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Things don’t look good for Jose Berrios in Toronto

In the last few days, the Blue Jays have acquired two starting pitchers: Dylan Cease and Cody Ponce. The latter has just arrived in town after a stint in Korea, armed with the biggest contract in baseball history for a guy returning from Korea. We’re talking $30 million over three years.

Did playing with Hyun-Jin Ryu help tip the scales for the Blue Jays?

More and more, you get the feeling that the Toronto organization is putting the emphasis on batting strikeouts. They want pitchers who force batters to swing for the fences on a regular basis.

Is this a factor working against Jose Berrios, a pitcher whose name has been cropping up in trade rumors lately? It doesn’t help his cause, in any case.

We’re hearing more and more that the Blue Jays could part with him – although it wouldn’t be easy, considering his low market value. Ponce isn’t just an insurance policy, having signed for $30 million.

And clearly, the Blue Jays’ depth in the starting rotation is crazier than ever. That gives the club options galore should it ever be decided that Berrios is no longer part of the plans.

Right now, Kevin Gausman, Trey Yesavage, Shane Bieber and Dylan Cease have their place in the rotation. Eric Lauer, Bowden Francis, Adam Macko, Jake Bloss, Ricky Tiedemann and other prospects will battle Berrios for the last available spot.

Finally, some real depth… which may also help the bullpen.

But inevitably, this leads us to believe that the Blue Jays could really tamp down Berrios, who hasn’t been seen around the team in the playoffs. Even if he was injured, he wasn’t with the rest of the club’s cripples in the Blue Jays dugout.

Something isn’t right with Berrios, and the clues leading to a potential departure are starting to accumulate. Because an “insurance policy” making tens of millions of dollars a year doesn’t work.

PMLB
  • A good contact in Korea for the Blue Jays.

  • Next challenges: relief help and a bat.

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Kyle Schwarber: the Reds are still in the running

Although they lost in the first elimination round to the Los Angeles Dodgers last year, the Cincinnati Reds took a step in the right direction last year.

Now, however, they need to take it to the next level, and one player in particular is on their radar. Numerous sources claim that the Reds are showing serious interest in Kyle Schwarber, and almost as many reports indicate that the interest is mutual.

There’s no smoke without fire. And the fact that Schwarbomb would be a perfect fit in Ohio won’t fan the embers.

Why would anyone say that?

First of all, Schwarber hails from Middletown, Ohio. His family is still there, and he has expressed a desire to one day play for the team he grew up supporting. The Reds are therefore the only team capable of using this leverage to obtain the services of the choice hitter.

What’s more, the left-hander’s swing is perfectly suited to Great American Ball Park, not to mention the fact that he would bring an important presence to this young locker room.

Not to mention that Cincinnati is also in dire need of the offensive side of the ball after ranking 21st in long balls and 19th in OPS last campaign. The team struggled to play situational baseball, especially late in the game and in extra innings.

For his part, Schwarber hit as many home runs as Elly De La Cruz, Spencer Steer and Tyler Stephenson combined. He cannoned four more bombs last year than any member of the Reds has ever hit in a single season.

Having Schwarber behind De La Cruz in the offensive role could potentially scare opposing pitchers a lot more than it has in the past, and would certainly improve the latter’s batting stats.

It remains to be seen whether the Reds will dig deep enough into their pockets to get their hands on him.

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“Dylan Cease is extremely motivated

In the last few days, the Blue Jays have managed to secure the services of Dylan Cease.

While it’s easy to criticize the price paid to sign him ($30 million a year for seven years), it’s understandable that he fits in with the Canadiens’ needs.

Since 2020, Cease and Kevin Gausman have been Major League Baseball’s most productive pitchers in terms of strikeouts. Shane Bieber and Trey Yesavage are also capable of fetching Ks.

Then, since 2021, the three starting pitchers with the most starts are Cease, Gausman and Jose Berrios.

It’s a little easier to understand why the Blue Jays, who clearly have one type of pitcher in mind for the rotation (Cody Ponce is a good example), agreed to give Dylan Cease quite a bit of money.

He’s a bit like Kevin Gausman 2.0.

But it’s worth remembering that Gausman, when he arrived in Toronto on the terms of a $110 million, five-year contract for the 2022 season, wasn’t exactly the pitcher he became in Toronto.

The potential was there and he was excellent, but the Blue Jays put money on the table by projecting what Gausman could become if he pitched to the best of his ability.

And it worked. Over the past four years, Gausman has taken his game to the next level.

That’s exactly what the club has just done again with Cease. The hope in Toronto is that he will find consistency (the pitcher’s big challenge) to form, in the long term, a fiery duo with Trey Yesavage.

And the good news is that the main interested party is motivated.

According to Shi Davidi, who discussed the subject on the Foul Territory podcast, the player liked what he heard from the Blue Jays about how he could progress under Pete Walker. And so Cease is ready to do whatever it takes to get to the next level and become even more dominant.

Transaction rumours have been rife for Cease in recent years. Going for stability could clearly help him become a monster in Toronto.

That’s what the Blue Jays will be banking on. And clearly, after giving him so much money, it’s easy to believe that the Blue Jays like their chances of making Cease a machine.

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Sonny Gray publicly plants the Yankees

The rivalry between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox is probably the greatest of all four major sports. And now a new chapter has been written, this time off the field.

Speaking to reporters in Boston for the first time since his arrival from the St. Louis Cardinals, Sonny Gray was quick to add fuel to the fire.

It feels good to go to a place where it’s easy to hate the Yankees. I never wanted to go to New York in the first place.

Gray pitched for five teams in his MLB career: the Yankees, Oakland A’s, Cardinals, Minnesota Twins and Cincinnati Reds.

But it was by far his run in the Bronx that was the most laborious, as he posted an earned run average of 4.51, significantly higher than in any of his stints in smaller markets during his thirteen years in Major League Baseball.

The Yankees had acquired Gray in a trade with the A’s before the 2017 trade deadline. Subsequently, the right-hander posted a record of four wins against seven losses with a 3.72 earned-run average in eleven regular-season starts for the Bombardiers, and made two more outings in the playoffs that same year.

The chain landed in 2018, however, with Gray presenting an earned-run average of 4.90, forcing the Yankees to send him to the relief bullpen before finally letting him go at the end of the campaign.

The pressure from New York was too much for Gray at the time, and with his recent comments, he’s better off tying his toque with a brooch this season, considering the rivalry between the two clubs.

It’s worth remembering that back in the day, he was happy to arrive in New York.

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Royals open to trading a starter

A year ago, almost to the day, the Kansas City Royals traded Brady Singer to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for the services of outfielder Jonathan India and outfielder Joey Wiemer.

The result? A playoff-less 2025 campaign, a step back from 2024 when the Royals participated in the fall dance, losing to the New York Yankees in the American League Division Series.

Even so, it seems that the Missouri club wants to repeat its pattern of trading one of its starting pitchers, which is what allowed it to play baseball in October two years ago. Indeed, according to the team’s general manager, J.J. Picollo, no one is untouchable in Kansas City.

In the starting rotation, we have depth. A lot of teams are looking for starting pitchers, so if we have what they’re interested in, and they have an outfielder they might be interested in, there’s potentially an opportunity to make a deal.

Right now, the Royals are expected to enter the 2026 campaign with Cole Ragans, Michael Wacha, Seth Lugo, Kris Bubic and Noah Cameron in the starting rotation.

Although Picollo said the Royals were reluctant to trade Wacha or Lugo, he added that anything is possible if the return fits his club’s needs. That would seem to include Ragans, who boasts a 3.32 earned-run average and 10.8 strikeouts per 9 innings in 57 starts for the Royals, and is under contract until 2029.

The Boston Red Sox could then be an ideal dance partner if Ragans is indeed available, given the surplus of outfielders in Massachusetts and the Royals’ interest in Jarren Duran.

However, the Sox seem to be overvaluing their colt in relation to what other Major League Baseball teams think of his value. The Sox could therefore keep him in their ranks, thus opening the door to a transaction involving Ceddanne Rafaela, who is not of interest to the Royals.

What’s more, the Bas Rouges have already got hold of Sonny Gray and now want to focus on adding a big stick or two.

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Rangers: Josh Jung could be the next to leave

After failing to reach the playoffs in the two seasons following their World Series victory, the Texas Rangers decided to wipe the slate clean this off-season.

First, the Texas outfit finally placed Skip Schumaker in the manager’s chair. Then, Adolis Garcia and catcher Jonah Heim were released, before Marcus Semien was traded to the New York Mets for the services of Brandon Nimmo.

And it looks like the spring (or rather winter) cleaning isn’t over yet. According to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, the next candidate to find himself under skies other than those of Texas is Josh Jung.

Jung was drafted in 2019 with huge expectations. He made his debut in 2022, playing 26 games, but his real breakthrough came in the World Series year of 2023. That season, he hit 25 doubles, 23 long balls and produced 70 runs, in addition to posting an OPS of .781 and an OPS+ of 113. Jung then finished fourth in the Rookie of the Year voting.

It seemed at the time that the Rangers had found their third-cushion player for several campaigns, but the situation quickly deteriorated.

Jung hit a rough patch in 2024, making a few stints on the injured list, but it got even worse in 2025, despite the fact that he was healthy. He was out 25.2% of the time on strikes while yielding only 5.3% of bases on balls. Then, the 27-year-old hit rock bottom in August when he was benched, with President of Baseball Operations Chris Young citing his irregularity.

With this latest episode, the team’s current reorganization and the fact that young Sebastian Walcott will be making his MLB debut sooner rather than later, it seems clear that Jung’s time in Texas is coming to an end.

The third baseman will turn 28 in February and is only entering his first year of arbitration, so a change of scenery could help revive his career, and several Major League Baseball outfits will certainly try their luck.

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Expos: entrepreneur Ashkan Karbasfrooshan wants to bring baseball back to Montreal

In recent years, baseball in Montreal hasn’t necessarily been the talk of the town on a regular basis.

In fact, since MLB took the axe to the Rays’ shared-custody arrangement between Tampa Bay and Montreal, prospects for the Expos to rise from the ashes haven’t been the greatest.

Stephen Bronfman hasn’t been this active on the file for a few years.

If the Expos were ever to make a comeback, many influential people would have to get together and decide that Montreal was the place to do it.

And on that subject, there’s a new name to keep in mind: that of Ashkan Karbasfrooshan.

The businessman is a Montreal native and recently published an article saying he’d like to be involved in the Expos’ comeback. And when the Montreal Expos account tweeted about it, the man himself retweeted it.

Ashkan Karbasfrooshan is the man behind WatchMojo, a popular video platform. His LinkedIn account mentions that he arrived in Canada in 1984, lives in Montreal and studied at Concordia.

He’s obviously a good sports fan, and didn’t like seeing the Colorado Avalanche wearing Nordiques jerseys.

Mr. Karbasfrooshan knows he couldn’t bring the Expos back on his own. But clearly, he wants to be part of a group that could move the needle on the issue.

He says that 20 years ago, he was a powerless radio host. But today, he feels he’s in a position to be one of the people who can make a difference.

For him, the big curveball is MLB saying yes to Montreal. He sees the challenges as complex, but manageable.

Ashkan Karbasfrooshan says he went into business a long time ago to have the means to finance the Expos’ return. And recently, he launched a survey to gauge the water temperature of Montreal fans on the subject.

Does seeing a new name in the discussion restore your prospects? Or are you more of the “I’ll believe it when I see it” type?

Stay tuned.

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Devin Williams gets more than $50M from the Mets: what impact on Edwin Diaz?

Devin Williams has found himself a new home.

Like Juan Soto last year, the pitcher has decided to sign with the Mets after just one season in the Bronx. But this one doesn’t hurt as much with the Yankees, let’s face it.

We’re talking about a three-year contract worth over $50 million. That’s more than I expected for a pitcher who had a roller-coaster season with the Yankees.

There’s no get-out option in his contract.

That means the guy came to the Yankees, got the beard rule changed, pitched poorly and ended up signing with the rival Bombers. I’m turning corners, but it sounds like that.

I didn’t think the reliever, who’d had success in Milwaukee before struggling in New York, would stay in the Big Apple. But here we are. #Silver

David Stearns, the Mets’ president of baseball operations, has thus acquired a player he knows well from their years in Wisconsin.

Of course, the next question is Edwin Diaz. Are the Mets still open to acquiring their #1 reliever of recent years?

All indications are yes. But between you and me, that gives the Mets some negotiating power, since if Diaz were to get too greedy, David Stearns could just tell him no more easily.

Williams is open to pitching in the eighth inning if need be. So if Diaz comes back, his closer ‘s job is waiting for him.

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Max Scherzer: there are doubts about a return to Toronto

Last week, the Blue Jays reached an agreement with Dylan Cease. The club was looking for a quality starter, and in Cease, they got their hands on one of the big names available on the market.

No, we’re not talking about an end-of-rotation guy.

Suddenly, the Jays have a pretty complete rotation. In addition to Cease, the club is betting on Kevin Gausman, Trey Yesavage, Shane Bieber and Jose Berrios… which can be placed in order or out of order.

However, we also know that the club, in fact, had departures in 2025 that we thought we’d see again in 2026. Among them, for example, was Max Scherzer, who shone in the playoffs for Toronto.

However, the signing of Cease has clearly changed things… and Shi Davidi, speaking on Foul Territory, noted that there are doubts about Scherzer’s return to Toronto.

We know that in reality, Scherzer looks like a guy who’d love to be back with the Blue Jays. His feeling of belonging to the club was still very strong a week ago… but that was before Cease signed his contract.

And even if he wants to come back, the Jays have to want to bring him back. And when you consider that the club has other needs, you have to wonder if Scherzer got squeezed by Cease.

It’s not impossible that Scherzer, if he really wants to come back, will decide to accept a contract for a very small salary to accommodate the club. That said, if he asks for a little too much money for the Blue Jays’ liking, they probably won’t have too much trouble letting him go.

And we know that a starter on the independent market rarely lacks teams interested in his services. To be continued.

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Yankees must do all they can to maximize Aaron Judge’s window

I may not particularly like the New York Yankees, but if there’s one reason I’d like to see them win a championship, it would be for Aaron Judge. Judge is the heart and soul of the Yankees, and perhaps even of New York City in sporting terms. Season after season, he carries his club on his shoulders. His most recent MVP award only confirms this once again.

Like the rest of us, he’s not getting any younger, and every campaign he drops his flag on only takes him further from the Promised Land. Still, he’ll be 34 by the time the 2026 season rolls around, which is exactly why the Yankees owe it to themselves to maximize the window of opportunity afforded by their star player.

Surround him better

If they are to win a World Series, the Yankees must once again become the big team in their division. At the time of writing, there’s no doubt that the Toronto Blue Jays strike fear into the hearts of their rivals. What’s more, the Boston Red Sox are young and likely to be good for a long time.

The Bronx Bombers must do everything in their power to bring Cody Bellinger back into the fold. They must also be in the Kyle Tucker derby. An outfield of Bellinger, Judge and Tucker would be prolific.

Finally, being them, my priority would be to get along with Bo Bichette. Even if he’s not an elite player defensively speaking, he’d protect Judge well at the plate and stabilize the infield. More than Anthony Volpe and his 19 errors in 2025, let’s say. It would also be a good slap in the face for the Jays.

They need to improve right away, and if that means trading the likes of Jasson Dominguez or Spencer Jones, well, why not. Judge mustn’t fall into the Ken Griffey Jr. or Barry Bonds category of generational players who never got his ring.

Yankees philosophy

In my opinion, if the Yankees want to aim for a championship in the near future, they need to change their approach. It’s not complicated, with them it’s either hit the other side of the fence or strike out. And what about their defense? You have to call a spade a spade, it’s so laborious it’s appalling.

As we saw in the playoffs, at times, you have to know how to play good old-fashioned small ball. You have to adapt to the situations that arise in a game. In the regular season, maybe we can get away with it, but in the playoffs, it’s a different game, as Martin St-Louis would say.

Speaking of coaches, is Aaron Boone really the ideal manager to lead his team to top honors? Perhaps a change of direction and mentality in the dugout would be in order. I’m just saying..

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