Mining the News (11/5/26)

American League

Athletics

• Outfield prospect Devin Taylor is “on the radar” for the major league team.

Taylor is certainly on the radar of the big league staff. During an end-of-year conference shortly after the regular season, A’s manager Mark Kotsay singled out Taylor as a player who could make an impact in 2027, even on a roster with a crowded outfield picture that currently includes notable names such as Tyler Soderstrom, Henry Bolte, Lawrence Butler, Carlos Cortes and Denzel Clarke, along with part-time outfielder/designated hitter Brent Rooker.

“Devin Taylor’s a kid that obviously had an accelerated path and got to Triple-A,” Kotsay said. “I would have liked to see him go out to the [Arizona] Fall League and get my eyes on him. I would have went out and watched him play. Unfortunately, he felt like he had [played] a ton of baseball this year, which he had. Your first full pro season is challenging in itself.

“But I thought the success he had with the bat obviously put him on our radar probably quicker than anticipated. There’s still a lot of work for him. I think the biggest thing for Devin is the speed/agility issue. The athleticism in the outfield. What kind of defender he can be. … As we talk about our depth in the outfield, he’s another outfielder who could be on our radar for next season.”

Blue Jays

• Jake Bloss is throwing harder with a new sinker in the Arizona Fall League.

Before elbow surgery last summer, Bloss’ four-seam fastball sat around 93.5 miles per hour. The pitch, with rebounded stuff following elbow repair, now sits at 96.3. The righty also possesses a new sinker at 94.9.

“Part of it is him learning to pitch with a new skill set, some shiny new toys,” Sclafani said.

One blow-up outing pushed Bloss’ ERA above eight through five AFL starts, but in the four other outings he’s allowed just three total runs. If the righty is going to become a real depth starter for the Jays next year — something they desperately need more of — he must learn to command the adjusted mix and avoid the occasional disastrous outing that plagued him this year.

Mariners

• Michael Arroyo needs elbow surgery and might not be ready for the season’s start.

Michael Arroyo, their promising hitting prospect who was a September callup, underwent an elbow scope procedure on Wednesday with Dr. Keith Meister to clean up cartilage and brace a chronic injury to his right ulnar collateral ligament.

Per the club’s announcement, Arroyo won’t be ready to return to game action until April.

With that timeline, his Spring Training would be impacted and he’d begin the 2027 season on the injured list. It’s certainly possible that such an IL stint would be at Triple-A Tacoma, given that he’ll need to ramp up whatever is lost in spring and that he’s only played in 15 games in the Majors and 49 games at Tacoma.

He could be a 20 HR and 10 SB guy given a full season.

Rays

• Edwin Uceta needed shoulder surgery and won’t be available until partway through next season.

RHP Edwin Uceta
Injury: Right shoulder impingement, subscapularis strain
Expected return: Possibly June 2027
Status: Underwent an arthroscopic procedure to “clean up” his shoulder in October, president of baseball operations Erik Neander said, after not pitching all season. Likely won’t be ready to pitch until midway through next year.

• Ryan Pepiot graduated from his rehab program and is healthy heading into next season.

RHP Ryan Pepiot
Injury: Right hip inflammation
Expected return: Spring Training 2027
Status: Underwent season-ending surgery on May 13. Multiple exams revealed “normal” wear and tear on labrum and femoroacetabular impingement, which limited his leg’s range of motion. Threw a multi-inning bullpen session in October, officially “graduating” from his rehab program heading into the offseason.

Red Sox

• Caleb Durbin needed foot surgery after needing finger surgery earlier in the offseason.

The Red Sox announced that Caleb Durbin underwent surgery on the fifth metatarsal in his right foot (relayed by Christopher Smith of MassLive). It’s the second postseason operation for the third baseman, who also had a minor procedure on his left pinky finger a few weeks ago.

Boston didn’t reveal a recovery timetable, but there’s no indication either surgery is expected to impact his readiness for Spring Training. They mostly serve to confirm that Durbin was playing through a few different injuries down the stretch.

National League

Diamondbacks

• Justin Martinez plans to get some reps in the Dominican Winter League.

Justin Martinez, RHP

Outside of the Arizona Fall League, Martinez is slated to pick up innings in the Dominican Winter League. Given his limited workload during the 2026 regular season, the organization wanted to carefully build his volume ahead of next spring.

“Looking at how few innings he threw this season, we just want to make sure that he continues to build up some volume going into next year so he’s not taking a pretty big jump year-to-year in those innings,” Slivka said.

Dodgers

• Top pitching prospect Jackson Ferris needs to be added to the team’s 40-man roster and will likely get called up next season.

Ferris spent all of last season with Triple-A Oklahoma City, putting up numbers that don’t jump off the page. Overall, he went 4-5 with a 5.12 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP. But the 22-year-old southpaw seemed to find something in mid-August, recording a 1.00 ERA with 48 strikeouts in 36 innings in his final six appearances of the Triple-A regular season.

The strong finish makes Ferris a likely candidate to be added to the Dodgers’ 40-man roster this offseason, as he is eligible for the Rule 5 Draft. Once any player is on the 40-man roster, they’re a call away from the big leagues. While he’s almost exclusively been a starter in his professional career, Ferris’ more clear path to L.A. could be in the bullpen.

Mets

• Jared Young is “doing well” after his concussion last season.

The Mets expect to add to their lineup at first base. It’s likelier that would come with a right-handed bat, as either an everyday option or as a platoon option with Jared Young. Young, for what it’s worth, is doing well after his nasty concussion late in the season.

Padres

• Jeremiah Estrada plans to be fully healthy by Spring Training.

RHP Jeremiah Estrada
Injury: Right shoulder impingement
Expected return: 2027
Status: Missed final month of the season, but expected to be fully recovered and ready for the start of Spring Training.

Phillies

• Bryson Stott could be moved to a new position next season, including outfield.

But there is more than one potential spot to fill on the Phillies’ infield, which makes this situation complex. Stott could be playing second base again, if the Phillies don’t bring back Luis Arraez, who is a free agent.

Stott could be playing shortstop, too, if Trea Turner can’t keep his job.

Turner could move somewhere else on the infield — second base, perhaps? — if he needs to move off short.

Or he could move to the outfield.

There are a lot of moving pieces here, making this a fascinating offseason for Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski.