MLB Player News

Bard deserves credit for being forthcoming and transparent about the issue after struggling with his pitch command during the World Baseball Classic. It’s unclear how long he’ll wind up being sidelined at the moment. His absence likely opens the door for Pierce Johnson, Brad Hand or even Dinelson Lamet to pick up some early-season saves in Colorado.

The posting is expected to take place at noon Eastern. Once the 25-year-old has been posted, MLB clubs will have 30 days to negotiate a contract with Kim. If no deal is reached, he’ll return to his KBO club — the Kiwoom Heroes — but it’s widely expected that Kim will be on someone’s MLB roster for the 2025 campaign and beyond.

The conditional year after Snell’s five-year, $182 million contract would be available to the Dodgers if Snell was assigned to another level at any point in the first five years, or if the left-hander was to miss 90 or more days consecutively on the injured list. It’s an interesting wrinkle to an already intriguing contract that includes a massive signing bonus of $52 million and — of course — deferrals.

The deal will pay the 6-foot-8 right-hander $600,000. Guerrero will head overseas after spending 2024 in the Angels’ organization. The 33-year-old could be back with an MLB club with a strong showing overseas, but he hasn’t pitched in the majors in five years.

Maton, 27, was last with the Orioles’ organization. He’ll provide versatility for the White Sox and has a decent shot of making the Opening Day roster; although they’ll need to create a spot on the 40-man if he does play well enough in Arizona to earn that right.

Kahnle, 35, hasn’t put in a full season since 2019, but he has been very effective when available the last two seasons, amassing a 2.38 ERA for the Yankees. A reunion with the Bombers makes plenty of sense.

Chapman gets $250,000 more than he did from the Pirates last year, even though he was rather mediocre in finishing with a 3.79 ERA. He remained one of baseball’s hardest throwers at age 36, and he still managed an elite 37% strikeout rate last season. However, he doesn’t make it easy when he’s walking two batters every three innings. The Red Sox will likely put him in a setup role, but he could always be a candidate for saves if the need arises.

Chapman remains a reasonably effective reliever, and the Red Sox have need of those. It doesn’t make it easy to understand why he’s a priority for this front office when there are plenty of other options out there, but apparently, character is taking a backseat right now.

The deal is now official. Higashioka is coming off the finest offensive campaign of his career last season when he launched 17 round-trippers in 263 plate appearances for the Padres. The 34-year-old veteran backstop provides the Rangers with an excellent complement for starter Jonah Heim, who has started at least 127 games in each of the past three seasons. It’s a nice landing spot in a hitter-friendly ballpark, but he’s unlikely to play enough to make an impact for fantasy purposes outside of extremely deep two-catcher formats.

Acuña made an unexpectedly strong impression during last season’s brief cameo with the Mets, slashing .308/.325/.641 with three homers in 14 contests after posting a pedestrian .654 OPS with seven homers and 40 steals in 131 games for Triple-A Syracuse. The 22-year-old’s prospect stock has tumbled over the last few years, but there’s enough speed here that he could wind up mattering for fantasy purposes in deeper mixed leagues, if he’s getting regular at-bats for New York. That is going to be a challenge with Francisco Lindor at shortstop indefinitely, but the Mets could get creative next season to give him opportunities to make an impact.

No word yet on the financial terms or length of the deal. The update comes shortly after MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reported the two sides were making progress towards an agreement. Higashioka provides the Rangers with a capable complement for Jonah Heim, who has started at least 127 contests in each of the last three seasons. The 34-year-old backstop slugged a career-high 17 round-trippers in 263 plate appearances last year for the Padres. He’s a non-factor for fantasy purposes outside of extremely deep two-catcher formats.