MLB rumors: Giants bulk up rotation; Angels add Kirby Yates
The last day of 2025 has arrived. Soon it will be 2026 and then, before you know it, spring training camps will open and baseball will be back. There are still plenty of free agents to sign and trades to be made between now and then. Here are Wednesday’s hot rumors.
Giants close to completing Mahle deal
The Giants and free agent right-hander Tyler Mahle are close to signing a one-year contract, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Financial conditions are unknown. We have not classified Mahle, 31 years old, among our top 50 free agentsalthough he has long been a favorite thanks to his comprehensive arsenal and swing and miss rates. Injuries, however, sabotaged his final years.
Mahle will join Logan Webb, Robbie Ray and Adrian Houser in San Francisco’s rotation. Landen Roupp, Kai-Wei Teng, Blade Tidwell and Carson Whisenhunt are among the depth options, although the Giants could pursue another veteran starter. A reunion with Justin Verlander would make sense given his strong finish to the 2025 season.
A is interested in more extensions
After locking up Tyler Soderstrom long termThe Athletic has interest in signing more of its key players to contract extensions, The Athletic reports. First baseman Nick Kurtz and shortstop Jacob Wilson finished 1-2 in AL Rookie of the Year voting last season and are obvious extension candidates. So does receiver Shea Langeliers.
Kurtz and Wilson are both five years away from free agency. Here are the most important extensions granted to position players at their service time level:
- Jackson Merrill, Padres: 9 years, $135 million
- Ke’Bryan Hayes, Pirates: 8 years, $70 million
- Lawrence Butler, Athletics: 7 years, $65.5 million
- Ezequiel Tovar, Rockies: 7 years, $63.5 million
- Andrelton Simmons, Braves: 7 years, $58 million
Kurtz certainly has good reason to beat Merrill’s deal given his monstrous rookie season. Langeliers is three years away from free agency and could be the Athletics’ top extension priority simply because he’s closer to the open market than Kurtz and Wilson. With or without extensions, the A’s have a very solid core of position players. Improving pitching is the next task at hand.
The Angels are signing veteran right-hander Kirby Yates to a one-year deal worth $5 million, according to the New York Post. Yates, 38, struggled with the Dodgers last season and was left off the postseason roster due to back and hamstring issues. He is, however, one year removed from a dynamite 2024 season with the Rangers. Yates went 33-for-34 in save chances with a 1.17 ERA that year and finished eighth in AL Cy Young voting. For an Angels team with a weak bullpen, betting $5 million on Yates isn’t the worst idea. He joins Drew Pomeranz and Jordan Romano as the team’s offseason backups.
The White Sox are bringing outfielder Jarred Kelenic to spring training on a minor league deal, ESPN reports. Once one of the game’s top prospects, Kelenic failed to break through at the MLB level. The 26-year-old is a career .211/.282/.376 hitter over five big league seasons with the Mariners and Braves. Kelenic is slashing .213/.286/.309 with Atlanta’s Triple-A affiliate in 2025. The ChiSox aren’t blessed with much outfield depth and Luis Robert Jr. is likely to be traded at some point. Kelenic isn’t a terrible roll of the dice for a team still in the early stages of a rebuild.
