MLB Player News

Schultz was outrighted off the Dodgers’ 40-man roster back in September. The 28-year-old has posted a 5.86 ERA over 26 relief appearances in the majors (between the Dodgers and Rays) and will provide some relief depth going into spring training.

Nicholson-Smith and Davidi note that talks between the two sides picked up on Friday morning. For what seems like a few weeks now, the Blue Jays have been mentioned as one of the favorites to land either Santander or Alex Bregman, and it sounds like they’re making a strong push to get Santander. The 30-year-old slugger crushed a career-high 44 home runs and drove in 102 runs for the Orioles in 2024 and would provide a major boost to the middle of the Blue Jays’ lineup.

The 29-year-old backstop flailed to a meager .167/.183/.211 slash line with just one homer, nine RBI and a 22/1 K/BB ratio over 93 plate appearances with the Rangers during the 2024 season. He’ll add depth behind the plate for the Nationals but can be ignored for fantasy purposes.

The 31-year-old hurler has pitched professionally in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball for the past nine seasons. In 2024, he registered a 3.00 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and a 78/39 K/BB ratio across 114 innings of work in his 23 starts. He’ll add depth for the Phillies but seems like a longshot to crack their Opening Day roster.

No word yet on how much the Dodgers will receive in return, but they needed to grow their pool in order to give right-hander Roki Sasaki everything that they possibly could before earning his commitment on Friday. Campbell, 22, had a nice season in High-A ball in 2024, slashing .251/.331/.372 with 10 homers, 53 RBI and 42 stolen bases over 115 games.

The 31-year-old slugger passed his physical and will return to the Mets. Winker slashed .243/.318/.365 with three homers in 44 games with the Mets in 2024 after coming over in a deadline deal from the Nationals. As their roster is currently constructed, expect Winker to function as the club’s regular designated hitter against right-handed pitching — though that all could change if they bring back Pete Alonso or sign another major free agent.

The Padres were informed earlier in the day that they were out of the sweepstakes, so it came down to the Dodgers and the Blue Jays. The Jays acquired extra international bonus pool money from the Guardians mid-afternoon, but it doesn’t appear to have been enough to push them over the top. Sasaki will join a ridiculously talented Dodgers’ rotation that already features countrymen Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani along with Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell. On paper, the Dodgers are already a much stronger team than the squad that just won the World Series back in October.

The Cubs have been linked to free agent third baseman Alex Bregman, but it doesn’t sound like it’s going to be a fit. The expectation has been all along that top prospect Matt Shaw would get the opportunity to win the job in spring training and Hoyer didn’t say anything to dispel that on Friday. The Red Sox, Tigers and Blue Jays are the teams that still seem to be in the mix for Bregman.

The 36-year-old veteran backstop will add some quality depth behind the dish for the Braves. Casali really struggled in his big league action with the Giants in 2024, slashing a cringe-inducing .194/.293/.250 with one homer, eight RBI and a 22/13 K/BB ratio over 125 plate appearances. He can continue to be ignored for fantasy purposes.

The A’s needed to free up a spot on their 40-man roster after signing Jose LeClerc on Friday afternoon and unfortunately for Klein he drew the short straw this time around. The 25-year-old hurler made eight appearances for the A’s in 2024, registering an uninspiring 11.05 ERA and 2.45 WHIP over 7 1/3 innings. There’s a decent chance that he’ll pass through waivers unclaimed and continue to function as extra bullpen depth for the Athletics.

Robert Murray of Fansided was the first to report the deal while Jeff Passan of ESPN added the financials for the 31-year-old hurler. While LeClerc has functioned in the closer’s capacity in his past, he’ll work in a setup role for the Athletics being fire-balling right-hander Mason Miller. LeClerc posted a 4.32 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and an 89/32 K/BB ratio across 66 2/3 innings for the Rangers during the 2024 season.