TBNL: Four accept the qualifying offer; Several trades are made

Tuesday proved to be a busy day of activity, as expected, between the 4 PM EST deadline for players to accept the qualifying offer and the 6 PM EST deadline for teams to add players to the 40-man roster to protect them from December’s Rule 5 Draft.

Of the 144 players to receive a qualifying offer before 2025, just 14 have accepted it. It’s almost a foregone conclusion that most players will reject the QO.

At one point, it looked as though all 13 players to receive the QO this year would continue that trend.

Instead, a record four players have accepted the QO. Left-hander Shota Imanaga, right-hander Brandon Woodruff, second baseman Gleyber Torres, and outfielder Trent Grisham will each return to their 2025 teams on one-year, $22.025 million contracts. None of the four is necessarily surprising, though each case is unique.

Woodruff and Imanaga might be the surprises of the group, though neither Milwaukee nor Chicago should be disappointed. Both teams were going to be looking to add pitching this offseason.

Right shoulder surgery and a severe lat strain cost Woodruff all of 2024 and most of 2025, but he looked like his old self when on the mound this past season, posting a 3.20 ERA (130 ERA+) with 83 strikeouts (11.6 K/9, 32.3 K%) over 64.2 IP. The 32-year-old (he’ll be 33 right before spring training) declined his side of a $20 million mutual option (collecting a $10 million buyout instead) following the season, but now will return to the only club he’s ever played for.

Imanaga’s situation was odd to begin with. His initial contract with the Cubs had a unique set of options included; first, the Cubs declined what was effectively a three-year, $57 million option, and then Imanaga declined a one-year, $15 million player option. Chicago quickly went from looking like they wanted to move on to paying Imanaga $7 million more for the coming season.

The 32-year-old southpaw posted a 3.73 ERA (103 ERA+) over 144.2 IP this past season, but really struggled in the second half (a 4.70 ERA with 20 HR allowed in 76.2 IP). While he likely could have still found a multi-year deal on the open market, the late-season struggles and draft pick compensation would have hurt his market somewhat.

Torres hit .257/.330/.378 (102 OPS+) in 665 PA with 15 HR and 63 RBI in 2024. There was surprise when the Yankees didn’t offer him a QO following the season.

Torres hit .256/.358/.387 (108 OPS+) in 628 PA with 16 HR and 74 RBI this past season, after sitting on the free agent market before accepting a one-year contract with the Tigers in late December. Detroit did extend the QO, and Torres will now return for one more year.

His second-half struggles aside (Torres hit just .223/.320/.339 in 269 PA after the All-Star Break), second basemen don’t generally tend to drive big-dollar contracts on the open market. Like Grisham, Torres’s financial potential was always limited.

Grisham was in danger of losing his place on the Yankees roster a year ago, before he accepted a $500,000 paycut to re-sign with the team. The decision proved good for both sides, with Grisham slashing .235/.348/.464 (125 OPS+) while setting career-highs in PA (581), runs (87), hits (116), HR (34), RBI (74, and walks (82).

Grisham, already, was a curious case. There were plenty (myself included) who questioned why New York extended him a QO in the first place, giving him a chance to earn more than four times his 2025 salary ($5 million). He may have produced offensively, but there’s little to suggest it’s a sign of more to come. His defensive range also diminished over the course of the season.

Most early speculation suggested Grisham, who turned 29 just this month, could get a multi-year deal on the open market, with a higher total guarantee, but there was virtually no chance he was going to better the $22 million AAV (especially with draft pick compensation attached).

The Yankees claimed they were prepared for Grisham to accept the QO, while still having room to pursue another outfield addition (i.e., maybe bringing Cody Bellinger back). Grisham wasn’t going to be an impact signing for anyone, but his removal from the free agent market will help the second tier of outfielders available.

Six trades were completed as teams worked to finalize which players they wanted to protect on their 40-man rosters for December’s Rule 5 Draft. There was also a host of players designated for assignment to create space, meaning we’ll see a round of waiver claims and new players released to free agency in the coming 48 hours.

More free agent additions will come with Friday’s non-tender deadline.

Persistent command issues plagued Luis Guerrero throughout the 2025 season, before an unspecified elbow issue effectively ended it in late June. The right-hander spent the first three months of the season up and down between Boston and the minor leagues, with middling results — a 4.65 ERA over 31.0 IP across three minor league levels and a 4.15 ERA (101 ERA+) over 17.1 IP in Boston, but while walking 19.4% (league average was 8.3%) of the hitters he faced.

The 25-year-old went unclaimed on waivers and was recently removed from Boston’s 40-man roster, despite having minor league options remaining. Guerrero will now head to Tampa Bay, having been traded for infielder Tristan Gray.

Gray, a 29-year-old infielder, spent most of 2025 at Triple-A with the White Sox, where he hit .270/.333/.472 in 282 PA, before being purchased by the Rays at the trade deadline. He got into 30 games for Tampa Bay down the stretch, seeing time at all four infield spots, while hitting .231/.282/.410 (91 OPS+).

Boston’s response to create room on the 40-man roster for Gray was to designate first baseman Nathaniel Lowe for assignment. The move was really procedural, as he was going to be non-tendered before Friday’s deadline anyway. The Red Sox weren’t going to pay Lowe a projected $13.5 million in arbitration to keep him in a part-time role when that payroll can be better spent elsewhere.

Boston and Chicago agreed to a deal that will have left-hander Chris Murphy and catcher Ronny Hernandez changing socks. The trade frees up space on Boston’s 40-man roster and gives the rebuilding White Sox another optionable arm to try out.

Murphy briefly debuted in the big leagues with Boston in 2023, before missing 2024 and the first half of 2025 following Tommy John surgery. The lefty returned to post decent results — a 3.12 ERA (133 OPS+) over 34.1 IP in Boston, with a 2.93 ERA over another 27.2 IP in the minors — with league-average peripherals. Murphy, now 27, has spent time working as both a starter and reliever in Boston’s system, so his versatility could prove useful for Chicago.

Hernandez, 21, slashed .251/.344/.336 over 355 PA with the White Sox’s Class-A affiliate this past season.

Tampa Bay and Chicago completed a four-player trade. Right-handers Steven Wilson and Yoendrys Gómez will head to the Rays, while outfielder Everson Pereira and infielder Tanner Murray head back to the White Sox.

Wilson is far and away the most experienced of the group. The 31-year-old reliever posted a 3.42 ERA (123 ERA+) over 55.1 IP last season, a sharp turnaround from 2024 and his first season with the White Sox after coming over in Chicago’s March 2024 trade that sent Dylan Cease to San Diego.

Gómez split the 2025 season between the Yankees, Dodgers, and White Sox (moving teams via waiver claims twice). The 26-year-old had a combined 5.17 ERA (82 ERA+) over 62.2 IP.

Pereira has struggled to hit in the majors, slashing .138/.219/.246 in 73 PA this past season after the Rays acquired the 24-year-old from the Yankees at the trade deadline for José Caballero. He’s shown glimpses of being a real power threat in the minors, but hasn’t been able to put things together when given an opportunity.

Murray, Tampa Bay’s 4th round pick in 2020, spent the 2025 season with Triple-A, where he hit .241/.299/.400 over 572 PA with a career-high 18 home runs.

Tampa Bay traded right-hander Eric Orze to Minnesota for minor league right-hander Jacob Kisting. The Twins need to rebuild most of their bullpen, and Orze should see an opportunity to earn a role in spring training. The 28-year-old posted a 3.02 ERA (137 ERA+) over 41.2 IP for the Rays this past season.

Kisting was Minnesota’s 14th-round pick in 2024. The 23-year-old had a 3.79 ERA over 73.2 IP across two levels in his first pro season.

Boston used their 6th-round pick in 2022 to select Alex Hoppe. The 26-year-old (he’ll be 27 in December) right-hander spent the bulk of 2025 at Triple-A, posting an overall 4.55 ERA in 61.1 IP across two levels, while striking out 73 and walking 34. The Mariners immediately added him to their 40-man roster.

Heading back to Boston is catcher Luke Heyman (the second backstop added to the org on the day). Seattle selected Heyman in the 14th round of last July’s draft out of the University of Florida, where he hit .282/.365/.530 over three seasons. He’s yet to make his pro debut.

The final move from a hectic day in Boston — and the first of the new regime in Colorado — came together, with left-hander Brennan Bernardino heading to the Rockies in exchange for minor league outfielder Braiden Ward.

Bernardino went from being a waiver claim (from Seattle) to one of the more consistent relievers in the Red Sox bullpen over the last three seasons, outside of a dip in his K% this past season, posting a 3.46 ERA (124 ERA+) over 153.1 IP with a slightly better than league average 23.6 K% and 9.9 BB%. The southpaw will be 34 in January, but still has four years of team control remaining.

The acquisition is the first player-related move made by new Rockies president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta.

Ward, who’ll be 27 in January, hit .290/.395/.391 over 368 PA between Double-A and Triple-A this past season. The speedy center fielder has stolen 50+ bases in three of his four pro seasons.

Late Tuesday night (or first thing on Wednesday for those who actually slept for a change), word came out that the Baltimore Orioles had made the head-scratching decision to trade right-hander Grayson Rodriguez to the Los Angeles Angels for outfielder Taylor Ward.

The deal is particularly curious for a pitching-starved and outfield-heavy Orioles team. Baltimore was expected to trade an outfielder for an arm, not the other way around.

Rodriguez had effectively been projected as the de facto co-ace alongside the surprising Trevor Rogers (coming off a career-best year in which he was 9-3 with a 1.81 ERA (223 ERA+) over 109.2 IP). Just two other pitchers on the roster threw more than 100 innings last season: Dean Kremer (11-10, 4.19 ERA (96 ERA+) in 171.2 IP) and Cade Povich (3-8, 5.21 ERA (77 ERA+) in 112.1 IP).

Even factoring in Kyle Bradish (2.53 ERA in 32.0 IP) being back at full strength and fully recovered from Tommy John surgery, Baltimore was going to be in the market for a top-of-the-rotation starter this offseason. The need seems only more apparent with Rodriguez removed from the mix.

Injuries have been a routine concern for the right-hander, who just turned 26 this week. His 2022 season was limited to just 75.2 IP, while injuries likely delayed his MLB debut. Shoulder soreness cost him most of the second half of the 2024 season. Inflammation in that same shoulder and a lat strain kept him off the field for all of 2025. Orioles president of baseball operations Mike Elias told reporters in September that he was expected to be healthy and ready for spring training, but one can’t help but wonder if there is more concern in Rodriguez’s medical history than the Orioles are letting on.

2026 will be Rodriguez’s final pre-arbitration year, so he’ll earn the league minimum ($800K), giving Los Angeles four years of team control. When healthy, the former top prospect has shown signs that he can be dominant.

Ward now adds to an already crowded outfield mix that includes Colten Cowser, Tyler O’Neill, Leody Taveras, Dylan Beavers, Heston Kjerstad, and top prospect Enrique Bradfield Jr. (Beavers and Bradfield are Nos. 2 and 4, respectively, on MLB Pipeline’s Top 30 ranking for the org.). Someone from this group will likely be moved before spring training.

Ward, who will be 32 in December, is projected to earn $13.7 million in 2026 in what will be his final year of arbitration before free agency. He slashed .228/.317/.475 (116 OPS+) this past season with a career-high 36 HR and 103 RBI.

Forrest Whitley is being granted his release by the Tampa Bay Rays so he can pursue an opportunity in Japan. It has yet to be reported which NPB team the 28-year-old right-hander is joining. Whitley, once viewed as a top prospect in the Astros’ system before needing Tommy John surgery, has struggled mightily in his limited MLB experience (15.1 IP, 24 H, 18 ER, 11 BB, 17 SO).

Antonio Jimenez, a 24-year-old minor leaguer who spent the year with the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate, remains hospitalized in the Dominican Republic following a car accident Monday morning. Jimenez reportedly suffered from a broken femur and a fractured spine, per reports out of San Pedro de Macorís. Three others were killed in the crash. The left-hander posted a 3.55 ERA over 45.2 IP this past season.

Red Sox right-hander Garrett Whitlock and Giants right-hander Logan Webb have reportedly joined the WBC roster for Team USA.

Former Padres left-hander Randy Jones, who won the NL Cy Young Award in 1976, has passed away. He was 75. Jones spent eight years in the Padres’ rotation, including that ‘76 season in which he went 22-14 with a 2.74 ERA (119 ERA+) over a league-leading 315.1 IP, including 25 complete games.

Sports Illustrated’s Emma Baccellieri spoke to and wrote extensively about Mo’ne Davis and the upcoming Women’s Pro Baseball League that is set to debut next August with a six-week season. It’s a fantastic read.