MLB Player News

The 28-year-old Johnson was once a fine prospect and logged major league time with Cleveland in 2020 and ’21, but after spending most of last year in Double-A with the Padres, he’s not much of a candidate to make the Orioles this spring. Sam Hilliard is the favorite to serve as the team’s fourth outfielder, and Jorge Mateo also figures to log some outfield time in addition to his infield duties.

Díaz heads to San Francisco as extra organizational relief depth at Triple-A Sacramento after making one relief appearance last year for the Astros. The 30-year-old journeyman righty has logged 88 appearances (eight starts) between three different clubs at the big-league level dating back to 2017. He’ll presumably get a chance to compete in spring training for a spot in the Giants’ season-opening bullpen.

File spent all of last season in the upper minors of Arizona’s system after heading overseas for a stint with the Doosan Bears of the Korea Baseball Organization. The 28-year-old righty has yet to reach the majors and is merely extra organizational starting pitching depth for Seattle at this stage of his career.

Knight was up briefly last year for the Cubs at the end of the regular season as emergency catching depth, but didn’t end up making an appearance. The 29-year-old backstop returns to the fold as extra depth at Triple-A Iowa.

Smith emerged as a fan favorite last year with the Red Sox as a replacement for an injured Triston Casas before being released in late August. The 29-year-old former ballyhooed Mets prospect batted .233/.317/.390 with six homers and one steal in 307 plate appearances last year between the Red Sox and Reds. He provides the Yankees with some additional cold corner depth behind Paul Goldschmidt.

The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma adds that the Cubs are officially out of the Sasaki sweepstakes. According to multiple reports the Yankees, Mets, Rangers, Giants and Diamondbacks are also no longer in the running. The Dodgers and Padres have long been considered the favorites to land the Japanese pitching phenom, while the Blue Jays are a bit of a surprise to still be in the derby at this late stage. Passan adds that Sasaki is expected to make his final decision by January 23. Stay tuned.

The deal is now official after Kittredge passed his physical. The 34-year-old veteran right-hander features a deadly sinker-slider combo and figures to jump right into Baltimore’s high-leverage mix behind closer Félix Bautista. He finished last year with one save and 37 holds for the Cardinals along with a sparkling 2.80 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 67/20 K/BB ratio across 70 2/3 innings (74 appearances).

Hunt loses his spot on the Orioles’ 40-man roster after the club signed veteran reliever Andrew Kittredge. The 26-year-old backstop figures to pass through waivers unclaimed and remain with the club as emergency catching depth.

The deal, which also includes $1 million in performance incentives, is official. Solano provides Seattle with some additional bench depth heading into next season after batting .286/.343/.417 with eight home runs and two steals in 309 plate appearances last year with the Padres. The 37-year-old veteran journeyman has spent time with four different organizations in the big leagues dating back to 2019. He can be safely ignored for fantasy purposes but represents a quality depth addition for the Mariners behind incumbent infield options Dylan Moore, Luke Raley and Ryan Bliss.

Kitchen was claimed off waivers last September from the Marlins and winds up losing his 40-man roster spot after making four appearances (one start) last year for Miami. The 27-year-old southpaw should attract some interest on waivers as extra relief depth.

According to multiple reports, the Rangers, Yankees, Giants and Mets no longer appear to be in the mix. The Blue Jays remain the biggest X-factor left in the running since Sasaki has met with the club and there’s zero indication they’re out of the running. The NL west rival Dodgers and Padres have long been viewed as the favorites to sign the 23-year-old Japanese phenom with Badler’s latest report echoing that belief. We got an early indication that Los Angeles is a clear finalist in the Sasaki derby last week when they lost top international prospect Darell Morel to the Pirates. Sasaki is expected to make a final decision in the coming days once the international signing period officially kicks off.