Mining the News (12/3/25)

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Note: I didn’t get through all the notes around the GM meetings, so their are a few notes coming out a few weeks late.

Free Agents

• Tommy Pham dealt with plantar fasciitis last year.

As far as the stolen bases go, Pham is confident he can make up ground quickly — now that he addressed a foot issue that he said had been plaguing him.

Pham played last season with plantar fasciitis, he said, and the issue worsened as the season went on. So earlier in the offseason, Pham said, he handled the problem through stem cell therapy.

• Sean Newcomb could transition into a starter …

Right-hander Ryan Helsley is the latest example, and veteran lefty Sean Newcomb is another such candidate. Newcomb, a free agent, is attracting interest from teams as both a starter and reliever, league sources said.

Newcomb, 32, excelled from the bullpen with the Athletics following a trade from the Red Sox where he opened the season in the rotation. In 51 2/3 innings, all in relief, for the Athletics, Newcomb had a 1.75 ERA/2.69 FIP with a 1.03 WHIP and 50 strikeouts. Of his 36 appearances with the Athletics, he recorded more than three outs in 16 of them. The Athletics acquired him in late May, and he didn’t log more than 2 1/3 innings in any game after June. Despite the shortened role, Newcomb continued to use all six of his pitches.

Newcomb hasn’t made more than five starts in a major-league season since 2018. In 2025, he won a spot in the Red Sox’s rotation out of camp and made five starts, posting a 4.43 ERA in the role (though his 2.91 FIP points to some poor fortune).

… along with Brad Keller.

Right-hander Brad Keller is another reliever who has received interest from teams as a potential starter, as first reported by the New York

American League

Astros

• Yordan Alvarez will continue to play in the outfield.

Brown said on Wednesday that Alvarez will get “a lot more” games in left field, especially at Daikin Park.

At some point, he might get outfield qualified after spending half the season on the IL.

Red Sox

• The team is already looking into manipulating Sonny Gray’s pitch mix.

Last year, Gray threw 589 four-seam fastballs, the highest total of any of the pitches in his eight-pitch mix. Though that only accounted for 21.7 percent of the pitches Gray threw, his fastball percentage could decrease under Sox pitching coach Andrew Bailey even more to accentuate the excellence of his offspeed offerings. Gray averaged 91.7 mph with his heater last season — not a very high velocity by today’s standards.

“It will be a great match for Bails and the rest of the pitching group and the philosophies they have in terms of leaning into strength and potentially away from slug and pitching away from fastballs when you have secondaries as your best pitch,” said Breslow.

• Kristian Campbell and Jhostynxon Garcia will play winter ball.

An interesting offseason development for the Red Sox: Kristian Campbell and Jhostynxon Garcia are both going to play winter ball. Garcia is playing in his native Venezuela, and Campbell is expected to play in Puerto Rico. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/28/s…

— Alex Speier (@alexspeier.bsky.social) 2025-11-28T22:22:45.763Z

The one item to track is Campbell’s position.

Yankees

• Here are the return timelines for Gerrit Cole, Clarke Schmidt, and Carlos Rodón.

Ace Gerrit Cole won’t be back until May or June, and Clarke Schmidt may not return until August as they both recover from Tommy John surgery. Carlos Rodón could be out until May following offseason surgery to clean up his elbow.

• Until some arms return, the team will skip the fifth rotation spot as much as possible.

The Yankees need more depth behind Max Fried, Cam Schlittler, Will Warren and Luis Gil.

“It’s an area for us to focus on,” Cashman said.

The GM added that the Yankees hope to be able to use the off days in the early part of the schedule to skip the fifth rotation spot as often as they can.

“Hopefully,” Cashman said, “health blesses us in the rotation in the early portion of February, March and April. But you can’t count on that. We’ll be exploring how to protect ourselves so we’re not taking on water early because our rotation is compromised out of the gate.”

National League

Dodgers

• Roki Sasaki finally got his fastball up to speed in the postseason, but …

After Sasaki averaged in the range of 99-100 mph with his four-seamer through the National League Division Series, he threw it a tick slower during the NL Championship Series and the World Series, sitting just over 98 mph in his final five outings. He also got more than one whiff on the fastball only twice in 11 outings. Overall, he upped his fastball whiff rate (10.1% to 20%) compared with when he was a starter.

Sasaki could be working with an expanded arsenal. While he was rehabbing his shoulder, he worked on a cutter, which he threw during his Minor League rehab assignment but not in any Major League games. He also ditched his slider after returning from injury.

… he’s headed back to the rotation. Most times, a pitchers lose 2 to 3 mph off their fastball when making the transition.

Giants

• The team is expecting contributions from Blade Tidwell, Carson Whisenhunt, Carson Seymour, and Kai-Wei Teng.

“The reality is we’re gonna need … I mean, I looked at it like this is a player, and I think I look at it even more so now: The successful teams are going to have players within their system that make an impact,” said Posey, citing developing pitchers such as Blade Tidwell, Carson Whisenhunt, Carson Seymour and Kai-Wei Teng as key contributors in 2026. “I think for us to get where we want to go — and certainly don’t read between the lines and say that we’re not going to make additions, because we’ll most certainly do our best to improve pitching like always — but we’re going to need some of the Tidwells, the Whisenhunts of the world, the Tengs, the Seymours, and I’m probably leaving one or two out there, to take that next step and really contribute on the pitching side of things.”

Here are the projected starter ERAs for the quartet:

Last Name: Projected ERA
Seymour: 3.95
Teng: 4.38
Tidwell: 4.32
Whisenhunt: 4.33

One of these guys is doing his own thing, come on, can you tell which one?

Mets

• Jeff McNeil had surgery to address thoracic outlet syndrome.

Mets infielder Jeff McNeil underwent a procedure to address thoracic outlet syndrome following the season, agent Garrett Parcell of Paragon Sports International tells Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Parcell noted that McNeil is expected to be a full participant in spring training.

It’s an out-of-the-blue revelation and a relatively alarming one at that. Parcell called the procedure “minor,” though the majority of TOS cases throughout the majors come with notable recovery periods.

Padres

• Ethan Salas is now healthy.

At long last, Ethan Salas is healthy

It’s time to turn the page on Salas’ disappointing 2025 season. The Padres’ top prospect is healthy now, Preller said. But that clean bill of health comes after Salas missed nearly the entire season with a stress reaction in his lower back.

“He’s doing well,” Preller said. “He’s swinging the bat and looking 100%.”

• Jason Adam may not be healthy by Opening Day.

One other question facing San Diego this winter is the health of setup man Jason Adam. The right-hander suffered a season-ending tendon rupture in his quadriceps in early September but is on the road to recovery. Adam tells Jeff Sanders of the Union-Tribune that there’s a chance he’ll be ready for Opening Day, though he could be cutting it close. Adam says he expects to pitch at some point in spring training but may not be “right on time.” He and the team aren’t ruling out Opening Day, which is a clear goal, but he cautions that he “won’t be stupid about” his recovery and risk a setback.

Reds

• Will Sammon, Ken Rosenthal, and Katie Woo seem to think Ke’Bryan Hayes is a lock to play third base every day.

Indeed, the Reds contain few spots that appear locked down. Ke’Bryan Hayes won the Gold Glove Award at third base. Elly De La Cruz plays shortstop. And Noelvi Marte, asked just last season to learn a new position, isn’t likely to move off of right field.