The Atlanta Braves are wasting time circling veteran closer Raisel Iglesias again. After re-signing him for one year and $16 million just last offseason, the team is still hunting for the same arm. MLB Trade Rumors reports that Atlanta and Detroit remain interested in the 36-year-old righty even after adding other relievers. This feels like a bad habit. Teams that chase aging closers often end up with a broken bullpen and no depth. The Braves should look elsewhere for their late-inning help.
Washington Is Playing Chess While Atlanta Plays Checkers
While Atlanta chases one name, the Washington Nationals are actually building a real plan. The team had one of the worst bullpens in baseball in 2026, yet they are being smart about the fix. According to reports, relievers requiring multi-year deals and substantial salaries are likely unavailable to D.C., a sound decision for a club that secured 77 victories during its rebuild. They know they cannot just throw big cash at free agents.
Advertisement
Instead of spending big on one guy, the Nationals are hunting for starting pitching. Spencer Nusbaum reports that the Nats have inquired regarding controllable starting pitching in trade discussions and are exploring more options than they did last season. They also hired John Morris as their new VP of baseball research to lead the analytics side. Morris comes from the Yankees, where he was the assistant director of quantitative analysis.
The Marlins Move Thompson to the Front Office
The Miami Marlins made a solid hire by bringing Trayce Thompson into their baseball operations department. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports the news, which likely signals the end of Thompson’s playing career. Between 2015 and 2023, this 35-year-old competed in segments of seven MLB seasons. After representing Great Britain, he finished his career with three seasons in the minors, the Mexican League, and independent baseball.
Thompson ended his career boasting 45 homers and a .212/.300/.411 slash line across 1,058 plate appearances. His best stretch came in the second half of 2022 with the Dodgers. Moving a former player into an operations role makes sense.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
