MLB Player News

Smith Jr. signed a minor league contract back in February and has been released after hitting .236/.300/.327 with one homer in 60 plate appearances at Triple-A Charlotte. The 29-year-old former top prospect last appeared in the majors with the Orioles during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

Morosi also notes that the 30-year-old southpaw is expected to decide between several multi-year offers this weekend. With all due respect to Porter Hodge, the Cubs have one of the clearest paths to the closer role among teams that have expressed interest in Scott, so if he wants the ninth inning gig, it could be a match that works very well for both sides. Scott registered a minuscule 1.75 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and an 84/36 K/BB ratio over 72 innings between the Marlins and Padres in 2024 while also notching nine victories and accumulating 22 saves.

The Dodgers needed to acquire some extra international bonus pool funds to give Roki Sasaki a $6.5 million signing bonus on Friday and the Phillies were there to take advantage of the situation. Campbell, 22, hit .251/.331/.372 with 10 homers, 53 RBI and 42 stolen bases across 493 plate appearances at High-A Great Lakes in 2024.

The Dodgers will give up an intriguing 19-year-old prospect in order to gain an additional $1 million in bonus pool funds. That will allow them to retain most of the commitments that they had from this IFA class while still giving a $6.5 million signing bonus to Roki Sasaki. It’s a savvy move by the Reds, giving up bonus pool funds that they were unlikely to use anyways to land an intriguing young bat.

It’s the second deal that the Dodgers have agreed to on Friday in an effort to accumulate as much international bonus pool money as possible. They agreed to give Roki Sasaki a signing bonus of $6.5 million, and it’s possible they’re trying to bank even more to sign some of their original commitments as well. Lantigua, 19, has yet to play affiliated minor league ball and hit .301/.430/.575 with 11 homers, 42 RBI and six swipes in the Dominican Summer League in 2024.

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.