MLB Player News

Chavez was released from the White Sox earlier this weekend but found another team in the AL Central to pitch for this season. The veteran should provide plenty of veteran presence in the Twin bullpen and will likely pitch in low to medium leverage for Minnesota.

The 38-year-old is putting off retirement and coming back for his third year in a row with the Pirates and his 12th year with them overall. McCutchen had one of his best years from a power perspective in 2024, hitting 20 home runs with a career-high 11.7 percent barrel rate. His swinging strike rate is up and zone contact rate is down as he’s traded those for a bit more power, so it’s hard to see him hitting over .240 with that approach. His fantasy value is also hampered by being a UTIL-only player, but he will likely produce some solid weeks of offense for fantasy managers in deeper formats.

This is the same amount as the qualifying offer that the Red Sox made to Nick Pivetta, which he declined, and the Dodgers did not make to Buehler. The 29-year-old returned to the mound for the first time since 2022 and disappointed with a 5.38 ERA and 64/28 K/BB ratio in 75 1/3 innings for the Dodgers. However, he was electric in the World Series, showcasing more life on his fastball en route to earning a win and a save. In total, he had a 3.60 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 13/5 K/BB ratio 15 postseason innings. The Red Sox will hope to build on that as he gets further removed from his Tommy John’ surgery. With Buehler and Garrett Crochet now in the rotation, the Red Sox have revamped one of their weaknesses from 2024.

Giles posted a 6.28 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, and 58/22 K/BB ratio in 38 2/3 innings for Atlanta’s Triple-A affiliate in 2024, so it’s unlikely anybody will give him an MLB contract. However, the 34-year-old has a career 2.71 ERA and a 33 percent strikeout rate in 355 1/3 MLB innings; however, injuries have limited him to eight total MLB innings since 2019, so he may never get back close to the level we have previously seen from him.

The deal is still pending a physical, but the 32-year-old had been receiving plenty of interest around the league after hitting .275/.393/.515 with 23 home runs and a career-high .908 OPS with the Diamondbacks last year. Pederson has historically dominated right-handed pitching and saw only 32 total at-bats against left-handed pitching last season, so Texas will almost assuredly lock him in as their everyday DH against right-handed pitching, more than replacing the offensive production they were getting from Nathaniel Lowe. Of course, that means the Rangers are also back to only three outfield spots for Adolis Garcia, Wyatt Langford, Evan Carter, and Leody Taveras, so somebody is going to be left out of regular playing time in 2025.

Manaea is returning to the Big Apple following the strongest season of his career last year when he finished with a sparkling 3.47 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 184/63 K/BB ratio across 181 2/3 innings (32 starts). The 32-year-old southpaw, who rejected a $21.05 million qualifying offer last month from the Mets, ends up securing the multi-year commitment he was seeking on the open market. He benefitted greatly from New York’s pitching development engine last year as they got him to lean heavily on his sinker, which led to his strongest results from a run-prevention standpoint, and a top 30 finish for fantasy purposes at starting pitcher. He won’t go that high in drafts next spring, but he’s a surefire top 50 range starting pitcher (SP4 territory) now that he’s back with the Mets.

The 36-year-old left-hander hasn’t appeared in the big leagues since his one appearance with the Angels back in 2022. Moran spent the entire 2024 season at Triple-A Gwinnett where he registered a 5.91 ERA, 1.58 WHIP and a 48/16 K/BB ratio across 45 2/3 innings of work. He’ll continue to function as excess bullpen depth for the Braves.

The 28-year-old southpaw was a key cog in the Nationals’ bullpen during the 2024 campaign, registering a 4.22 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and a 75/16 K/BB ratio across 59 2/3 innings in his 72 appearances. He’ll provide Rangers’ skipper Bruce Bochy with another strong weapon to deploy from the left side of the bullpen.

The 29-year-old slugger should represent a massive upgrade to the middle of the Nationals’ lineup, though his arrival is likely to eat into the playing time of both Juan Yepez and Andres Chapparo. Lowe is arbitration-eligible for the second time this winter and remains under team control through the 2026 season.

The Rangers will receive left-handed reliever Robert Garcia in the return package. Lowe, 29, should represent a major upgrade in production for the Nationals after slashing .265/.361/.401 with 16 homers and 69 RBI for the Rangers during the 2024 campaign. The Rangers seem likely to let new acquisition Jake Burger function as their regular first baseman now that room has been cleared for him.

The 26-year-old hurler made 18 appearances with the Twins during the 2023 season then spent the 2024 campaign with the Doosan Bears in the Korea Baseball Organization. There, he registered a 4.26 ERA, 1.44 WHIP and a 69/28 K/BB ratio over 57 innings in his 12 appearances (11 starts). It’s unclear if the Tigers view him as depth for their rotation or bullpen — or someplace in between.