{"id":467233,"date":"2026-02-11T03:56:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T03:56:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/467233\/"},"modified":"2026-02-11T03:56:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T03:56:09","slug":"takeaways-from-late-free-agent-additions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/467233\/","title":{"rendered":"Takeaways From Late Free Agent Additions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pitchers and catchers are beginning to report for spring training and spring is around the corner. But that doesn\u2019t mean the hot stoves are being turned off for the winter. MLB\u2019s free agency market is still buzzing, with several signings occurring in the last couple of days.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a roundup of the most impactful free agent signings that have occurred as spring training kicks off as well as each one\u2019s potential effects.<\/p>\n

SP Nick Martinez to Rays\u00a0<\/p>\n

Contract: One year, $13 million<\/p>\n

Martinez agreed to a one-year deal<\/a> with the Rays on Monday. The Miami, Fla., native has been one of the most reliable swingman pitchers in baseball, posting a 3.83 ERA across 308 innings (42 starts) for the Reds the past two seasons while compiling 5.5 fWAR during that span, 31st among all pitchers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The 35-year-old adds some much-needed depth to a Rays starting rotation headlined by two-time All-Star Shane McClanahan, who hasn\u2019t pitched since 2023 due to injury and Drew Rasmussen, who exceeded 100 innings pitched for just the second time in his six-year career in \u201925.\u00a0<\/p>\n

DH Marcell Ozuna to Pirates<\/p>\n

Contract: One year, $12 million\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Atlanta<\/p>\n

Marcell Ozuna is headed to Pittsburgh after spending six seasons with Atlanta. | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The Pirates continued its offensive overhaul on Monday, agreeing to terms<\/a> on a one-year deal with ex-Braves slugger Marcell Ozuna, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Ozuna has enjoyed a mid-30s power binge, as two of his three 30-plus home run seasons have come in the last three years\u2014though last year he only hit 21 in 145 games.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The 35-year-old\u2019s bat speed may be declining, but he\u2019s still a productive and patient hitter at the plate, as evidenced by his 114 wRC+ and 15.9% walk rate in \u201825, the latter of which ranked third in MLB.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That\u2019s music to the ears of fans in Pittsburgh, who watched as the Pirates offense scored the fewest runs and belted the fewest home runs in MLB in \u201825. Ozuna figures to see much, if not all, of his time at designated hitter for the Pirates, given that he hasn\u2019t played the outfield in a regular season game in three years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

C Jonah Heim to Braves<\/p>\n

Contract: One year, $1.25 million\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Braves signed catcher Jonah Heim to a one-year deal, the club announced<\/a> Tuesday. Atlanta was in need of a backup catcher for Sean Murphy, who\u2019s still recovering from September hip surgery and is targeting a return to action in May<\/a> according to Mark Bowman of MLB.com.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Heim, a 2023 All-Star, Gold Glove winner and World Series champion with the Rangers, was a below-average hitter and pitch framer in \u201825, but will add a much-needed veteran presence behind 24-year-old starter Drake Baldwin until Murphy returns to action.\u00a0<\/p>\n

SP Aaron Civale to A\u2019s\u00a0\"Cubs<\/p>\n

Aaron Civale is joining the A\u2019s after playing for the Cubs, White Sox and Brewers in 2025. | Albert Cesare\/The Enquirer \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Contract: One year, $6 million\u00a0<\/p>\n

Civale and the A\u2019s on Tuesday agreed to a one-year deal worth $6 million guaranteed<\/a>, with the chance to earn an additional $1.5 million in incentives, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Civale is a dependable, strike-throwing veteran who owns a career 4.14 ERA and has tossed 100 or more innings in four of the last five seasons. That\u2019s a boon for an A\u2019s rotation that ranked among the bottom-five clubs in innings pitched and ERA in \u201825.\u00a0<\/p>\n

SP Justin Verlander to Tigers\u00a0<\/p>\n

Contract: One year, $13 million\u00a0<\/p>\n

Who says you can\u2019t go home? Verlander, who spent the first 13 years of his Hall of Fame career in Detroit, on Tuesday signed a contract<\/a> to return to where it all began. Verlander is guaranteed $13 million, but the deal includes deferred payments.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Verlander turns 43 on Feb. 20, but there\u2019s still mileage left on his skilled right arm, as evidenced by his 3.85 ERA in 152 innings for the Giants. San Francisco seldom provided the three-time Cy Young Award winner with run support, hence his 4\u201311 record, a significant roadblock in his quest for 300 career victories.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Verlander might not be the dominant ace he once was, but the underlying numbers\u201411% swinging strike rate in \u201825\u2014suggest he can still miss bats and be a dependable back-of-the-rotation starter. That means the reunion is coming at a perfect time for the Tigers, who could use exactly that type of starter with Reese Olson set to miss the \u201826 campaign after undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery.\u00a0<\/p>\n

More MLB on Sports Illustrated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pitchers and catchers are beginning to report for spring training and spring is around the corner. But that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":467234,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[435],"tags":[49,48,462,82],"class_list":["post-467233","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/467233","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=467233"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/467233\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/467234"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=467233"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=467233"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=467233"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}