Six players have already moved into minor league free agency, and the list includes a mix of big-league veterans, depth arms, and a pair of outfielders trying to get back on track. Because these players finished the season on outright assignments, they were eligible to hit the market before the usual post-World Series free-agent window for major leaguers.
Jason Alexander is among the names now free to sign elsewhere. The 33-year-old was bounced around early in the year, getting recalled and optioned three separate times before spending most of his season at Triple-A Sugar Land.
He logged a 5.26 ERA over 87 1/3 innings there with an 18.5% strikeout rate. Alexander did have one bright spot for Houston, firing six scoreless innings on May 19, but outside of that outing he allowed 19 earned runs in his other 12 1/3 innings.
The Astros designated him for assignment in late September, and his 47.5% ground ball rate in parts of three big league seasons should still make him a depth target somewhere.
Tanner Rainey is also on the market after a brief stay with Detroit. Once a key piece of the Nationals’ bullpen, Rainey worked only seven major league innings for the Tigers this season.
He was more effective at Triple-A Toledo, where he threw 47 2/3 innings with a 3.40 ERA and a 32.7% strikeout rate. The usual issue followed him there, though: walks.
Rainey handed out free passes at a 14.1% clip in Toledo. Detroit designated him for assignment on August 31 and outrighted him two days later.
Corbin Martin’s year with the Cubs never really got going either. He signed a minor league deal in January, was selected in mid-April, and then appeared in just seven games before getting DFA’d on May 7.
His time at Triple-A Iowa was just as rough, with 24 ineffective innings, an ERA above 6.00, and a 16.7% walk rate. Martin also dealt with three minor league injured list stints.
In the upper minors, he usually sits in the low to mid-40s in ground ball rate.
Among the position players, Will Benson is one of the more notable names. The 28-year-old opened the season on Cincinnati’s active roster and stayed in a part-time role until mid-June.
Across 114 plate appearances, he walked 14.0% of the time but struck out 33.3% of the time, matching his career rate. Benson’s 2023 season included a 128 wRC+, but he has not come close to that production since then.
After being outrighted to Triple-A Louisville on July 8, he hit .205/.295/.312 there overall.
Drew Waters is the only hitter on the list who did not get a major league look this year. He spent the season with Triple-A Omaha and was slightly below average there, batting .262/.323/.446 with 14 home runs and 21 stolen bases.
Waters has put up an 84 wRC+ in 684 big league plate appearances from 2022-25. Defensively, he can handle the corner outfield spots, though he’s less reliable in center.
Jonah Bride rounds out the group in the infield. His season was a bit of a shuffle: released from Triple-A Round Rock in July, re-signed to a new minor league deal, selected for two games in August, then DFA’d and outrighted.
Bride posted a 125 wRC+ for Miami in 2024, but like Benson, he hasn’t produced much since then. He did get on base more than 40% of the time at Round Rock, which should give him a chance to land somewhere as infield depth.
In Other News...
Willson Contreras Just Reopened A Cubs Debate Fans Know Too Well
Willson Contreras has never sounded shy about how he sees the game, and after the Boston Red Soxs Game 2 loss in the AL Wild Card Series, he went right back to a familiar theme. He said winning baseball comes down more to player execution and experience than to data and analytics, then pointed to the decision-making around pitching changes as an example of how quickly a game can tilt when a starter is removed early.
For Cubs fans, the message hits an old nerve because Contreras has long been tied to the organizations own push into data-driven baseball. He revisited the tension from his Chicago days and made clear he still believes the human side of the sport matters most, even if he is now focused on his own performance and the chemistry around him. It is the kind of comment that does not reopen just one conversation, but a whole one Cubs fans know by heart. [Read more 🡒]
Cubs Enter An Offseason Window That Could Force Jed Hoyer's Hand
The Cubs are heading into an offseason that already has the feel of a pressure point for Jed Hoyer and the front office. With the current collective bargaining agreement set to expire on Dec. 1, the market could get noisy quickly, and Chicago may have to make some decisions faster than it would like as it sorts through roster needs and a broader strategy for the winter.
Pitching is expected to be a priority, and the Cubs have already been linked to the kind of trade conversations that can shape an entire offseason. Clubs like the Angels, Twins, Mariners and Giants could come back into the picture, which gives Chicago a range of possible paths, but also leaves the bigger question hanging: whether this is the winter the Cubs finally choose a more aggressive direction. [Read more 🡒]
Cubs Risk A Brutal Lineup Hit As Offseason Priorities Collide
The Cubs offseason is already shaping up as a balancing act between keeping enough offense in place and patching a pitching staff that needs attention. Seiya Suzuki sits right in the middle of that equation, and interest from the Blue Jays only complicates matters for a Chicago lineup that leaned on him as one of its key bats.
Ian Happ, meanwhile, appears far more likely to stay with the Cubs, and a return could even come at a discounted rate. But if Suzuki is the one who winds up elsewhere, Chicago would be facing a much tougher lineup decision than it wants while trying to address the mound first. [Read more 🡒]