Tampa Bay

Rays

Curet, who just turned 23 in November, was a rather surprising choice to get DFA’d when the Rays needed to open up a spot on the 40-man last week. He missed time in 2025 and finished with a 3.90 ERA and a 62/31 K/BB over 55 1/3 innings in his 14 starts and two relief appearances between Double- and Triple-A. He doesn’t have a truly plus second pitch yet, but his sinker averages 96 mph and there’s some potential with both his slider and changeup. He’ll likely open up next season in the Phillies’ Triple-A rotation.

The deal got done after McCollum went unpicked in the Rule 5 draft. The 26-year-old reliever had a 3.07 ERA and a 59/16 K/BB in 55 2/3 innings at three levels last season. He’s a fringe bullpen candidate, but he’s not on the 40-man and he’ll have all of his option years if he’s added, making him nice to have around.

Lowe is due $11.5 million next season in the final year of his contract, and there are many reports that the Rays are interested in trading him away. The Pirates made an aggressive offer to Kyle Schwarber, and they do appear intent on at least making some upgrade to their lineup, which is a nice change of pace.

Ghiroli is the first with the exact financial terms of the deal after multiple reports surfaced that the two sides were in agreement on a two-year pact. It’s a bit unclear how Tampa Bay will deploy Matz since he was used exclusively as a reliever this past season with the Cardinals and Red Sox where he posted a respectable 3.05 ERA (3.46 FIP) and 59/11 K/BB ratio across 76 2/3 innings over 53 appearances. He’s been vocal about his desire to transition back to a starting role and it’s possible the Rays were willing to accommodate that request. There should be some clarity regarding his role once spring training kicks off.

The ping pong balls came through for the White Sox as they secure the top selection in next year’s MLB Draft after having the highest odds — 27.73 percent — of landing the first overall pick. Chicago hasn’t picked first overall since taking future Hall of Famer Harold Baines in 1977. Their likely prize: UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky is one of the best collegiate shortstop prospects in recent memory and is considered a slam-dunk to be taken first overall. Texas high school shortstop Grady Emerson is widely-regarded as the top prep player in the draft class. The Giants and Royals were the big movers in this year’s lottery, jumping up double-digit spots into the top six overall, while the Rays also made a massive leap, going from seventh to second overall. Here are the full draft lottery results: (1) White Sox, (2) Rays, (3) Twins, (4) Giants, (5) Pirates, (6) Royals, (7) Orioles, (8) Athletics, (9) Braves, (10) Rockies, (11) Nationals, (12) Angels, (13) Cardinals, (14) Marlins, (15) Diamondbacks, (16) Rangers, (17) Astros and (18) Reds.

Matz fortifies Tampa Bay’s relief depth after compiling a strong 3.05 ERA (3.46 FIP) and 59/11 K/BB ratio across 76 2/3 innings over 53 appearances between the Cardinals and Red Sox this past season. The 34-year-old southpaw has excelled since transitioning to a full-time relief role but his fantasy appeal is virtually non-existent since he’s mostly toiling away in middle relief. The Rays are expected to roll with a closer-by-committee strategy next season with Edwin Uceta, Griffin Jax and Garrett Cleavinger sharing the role.

Davidson batted ,167 (7-for-42) with one homer and four RBI across 19 games between the Athletics and Angels this past season. The 27-year-old augments Tampa Bay’s first base depth behind Jonathan Aranda heading into next season.

Rome and Rosenthal add that a potential deal is not believed to be close with some league sources characterizing Baz as unlikely to be traded but other sources indicated that the two sides discussed the framework of a potential deal. The 26-year-old former top prospect finished last season with a lackluster 4.87 ERA (4.37 FIP) but did post an encouraging 24.8 percent strikeout rate over 166 1/3 innings across a career-high 31 starts.

Dominican Republic general manager Nelson Cruz and manager Albert Pujols confirmed that both infielders will be part of the club’s roster for the impending international showcase. Caminero clobbered 45 round-trippers in his full-season debut last year while Perdomo blossomed into one of the most impactful all-around shortstops in baseball, delivering a sublime 7.0-WAR age-25 campaign.

Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen said last month that trading Marte is unlikely to occur this offseason, but teams are always open to listening to offers. The 32-year-old franchise cornerstone recorded a robust .893 OPS with 28 round-trippers across 126 games. He remains an elite second baseman for fantasy purposes regardless of his landing spot and will be an early-round selection in all drafts next spring.