Here are three things for MLBTR readers to keep an eye out for headed into the weekend:<\/p>\n
1. MLBTR\u2019s Free Agent Power Rankings:<\/p>\n
The 2026 season is only just getting underway, but we at MLB Trade Rumors are always preparing for the next offseason. Much of the talk surrounding this coming winter is focused on the impending lockout, but just like any other year there will be a class of talented players reaching the open market. With the season still in its early stages, we\u2019re taking the opportunity to take a temperature check of this year\u2019s class with the first edition of our Free Agent Power Rankings. Some of those choices were obvious \u2014 spoiler: Tarik Skubal<\/a> made the cut! \u2014 but there\u2019s plenty of room for change in the pecking order as the season progresses, especially on the hitting side of things. MLBTR readers can look forward to the March\/April installment of our Free Agent Power Rankings going live later today.<\/p>\n 2. Griffin to make his debut:<\/p>\n While the sides are still deep in extension talks<\/a>, the Pirates are calling up No. 1 overall prospect Konnor Griffin<\/a> to the majors today. Griffin, 19, is now poised to debut three weeks shy of his 20th birthday after posting a .749 OPS in Spring Training and following that up with a 7-for-16 showing at Triple-A with three doubles and three steals. It remains to be seen if Griffin will hit the ground running in the majors or if he\u2019ll need some time to adjust to the highest level, but fans in Pittsburgh are ecstatic to get to watch a potential cornerstone player on a daily basis either way. Griffin\u2019s first assignment will come against the Orioles and right-hander Kyle Bradish<\/a> at 4:12pm local time in Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n 3. Fitzgerald on the move?<\/p>\n Giants utilityman Tyler Fitzgerald<\/a> remains in DFA limbo after being designated for assignment<\/a> earlier this week. He\u2019s coming off a tough year in 2025 where he struggled to hit at the big league level, but his speed, versatility and strong 2024 season could still make him an interesting pickup for a club with a less crowded bench mix than the Giants. San Francisco will try to find a trade before placing Fitzgerald on waivers, and if a swap is to come together it\u2019ll need to happen in the near future. Fitzgerald was designated on Monday, and at the five-day mark he\u2019ll need to be placed on waivers so that 48-hour process could conclude within the maximum one-week window for DFA resolution. It\u2019s unlikely the Giants would find a huge return for a player who\u2019s been designated for assignment, but a swap for a low-level prospect or even just a cash deal is entirely feasible. Will the club find a deal to its liking, or will Fitzgerald simply hit waivers?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Here are three things for MLBTR readers to keep an eye out for headed into the weekend: 1.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":583010,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[558],"tags":[64,63,591,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-583009","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-mlb","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583009","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=583009"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583009\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/583010"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=583009"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=583009"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=583009"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}