The Astros have indicated that expanding their relief corps is a top priority for them this winter, having expressed interest in players like Jordan Hicks prior to his signing with the Giants last week. The team doesn’t seem to be looking into the possibility of getting back together with right-hander Phil Maton at this time. The Astros haven’t shown much interest in Maton since the righty left for free agency back in November, according to Chandler Rome of The Athletic, though Rome says that fans “shouldn’t entirely dismiss” the chance of a reunion later in the offseason.

Maton, who turns 31 in March, had a kind of a breakthrough year in Houston in 2023, posting a 3.00 ERA and 3.74 FIP in

Despite the relatively short track record of late inning success, the revelation that the Astros may not be interested in retaining Maton is something of a surprise. After all, a report last month indicated the sides had been in contact, and Houston’s publicly-acknowledged payroll limitations could price them out of the market for players like Stephenson, who MLBTR predicted would land a four-year $36MM deal this winter or even fellow righty Hector Neris, who dominated to a 1.71 ERA in 71 appearances with the Astros last season and has recently seen his market begin to pick up.

With Ryan Pressly and Bryan Abreu forming a solid duo at the back of Houston’s bullpen, re-signing Maton to cover the middle innings would be a way to help bolster the club’s depth without breaking the bank. If the Astros do prove to be uninterested in bringing back Maton, the likes of David Robertson, Adam Ottaviano, and Matt Moore could be other relatively cost-effective options at the club’s disposal.

The Padres have looked into a number of options to complement right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. on the outfield grass next season as they attempt to reassemble their lineup following the trade of Juan Soto and Trent Grisham to the Bronx last month. Center fielder Kevin Kiermaier was one of these options, as reported by Dennis Lin of The Athletic. Although San Diego was considering the veteran center fielder before he signed a one-year contract with the Blue Jays, Lin notes that it’s unlikely the team would have been prepared to match the $10.5M guarantee Toronto offered Kiermaier to stay in the north.

San Diego’s hesitation may not be good news for the team’s alleged interest in Michael A. Taylor, as the 32-year-old

The Dodgers have built a reputation for getting the most out of their pitchers under president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, ranging from their previous work with Alex Wood in the mid-2010s to their recent success in turning Evan Phillips into a quality closer since he joined the organization in 2021. As discussed by Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times, the club’s strong pitching infrastructure has been key to luring free agent pitchers such as Tyler Anderson and Noah Syndergaard to the club in recent years.

While the squad generated middle-of-the-back stats off the mound in 2022, DiGiovanna believes that the Dodgers’ infrastructure was a factor in drawing high-octane arms like Tyler Glasnow, Shohei Ohtani, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto to the organization this winter. The club will undoubtedly try to maximize the performance of those front-of-the-rotation players now that they have committed more than $1 billion to securing the long-term contracts of the elite trio, just like they did with reclamation projects in prior seasons.

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