MLB Player News

Falvey added that the possibility of replacing Baldelli “never even crossed my mind.” The Twins have struggled in the late stages of the 2022 campaign, going 23-34 since the All-Star break, mainly due to an avalanche of injuries to key contributors, and appear all-but-certain to miss the upcoming postseason. Baldelli was hired prior to the 2019 campaign and wound up being voted American League Manager of the Year in his first season. He’s guided Minnesota to a 282-252 record over the last four years.

The Yankees join the Giants and Mets as a team that has been eliminated from contention for the Japanese right-hander today. The Yankees already have a full rotation plus Marcus Stroman, who they are dangling in trade talks, so this doesn’t impact the strength of their pitching in 2025, but they obviously would have liked to have signed a player as talented as Sasaki.

Sasaki and his team have entered the final stages of their prolonged off-season schedule as the 23-year-old star can sign with a team starting on Wednesday. It wouldn’t be a surprise to hear other teams begin to be eliminated from contention, but it seems like the Dodgers, Padres, and Blue Jays are the top contenders for now.

Johnson is the most noteworthy of the three despite posting a .177/.248/.226 slash line over 140 MLB plate appearances. In 2024, he hit hitting .288/.407/.431 with the Padres’ Triple-A affiliate in El Paso. He has always posted solid walk rates and can swipe bases, so there’s a chance he can play his way into some at-bats in Pittsburgh in 2024. Nuñez could provide organization depth at the corner infield spots, and Yean was traded with Wil Crowe from the Nationals to the Pirates for Josh Bell back in 2020. Yean had been the Nationals’ 6th-ranked prospect at the time but he hasn’t been able to match those expectations.

The Pirates will now be Smith’s eighth MLB team in a career that also included a year playing professionally in Korea. In 2024, Smith pitched in 50 games between the Marlins and Orioles’ organizations, posting a 4.95 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, and 46/12 K/BB ratio in 56 1/3 innings. He had a poor 19 percent strikeout rate but he possesses elite command with a five-percent walk rate. He has a decent shot to earn a spot in the Pirates’ bullpen.

Hoffman also reportedly failed a physical with the Orioles’ medical staff before agreeing to a contract with the Blue Jays. Each team has its own standards when it comes to physicals, so Hoffman failing two with different teams doesn’t mean the Blue Jays overlooked anything, but it’s not a great sign. Hoffman previously had Tommy John surgery during his Junior year of college, and he also dealt with more minor shoulder injuries in 2018 and 2021, so the health of his shoulder will certainly be something to monitor this season. It adds a bit of risk to his fantasy value this season, but we wouldn’t let these reports cause you to drop him down your draft boards too much since he has no currently reported injuries.

Cannon is seemingly locked into a rotation spot with the White Sox after pitching to a 4.49 ERA and a 91/40 K/BB in 124 1/3 innings in 2024. While the results were not consistent, Cannon was working with a few new pitches, including a power curveball and a sweeper as the White Sox built a “decidedly east-west oriented arsenal” for Cannon under pitching coach Brian Bannister. This offseason, instead of adding new pitches, Cannon has been working on refining his release point to make his offerings more consistent and also have them work better off of one another. If Cannon was able to miss a few more bats while posting an ERA just over 4.00, that would give him some fantasy value in deeper formats given that he seems like a sure bet for innings this season.

The Cubs needed a spot on the 40-man roster for Colin Rea, who they signed over the weekend, so Arias was let go. The 23-year-old has yet to make his MLB debut and spent most of 2024 in Triple-A, where he had a 2.09 WHIP in 36.1 innings. Including his 24 innings at Double-A in 2024, Arias posted a 4.77 ERA and 1.86 WHIP but 72 strikeouts in 60 1/3 innings. His raw stuff is solid, and he has a career 4.25 ERA in 97 minor-league appearances (32 starts), so a few teams, including the Cubs, will likely be looking to sign him to a minor-league deal once he clears waivers.

Wong had a solid season offensively for Boston in 2024, hitting .280 with 13 homers, 24 doubles, and a .758 OPS while cutting his strikeout rate down from 33.3 percent in 2023 to 23.4 percent in 2024. However, he also wore down as the season went on, posting just a .696 OPS in the second half, compared to a .809 OPS in the first half. Wong believes the added weight will help him “be a little more physical, a little more durable” while still moving “the same way I have in the past.” He also worked with new Red Sox catching instructor Packer Guinn on “Receiving, blocking, the whole thing, really. We’ve changed some of the setup.” Wong graded as a poor blocker and framer in 2024, so any meaningful improvement in his defense would be huge for Boston and Wong’s playing time in 2025.

Speaking at Fenway Fest, Cora was quick to say that Rafael Devers “is our third baseman,” but also added that he always believed Bregman profiled well defensively at second base. Cora commented that Bregman was forced to play third base in Houston because they had Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa in the infield as well. The Red Sox seem to be circling Bregman on a potential deal, but the veteran third baseman’s asking price remains high, and there are rumors that Bregman is asking for a seven-year contract. With top prospect Kristian Campbell seemingly ready to contribute at the MLB level this season, Boston has to decide if they want to block him for several years by bringing Bregman into the fold.

Despite the rumors that they have often offered the most money, Toronto has famously come up just short on big-name free agents over the last two off-seasons like Shohei Ohtani, Juan Soto, and Corbin Burnes. Now they appear to be in the mix for the top prize remaining in this year’s free agent class. Sasaki can sign with a major-league club starting Wednesday when the international signing period opens; although, the common belief is that he will sign with either the Dodgers or Padres.