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The final day of 2025 has arrived. We’ll be into 2026 in short order and then, before you know it, spring training camps will open and baseball will be back. There are still a lot of free agents to sign and trades to be made between now and then. Here are Wednesday’s hot stove rumors.
A’s interested in more extensions
After locking up Tyler Soderstrom long-term, the Athletics have interest in signing more of their core players to contract extensions, reports The Athletic. First baseman Nick Kurtz and shortstop Jacob Wilson finished 1-2 in the AL Rookie of the Year voting this past season and are obvious extension candidates. Catcher Shea Langeliers as well.
Kurtz and Wilson are both five years away from free agency. Here are the largest extensions given to position players at their service time level:
Jackson Merrill, Padres: 9 years, $135 millionKe’Bryan Hayes, Pirates: 8 years, $70 millionLawrence Butler, Athletics: 7 years, $65.5 millionEzequiel Tovar, Rockies: 7 years, $63.5 millionAndrelton Simmons, Braves: 7 years, $58 million
Kurtz certainly has a case to beat Merrill’s deal given his monstrous rookie season. Langeliers is three years away from free agency and could be the Athletics’ top extension priority just because he’s closer to hitting the market than Kurtz and Wilson. With or without the extensions, the A’s have a very strong position player core. Improving the pitching is the next order of business.
The Angels are signing veteran righty Kirby Yates to a one-year contract worth $5 million, according to the New York Post. Yates, 38, struggled with the Dodgers this past season and was left off their postseason roster because of back and hamstring trouble. He is a year removed from a dynamite 2024 season with the Rangers, however. Yates went 33 for 34 in save chances with a 1.17 ERA that year and finished eighth in the AL Cy Young voting. For an Angels team with a less than imposing bullpen, gambling $5 million on Yates isn’t the worst idea. He joins Drew Pomeranz and Jordan Romano as the team’s offseason relief additions.
The White Sox are bringing outfielder Jarred Kelenic to spring training on a minor league contract, reports ESPN. Once one of the top prospects in the game, Kelenic has failed to launch at the MLB level. The 26 year old is a career .211/.282/.376 hitter in parts of five big-league seasons with the Mariners and Braves. Kelenic slashed .213/.286/.309 with Atlanta’s Triple-A affiliate in 2025. The ChiSox are not blessed with much outfield depth and Luis Robert Jr. is likely to get traded at some point. Kelenic isn’t a terrible roll of the dice for a team still in the fairly early stages of a rebuild.