In recent weeks, MLBTR has been looking forward to the upcoming winter draft classes. Now we’ll move to the AL West, where the Athletics have two very notable decisions.
Previously: AL East, AL Central
Athletics
The A’s acquired McNeil in what amounted to a salary dump trade for the Mets. The A’s were in need of a second baseman and voted for the former hitter soon after Ha-Seong Kim declined a four-year free offer. They picked up $10MM of McNeil’s $15.75MM salary this season, and the Mets agreed to pay a $2MM buyout with the same club option if the A’s don’t bring him back in 2027.
It will likely be a one-year stop in Sacramento for the two-time All-Star. McNeil has a major league average of .276/.343/.362 batting line across 144 plate appearances. He’s following his usual multi-hit approach but has just one game and nine extra-base hits in total. He is a major league hitter who plays good defense but is a bit odd at second base. McNeil is still a solid player, but he won’t command nearly $16MM in salary in his age-35 season.
This could be a tough decision for GM David Forst and his front office. The A’s acquired Springs from Tampa Bay in the 2024-25 offseason, picking up the remaining two years and $21MM on his contract in the process. Springs was great when he was healthy with Tampa Bay but didn’t make it through 2023-24 due to April ’23 Tommy John surgery.
The veteran southpaw avoided the injured list for most of his year in Sacramento. He’s still not as good as when he came back in 2022 with the Rays. Springs has established himself as a swing arm, a control artist with average-league stuff. He can miss bats with his second pitches, especially his changeup, but the fastball is hitable. He attacks the top of the strike zone with a 90-91 mph heater, a technique that lands a decent number of weak fly balls but also gives him home runs.
That’s especially true at the popular Sutter Health Park. Springs has a 4.93 ERA over 20 home starts compared to a 3.36 mark in 21 road appearances for the A’s. He certainly isn’t their only pitcher having a tough time in Sacramento. The result is a low 4.00s ERA that makes him a #4 ranked starter.
That’s beneficial, especially for an A’s team that could be in a critical situation in pursuit of free agents. If Springs stays healthy enough to make 30 starts with league-average numbers, the A’s could likely bring him back for around the $14.25MM decision. They have small startups along the way (or just in case). JT Ginnalready pitching at the big league level) but I don’t have many sources of proven innings after Springs and Luis Severino.
The Houston Astros
Houston signed Weiss to a $2.6MM free agent deal over the winter. The 29-year-old righty was still undrafted in the MLB but was coming off a good season and a half with the Hanwha Eagles of Korea. Weiss had turned in a 2.87 ERA over 30 starts while ranking fourth among KBO pitchers with 207 strikeouts last year.
The Astros brought him in to compete for a spot after a wide rotation. Weiss instead found long relief and struggled to throw strikes, walking 15% of opponents en route to a nearly 8.00 ERA through his first 26 MLB innings. He struck out 23% of the batters he faced and averaged 95 mph on his fastball, but his walk and home run problems led the Astros to option him to Triple-A last week. He worked 4 2/3 innings of one-run ball with three strikeouts in his first start for Sugar Land.
The $5MM option is affordable enough that Weiss can still get the attention of the front office when he dials up the order. This addition hasn’t taken off as well as the Astros had hoped, and he’s likely to be traded.
Isaac Paredes The arbitration agreement includes a $13.35MM club option for 2027. He will be eligible for the final settlement even if Houston declines the option.
Los Angeles Angels
Stephenson’s three-year, $33MM contract is almost a complete washout. The Angels are betting on a monster righty in the second half of the 2023 season, adding what they hope will be a late-season weapon. Unfortunately injuries have ended all of the last three years.
The former first-round pick suffered a concussion during Spring Training in ’24 and underwent Tommy John surgery in April. He was unable to make his team debut until May 2025. Stephenson soon came down with biceps inflammation and was out in August. He arrived at Spring Training healthy but suffered a season-ending elbow injury and surgery last month.
Stephenson’s contract had a condition that the Angels would receive a $2.5MM club option in 2027 if he seriously injured his elbow. It’s in play now, but it looks like the Halos will move on after being able to pitch 12 times in a three-year span.
Seattle Mariners
The Mariners have one of the easiest calls to practice squad for Muñoez. Seattle signed him to what turned out to be a hefty extension as he completes a rehab from the start of Tommy John surgery. The hard-throwing righty has moved on to back-to-back All-Star appearances as one of the game’s best closers since 2024-25.
Muñoz unexpectedly struggled through his first six weeks of the ’26 season. He blew a couple saves and allowed 11 runs (10 earned) in 17 innings. The hit-and-walk profile is as strong as ever, and only three pitchers have at least 10 innings — Mason Miller, Kyle Hurt again Dylan Lee – had a better strike rate than Muñoz. He should be fine, and the M’s will have a $10MM option for 2028. The ’27 option has a base value of $8MM that will increase to $9MM if he completes 45 games this year.
Seattle signed Robles to a two-year, $9.75MM extension through August 2024. He was on the roster for about two and a half months, as the Nationals released the outfielder that June. Robles was absolutely miserable in his first few months with Seattle, hitting .328/.393/.467 while stealing 30 bags in 77 games.
The extension window did not go as expected. Robles injured his left shoulder catching an oddball on a wall in April 2025. He broke it and was sidelined for four months (partially extended by a seven-game suspension when he threw his bat at a triple pitcher after being hit by a pitch during a reassignment).
Robles suffered another injury in the first two weeks of the season. A right pectoral strain has kept him on IL for the past month. Robles is in Triple-A Tacoma where he will be rehabbed and should be back within the next week, but he will likely be in the fourth outfield role for now. Luke Raley it came out of the late April funk. This is a trend in shopping.
Bryce Miller’s The settlement agreement contains a $6.075MM club option with a $15K buyout. He will remain eligible for arbitration even if Seattle declines the option.
Texas Rangers
The Rangers build with a few similar options, which are never really taken by either side. They simply delay the payment of part of the guarantee in the form of a call option. Higashioka will collect a $1MM buyout to complete his two-year, $13.5MM free agent contract signed through the 2024-25 offseason.
The veteran outfielder has played very well in the first year of his contract but is hitting .203/.271/.266 in 20 games this season. Rangers signed Danny Jansen on the same two-year contract last season and will likely find him a cheap catch partner in 2027. They must reject their end.
Texas built its bullpen with a slew of first-year free agents on the cheap for the second straight season. It works great too, thanks a lot to Junis. The 33-year-old has allowed just four runs in his first 19 innings, collecting five runs and three saves without giving up a lead.
The market rarely seems to buy into Junis’s slider-heavy approach. He sits at a 91-92 mph range on his fastball and has one of the lowest swinging strikeouts (6.4%) in MLB. Junis, however, did a job that exceeded his expectations. He has gone 60 innings in four straight seasons and owns a 3.13 ERA over 238 2/3 innings dating back to the start of 2023.
There is only a $3.75MM difference between the option value and the purchase price. That compares to his $4.5MM and $2.75MM salary the past two seasons. There is an argument that both parties should be happy with their end of the same option, but history suggests that at least one will choose to buy. Junis’ camp may hope he follows suit Phil Maton and get a two-year deal, or the Rangers could release him despite a seemingly reasonable salary – as they did in Jacob Webb in settling last winter.
Texas will have an easy call to decline Pederson’s only option. That will conclude his two-year, $37.5MM free agent signing. Pederson has rebounded a bit from a terrible first season in Texas but is still hitting at a below-average rate this year. He has a .190/.296/.331 line over 424 plate appearances as a reliever.
