Matrix Reloaded: February 20, 2026

It’s Friday once again, and it’s time for the first abbreviated Matrix Reloaded in quite a while — there wasn’t even a trade this week! That sound you hear is Meg breathing a sigh of relief. Once we’ve run out of meaningful transactions and I declare that the Offseason is Officially Over, I’ll run through some fun summary statistics, but in the meantime, you can view those at the bottom of the Matrix.

Free Agent Signings

Because the market has whittled down to so few free agents, I’ll just run through the past week’s signings in one big section, and then I’ll dive into who’s left in the very limited pool down at the bottom.

Diamondbacks Sign Zac Gallen for One Year, $22.025 Million ($14.025 Million Deferred)

• Ben Clemens’ Write-Up of the Deal
• Updated Roster Projection
• Updated Payroll Projection

The Diamondbacks’ rotation certainly looked full, if still thin, before Gallen’s 11th-hour return to Phoenix. Michael Soroka signed a one-year contract at the Winter Meetings and Merrill Kelly returned soon after, giving the Snakes a quintet of Kelly, Soroka, Eduardo Rodriguez, Brandon Pfaadt, and Ryne Nelson, with Corbin Burnes on track to potentially return sometime around the All-Star break.

But as the offseason wore on and Gallen languished on the market, two things became clear: the Diamondbacks were still interested in working out a way to bring him back, and the qualifying offer affected him far more than any other free agent who received one. Gallen’s 2024-25 performance was that of someone for whom a pillow contract would be sensical, but why would a team give up a draft pick for just one year of him? And why would Gallen sign for more than a year if the average annual value of the deal was unacceptable?

If all six of the club’s starters enter the season healthy, the Diamondbacks can either roll with a six-man rotation or move Soroka to the bullpen, where he’s got experience as recently as last season. His incentives are structured such that they’re accessible even if he ends up in the bullpen the whole year; he’d max out at $2 million if he makes 50 relief appearances or 25 starts.

Padres Sign Griffin Canning ($2.5 Million) and Germán Márquez ($1.75 Million) to One-Year Deals

• Michael Baumann’s Write-Up of the Deal
• Updated Roster Projection
• Updated Payroll Projection

With these two arms and Walker Buehler, who signed a minor league contract the day after Márquez and Canning agreed to terms, the competition for the back end of the Padres rotation will be interesting to say the very least. Canning should have a job locked in once he’s back from his torn Achilles’ tendon; he’s expected to return after the start of the season. That leaves Márquez, Buehler, Randy Vásquez, Matt Waldron, JP Sears, and Kyle Hart for two spots that could shrink to one. Complicating matters is that Vásquez and Waldron are out of options, though either or both could find a spot in the bullpen.

Brewers Sign Luis Rengifo for One Year, $3.5 Million

• Updated Roster Projection
• Updated Payroll Projection

Well, here’s the counter move to trading Caleb Durbin away. Rengifo’s 2025 was his fullest as a big leaguer, with 147 games and 541 plate appearances split between six positions, with most of his time coming at third and second base. It was also one of his worst showings: His wRC+ was 73, and he struggled defensively at the hot corner, the position he’s expected to fill for the Brewers. But he’s still young (he turns 29 on February 26), he switch-hits, and he was 11% above-average with the bat from 2022-24. The Brewers’ starting infield is now re-settled with Durbin gone; it’ll be Rengifo, Joey Ortiz, Brice Turang, and Andrew Vaughn from left to right.

Cubs Sign Shelby Miller for Two Years, $2.5 Million

• Updated Roster Projection
• Updated Payroll Projection

Miller’s reinvented himself as a very solid reliever, with a 3.29 ERA and 3.75 FIP in 150.2 innings between the Giants, Dodgers, Tigers, Diamondbacks, and Brewers since 2022. That run ended with a torn UCL at the very end of last season, which is expected to keep him out for the entirety of 2026. For Chicago, this is a long-term play to have Miller locked in at a cheap salary for 2027; the Cubs rebuilt their bullpen this offseason with a bunch of one-year rentals, so it’s good to have a reinforcement already under contract along with Daniel Palencia and Phil Maton.

Padres Sign Nick Castellanos for One Year, $780,000

• Michael Baumann’s Write-Up of the Deal
• Updated Roster Projection
• Updated Payroll Projection

I don’t think Castellanos is assured of a roster spot come Opening Day, and he shouldn’t be. He was horrid last year, and it’s not as if the Padres have any financial motivation to keep him, as they only owe him the league minimum salary. More than that, he may end up redundant on a roster that already has Miguel Andujar as a poor-fielding righty corner bat and that added first baseman Ty France on a minor league deal coming off a nice season. It’s not totally out of the question that all three end up on the roster; there are probably two spots for Castellanos, France, and the out-of-options Bryce Johnson.

Giants Sign Rowan Wick for One Year ($ TBA)

• Updated Roster Projection
• Updated Payroll Projection

Wick was fabulous for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars in the KBO last year, with a microscopic 0.84 ERA and 1.39 FIP in 42.2 innings. Unfortunately, that season ended with an elbow injury, and Wick went under the knife in November. He’ll miss the entirety of 2026 as he recovers from UCL reconstruction, but the Giants hold a club option for 2027 and seem sure to exercise it assuming his rehab doesn’t have hiccups.

Best Remaining Free Agents

There are very few impact players left to be signed, and only two — Lucas Giolito and Zack Littell — appear certain to get big league deals before Opening Day. Here’s a list of the notable names remaining, grouped by position:

• Starting Pitchers: Giolito, Littell, Max Scherzer, Patrick Corbin, Tyler Anderson
• Relief Pitchers: Justin Wilson, Danny Coulombe, Michael Kopech, Jalen Beeks, Tommy Kahnle, José Leclerc
• Catchers: Christian Vázquez
• Infielders: Rhys Hoskins, Ramón Urías, Luis Urías, Thairo Estrada, DJ LeMahieu, Justin Turner
• Outfielders: Starling Marte, Tommy Pham, Andrew McCutchen, Randal Grichuk, Michael Conforto