CLOSED NEWS/RUMORS Thread

@JeffPassan
Full trade, per ESPN sources:
Red Sox get: 1B Willson Contreras and $8 million to cover part of his remaining $41.5 million in salary
Cardinals get: RHP Hunter Dobbins, RHP Yhoiker Fajardo and RHP Blake Aita

 

Dodgers sign Chuckie Robinson to Minors Contract
by Mark Polishuk | Dodgers Nation — 20 December 20, 2025



The Dodgers have signed Chuckie Robinson to a minor league deal, according to the catcher’s MLB.com profile page. It is a reunion between the two sides, as Robinson spent the bulk of the 2025 season in the Dodgers organization after being claimed off waivers from the Angels in May.

Robinson was designated for assignment and then outrighted off the 40-man roster within a few days of joining the Dodgers, and his previous stint with the team included a single MLB game on September 15. This marked Robinson’s only big league playing time of the 2025 campaign, and the Braves then claimed the backstop off waivers a week later. Atlanta outrighted Robinson off its 40-man roster in early November, and because he had a previous outright on his resume, Robinson exercised his right to become a free agent.

That lone game on September 15 was the 52nd Major League appearance of Robinson’s career, as he previously played in 25 games with the Reds in 2022 and 26 games with the 2024 White Sox. Robinson has only a .131/.169/.192 slash line to show for his 138 plate appearances in the bigs, and even his career Triple-A numbers are pretty modest (.268/.329/.405 with 27 homers over 1039 PA).

Despite the lack of offensive pop, Robinson’s excellent defensive reputation has kept him on the radar as a backup option for multiple clubs. He’ll now return to Los Angeles in a depth role, as the Dodgers are set behind the plate with All-Star Will Smith as the starter and former top prospect Dalton Rushing acting in a backup role. Robinson is the only other catcher in the Dodgers’ system with any big league experience, so L.A. might look to bring in more catching help for Spring Training just purely for evaluation purposes, or so the team’s younger pitchers can work with another seasoned backstop.

 

https://youtube.com/shorts/edwin_diaz_strikeouts

 

@JeffPassan
First baseman Ryan O’Hearn and the Pittsburgh Pirates are in agreement on a two-year, $29 million contract, sources tell ESPN. O’Hearn, 32, is the latest addition to the Pirates in a very busy winter. @ByRobertMurray was first on the news.​

congrats o’hearn
enjoy those two wins a week when skenes pitches

 

The most significant satisfying part of this news is that he didn't re-up with the Padres. They gave up six prospects for him and Laureano. Now he's gone after just 50 games, and while they picked up the option on Laureano for one more year, if they don't win it in '26, they'll have nothing to show for giving up those prospects. Currently, SD has only two in the top-100, and they're ranked 77 and 95.

 

beginning to think we should flex our muscles and sign tucker and bichette, and then trade for skubal
the yankees signed everybody back in the late 90’s/early 2000’s and everyone else hated them
well everyone else already hates us, so (paraphrasing alfred e newman) what we worry?

 

@Feinsand
JJ Bleday is finalizing a one-year, $1.4 million deal with the Reds, per source. Deal includes incentives.

 

Eight maids a-milk this.

 

I agree fully with this take. Thank you Max for all you've done, including the game 7 HR and very impactful glove work through the postseason, but after 2026 the starting 3B spot should go to Freeland.

https://dodgersway.com/dodgers-have-to-move-on-after-2026-despite-max-muncy-plea-to-stay

 

rip
i remember seeing him play in 1969/70
utility player, good bat
thoughts and prayers to his family