As spring training draws ever nearer, the Mariners have again fortified the group of arms they’ll bring to camp (known around here as The Pitching Pile), acquiring RHP Cooper Criswell from the Mets for cash. Long-tenured sixth (or seventh or eighth) starter Jhonthan Díaz was designated for assignment in a corresponding move.

Criswell, 29, was originally drafted in the 13th round by the Angels in 2018 (obligatory Mariners tie-in: the Angels’ last pick of that draft was Isaiah Campbell from Arkansas, who would return to school and be drafted by the Mariners in the second round the following year). He then spent two years with the Rays and two years with the Red Sox. The Angels brought Criswell up as a starter, but he spent most of his first year with the Rays relieving. The Red Sox moved Criswell back into a starter role, slotting him into the fifth starter role.

Criswell is in an unusual situation: he’s out of options but pre-arbitration, meaning he makes the league minimum. Boston, facing a roster crunch this off-season but not wanting to lose the versatile Criswell, hatched a plan to try to sneak him through waivers: they signed him to a 2026 deal for slightly above league minimum, at $800K, meaning any team that tried to pick him up off waivers would have to pay above the minimum. That plan was foiled, however, first by the Mets, and then by the Mariners, who picked up Criswell when the Mets DFA’d him to make room for Freddy Peralta and Tobias Meyers.

It’s unclear how the Mariners plan to use Criswell, who isn’t exactly the minor-league castoff who usually shows up on the pitching pile. As a starter, Criswell fits the mold of a typical back-end starter. He has four solid pitches: a changeup, cutter, sinker, and a sweeper. He throws the first three pitches about equally, around 30% of the time each. Criswell has an extremely low arm slot, and his changeup has plus drop, as does the sinker; the two, along with the cutter, combine for a wealth of ground-ball outs rather than strikeouts. It’s a familiar profile: the groundball-getting contact manager back-end starter.

The real interest with Criswell is his sweeper, which he doesn’t throw often: only about 10% of the time. That’s curious, because on paper it looks like it should be his best pitch, with a hellacious 20” of glove-side break. FanGraphs’s Stuff+ model has the pitch well into “elite” territory. However, the few times he threw it last season, batters didn’t miss it. In a small sample size, hitters slugged a gaudy .875 on the pitch.

But why not knockout pitch if knockout pitch-shaped?

Criswell offers a host of possible avenues, but “wipeout sweeper reliever” sounds a bit more interesting than “depth starter contact manager.” We will see how the Mariners choose to deploy him this spring.

In a corresponding move, lefty Jhonathan Díaz, spot starter/stalwart of Tacoma’s rotation and winner of the Casey Lawrence Memorial Bacon-Saver Award, was designated for assignment. It’s not a glamorous role, but Díaz filled it capably for the Mariners for several years. We wish him well.

The Chicago White Sox likely won't be contenders in the American League this season. And that applied before they traded Luis Robert Jr. to the New York Mets. 

However, the team still signed one of MLB's top strikeout relievers on Friday, reportedly inking right-hander Seranthony Dominguez to a two-year, $20 million contract. The White Sox have not officially announced the signing.

Dominguez, 31, pitched for the Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays last season. Featuring a five-pitch arsenal (four-seam fastball, sweeper, splitter, sinker and curveball), he compiled a 3.16 ERA with 79 strikeouts in 62 2/3 innings. His strikeout rate of 11.35 per nine innings ranked 23rd among qualifying MLB relievers.

With that strikeout stuff come some control issues. Dominguez allowed a career-high 36 walks last season and tied for the MLB lead with 12 wild pitches. 

[Get more Chicago news: White Sox team feed]

In the postseason, he made 12 appearances during the Blue Jays' run to the World Series and registered a 3.18 ERA with 10 strikeouts in 11 1/3 innings.

During his seven MLB seasons, Dominguez has a career 3.50 ERA in 322 appearances with a strikeout rate of 10.6 per nine innings. He pitched his first six seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies. 

Presumably, Dominguez will be a good trade piece to offer at the deadline to contenders looking to bolster their bullpens, which would ideally allow the White Sox to add a top prospect or two. But for now, he's part of an effort by White Sox general manager Chris Getz to strengthen the team's roster. 

This offseason, the White Sox have also added relievers Sean Newcomb and Anthony Kay. They surprised MLB by signing Japanese third baseman Munetaka Murakami and acquired infielder Luisangel Acuña in the Robert trade. 

The Mets have traded right-hander Cooper Criswell to the Mariners for cash considerations, Seattle announced Friday.

Criswell, who was designated for assignment by the Mets earlier this week, was claimed off waivers from the Red Sox in December.

He joined the Red Sox in 2024, logging a 4.08 ERA with 73 strikeouts across 26 appearances (99.1 innings) as both a rotation and long-relief option. 

Last season was far less kind to Criswell, however. The 29-year-old spent ample time in Triple-A Worcester, appearing in just seven MLB games before suffering a season-ending elbow injury in August.

Since making his big league debut in 2021, Criswell owns a 4.48 ERA and 1.44 WHIP with 113 punchouts over 45 appearances (145.1 innings). He didn't have any minor league options remaining.

For the first time since 2022, the White Sox have an official closer. Chicago agreed to a two-year, $20 million deal with reliever Seranthony Domínguez two days after trading Luis Robert Jr. to the Mets for a pair of prospects.

No one expected Jerry Reinsdorf to actually use the extra change on a solid free agent, but this pleasant surprise is more than welcome.

Domínguez is coming off a strong 2025 season, split between the Orioles and Blue Jays: As a setup man, he accumulated a 3.16 ERA and an 11.9 K/9 rate in 67 games. Domínguez has also proven to be durable, pitching at least 50 innings in four consecutive seasons. His ability to stay healthy since missing 2020 and 2021 to Tommy John surgery will help take the load off of a bullpen that was often expected to carry games after the fifth inning. 

Beyond stat lines, Domínguez fits in perfectly with a club that has an affinity for hard-throwing relievers with swagger. Domínguez’s fastball, which he used 43% of the time in 2025 and up to 60% in the beginning of his career, averaged 97.7 mph, ranking in the 94th percentile among MLB pitchers. To offset his four-seamer’s velocity, he swapped his slider and changeup for a splitter and sweeper this year. Although these pitches alone induced nearly a 50% whiff rate and helping Domínguez’s tally a 33.3 whiff percentage and 30.3 strikeout percentage overall, his new pitch arsenal also led to a 5.6% walk rate increase. Like many high velocity hurlers, Domínguez misses bats, but gets rocked when hitters make contact.

Domínguez is a low-risk, high-reward acquisition that elevates the Sox’s bullpen. The veteran reliever brings tenured success with playoff teams and a history of dominating in high-leverage situations. With very little to lose and a lot to gain, Chicago’s pitching staff looks more ready to hold its own against decent teams this season. 

Some are concerned about how new Mets infielder Bo Bichette will handle the transition to the third base this season.

David Wright, though, is not one of them.

Wright certainly knows a thing or two about getting it done at the hot corner. 

“If I could do it, anybody could do it; it shouldn’t be that hard,” the former Mets captain joked. “But he can pick it and is such a great athlete -- I see it being a seamless transition.”

Bichette hasn’t played the position since travel ball as a teenager. 

He spent some time at second during the World Series last year with the Blue Jays, but had only appeared as a shortstop or DH prior to that at the big league level. 

Still, Wright doesn’t think it’ll present an issue for the Mets. 

In fact, after watching Bichette in those playoffs, Wright feels he's going to be a huge piece for this club with the abilities he brings on the other side of the ball. 

“The energy, the electricity, that confident swagger that he brings to a team,” Wright said. “And on top of that, he’s a heckuva player -- so I think it’s a welcome addition.”

Bichette rebounded nicely after a bit of a down 2024 campaign, finishing 16th in AL MVP voting after hitting .311 with 94 RBI and a .840 OPS over 139 games with the Jays. 

He’ll look to carryover that production hitting behind Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto. 

Just like that, the tune has changed around the Mets’ offseason. 

That sour taste from losing four fan favorites from their core has quickly washed away after an action-filled week that saw them make some big-name additions to help both their offense and pitching. 

New York responded after losing out on star outfielder Kyle Tucker to the Dodgers, bringing in one of the top bats left on the market in two-time All-Star Bo Bichette to man the hot corner. 

They then filled the massive need alongside Juan Soto in their outfield, finally reaching an agreement on a deal with the Chicago White Sox to bring high-upside two-way centerfielder Luis Robert Jr. to Queens. 

Hours after Bichette was introduced at Citi Field, David Stearns was able to secure the ace he’s been searching for, completing a trade with his former club in Milwaukee for right-handers Freddy Peralta and Tobias Myers. 

The Mets also picked up veteran reliever Luis Garcia on a one-year deal earlier in the day. 

On paper, this team is looking much more like a contender in the National League. 

Manager Carlos Mendoza certainly is happy with what he sees. 

“It’s exciting,” the skipper said Friday afternoon on Foul Territory. “Everything happened so fast, it was one move after another. I kept getting texts from front office members about the moves -- because of the way the offseason started, we got to this point, it’s definitely exciting.”

While the roster is now just about set, Steve Cohen's deep pockets have fans wondering if more excitement is on the way. 

As we've seen over the past few months, you can never truly rule anything out with this front office, but Mendoza did emphasize that they feel good about the club as currently constructed. 

“I know David [Stearns] is going to continue to stay active with Steve [Cohen],” he said. “As the manager, you appreciate having an owner in Steve and Alex [Cohen] who are willing to put in all of their resources; that’s a good feeling.

“David will continue to look for ways to continue to improve our roster, but we do feel really good with where we’re at from the pitching side, the position player side, the depth, the minor leagues -- we feel really good with where we’re headed as an organization.”

Yesterday, MacKenzie Gore became the first piece of the Juan Soto deal to be traded away from the Nats. However, there is a decent chance he will not be the last. As the Gore trade was finalized, rumblings about the Nats dealing CJ Abrams emerged.

The Washington Post reported that the Nats have been shopping Abrams, as well as defensive ace Jacob Young this offseason. This lines up with reporting earlier this offseason that there was interest in Abrams around the league. In December, Ken Rosenthal reported that Abrams was drawing heavy interest.

However, Paul Toboni’s tone has always been a bit different with Abrams than it was with Gore. Throughout the offseason, Toboni acknowledged that the team was actively listening with Gore. When discussing Abrams, he said the team was picking up the phone, but there has been a subtext that they would really need to be blown away to move him.

That stance was on display today when Toboni talked to Grant and Danny on 106.7. He said that he would pick up the phone, but that he sees Abrams as his shortstop. Toboni was never that committal towards Gore, which tells me something.

This is not to say he won’t be traded. There is a chance that we wake up in a couple days and Abrams is on a different team. After all, my feel for these things is not great. Yesterday, I wrote about how a Gore trade felt less likely than ever, and hours later he was dealt. You just never know with these things, but throughout the offseason, I thought a Gore trade was more likely than an Abrams move.

If Abrams gets moved, I feel like the deadline might be a better time. With three years of team control remaining, the Nats should be in absolutely no hurry to move Abrams. They should only move him if they feel like they are getting surplus value in the trade.

The deadline honestly feels like a better time to get that surplus value. There are teams that feel confident in their infield situation right now that could not feel so confident as things play out in the season. The Red Sox, Yankees and Royals are three teams that this could apply to. If Anthony Volpe continues to struggle in the Bronx, the Yankees would have a pretty glaring hole at shortstop that Abrams could address.

You can never count anything out with Toboni though. If you asked me to name five teams that Gore could be traded to, I am not sure the Rangers would be on the list and if it was, they would have been 4th or 5th on the list. Teams like the Yankees, Orioles, Cubs and even the A’s were speculated about more.

When you think about it though, the Rangers needed a younger number 3 starter behind Degrom and Eovaldi, so the fit made sense. Could there be a team like that for Abrams? The Mariners have been an AL West team that has been oddly quiet lately. Could they be a player for Abrams if they cannot land Brandon Donovan from the Cardinals? I think it is possible.

At the end of the day, if a deal happens, I think it is more likely to take place at the deadline or next offseason. Unlike Gore, the service time clock is not really ticking for Abrams yet. They could hold on to Abrams and still get the same type of package in a few months. The new player development is also probably eager to get their hands on a talent like him.

The Scott Boras factor that existed with Gore is also not there with Abrams. If they really pushed, they could get Abrams extended. It is unclear if they want to do that, but it is a possibility. I hope they at least give it a shot because Abrams is a very exciting message and it would be a good message to send to the fans. Given recent history, Nats fans probably shouldn’t get too attached to Abrams though.

Carlos Mendoza broke down the Mets’ busy week during an appearance on ‘Foul Territory’ on Friday afternoon.

Here are his thoughts:

On where Bo Bichette fits into Mets' lineup…

“This is a guy who is so versatile," he said. "He could hit leadoff, second, third, fourth -- we're still so far from Opening Day, but if you're asking me right now, I could see a combination of [Francisco] Lindor, [Juan] Soto, and Bichette right away.

“I have to have these conversations with the players, but the fact that Bo is such a good hitter, you could put him in front of Soto, you could put him behind him, you could take Lindor out of the leadoff spot and put him third -- there’s so many different ways I could go here.”  

On acquiring Luis Robert Jr. from White Sox…

“We’re looking at a very toolsy player,” Mendoza said. “When he’s healthy, he’s one of the best. We know the defense, we know the power, we know he can steal bases -- it’s our job to keep him on the field now.

“I know the trainers are already with their hands on him. We have to get to know the player, his routines and the way he prepares, then we have to make some adjustments in communication with him because that’s going to be the goal -- we need this guy on the field.”

On adding Freddy Peralta in trade with Brewers…

“I spoke with him as soon as the transaction went down,” Mendoza said. “I got on the phone with him and had a very good conversation, he was super excited -- everything I’m hearing, we all know the quality of the pitcher, but everyone keeps telling me about the quality of the person. 

“You could feel it from my first conversation how excited he was. He’s willing to report to Port St. Lucie early so he can start meeting people, and that, to me, goes a long way -- at the end of the day, he just has to be Freddy Peralta, go out there compete and give us a chance to win every time you take the baseball.”

Mendoza was also asked about a potential extension with Peralta, but like Stearns on Thursday, he said the organization is just focused on letting him get his feet wet and the rest will take care of itself. 

On Nolan McLean pitching for Team USA in the WBC...

"The fact that he's going to be able to experience that, playing with and against some of the best players in the world in that type of environment and in those settings, it's just going to continue to help his development. So I'm excited about it and I know he's super excited -- I'm looking forward to watching him pitch."

In nearly a half-century of existence, no Seattle Mariners team has traversed deeper into the postseason than the 2025 club, which was on the precipice of the franchise’s first World Series appearance before falling short in heartbreaking fashion against the Blue Jays in ALCS Game 7. But as painful as the ending might have been, it didn’t erase a successful and memorable campaign for Seattle. Headlined by a full-fledged ascent into superstardom for catcher Cal Raleigh and a mostly homegrown rotation that is revered industry-wide, the Mariners took a meaningful step toward being firmly included among the inner circle of American League contenders.

Yet with the label of the only major-league team to never appear in the Fall Classic still looming over the franchise, there’s more work to be done. This offseason represented another opportunity for Seattle’s front office, led by president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto and general manager Justin Hollander, to solidify the team’s status as the favorite in the AL West after winning the division for the first time since 2001. But after a flurry of activity early in the winter — re-signing first baseman Josh Naylor, acquiring lefty reliever Jose Ferrer, signing outfielder Rob Refsnyder — the Mariners have been uncharacteristically quiet in January. And with just three weeks until pitchers and catchers report to Peoria, Arizona, several key questions remain. Let’s dig in.

1. Is Brendan Donovan still a realistic trade target?

Amid a Cardinals offseason that has seen a trio of accomplished veterans (Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras, Nolan Arenado) dealt, the versatile Brendan Donovan remains on the roster despite persistent trade rumors swirling around him. Because he is under contract for two more seasons at modest salaries — and because St. Louis values him so highly — there’s not nearly as much urgency to trade him as there was for the three expensive vets already moved. But because of how future-focused new president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom has been with St. Louis’ big-picture plan, whispers about Donovan’s availability haven’t exactly quieted. 

The Mariners have not been shy about their interest in Donovan throughout the winter, understandably so. Swiftly re-signing Naylor helped stabilize the lineup, but Naylor wasn’t the only key Seattle infielder who reached free agency; Eugenio Suárez and Jorge Polanco hit the open market as well, leaving second and third base relatively unsettled. The Mariners have several young players who could fill those spots, as Ben Williamson and Cole Young each showed flashes of promise as rookies in 2025, and top prospect Colt Emerson is knocking on the door. But Seattle would be wise to add some more certainty at one of those two infield spots. Enter Donovan, whose experience at both second and third combined with his stellar left-handed bat makes him an obvious target. Adding Donovan would enable Seattle to lean on whichever young infielder is most ready to contribute and have Donovan cover the other spot.

But while Donovan has long felt like a piece of Seattle’s offseason puzzle, the two teams have yet to find common ground. But with a deep farm system to deal from, there’s still time for the Mariners to offer the right combination of prospects to entice the Cardinals. As evidenced by the recent flurry of activity league-wide, negotiations that appear stalled can coalesce into deals in a blink. Don’t rule this out just yet.

[Get more Seattle news: Mariners team feed] 

2. If Donovan is a no-go, are the young infielders ready for prime time?

If the Mariners are unable to meet St. Louis’ asking price for Donovan, they could turn elsewhere on the trade market or explore a(nother) reunion on a short-term deal with fan favorite Suárez, who remains unsigned. More likely, however, Seattle would keep the runway open for its group of homegrown infielders to establish themselves as core pieces in the majors, accepting the ups and downs that come with giving young players every-day opportunities.

Williamson, Young and Emerson offer varying reasons for optimism that they can become key contributors sooner rather than later. Williamson’s bat was simply not ready for the majors when the Mariners tabbed him as the starter at third base in the first half last season, but his terrific glove comfortably passed the eye test, and he performed much better at the plate in Triple-A once sent back down. If some of his offensive adjustments stick, Williamson projects as a much more respectable regular at third now than he did at this time last year.

Young, Seattle’s first-round pick in 2022, made his debut at age 21 in May and got substantial playing time before his role was reduced down the stretch and in the postseason in favor of Polanco and Leo Rivas. Young’s final slash line as a rookie (.211/.302/.305) wasn’t pretty, but his offensive potential was on display during a 29-game stretch in which he hit .268/.400/.476 and launched a 456-foot home run against Texas, Seattle’s farthest home run of the entire season and postseason (yes, farther than any of Cal Raleigh’s 65 blasts!). Outlier moon shot aside, Young brings more on-base ability than potent power, but his overall skill set has Seattle confident he can become an above-average regular at second base in short order.

And then there’s Emerson, who is not just the top prospect in Seattle’s system but also one of the premier infield prospects in all of baseball. In Seattle, he looks to be the heir apparent to J.P. Crawford at shortstop, but with Crawford under contract for another season, the quickest path to playing time for Emerson’s advanced bat could come at third, where he’s expected to compete with Williamson for the starting job this spring. Even if Emerson needs a touch more seasoning in the minors — he finished 2025 playing just six games with Triple-A Tacoma — it wouldn’t be surprising to see him force the issue and debut before he turns 21, something no Mariner has done since Adam Jones in 2006.

3. Can the offense be better than it was last year?

How the infield shakes out will influence the outlook for the offense as a whole. But there are other elements to consider when projecting Seattle’s chances of improving on last year’s lineup, which ranked third in wRC+, ninth in runs per game, 10th in OPS and third in home runs. That’s a high bar to clear.

A full season from Naylor should do wonders; first base was a marked weakness before he arrived at the trade deadline, and he assimilated into the middle of the order seamlessly, undaunted by the prospect of hitting in hitter-unfriendly T-Mobile Park. Free-agent add Refsnyder, who crushes left-handed pitching, could form a fantastic platoon at DH and/or right field with Dominic Canzone. Canzone’s .879 OPS ranked 18th among left-handed hitters with at least 200 plate appearances against righties in 2025, while Refsnyder’s .924 OPS over the past four seasons ranked sixth among right-handed bats with at least 400 PAs against southpaws. 

But while the new personnel is important, it’s still all about the stars. It is unreasonable to expect Raleigh to hit 60 home runs again, but how much will he regress? He had never posted an OPS above .762 before last year’s MVP-caliber mark of .948. Seattle’s chances of being an elite offense might depend on that number being closer to the latter than the former. A lot is also riding on Julio Rodriguez’s ability to start hot at the plate, instead of being a second-half superstar. There’s no doubt that Raleigh and Rodriguez have established star-level floors of production, but how close they can get to replicating or even improving upon the best versions of themselves will go a long way in determining Seattle’s potential.

4. Is there room for another bullpen addition?

If there’s one area of the roster Seattle has been busy addressing this winter, it’s the bullpen. Acquiring Ferrer, one of the hardest-throwing lefty relievers in the sport and someone Seattle believes has untapped potential, was the biggest move of the bunch, but he’s hardly the only new arm who could be competing for a spot in camp. Smaller trades and waiver claims also netted right-handers Cole Wilcox, Alex Hoppe, Yosver Zulueta and Ryan Loutos, plus lefty Robinson Ortiz. 

None of those are household names by any means, but it was crucial for Seattle to amass more depth in the bullpen to turn to over the course of a long season. For as good as the Mariners’ upper-echelon bullpen arms — Andres Muñoz, Matt Brash, Gabe Speier and Eduard Bazardo — were for the bulk of last season, it was clear several of them had worn down considerably down the stretch and deep into October. That’s what makes Ferrer’s addition so important, but there’s an argument that even more reinforcements are needed to avoid taxing the top arms so heavily in 2026. Proven options have thinned out considerably on the free-agent market, but another Ferrer-style trade for an impact arm with multiple years of control could make sense.

The aforementioned top four plus Ferrer comfortably account for five of the eight spots in the Mariners’ Opening Day bullpen. The next three on the projected depth chart — Carlos Vargas, Casey Legumina and Jackson Kowar — are all out of options, so they might have a leg up on the new guys, but they’ll need to earn their spots on the Opening Day roster, considering the depth of talent that will be pushing them.

5. How will the rotation evolve over the next year?

Few teams, if any, have had as much rotation stability in recent years as the Mariners. Outside of a few injury interruptions last year, Seattle has leaned on the same quintet — Logan GIlbert, Luis Castillo, George Kirby, Bryce Miller and Bryan Woo — for an overwhelming majority of its starts. In fact, over the past two seasons, just seven pitchers — those five plus homegrown right-handers Logan Evans and Emerson Hancock — have made at least five starts for the Mariners, the fewest of any club in baseball and a sharp contrast to other contenders such as the Dodgers (17), Brewers (16) and Astros (14), who have seen a plethora of starters take the ball over that span. With all five Mariners starters under contract for at least two more seasons — Gilbert and Castillo for two, Kirby for three, Woo and Miller for four — that unusually consistent core could stay intact a while longer.

Whether this rare continuity sustains for Seattle’s rotation will depend on performance, injury luck and whether the Mariners are able to sign any of these pitchers to longer-term extensions. But adding further intrigue is the fact that Seattle also boasts one of the best trios of pitching prospects in the sport: 22-year-old switch-pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje, 20-year-old right-hander Ryan Sloan and last year’s No. 3 pick out of LSU, lefty Kade Anderson. These premium arms’ progress this season will be fascinating to watch, as any of them could pitch their way to the doorstep of the majors and force the front office to make some interesting decisions about a rotation that has been so steady for so long. To be clear, these would be good problems to have if all the arms involved stay healthy and pitch well, so it’s a fun subplot to keep an eye on as the 2026 season begins.

While Jasson Domínguez and Spencer Jones remain unclear in their roles for the Yankees after the return of Cody Bellinger in left field, the Yankees added some outfield depth Friday by claiming Michael Siani off waivers from the Dodgers.

The 26-year-old Siani spent most of last year with the Cardinals’ Triple-A Memphis affiliate and appeared in just 19 games with St. Louis.

But he played 124 games for the Cardinals in 2024, although he had just a .570 OPS.

A solid defender in center field, Siani was selected off waivers by Atlanta from St. Louis in November and then claimed by the Dodgers last month.

He was designated for assignment by Los Angeles after they signed Kyle Tucker.

Siani joins a group of recently signed depth pieces by the Yankees, joining Seth Brown and Marco Luciano.

To open a spot on the 40-man roster for Siani, the Yankees designated recently signed right-handed reliever Kaleb Ort for assignment.