Houston

Astros

VanWey and Trammell were both removed from the 40-man roster last week. They could both spend time in the majors in 2026, but in order to do so they’ll need to be added back to Houston’s — or another team’s — 40-man.

Feinsand specifically notes those three clubs as the biggest threats to sign the 30-year-old left-hander away from the Phillies. He also mentions the Tigers and Mets as teams that have shown interest. With multiple large market teams in the bidding, it sounds like Suárez should do pretty well for himself here on the open market.

Zeglin missed all of last season due to injury after posting a 0.95 ERA and 90/16 K/BB ratio across 66 innings over 25 appearances between Low-A Myrtle Beach and High-A South Bend. The 25-year-old reliever is a textbook definition of a lottery ticket arm. Meanwhile, the Cubs receive $250,000 in international bonus money to close out the rest of the signing period.

Willingham, the first Amos to play in the majors since Otis retired in 1984, put up nice minor league numbers as a Nationals relief prospect, but he had a 7.11 ERA and just 16 strikeouts over 25 1/3 innings during his major league stints in 2023 and ’24. He pitched last season in the Braves farm system, finishing with a 5.17 ERA and a 64/18 K/BB in 55 2/3 innings. He’ll likely spend most of next year in Triple-A.

This is the catching Carlos Pérez who spent most of 2015 and ’16 in the majors with the Angels and also got in 66 games with the A’s in 2023, as opposed to the younger Carlos Pérez who spent some time as a backup with the White Sox in 2022 and ’23. The 35-year-old has been a surprisingly strong Triple-A hitter for several years now, but he hit a modest .226/.293/.357 in 189 plate appearances when the A’s gave him a chance. He came in at .286/.372/.572 with 27 homers in 111 games for the Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate last season. As things stand now, he’d be in line to compete with César Salazar for Houston’s backup catching gig. However, there’s a good chance the Astros will add a more established player.

Rome also notes that “Sánchez’s dismal performance after the trade deadline may impact his value.” The 28-year-old hit .199/.269/.342 in 48 games with the Astros, while adding four home runs and striking out 40 times. In his career, Sánchez has a moderate .239 batting average, but that comes with a solid .181 ISO and 11.5 percent barrel rate. Perhaps somebody can turn that hard contact into more consistent results.

ESPN’s Jesse Rogers adds that Weiss is guaranteed $2.6 million and could earn more than $10 million over two years as part of a multi-year deal that includes a club option for 2027. Weiss fortifies Houston’s starting pitching depth behind ace Hunter Brown after spending the last two years in Korea with the Hanwha Eagles where he posted a 3.16 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 305/85 K/BB ratio across 270 1/3 innings over 46 starts. The soon-to-be 29-year-old righty has yet to pitch in the majors but pitched at the Triple-A level in the Royals and Diamondbacks systems before heading overseas. He represents a relatively low-risk gamble for the Astros as they attempt to rebuild their rotation this offseason.

The Astros are reportedly open to moving Meyers for a controllable starting pitcher, and there may be some interest after Meyers hit .292/.354/.373 in 104 games with 16 steals while playing elite defense in center field. The Astros also have Jacob Melton and Zach Cole waiting in the wings in the minors and capable of filling Meyers’ spot if the Astros can acquire a good starter for him.

Katz spent the last five years as the White Sox’s pitching coach before being dropped earlier in the offseason. He’ll be replacing Bill Murphy in Houston after Murphy left to go to Pittsburgh, and he’ll presumably work in tandem with fellow pitching coach Joshua Miller. For what it’s worth, Katz and free agent Lucas Giolito are very good friends, if that’s something the Astros want to pursue.

Hader was quick to note that he’s clearly not throwing at near full intensity right now, so feeling normal is a bit different than feeling normal during the season. “It should be normal. Obviously, intensity gets up (in Spring Training), and we’ll see how that goes and how I’m recovering, bouncing back from that.” As of now, Hader is set to begin spring training as normal, but he does have some elevated risk in fantasy leagues due to the shoulder injury with no surgical fix.