MLB Player News

Straily was released by the Diamondbacks on Monday from his minor league contract after recording a calamitous 6.35 ERA, 1.49 WHIP and 53/30 K/BB ratio across 62 1/3 innings (15 appearances, 12 starts) for Triple-A Reno. The 33-year-old right-hander spent the previous two years in Korea, blossoming into one of the league’s best pitchers. He’ll reportedly earn $400,000 for the remainder of the 2022 campaign in Korea.

Harris signed a minor league pact last month with the Mets and will head to Boston as extra organizational relief depth after being picked in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 Draft. The 31-year-old righty, who made 16 relief appearances for the Nationals during the 2023 season, struggled to a lackluster 6.79 ERA, 1.84 WHIP and 62/31 K/BB ratio over 54 1/3 innings (44 appearances) last year at Triple-A St. Paul in the Twins’ system.

Vasil heads to Tampa Bay shortly after being gobbled up by the Phillies in the Rule 5 Draft. The 24-year-old prospect was left unprotected by the Mets after finishing last year with a calamitous 6.04 ERA, 1.55 WHIP and 109/52 K/BB ratio across 134 innings (29 appearances, 27 starts) for Triple-A Syracuse. He’s likely ticketed for a relief role with the Rays where his stuff should play up.

Pilkington fortifies Washington’s organizational relief depth heading into spring training. The 27-year-old southpaw didn’t appear in the majors last year, but has made 16 appearances (11 starts) at the highest level dating back to 2022. He compiled a lackluster 5.91 ERA, 1.76 WHIP and 79/49 K/BB ratio across 77 2/3 innings (33 appearances, 21 starts) last year in Arizona’s system at Triple-A Reno.

Hudson has morphed into the quintessential modern-era emergency catcher, getting into exactly 19 games for four different franchises since 2018. The 33-year-old veteran journeyman will head to Triple-A Sugar Land as, you guessed it, emergency catching depth for the Astros entering the 2025 campaign.

Bowden’s last appearance in the big leagues came back in 2021 when he posted a lackluster 6.56 ERA, 1.82 WHIP and 42/21 K/BB ratio across 35 2/3 innings (39 appearances) for the Rockies. The 30-year-old southpaw spent all of last year at in the Braves’ organization at Triple-A Gwinnett, compiling a pedestrian 4.03 ERA, 1.48 WHIP and 35/17 K/BB ratio across 29 innings (27 appearances). He’ll function as emergency left-handed relief depth for the rebuilding Athletics.

Henry returns to Philadelphia as extra catching depth at Triple-A Lehigh Valley heading into 2025. The 27-year-old backstop hasn’t appeared in the big league sine the 2022 season when he got into 15 contests for the Marlins.

Weigel hasn’t appeared in the big leagues since making four appearances over a two-year span from 2020-2021 between the Braves and Brewers. The 30-year-old righty spent last year in the Reds’ system before pitching in the independent Mexican League. He’s back in affiliated ball as extra organizational depth for the rebuilding Nationals.

Briceno finds himself back in affiliated ball after spending all of last season with the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs of the independent Atlantic League, finishing with a sparkling 2.06 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 84/22 K/BB ratio across 52 1/3 innings (44 appearances). The 32-year-old journeyman has yet to break into the big leagues and is merely extra organizational depth for the Angels at the Triple-A level.

The deal is official. Texas continues to shore up their bullpen corps by adding Webb on a short-term pact. The 31-year-old right-hander is coming off arguably the best season of his career when he finished the 2024 campaign with a solid 3.02 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 58/27 K/BB ratio across 56 2/3 innings (60 appearances). He’ll likely operate in middle relief, but could end up getting some high-leverage opportunities.

The deal, which was agreed to last week, is now official. Bieber is expected to miss at least some time during the first half of the impending season as he continues to recover from Tommy John surgery, but he figures to be ready to bolster Cleveland’s starting rotation at some point next season. The 29-year-old right-hander is unlikely to return to form as an upper-echelon fantasy starter, especially since his average fastball velocity has officially dipped into the low-90’s range, but he should miss enough bats to make an impact for fantasy managers again. Given his extensive track record, he’s at least worthy of a speculative late-round pick in fantasy drafts next spring.