John surgery in June, so a July return is fairly aggressive, though hardly unprecedented. The 31-year-old is entering the second season of a six-year, $210 million contract.

The Jays looked at other closing candidates since as Edwin Díaz and Robert Suarez over the winter after Hoffman’s struggles last year, but after they ultimately signed Tyler Rogers, there was really no doubt that Hoffman would retain the job. Hoffman finished his first season in Toronto with a 4.37 ERA and was 33-for-40 closing out games.

García’s surgery took place in August and was only to clean up scar tissue in his elbow, so it didn’t seem like Opening Day would be in doubt here. Still, bringing him along slowly isn’t a bad idea, as he’s totaled just 60 innings between the last two seasons.

It’s a little surprising to see Civale get $6 million after posting a 4.85 ERA in 102 innings last season, but the A’s need to pay a little extra to get pitchers to come to Sacramento. Civale’s strikeout rate has dropped three years running, from a peak of 24.1% in 2022 to 20.2% last year, and he’s still a big-time flyball pitcher. He projects pretty poorly with the A’s, but it also not like they have a bunch of quality alternatives.

Barlow agreed to the deal last Friday. He had a 4.21 ERA in 68 1/3 innings for the Reds last season, but his strikeout rate was down and his walk rate was up. He doesn’t seem like a very good bet at this point, but there is still some save potential in what looks like a very weak A’s bullpen.

A Rule 5 pick from the Yankees two years ago, Spence went from pitching 151 1/3 innings with a 4.58 ERA as a rookie to 84 2/3 innings with a 5.10 ERA last season. Still, that was in a really bad situation in Sacramento. Spence throws strikes and grades out decently in terms of stuff. He also has option years left. We can’t imagine he’ll clear waivers, especially now that teams have the 60-man IL available and can free up spots.

Holman, 25, has been an outstanding minor league reliever, but he’s produced a 4.66 ERA with a disappointing 19% strikeout rate in 38 2/3 innings for the A’s the last two seasons. Replacing him on the roster with Scott Barlow is probably an upgrade for the A’s.

The Rays definitely aren’t giving Martinez that kind of money to pitch out of the pen, so assuming that everyone stays healthy, there won’t be any room in the rotation for Joe Boyle or Ian Seymour on Opening Day. Of course, it’d hardly be a surprise if someone went down. Martinez might have some fantasy potential pitching in a situation as good as Tampa Bay’s (now that the team is returning to the Trop). He had a 4.45 ERA for the Reds last season, but he should improve on that and make a contribution in WHIP.

Rodríguez underwent Tommy John surgery in August, so if he makes it back in 2026, it won’t be until the very end of the season. He had a 2.08 ERA in 30 1/3 innings for the Rays before getting hurt last year.

Wright, a 20-game winner for the Braves in 2022, hasn’t pitched in the majors since undergoing shoulder surgery in 2023. He made eight starts in the minors for the Royals last season, finishing with a 5.48 ERA and a 21/14 K/BB in 23 innings. His fastball was down about 2.5 mph from his 94.7-mph average in 2022.