Riley Adams among players electing minor league free agency as 2026 season ends

Riley Adams, most recently with the Washington Nationals, is among a group of players who have elected minor league free agency following the conclusion of the 2026 season, per MLB Trade Rumors' Mark Polishuk. The group spans all four positions on the diamond and includes players most recently affiliated with eight different clubs. The decisions are listed on the official MLB.com and MiLB.com transactions pages, per Polishuk.

What happened

The catchers in the group are Adams, most recently with the Nationals; P.J. Higgins of the Cincinnati Reds; and Sam Huff of the Baltimore Orioles. The infielders are Joey Meneses of the Athletics and Zack Short of the New York Mets. The outfielders are TJ Friedl of the Reds, Nolan Jones of the Seattle Mariners, and Alek Thomas of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The pitchers are Kevin Herget of the Mets, Parker Mushinski of the Colorado Rockies, Jared Shuster of the St. Louis Cardinals, and Steven Wilson of the Tampa Bay Rays.

MLB Trade Rumors noted it will offer periodic updates over the coming weeks as additional players elect free agency in this fashion.

Why it matters

Minor league free agency is one of the quieter but genuinely consequential rituals of the offseason calendar — the part of the market that rarely generates headlines but keeps rosters stocked with experienced depth. To be eligible, a player must have been outrighted off a 40-man roster during the 2026 season without being added back, and must also have either multiple career outrights on record or at least three years of Major League service time, per Polishuk's reporting.

The distinction from Major League free agency is meaningful: players with six or more years of big league service time will not hit the open market until five days after the end of the World Series, per the report. The players named here are already eligible and have already chosen to move on.

The practical effect is that each of these players is now free to negotiate a new contract — minor league or otherwise — with any club. For teams carrying thin depth at catcher, up-the-middle infield, or in the bullpen, this wave of available veterans represents a low-cost, low-commitment avenue to address those needs before the Rule 5 draft window and the broader offseason market fully open. As a general matter of roster mechanics, a minor league deal does not place a player on the 40-man roster and often carries an opt-out provision — which is precisely why these arrangements remain attractive to both sides even after a player has cleared waivers and been outrighted. The flexibility cuts both ways.

Where the club stands

### What does Adams' election mean for the Nationals?

Adams' decision to explore the market arrives at the end of a season in which Washington finished 77-85 (.475), fourth in the NL East and 17 games back in the division. The Nationals were eliminated from both the division race and the Wild Card race, and carry a W1 streak into the offseason. They ranked eighth in Wild Card positioning, sitting 11.0 relative to the cut line.

The broader organizational picture in Washington was eventful in the final stretch of the season. A week removed from CJ Abrams reaching 100 RBI with a two-homer game against the Tigers — a milestone that placed him in an exclusive group for Nationals second basemen — and Nasim Nuñez setting the Washington Nationals single-season stolen base record, the club is closing out a year with genuine individual highlights even as the team record reflects a roster still in transition.

On the pitching side, the Nationals reportedly agreed to a contract extension with Cade Cavalli, per the MLBTR podcast, though Cavalli was also shut down for the final week of the season after reaching a career-high in innings pitched. Meanwhile, the club was set to activate left-hander Connelly Early from the 60-day IL for a Saturday start against the Mets — his team debut — after designating Chase Hampton for assignment following a brief waiver claim stint to clear the necessary roster space. Adams electing free agency is, in that context, one more piece of a busy late-September roster picture for Washington, arriving as the club sorts through its depth at multiple positions heading into the offseason.

The Mets, who also appear on this list through Zack Short and Kevin Herget, had a scheduling note of their own: a Sunday game against the Nationals on September 27 was moved up to a 1:05 p.m. ET start time. The minor league free agency elections from both clubs land in the same late-season window as those logistical details get sorted.

What we don't know yet

The report does not indicate whether any of the players named have received or are in discussions about new contracts. It is not known whether any of the clubs involved attempted to retain these players on new minor league deals before the elections were filed, or whether any of the players had previously been offered outright assignments that they declined. Polishuk's report does not specify the service time or outright history of any individual player on the list, only that all met the eligibility criteria.

It is also worth noting that Polishuk explicitly describes this as an early wave. MLB Trade Rumors will provide periodic updates over the coming weeks as more players elect free agency in the same fashion, meaning the full scope of this offseason's minor league free agent class is not yet known.

What to watch

The next several weeks will clarify how many players ultimately elect minor league free agency league-wide, and whether any of the players named here draw quick interest from clubs looking to add depth before spring training. For the Nationals specifically, the catcher market will be worth monitoring: with Adams now on the open market, Washington's options behind the plate heading into the offseason are an open question the club will need to address.

The broader offseason will take shape as the World Series concludes and Major League free agency formally opens five days after its end, per Polishuk's report. That is when the larger market — the one with the bigger names and the bigger numbers — gets going. The minor league free agent wave, already underway, is the quieter overture that precedes it.