The Cubs first picked Cowles up from the Yankees as part of the return for Mark Leiter Jr. at the 2024 trade deadline. Cowles was DFA'd and claimed by the White last September, then the process flipped in January. The 26-year-old infielder has yet to appear in a big league game and has slashed just .235/.299/.368 over around a season's worth of plate appearances at Triple-A.
And while Monday was a slow news day overall, it was fun to see JR Ritchie and Didier Fuentes named in the top 100 prospects at Fangraphs. While it is surprising that Cam Caminiti was not on the list, these three young arms appear to be the best of Atlanta's farm system currently. Their development will be a big story line this season.
Ben Rortvedt has had an interesting few months since winning the 2025 World Series with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was recently designated for assignment by the Dodgers for a second time since the end of last season, and he has once again been claimed. This time, Rortvedt heads to the New York Mets, giving him the opportunity to compete for their backup job with Austin Barnes.
The World Baseball Classic is starting up next month, and the Atlanta Braves will be well-represented. Ronald Acuña Jr., Ozzie Albies, Jurickson Profar, and Chadwick Tromp are participating. While Acuña Jr. will be suiting up for Venezuela, the remaining three Braves are on the Netherlands' roster and will be led by Andruw Jones. Team USA will have some Braves ties in the dugout, and a couple of former Braves will be suiting up for Colombia and Puerto Rico.
1919 - One day after working out a deal to sell Babe Ruth to the Yankees, Red Sox owner Harry Frazee says his team will deal any player except Harry Hooper. They will then deal Hooper to the White Sox following the 1920 season. 1967 - Red Sox pitcher Jim Lonborg undergoes surgery on his left knee, four days after a skiing accident. Lonborg will struggle to regain his form following the injury.
There was no action from the Atlanta Braves following Christmas Day, so there was plenty of time to analyze the boost that right-hander Joel Payamps could bring to the bullpen. Despite his off-putting 2025, 31-year-old Payamps could turn out to be one of the Braves' most underrated signings this offseason. Let's dig into his contract and what it means for the 'pen.
1999- The Atlanta Braves acquire second baseman Quilvio Veras, first baseman Wally Joyner and outfielder Reggie Sanders from the Padres in exchange for first baseman Ryan Klesko, second baseman Bret Boone and pitcher Jason Shiell. 1999 - In an interview in Sports Illustrated magazine, Atlanta Braves pitcher John Rocker offends virtually every race and ethnic group in a hateful outburst. Community leaders, media, management, coaches, and teammates alike call for action to be taken against the lefthander who had 38 saves for Atlanta this past season.
Last-minute shopping? The hot stove tends to slow down a bit around the holidays and Christmas is on Thursday next week. Will that spur teams and players to get some things done before the shops close? Already this morning, before this post could even go up, the Padres agreed to a deal with Sung Mun Song and the Phillies traded Matt Strahm to the Royals for Jonathan Bowlan.
As first reported by ESPN's Jesse Rogers, the Cubs have re-signed lefty reliever Caleb Thielbar. The southpaw pitched well over 58 innings across 67 appearances, posting a 2.64 ERA and striking out four times as many batters as he walked. Thielbar also did a very good job of keeping the ball in the park, surrendering only five home runs all season.
Amaya joins the system after spending the 2025 season with the White Sox. He appeared in a career-high 36 games but only batted .106 with one extra-base hit (a double) in 73 trips to the plate. The 27-year-old spent the rest of the season with Triple-A Charlotte. He hit .250/.352/.420 with nine homers across 219 plate appearances. He posted decent batted ball metrics but struck out in 29% of his trips to the dish.
He saw big league action for four different teams (the Diamondbacks, Mets, Mariners, and Orioles) while compiling a 3.94 ERA over 32 innings. Beginning the season on a minor league deal with Arizona, Castillo was designated for assignment in May and then traded to the Mets, and he subsequently bounced around on a series of waiver claims. Castillo actually had three separate stints with the Mets, with the latest coming in early November when he was claimed off Baltimore's waiver wire.
The deadline for teams to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players is this afternoon at 4pm CT. Throughout the day, we'll surely see a handful of arb-eligible players agree to terms with their clubs to avoid a hearing. These so-called 'pre-tender deals' usually, although not always, involve players who were borderline non-tender candidates. Rather than run the risk of being cut loose, they can look to sign in the lead-up to the deadline.
Sauer, 26, was a second-round pick by the Yankees back in 2017 but didn't make his major league debut until last year as a member of the Royals after being plucked from the Yankees in the Rule 5 draft. He made 14 appearances for Kansas City last year but struggled to a 7.71 ERA in that time. He walked (11) more opponents than he struck out (9) and surrendered three homers in just 16 1/3 innings of work.
Rortvedt joins the Dodgers for the first time since being acquired by the club as part of a three-team trade with the Tampa Bay Rays and Cincinnati Reds on July 31. The Dodgers added Rortvedt to replace Hunter Feduccia as the third catcher on their organizational depth chart. He now gets a chance with the MLB club as Will Smith deals with a right-hand injury after being hit by a foul ball.
