Terry Francona led the Cincinnati Reds to a surprising 83-79 finish last season, winning the last Wild Card spot in the NL. The club didn’t have many obvious holes in its lineup, but an absence of power — just two players hit 20+ home runs last season, Elly De La Cruz (22) and Spencer Steer (21) — remained a concern.

Cincinnati has had a mostly quiet offseason. Uncertainty about their local broadcast future with Main Street Sports has reportedly left the team unsure how much payroll space they have to make upgrades, according to several reports. That uncertainty even fueled speculation for much of the winter that the team might trade one of its starters (likely Brady Singer, who is due $12.75 million in his final season before free agency). Still, if the team were able to add an impact bat to the lineup, it appeared as though it would be in the outfield.

On Sunday, Eugenio Suárez and the Cincinnati Reds agreed to a one-year, $15 million deal for the 2026 season, with a mutual option for $16 million in 2027. The 12-year veteran has spent all but 35 of his 1,630 career games on the left side of the infield, but is expected to see most of his time with the Reds at DH or first base.

Suárez started last season with the Diamondbacks before a July trade to the Mariners, hitting .228/.298/.526 (126 OPS+) with 28 2B, 49 HR, and 118 RBI. While still an impactful hitter at the plate, the 34-year-old’s defensive value has dropped in recent years. Seattle had interest in bringing Suárez back, but despite the obvious fit, the two sides were unable to reach a deal before the veteran returned to Cincinnati, where he played from 2015 to 2021.

Francona will have to juggle the Reds’ lineup puzzle. Cincinnati already has Ke’Bryan Hayes locked in at third base, pushing prospect Sal Stewart to first. Suárez fits best defensively at DH, providing protection for De La Cruz. Steer and Matt McLain will potentially end up in left field and at second base, while the club also has 22-year-old Edwin Arroyo on the precipice of joining the big league roster.

Elsewhere on Sunday, the Chicago White Sox continued to use the “payroll flexibility” they received from trading Luis Robert Jr. to the New York Mets. The White Sox acquired right-handers Jordan Hicks and David Sandlin, two players to be named later, and cash from the Boston Red Sox for right-hander Gage Ziehl. The Red Sox are covering $8 million of the $24 million remaining on Hicks’ contract over the next two seasons.

The 29-year-old Hicks will have the most immediate impact for both sides of this deal. The long-time reliever signed a four-year, $44 million contract with the San Francisco Giants before the 2024 season with the idea that he’d move into a starting role, but he’d end up back in the bullpen before that first season concluded. The Red Sox acquired him in last spring’s Rafael Devers trade, likely to help offset some of the financial burden on the Giants. Hicks made 34 appearances on the season with a 6.95 ERA (58 ERA+) over 67.1 IP with a career-low 7.8 K/9 (18.5 BB%).

Chicago has an inexperienced bullpen aside from the free-agent addition of Seranthony Dominguez (who will likely close out most games). The team has several intriguing arms that should work into the mix ahead of Dominguez, including Grant Taylor and Jordan Leasure, but Hicks will bring another veteran arm with some late-inning experience to the group. The White Sox are likely hoping he can rebound from last season’s performance so that he might be a potential trade chip this summer.

The White Sox took on Hicks’ inconsistent production and remaining contract to add Sandlin to their system. An 11th-round pick in the 2022 Draft, Sandlin spent most of his time in Boston’s minor league system as a starter before his promotion to Triple-A last season. The initial results weren’t great in the bullpen (7.61 ERA and an increased walk rate over 23.2 IP), but some scouts feel that his future may be in such a role rather than the rotation. For now, Sandlin should head into spring training among those looking to win a spot in the White Sox rotation depth. He’ll turn 25 in February.

The key for Boston is getting out of more than half of Hicks’ remaining contract, but the team does receive a potential wildcard in Ziehl. The 22-year-old was a 4th-round pick by the Yankees in the 2024 Draft, who was then traded to Chicago last summer for Austin Slater. He combined to pitch to a 4.12 ERA over 107.0 IP last season.

Chicago “saved” $20 million by moving Robert to the Mets. The team has now committed to spending $26 million to add Dominguez (he’s due $8M), outfielder Austin Hays in free agency ($6M), and now Hicks. As many have pointed out, it’s an odd juxtaposition considering the team’s current payroll projections stand at just $85 million (per Roster Resource).

The baseball world was fascinated when it discovered Pat Venditte, then a minor leaguer in the Yankees’ system. An ambidextrous pitcher who could throw strikes from both sides was simply unheard of. Venditte eventually appeared in 61 games in the majors (with six teams), posting a 4.73 ERA (87 ERA+) over 72.1 IP.

That same fascination sprang up again when Jurrangelo Cijntje exceeded expectations and raised eyebrows at the draft showcase in 2024 after a strong sophomore season at Mississippi State. The Seattle Mariners selected the switch-pitcher with the 15th-overall pick in the 1st round of that summer’s draft.

Cijntje’s first pro season wasn’t poor by any means: a 3.99 ERA over 108.1 IP across two levels (including a 2.67 mark over 33.2 IP once he was promoted to Double-A). The Mariners, however, recognized a noticeable split in his performance and comfort on the mound. The team plans to have him “exclusively focused on pitching right-handed” when he reports to spring training, according to MLB.com’s Daniel Kramer, though he will still occasionally pitch left-handed in bullpen sessions.

As Kramer details, the Mariners felt that Cijntje struggled with his workload last season. The team was using him as a right-handed starter on Saturdays and a left-handed reliever midweek, with a pronounced imbalance in results: 9 SO, 19 BB, a 1.118 OPS allowed in 9.2 IP as a lefty; 111 SO, 32 BB, a .618 OPS allowed in 98.1 IP as a righty.

The 22-year-old turned down an invitation to pitch for Team Netherlands in the WBC so that he could focus on spring training. MLB Pipeline ranked him at No. 91 on its Top 100 prospect list heading into the season.

… except that he was traded to St. Louis on Monday evening.

Brendan Donovan has been at the center of trade rumors for much of the offseason. While several teams have been connected to the versatile 29-year-old, the Mariners have long lingered as a likely fit. Seattle finally acquired Donovan on Monday in what ended up being a three-team trade.

The full deal:

Seattle acquires Donovan from St. Louis.

Tampa Bay acquires third baseman Ben Williamson from Seattle.

St. Louis received Cijntje, outfielder Tai Peete, and a competitive balance round B pick from Seattle, plus outfielder Colton Ledbetter and a competitive balance round B pick from Tampa Bay.

The Cardinals have spent the offseason trimming the roster of veteran players in favor of controllable prospects. Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras, and Nolan Arenado have all been traded out of town, and now Donovan joins them.

It’s easy to see why the Mariners — and several other teams — were linked to interest in Donovan throughout the offseason. The 29-year-old just completed his fourth season in the big leagues, hitting .282/.361/.411 (117 OPS+) over those four seasons while averaging 32 2B, 13 HR, and 67 RBI a year. His 13.5 SO% is well ahead of the league average (22.5 SO%). Donovan has been an All-Star, won a Gold Glove Award, and has demonstrated the versatility to handle both the infield and outfield with ease. Plus, he’s still under team control for two seasons.

For a Mariners team with uncertainties in right field and unproven players at second and third base, Donovan is the ideal addition.

Cijntje adds yet another intriguing arm to a Cardinals system suddenly deep with pitching. 2025 draftee Liam Doyle came in at No. 34 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100, while the system already featured Quinn Mathews, Tink Hence, Cooper Hjerpe, Brycen Mautz, and Luis Gastelum in the upper minors before any of the trade acquisitions from the offseason entered the mix.

Seattle drafted Peete with the 30th-overall pick in the 2023 Draft as a high school shortstop, but he’s since been moved out to center field. Peete just turned 20 this past August and spent the year as one of the youngest players at High-A, batting .217/.288/.404 in 529 PA with 24 2B, 19 HR, and 25 SB.

The Rays drafted Ledbetter in the 2nd round of that same draft out of Mississippi State (where he was teammates with Cijntje). The 24-year-old hit .265/.337/.378 in 535 PA with 24 2B, 7 HR, and 37 SB at Double-A this past season.

The competitive balance round picks are the only draft picks that teams are permitted to trade. Tentatively speaking, the two picks will be Nos. 68 and 72 overall in this summer’s draft, but both should drop back a place once Zac Gallen signs (and the Diamondbacks are awarded a compensatory pick at the end of the 1st round).

Williamson is the lone piece coming back to Tampa Bay in the deal. The 25-year-old made his MLB debut this past season for Seattle, appearing in 85 games and hitting .253/.294/.310 (76 OPS+) in 295 PA. His defensive work received high praise from scouts and most defensive metrics, so the Mariners believed there was still promise to build on. Williamson even looked like the team’s projected starter at third base after Eugenio Suárez elected not to return to the team.

Williamson has seen time around the diamond in the minor leagues, with several games at every position except behind the plate, and his versatility is certainly one reason the Rays had interest in acquiring him.

The Blue Jays announced plans to honor a franchise legend with a statue outside the Rogers Centre.

The Kansas City Royals are sponsoring free admission to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum all month in conjunction with Black History Month. This is the fifth year in a row the team has covered admission costs at the NLBM. According to MLB.com’s Anne Rogers, the team says more than 50,000 people have visited the museum in February over the last few years.

The Chicago White Sox added a bidet to the locker room at Munetaka Murakami's request. Yes, really, per MLB.com’s Scott Merkin.

Six of the nine teams — the Brewers, Marlins, Rays, Royals, Cardinals, and Reds — that broke deals with Main Street Sports/FanDuel last month will indeed have the league handle local broadcast operations this season. The Braves, Tigers, and Angels remain without a plan, though the Braves are looking into starting their own RSN (along the lines of the YES Network or NESN).

Outfielder Avisail Garcia announced his retirement on Monday. Garcia hit .263/.316/.417 (100 OPS+; i.e., exactly league average) over a 13-year career with the White Sox and four other clubs.

We’ll close things out today with a little trivia. David Robertson announced his retirement last week. Robertson was the last remaining active player from the Yankees’ 2009 World Series team, meaning we will head into the 2026 season with zero active players who won a ring with the franchise. Per Yahoo! Sports’ Jack Baer, this will be just the second year, joining 1995, since the team won its first title in 1922, that this feat has happened.