The regular season is winding down, and while nearly half the league is still focused on postseason play (or qualifying for said playoffs), there are more teams than not beginning to shift their focus and look ahead to the offseason. The beginning of every offseason brings with it a slew of roster decisions, ranging from qualifying offers to player opt-outs and club options. This year will see more than 30 decisions on club options come due once the World Series has completed. We don’t have a complete picture of how all of these players will finish the season. Their play in the final week, plus any postseason heroics and of course the potential for a significant injury could all impact the teams’ final decisions. But with about 94% of the regular season in the books, most teams know which way they’re leaning with regard to these decisions.
Let’s take a look at each one from a high level…
Austin Barnes, C, Dodgers: $3.5MM club option
The Dodgers’ love Barnes’ framing skills. They probably don’t love that he’s 13-for-122 in throwing out base thieves over the past two seasons (10.6%). Barnes isn’t a good hitter, but he’s bounced back from last year’s abysmal .180/.256/.242 output to his .261/.327/.306 in 149 plate appearances this year. The Dodgers have a trio of younger options behind Will Smith, including Diego Cartaya, Hunter Feduccia and top prospect Dalton Rushing (though Rushing has been working in left field lately). Perhaps it’s finally time to move on, but the cost is cheap enough that they could consider the option.
Aaron Bummer, LHP, Braves: $7.25MM club option ($1.25MM buyout)
A pair of three-run outings over the past five weeks have inflated Bummer’s ERA from 3.16 to 3.71, but he’s still generally been a quality reliever after coming over from the White Sox in the offseason. Drilling beneath that earned run average, Bummer sports clearly plus rate stats: 28.8% strikeout rate, 6.9% walk rate, 60.4% grounder rate. That ground-ball rate ranks eighth in baseball among the 352 pitchers who’ve tossed at least 50 innings in 2024. That alone would make Bummer’s option likely to be picked up, but the fact that the Braves hold a 2026 option valued at $7.5MM only sweetens the pot. This feels likely to be exercised.
Andrew Chafin, LHP, Rangers: $6.5MM club option ($500K buyout)
Chafin was very good in Detroit prior to being traded and has struggled with the Rangers since the swap. He’s pitched 14 2/3 innings for Texas…
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