Catcher Tomas Nido and right-handed José van Leon both were recently elected to become free agents, according to the MILB.com transaction log. The Red Sox cut De Leon from their 40-man roster last week, while Nido was cut from the Tigers’ 40-man roster in May and never added again. These outright results and the fact that both players have more than three years of MLB service allowed the duo to test the open market.
Nido, a veteran of nine major league seasons, appeared in 10 games with the Tigers after agreeing to a minor league pact last offseason, hitting .343/.361/.343 over 37 plate appearances on the active roster. Jake Rogers suffered an oblique strain in April that opened the door for Detroit to select Nido’s contract, and the Tigers subsequently designated Nido for assignment and waived him once Rogers was healthy. Nido could have turned down the outright assignment and become a free agent, but instead chose to stay with Triple-A Toledo in a deep role, appearing in 48 games for the Mud Hens, hitting .209/.267/.331 over 189 PA.
Nido is a classic glove-first backstop, with just a .215/.249/.310 slash line to show for his 982 PA in the majors (895 of which are with the Mets). The 31-year-old will surely land another minor league deal this winter with another team looking for experienced catching depth, although it will likely take another injury further down the depth chart before Nido can get any significant MLB playing time in 2026.
The Red Sox signed De Leon to a minor league contract last winter and selected him to the active roster to make a start in Boston’s very last game of the regular season, as the Sox saved their regular starters for the playoffs. De Leon pitched a quality start (6 2/3 IP, three ER on eight hits and three walks, with eight strikeouts) and earned his first big league victory since the 2019 season, when De Leon was still a member of the Rays.
De Leon was one of baseball’s most touted players during his minor league days, but he’s only amassed 72 MLB innings over parts of seven seasons since making his debut on the Show in September 2016. A pair of Tommy John surgeries and several other injuries have been roadblocks in De Leon’s career, and the second of those TJ procedures (in June 2023) cost the judge the entire season 2024. De Leon has a 7.13 ERA over his 72 innings in the bigs, and some major control issues contributed to his 6.93 ERA in 75 1/3 frames with Triple-A Worcester in 2025.
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