MLB Player News

George signed a minor league contract with the Rockies during the offseason to convert to catcher this season and was released after mustering just one hit in 18 at-bats for Double-A Hartford.

Gray returns to affiliated ball following a dominant run in the Mexican Winter League where he posted a sparkling 1.57 ERA with 33 strikeouts over 23 innings of work. The 29-year-old righty last pitches for the Milwaukee Milkmen of the independent American Association during the 2023 season when he posted nine saves and a microscopic 1.38 ERA and 64 punchouts across 39 innings. He’s the definition of a low-risk flyer for the Rangers as extra organizational relief depth.

Young returns to Cincinnati, where he spent parts of the last two seasons, just a few months after being non-tendered by the Mets. The 31-year-old southpaw, who boasts a respectable 4.34 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and 239/106 K/BB ratio across 277 2/3 innings (177 appearances, 25 starts) in the big leagues since 2019, provides the Reds with some additional relief depth entering spring training.

Davis made seven unremarkable relief appearances last year for San Diego and returns to the fold as extra left-handed relief depth. The 31-year-old southpaw holds a serviceable 5.77 ERA, 1.54 WHIP and 165/78 K/BB ratio across 151 1/3 innings (143 appearances) in the majors since 2018.

Knapp made the announcement on his personal Instagram account. The 33-year-old backstop got into three games last year at the highest level and spent parts of seven seasons in the majors, batting .209/.309/.312 with 13 homers and two steals in 328 games between the Giants, Mariners, Pirates and Phillies.

Ryan was with the Pirates last season, pitching to a 5.66 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, and 17/9 K/BB ratio in 20 2/3 innings out of the bullpen. The 29-year-old will serve as organizational bullpen depth again.

Shreve’s contract will pay him $1.3 million if he pitches MLB innings. The 34-year-old pitched just one inning for Colorado in 2024; however, he had a 2.62 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, and 35/12 K/BB ratio in 34 1/3 Triple-A innings split between the Rockies, Yankees, and Rangers. He figures to operate as organizational depth for the Braves who lost left-hander A.J. Minter from this bullpen this off-season.

The contract will pay Lucchesi $1.5 million if he pitches MLB innings this season. The 31-year-old made just two starts for the Mets in 2024 and pitched to a 4.70 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, and 86/56 K/BB ratio in 115 innings at Triple-A Syracuse. He figures to just be organization depth or a possible long-reliever out of the bullpen for the Giants in 2025.

The Blue Jays needed this one. After coming so close on Juan Soto, Corbin Burnes, and Roki Sasaki, the Blue Jays needed to land a premiere talent, and they had no problem paying for it. The total guarantee is reportedly $92.5 million over five years. The 30-year-old Santander is coming off his best season ever, hitting a career-high 44 home runs and driving in 102 runs for the Orioles. He will likely slot in as the primary designated hitter and bat clean-up behind Vladimir Guerero Jr. but will also play some corner outfield. His presence in the middle of the lineup is a huge boost for Toronto, who was set to play Will Wagner as one of the primary designated hitters. The additions of Santander and Andres Gimenez squash a lot of Wagner’s fantasy value, and we should see a bit of regression for Santander as well considering he is now in a worse lineup than he was in last year, and Baltimore ranked 8th among all stadiums in Statcast’s park factor for left-handed power, while Toronto ranks 19th. Since the switch-hitting Santander will face mostly right-handed pitchers, we should expect a return to around 30 home runs with a .240 average and around 170 Runs+RBI. That certainly makes him a solid fantasy asset, but we would not pay for last season’s production.

“Our arms are still open. The door is still open. There’s always a chance,” Espada said. While, it’s nice to hear Espada say that, it’s unclear how Bregman would fit. The Astros acquired third baseman Isaac Paredes in the Kyle Tucker trade and then signed Christian Walker to play first base. The only place for Bregman would be to move either Paredes or Walker to a full-time designated hitter spot, but given Yordan Alvarez’s knee issues, it seems unwise for the Astros to force him to play the outfield every day. At this point, we’d still consider it a long-shot that Bregman returns to the Astros.

During the Cardinals’ Winter Warm-up, Walker spoke to the media and admitted that he didn’t make enough contact in 2024 and wanted to return to the swing he used in 2023 and earlier. “I feel as if I was more comfortable hitting that way.” He worked with Brant Brown to focus on a swing that would allow him to make more consistent contact and drive the ball into the gaps. “Hand placement is really the biggest thing,” said Walker, who admitted that his hands were too far back at the start of his swing, and that prevented him from getting a consistent swing path. With the Cardinals in a bit of a rebuilding phase, Walker should get a chance to earn a starting job again, and at just 22 years old, there remains plenty of upside for Walker who could be a great post-hype pick in fantasy baseball leagues this season.