[Sundance]

League News

11/28/2025
The Cardinals have signed veteran 2B Trea Turner for $96,000,000 over 5 years. Turner is coming off of his best complete season and certainly capitalized that. Last year he hit .313/.369/.503 with 31 doubles, 7 triples, 21 HR, 96 RBI, 22 SB, and 6.0 WAR.

The Cubs have signed LF Dylan Carlson for $161,600,000 over 8 years. Carlson has really come into his own the past two seasons. In 2024 and 2025 he averaged a .276/.354/.519 line with 32 doubles, 10 triples, 28 HR, 102 RBI, 21 SB, and 5.2 WAR. At 27 years old, he’s a very nice pick up for Chicago.

12/7/2025
The New York Yankees have signed SP Julio Urias for $153,600,000 over 7 years. The 29 year old is one of the top pitchers in the game, although there are some lingering concerns over his ability to stay healthy. He’s managed to avoid major injuries over the last couple of seasons, but he did miss nearly the entire 2023 season with a torn elbow ligament. Over the last 5 seasons with the Dodgers he led the league in ERA twice, in K/9 twice, and in WHIP once. Surprisingly, the only award he has to his name is a single All-Star selection.

12/16/2025
The Texas Rangers have signed 29 year old 2B Jonathan India for $145,600,000 over 7 years. This is a signing that is surprising. I’m just not seeing what the big deal about this guy is. He averages .255/.353/.454 with 29 doubles, 6 triples, 25 HR, and 84 RBI a season, and he’s coming off of his best year as a pro. His numbers are certainly enough to help a ball club, but I don’t know if his price tag is worth it. But hey, good for him for getting paid.

01/06/26
The New York Yankees have signed 28 year old RP Bryse Wilson for $97,400,000 over 6 years. This is another one that is a little bit of a head scratcher. I think the problem with Wilson is that I just don’t know what he is. He came up as a reliever before making the switch to starter, but he’s only started the last season and a half. His numbers as a starter are average at best. On paper there’s a lot to like about him - he’s got a good mental make up, he’s got good stuff with excellent control, and he’s got 3 very good pitches. This is a great pick up for the Yankees if he pans out, but right now, it’s a lot of money to invest into an unknown product.

1/14/2026
3B Adrian Beltre has been inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame. He received 84.4% of the votes in his 3rd year on the ballot. He finished his career with 3,166 hits, 636 doubles, 38 triples, 477 HR, 1707 RBI, 121 SB, 63.6 WAR, and a .286/.339/.480 line.

LF Manny Ramirez received 61.6%. This was his 10th and final year on the ballot. CF Curtis Granderson (2nd year), CF Matt Kemp (1st), 2B Chase Utley (3rd), SS Jimmy Rollins (5th), 3B Aramis Ramirez (5th), RF Nick Markakis (1st), 2B Daniel Murphy, SP Gio Gonzalez, and RF Shin-Soo Choo were also dropped.

2/2/26
The Washington Nationals have signed 1B Yordan Alvarez for $106,600,000 over 7 years. If he can stay healthy, Alvarez is the type of player you can stick in the heart of your lineup and expect 30+ doubles, 30+ HR, and a .260 average from him. That’s if he’s healthy. He struggles to make it through 100 games a season, so his numbers are always going to be short of his potential. It’s a lot of money to tie up with someone who is going to spend significant time on the IL.

Trades

11/19/25
To Texas Rangers - C MJ Melendez, RF Robert Hassell III, minor league RHP Josh Staumont, minor league RHP Mitch Spence, $6 million in cash
To San Diego Padres - Minor league LF Yeison Morrobel

The downside of having a lot of talented youngsters is that sometimes there just isn’t room for them. Hassell III is a player that I really hate to see leave the organization. He was the 59th ranked prospect in baseball last year, and peaked at #41 in 2023. Last season, as our 4th outfielder, he hit .265/.346/.424 with 24 doubles, 5 triples, 7 HR, 50 RBI, and 1.9 WAR. If we take those stats and project them over a full season using our starting roster’s average ABs per season, those numbers turn into 37 doubles, 8 triples, 11 HR, 78 RBI, and 3.0 WAR - quite a nice little season!

So why trade away a player that can obviously produce at the big league level? Like I said, there’s just not room for him. He’s not going to beat out Marin, Tocci, or Lee this season for a starting spot, and with them being 28, 30, and 28 years old respectively, it’s unlikely that he’ll beat them out in the future either. Plus we have both Max Kops and Andy Pages in AAA who are knocking on the door. One, if not both, of those guys will likely see time with the big league club this year.

Melendez was a wonder in the club house and a fantastic defender, but at the end of the day, he was surplus to requirements. $4 million for a backup catcher who has only produced a positive WAR once in the last three seasons. He’s still young and for a team that’s rebuilding like the Rangers, he should be a great role model for their youngsters. Staumont was always going to be a piece of a trade, and Spence is a decent prospect, but unlikely to ever break into our roster.

So if there is a log jam in the outfield, why bring in yet another outfielder? Well, he’s a direct replacement for Hassell III in the organization, but the advantage he gives us is time. He’s just 21 years old and hasn’t played higher than A+ ball, so he’ll be fine stuck in the minors for a few years. By the time he’s ready to break into the big league team, the outfield might look a lot different than it does today. Morrobel isn’t being recognized as a top-tier prospect, but if he continues to develop, I could see him surprising people. He looks very similar to Tocci and has all the makings of a great contact hitter. He also won the A+ East MVP and Silver Slugger for CF. He’s not listed in the Top 100 prospects yet, but he is someone to watch.

11/19/25
To New York Yankees - RHP Tyler Johnson, RHP Nick Sandlin, SS Ivan Castillo, minor league RHP Paul Campbell
To San Diego Padres - Minor league RHP Bauer Brittain

Gotta keep that pipeline moving! Johnson and Sandlin both had disappointing years last season, but their upside is so high that you can’t blame anyone for wanting them in their bullpen. They should help strengthen a Yankee bullpen that finished 8th in the AL last season in ERA. With the emergence of Haynes and the return of Paxton we now have, *checks notes*, 7 starting pitchers. A couple of bodies are going to the pen, so room needed to be made.

Looking at our options, I think the rotation this year is going to be Bieber, Paxton, Haynes, Weathers, and Bednar. That means that both Harrison and Hotta will be moving to the pen. Of course, this is all assuming that both pitchers will accept being relievers. If they don’t, I might have to make some more moves.

Castillo is a player I would have liked to keep, but once again, the pipeline. He’s probably good enough to start in this league, but he’s content with being a bench player. He’s a nice security blanket in the middle infield. You can put him on your roster and expect him to quietly hit around .300. Looking at our minors, we have two guys that could probably step into his role - 2B Livan Soto and SS Charlis Aquino. Both players were in AAA last season, where Soto hit .333 and Aquino hit .324. Let’s also not forget that there is Alex Goicochea on the roster as well, who hit .355 over 234 at bats last season.

Campbell was always going to be nothing more than insurance for our roster. He’s an average big league pitcher, and he should find some action with the Yankees.

Brittain was a 28th round draft pick by Seattle in 2022. He was released from the organization and picked up by the Yankees the following year. He’s a decent enough prospect with some interesting upside. Throws a fastball in the high 90s with a knee-buckling curve and a changeup that should continue to develop into a plus pitch. He’s got pretty good stuff and control, but he’s likely to give up his fair share of homers. With the culture we’ve built up within the organization, I think he could develop into a possible bullpen guy down the line.

11/19/25
To Minnesota Twins - Minor league RHP Connor Lehmann, minor league RHP Wandi Montout, minor league C Adam Kerner, minor league 3B Cesar Labra. Minor league LHB Byung-Doo Lee
To San Diego Padres - Minor league 1B Logan Boniface

You can call this trade organizational restructuring. The Twins are rebuilding and we’ve given them several pieces to work with. There’s some borderline talent in this group, and a couple players with intriguing tools. Lehman and Montout can probably pitch well enough to make a big league roster, Kerner looks like a career backup, but there’s enough there for him to make the cut, and Labra will be a pretty average player. Lee was a name that kept coming up in the last few trades whenever I asked to make things work. It makes me think that I’m missing on him, but I can live with my decision.

Boniface is an unproven talent that could go either way in his development at this point. If he stalls, he’s a career minor leaguer. However, if he continues to develop, then he should turn into a nice little first baseman. Could potentially develop above average contact ability with some decent pop. He’s a long ways away from the majors, but I’m willing to take a chance on him.

Arrivals

3B Wilmer Reyes

Organizational depth. He’s a good influence in the clubhouse.

CF Leuri Mejia

More organizational depth. Good head on his shoulders. He knows how to get a team going.

Departures

CL Blake Cederlind - Free agent, Chicago Cubs

RP Pierce Johnson - Free agent, Unemployed

Season Outlook

With very few changes to our big league roster, we are once again predicted to lead the way in the NL West. We’ve made it to the playoffs in six consecutive seasons, but have only walked away with one championship. The question looms heavy above us - Can we win another World Series and become a true dynasty?