Mining the News (11/11/26)

Jamie Sabau-Imagn Images

General

• MLB.com posted an article highlighting a prospect from each team who could win Rookie of the Year next year. Lots of these guys deserve mention, but so I definitely recommend checking this one out. Here is the blurb on Boston’s Franklin Arias

Red Sox: Franklin Arias, SS (No. 1/MLB No. 2)

Trevor Story may have another year remaining on his $140 million contract, but Arias is a better offensive and defensive option right now. He won the Double-A Eastern League MVP and top prospect awards, climbed to Triple-A at age 20 and batted .323/.400/.557 with 25 homers in 117 games between the two levels. And to think that when he signed for $525,000 out of Venezuela in 2023, his glove was more valued than his bat.

Free Agents

• Adrian Morejon wants to be a reliever with his new team.

Free-agent left-hander Adrian Morejon is drawing interest as a starter, but his preference is to remain a reliever, according to a person briefed on his market. Perhaps a big offer would change his thinking, but a common theme among Clay Holmes, Seth Lugo and other relievers converted to starters in recent years was the strong desire of those pitchers to become members of a rotation.

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• Adalberto Mondesí is making a comeback.

Despite last appearing in a game in 2022, infielder Adalberto Mondesí is attempting a comeback. Mondesí, 31, recently started playing winter ball in the Dominican Republic. Over the past few years, lower-body injuries played a role in derailing his career.

American League

Red Sox

• Roman Anthony is still not healthy.

Anthony (torn finger ligament) will be evaluated in a couple of weeks, then likely start a range-of-motion and strengthening program before progressing to hitting.

“Like we talked about at the end of the season, trying to get through an injury and return to play is very different than trying to heal the injury without having this timeline of wanting to get back and help the team,” Breslow said of Anthony. “We can kind of map this out a little bit more, patiently. But he feels good. I talked to him yesterday — excited about what the offseason will bring, ultimately, to start his hitting progression.”

• Garrett Whitlock and Garrett Crochet are still rehabbing but should be ready by spring training.

Garrett Whitlock is recovering from a broken tibia discovered after the season and is continuing to rest, but he’ll soon begin a throwing program.

Crochet, who missed most of the season with a shoulder injury, returned to the mound in the postseason and has spent the first part of the offseason working on shoulder strength and range of motion but will ramp up throwing soon.

Breslow expected each of those players to be ready for spring training.

Twins

• Trevor Larnach needed wrist surgery.

Trevor Larnach is scheduled to undergo arthroscopic surgery – “a clean-up” – on his left wrist Friday, GM Jeremy Zoll said. Larnach ended the season on the 15-day IL and still felt wrist pain when he began his offseason workouts.

— Bobby Nightengale (@nightengalejr.bsky.social) 2026-11-10T23:58:37.517Z

GM Jeremy Zoll on Larnach’s recovery timeline: “I do not expect it to impact readiness for spring training or the season.”Larnach is eligible for salary arbitration this offseason.

— Bobby Nightengale (@nightengalejr.bsky.social) 2026-11-11T00:32:24.601Z

White Sox

• Grant Taylor will join the rotation while Hagen Smith will remain a reliever.

The White Sox enter the offseason with a clear need in the rotation, and it sounds as though they’ll plan to address it both internally and via some outside additions. General manager Chris Getz said in an appearance with MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (audio link) that hard-throwing reliever Grant Taylor will move from the bullpen into the rotation. The Sox are planning to keep left-hander Hagen Smith in a relief role for now, however. Any further rotation additions will come from free agency or the trade market.

Yankees

• Brent Headrick is the team’s best internal closer option.

Other internal closing options start with Brent Headrick, who enjoyed a massive breakout in 2026. He compiled a 2.18 ERA in 81 appearances, second-most in MLB. He has traits you’d like in a closer, with whiff and strikeout rates in the 91st and 92nd percentile, respectively. But does manager Aaron Boone want to take his best fireman out of that role? Headrick allowed just eight of 54 inherited runners to score this season.

I suspect the team will sign a couple of high-leverage relievers, but if they fail, Headrick should be a nice replacement.

• Max Fried needed surgery to remove a bone spur in his elbow.

Yankees left-hander Max Fried underwent surgery to remove a bone spur from his pitching elbow and is expected to be ready for Spring Training, general manager Brian Cashman said on Tuesday in Las Vegas.

Fried’s second season in New York was interrupted twice by what was described as a bone bruise or contusion in his left elbow, resulting in assignments to the injured list in May and August.

Fried has dealt with elbow issues for years, and removing the spur will hopefully keep him in the rotation more often.

National League

Cubs

• Ben Brown needed neck surgery and will hopefully be available sometime next season.

On Tuesday at the General Managers’ Meetings in Las Vegas, Cubs GM Carter Hawkins noted that Brown underwent cervical spine surgery on Monday to stabilize the stress fracture in his neck. While Brown’s timetable for return is not entirely clear, the Cubs anticipate the righty coming back at some point in 2027.

“This isn’t something that was usual or a normal type of surgery,” Hawkins told reporters in Las Vegas. “But at the same time, we are very confident that he’s going to pitch for us next year.”

Nationals

• Will Dion is an internal option to join the rotation.

LHP Will Dion

2026 (with Nationals): 3-2, 3.00 ERA, 1 save, 30 innings

Acquired from the Guardians in the Foster Griffin trade, Dion immediately fit into the Nationals bullpen. The Nats tabbed the rookie Dion, a former starter in the Minor Leagues, for a multi-inning relief role. He pitched two-plus frames in nine of his 15 appearances with the Nationals, and he held opponents to a .178 batting average. Dion did not let any of his 12 inherited runners score. On Aug. 15, Dion threw 4 1/3 no-hit innings with seven strikeouts at Citi Field.

Even if he’s not in the rotation, he is a nice late reliever option in deep draft-and-hold leagues.

Phillies

• A reminder that Andrew Painter made a mid-season change to his arsenal in the minors by dropping his splitter and adding a changeup.

Painter ditched the wide split-finger grip and adopted more of a classic circle change grip. His new pitch grips created a bigger movement differential, improving the relationship between his fastball and his main offspeed pitch. You can see below that there’s less variance among the light green dots — Painter’s changeup — and they are clearly distinct from the red dots, which represent Painter’s four-seam fastball.