MLB Player News

To the surprise of absolutely no one who has seen Ford play, that’s the first triple of his MLB career. The 31-year-old drove in a run on the three-bagger and another with a single in the sixth. Ford is going to see time at first base with Christian Encarnacion-Strand, but he isn’t likely to do enough with that time to be worth a fantasy addition.

They’re facing a Sunday deadline to make the call. The Athletic’s Jim Bowden also has a Yankees source indicating that the team will likely retain Cole. The Yankees would be paying $180 million for Cole’s next five seasons through age 38. It’d be an easy call if not for the 34-year-old’s elbow injury last season. As is, it’s pretty risky. Still, Cole was the AL Cy Young winner in 2023, and his stuff looked plenty good in the playoffs last month.

Gonzalez, 25, gets a 40-man spot after striking out 83 and posting a 2.91 ERA in 52 2/3 innings as a reliever between Double- and Triple-A last season. He’ll likely open next season back in Triple-A, but he’ll get a look in spring training.

It was reported last month that the Braves would exercise their $7.25 million option on Bummer, but he’s instead getting a new deal that pays him $3.5 million next season and $9.5 million in 2026. Bummer had a 3.58 ERA over 55 1/3 innings in his first season with the Braves.

The Braves say López will make $8 million next season, $14 million in 2026 and $8 million in 2027. This replaces the deal López signed last winter, which was set to pay him $11 million next season, $11 million in 2026 and then either an $8 million option or a $4 million buyout in 2027. So, it appears that López is getting an extra $4 million here after a very promising return to the rotation last season.

The mutual option was always meant to be declined and just a matter of pushing 2024 dollars back to 2025. Sánchez gets a $4 million buyout on top of his $3 million salary from last season. The 31-year-old faltered at the end of the year to finish with a .220/.307/.398 line in 280 plate appearances.

Miller, who turns 28 this month, was a non-factor last season, going 5-for-27 in 14 games for the Brewers. The utilityman is a lifetime .239/.287/.345 hitter in 294 major league games dating back to 2021, and he’ll probably compete for a bench job in spring training.

A little bit of a surprise, because the Brewers have a $5.5 million option here on a guy who went 12-6 with a 4.29 ERA and a 135/43 K/BB in 167 2/3 innings last season. We imagine he’ll be claimed by a team, which will save the Brewers from having to pay him a $1 million buyout.

Flores had an OPS of 113 from 2016-23, topping out at 137 in 2023, but he struggled with a knee injury and hit .206/.277/.318 in 71 games last season. The Giants might decide to move on from him rather than bring him back as a platoon first baseman and/or DH.

Smyly gets a $2.5 million buyout. The 35-year-old moved to pen the second half of the 2023 season and had a 3.84 ERA in 58 2/3 innings as a reliever last season. He could look to return to the rotation as a free agent.

Ray spent most of last season working his way back from Tommy John and then missed the end of the year with a hamstring strain, so opting out was not in the cards. He’ll join Logan Webb, Jordan Hicks, Kyle Harrison and probably an offseason addition in the Giants rotation next year.