News & Rumors: The Crawfish Boil 12/16/2025

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All the latest news and rumors for the Houston Astros and all around MLB – It’s in here! The offseason edition Crawfish Boil for December 16, 2025:

• Adrian Houser is going to San Francisco:

Right-hander Adrian Houser and the San Francisco Giants are in agreement on a two-year, $22 million contract with a club option for a third year, sources tell ESPN. Between the signing of Jason Foley and the addition of Houser, the Giants are shoring up their pitching staff.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 16, 2025

The former 2011 2nd Rd pick of the Houston Astros split 2025 between the White Sox and Rays, going a combined 8-5 with a 3.31 ERA and 1.28 WHIP over 21 starts and 125 IP. The righthander was much better in Chicago (2.10 ERA in 11 starts) than in Tampa (4.79 ERA in 10 starts).

• Reliever Caleb Ferguson is headed to Cincinnati:

Free-agent left-handed reliever Caleb Ferguson in agreement with Reds, pending physical, source tells @TheAthletic.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 16, 2025

Ferguson, a lefty pen arm who had a cup of coffee with the Astros in 2024, split 2025 between the Pirates and Mariners. He finished the season 5-4 with a 3.58 ERA and 1.163 WHIP over 70 appearances spanning 65.1 IP.

• Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic doesn’t expect the Padres to be taking any steps backward in 2026:

"They've got Machado, Tatis, and Bogaerts on huge contracts. Why would you be taking a step back with those guys?"@Ken_Rosenthal doesn't anticipate AJ Preller wanting to do anything other than compete in 2026. pic.twitter.com/D6qUbvx534

— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) December 16, 2025

• Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com and MLB Network thinks the Dodgers should be in on SS Bo Bichette:

“They still need lineup help. Their lineup was kind of hot and cold last year.”@castrovince explains why Bo Bichette should be on the Dodgers' wish list. pic.twitter.com/vlcYL9JEON

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) December 16, 2025

• Jared Carrabis thinks the criticisms of Japanese star Munetaka Murakami are being heavily overblown:

I find Munetaka Murakami’s market to be quite fascinating and I’m very curious to see how he’s valued by major league teams. pic.twitter.com/1utjm7qmLo

— Jared Carrabis (@Jared_Carrabis) December 16, 2025

• Ken Rosenthal says Murakami is being viewed as a “boom or bust” guy:

"He's the biggest mystery in the market, because we haven't heard many teams involved."

Munetaka Murakami is something of a boom or bust guy in the eyes of clubs, says @Ken_Rosenthal. pic.twitter.com/D7wrcjNVKI

— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) December 16, 2025

• Former MLB GM Jim Duquette has an idea for a team that could sign Murakami:

"The White Sox are a team on the rise… and they have some money."

25-year-old Japanese star Munetaka Murakami faces a December 22nd deadline to sign with an MLB team.#WhiteSox
https://t.co/fGPbvbj8w4pic.twitter.com/xsrWS4mvxD

— MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (@MLBNetworkRadio) December 16, 2025

He has less than a week before his posting period ends.

• Former Mets closer Edwin Diaz explains why he left New York for the Dodgers:

Edwin Diaz on why the Mets didn’t get a shot to match Dodgers deal;

“We took an offer to the Mets and they said they have a gap to negotiate. We took it to the Dodgers and they accept it right away, and given they accepted it right away, I couldn’t go back to the Mets and tell… https://t.co/HPV5qJy7W8pic.twitter.com/LoiG4I1cAN

— Master Flip (@Masterflip_) December 16, 2025

• Phillies President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski laid out his vision of the Phillies’ outfield, and as expected, it does not include Nick Castellanos:

Dave Dombrowski said the Phillies outfield is pretty much set with Adolis García, Brandon Marsh and Justin Crawford. Otto Kenp in the mix as well as a platoon player.

The team still wants to sign JT. Realmuto.

— Todd Zolecki (@ToddZolecki) December 16, 2025

• Ken Rosenthal says the Phillies will have to eat a lot of cash to find a taker for Castellanos:

"There's no doubt that he won't be on their roster in 2026."

If the Phillies don't want to be limited in where they can send Nick Castellanos, they'll need to eat a lot of the remaining money on his deal, says @Ken_Rosenthal. pic.twitter.com/z0yPcFBxg8

— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) December 16, 2025

• Former Cardinals SP Lance Lynn has a strong stance on what he believes Cardinals need to get in a return if they trade Brendan Donovan:

“If I’m trading him [Brendan Donovan] away, I need Bryce Miller or somebody like that.”

Lance Lynn says the return for Donovan can't be any lower-level minor league prospects. pic.twitter.com/G9GKmCg37X

— Cardinal Territory (@CardTerritory) December 16, 2025

• Mark Feinsand of MLB.com lists his top 5 free agent “dominoes to fall” to get the market moving:

Five most important free agent dominoes right now?

1. Kyle Tucker
2. Cody Bellinger
3. Alex Bregman
4. Bo Bichette
5. Munetaka Murakami@Feinsand | #MLBNHotStovepic.twitter.com/FpmpvrN3Mf

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) December 16, 2025

• Another pitcher is making a comeback to the US after finding success overseas:

Free-agent pitcher Foster Griffin and the Washington Nationals are in agreement on a one-year, $5.5 million contract with incentives to get it to $6.5 million, pending physical, according to sources familiar with the deal.

— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) December 16, 2025

Griffin was 6-1 with a 1.62 ERA and 0.949 WHIP in 14 starts spanning 78 innings for the Yomiuri Giants in Japan last season. For his NPB (Japanese Major League) career, he is 18-10 with a 2.75 ERA and 1.033 WHIP in 54 games and 315.2 IP over 3 seasons.

• The Atlanta Braves are bringing back Ha-Seong Kim on a one-year deal:

Bringing back Kim allows Braves to move excellent utilityman Dubon around the diamond https://t.co/k9H1YbWU6D

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 16, 2025

Former Astros super utility man Mauricio Dubon will now likely return to the super utility role. Kim had previously opted out of a $16M option to return to Atlanta, and now gets a nice raise.

• The Red Sox and Nationals swapped pitching prospects:

Pitching-prospect trade: The Boston Red Sox are acquiring left-hander Jake Bennett from the Washington Nationals for right-hander Luis Perales, sources tell ESPN. A 1-for-1 deal.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 15, 2025

MLB.com’s Jessica Camerato has the details on the players:

https://www.mlb.com/news/red-sox-trade-luis-perales-to-nationals-for-jake-bennett

• The Minnesota Twins were saddled with over $500M in debt. The Pohlad family tried to sell the team, but was unable to primarily because of the debt load, and had to take the team off the market. It was reported today they had agreed to sell minority interest in the team while retaining all decision-making authority:

Significant update on the Twins' ownership situation and the incoming limited partners, from @DanHayesMLB: https://t.co/fiFk8mTzor

— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) December 16, 2025

• Former Red Sox 2B and current Red Sox broadcaster Lou Merloni would really like to see Alex Bregman back in Boston, and soon:

“This would help me sleep at night.” @LouMerloni chats about keeping Alex Bregman on the Red Sox!

️ & @bradfo & @alannarizzo

https://t.co/wGz6HNODWIpic.twitter.com/xafwWQkG1q

— NESN (@NESN) December 16, 2025

• Did MLB’s next commissioner just leave the sport?

Chris Marinak, top MLB exec regarded as possible candidate for commissioner, departs https://t.co/4xc9PPLcjY

— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) December 16, 2025

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