The Baltimore Orioles are reluctant to pursue the remaining free-agent starting pitchers who received qualifying offers from other clubs – Max Fried, Sean Manaea and Nick Pivetta. The team’s hesitance stems from its potential draft position, according to sources briefed on the club’s thinking. Signing a free agent with a qualifying offer would require the Orioles to sacrifice their third-highest pick, which likely will end up in the 30s.
Nathan Eovaldi and Jack Flaherty, neither of whom was eligible for a qualifying offer, hold more appeal. Baltimore’s interest in Eovaldi, to this point, appears greater than it does in Flaherty, who struggled after the Orioles acquired him at the deadline in 2023, but under extenuating circumstances. And while the possibility seems remote, a world still exists in which the Orioles reunite with Corbin Burnes.
Re-signing Burnes would not cost the Orioles a draft pick; it would just keep them from gaining one in the 30s in addition to another they could receive for free-agent outfielder Anthony Santander. The problem for Baltimore is that one or more of the big-market losers for Juan Soto figures to pivot to Burnes, with – forgive the expression – money to burn.
Then again, say the New York Mets land Soto. The New York Yankees might seek to boost their offense rather than add to their rotation. Burnes might not want to join the Toronto Blue Jays. At that point, the Orioles would be up against the Boston Red Sox, San Francisco Giants and maybe others. They still would be longshots for Burnes, but might stand a chance.
Last thing on the Orioles: According to sources, they were highly competitive for free-agent right-hander Clay Holmes, who had big interest before agreeing to a three-year, $38 million deal with the Mets.
The Red Sox, Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies were among the other teams in the mix for Holmes, sources said. The Jays and Phillies viewed Holmes as a reliever. The Orioles, like the Mets, intended to use him as a starter. The Red Sox’s plans were unclear.
After agreeing with Holmes and signing free-agent right-hander Frankie Montas this week, people familiar with the Mets’ thinking said the team still wants to add to its starting rotation.
The biggest subtraction via free agency from the Mets’ pitching staff was left-hander Sean Manaea, whom the team still has interest in re-signing, league sources said. In Manaea’s talks with at least one other club, a fourth year came up in the discussion. In February, he turns 33.
If the Mets don’t re-sign Manaea, the possible alternatives include right-handers Eovaldi, Flaherty, Pivetta and Walker Buehler. It’s possible the Mets could look into others as well.
The Mets are among the teams to have expressed interest in Eovaldi, league sources said. Eovaldi, 34, is coming off a productive 2024 season in which he had a 3.80 ERA, 1.10 WHIP in 29 starts and 170 2/3 innings. The Texas Rangers consider re-signing him a priority.
While The Athletic and others have already reported on Buehler’s possible fit with the Mets, a league source said New York has also at least checked in on Flaherty and Pivetta.
It’s expected Flaherty will land a contract in the range of four to six years, league sources said, whereas Pivetta seems positioned to net a three-year or four-year deal.
The Mets rotation so far includes Kodai Senga, David Peterson, Holmes and Montas. Depth options include Tylor Megill and Paul Blackburn, once he returns from a procedure on his back. The group features upside, but there are also questions regarding availability and productivity.
Coming off an improbable run to the playoffs led by a strong, young nucleus, the Detroit Tigers are in good position to compete for another postseason appearance. But after committing one long-term mistake with Javier Baéz’s contract, they don’t want to make another. So it would seem making short-term supplements to the roster would be their preference.
When it comes to Detroit’s needs, offense outweighs pitching. The Tigers’ lineup performed better after they brought up shortstop Trey Sweeney and third baseman Jace Jung on Aug. 16, but still had just a .701 OPS, which ranked 15th from that point to the end of the season.
With starting pitching, the Tigers should have ample depth. They have as many as 10 possible starters, led by American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal. The list features Jackson Jobe, the league’s top pitching prospect, as well as Sawyer Gipson-Long, who made an impressive four-start debut in Sept. 2023 and is expected to return from Tommy John surgery in early summer. Others include Reese Olson, Keider Montero, Matt Manning and Casey Mize.
On the other hand, a case can be made that if the Tigers spent on an impact arm, they would be better prepared for a deeper run in the playoffs. Though the AL Central features no dominant, big-market club, Detroit should be motivated to spend and build off last year’s success, rival executives said.
To that end, the Tigers have shown at least some interest in a reunion with Flaherty, a league source said.
Jack Flaherty should have no shortage of suitors this offseason, which potentially include two former employers in the Tigers and Orioles. (Brad Penner-Imagn Images)
At last year’s trade deadline, the Tigers flipped Flaherty to the Los Angeles Dodgers for two prospects. Flaherty thrived in 18 starts with the Tigers, producing a 2.95 ERA. For a player they know well, perhaps the Tigers may be inclined to spend. But given their other needs, they may be better served investing in someone like first baseman Christian Walker or third baseman Alex Bregman – or complementary veteran hitters if they don’t want to go big.
The Kansas City Royals expect their payroll to be in the same $120 million range it was last season, according to sources briefed on their plans. Fangraphs estimates the team’s current payroll is $116 million, leaving little flexibility for the front office to acquire the additional hitter it is seeking.
The Royals’ preference is for a left-handed hitter. Jurickson Profar, a switch-hitter, likely will be out of their price range. A more likely target is Josh Rojas, who was non-tendered by the Seattle Mariners. The return of free agent Adam Frazier is a possibility as well, and a trade for Mets third baseman Brett Baty also would make sense.
Michael Massey currently is the Royals’ only left-handed hitting infielder. He and Jonathan India will see time at second base, and both also are willing to play left field, sources said. Rojas is a strong defensive infielder who mostly has played third – Maikel Garcia’s position – and second. But he also has 60 games of experience in left and 43 in right.
Rojas’ versatility obviously is appealing. The question is whether he would provide enough offense. He batted .318 with a .938 OPS through April 30 last season, but only .285 with a .585 OPS the rest of the way. In six major-league seasons, his OPS+ is 8 percent below league-average.
Baty, if the Royals acquired him, would be an upside play similar to outfielder Joey Weimer, who arrived with India from the Cincinnati Reds for right-hander Brady Singer. Weimer looms as a right-handed hitting option in center whom the Royals can pair with Kyle Isbel.
To this point, the Royals and Mets have not seriously engaged on Baty, sources said.
The Tampa Bay Rays signed free agent Danny Jansen to be their No. 1 catcher in part because they expect him to bounce back from a 2024 season in which he batted .205 with a .658 OPS for the Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox. But the Rays, sources said, also valued Jansen for his makeup, knowing they will play their home games next season at a minor-league park, Steinbrenner Field in Tampa.
Jansen, who turns 30 on April 15, is widely regarded as a strong clubhouse presence, and he has experience playing under difficult conditions. He was a member of the Jays in 2021 when Canadian border restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic forced the team to play its home games at three different parks – TD Park in Dunedin, Fl., Sahlen Field in Buffalo and Rogers Centre in Toronto.
The Rays will need to adapt a “make the most of it” mentality as they deal with heat, rain delays and possible postponements while playing outdoors in a Florida summer. They wanted Jansen badly enough to pay him $8.5 million for one year. Kyle Higashioka, who hit 17 homers with a .739 OPS for the San Diego Padres last season, got $12.5 million from the Rangers for two years.
Jansen, too, can be an offensive force. From 2021 and ‘23, he batted a combined .237 with an .805 OPS. One way for the Rays to improve offensively is to raise the floor of their production from catcher, shortstop and center field. Doing that at shortstop might be difficult, but Jonny DeLuca projects as an upgrade over José Siri in center.
(Top photo of Nathan Eovaldi: Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)
