MLB Player News

Newcomb will be available in relief out of Oakland’s bullpen for Tuesday’s series opener against the Mariners. The 30-year-old southpaw underwent a pair of knee surgeries during the offseason and is expected to return in a relief role for Oakland. He’s several years removed from being one of the better pitching prospects in baseball with the Braves and is merely extra organizational depth at this stage in his career. He can be ignored in all fantasy formats at this juncture.

Dombrowski added that Painter, who looked extremely impressive in the Arizona Fall League, will throw in spring training, but will not pitch in Grapefruit League exhibition contests. The Phillies swung a trade for Jesús Luzardo and also signed swingman Joe Ross to fortify their starting rotation mix with the goal of having Painter built up enough from a workload standpoint to be ready to make an impact in the second half of next year. The 21-year-old top pitching prospect is expected to make an instant impact for fantasy managers once he arrives in the majors.

Brown added that he though the Astros made a “competitive offer” to bring Bregman back to Houston, but ultimately decided to pursue Walker after bringing in Isaac Paredes from the Cubs in the Kyle Tucker trade to take over at the hot corner. The 30-year-old third baseman figures to have plenty of suitors on the open market, but at this point it’s unclear how close he is to making a decision on his next club.

Kessinger has been removed from Houston’s 40-man roster to clear space for veteran slugger Christian Walker. The 27-year-old got into 48 contests for the Astros over the last two years, batting .131/.243/.213 with one homer in 70 plate appearances.

Gose oscillated back and forth between Cleveland’s bullpen and Triple-A Columbus last year, making three relief appearances for the eventual AL Central champions. The 34-year-old southpaw has had a remarkable career arc, successfully making the transition from big-league center fielder to legitimate hard-throwing lefty reliever. He’ll bolster New York’s organizational relief depth heading into next season and will probably open the year back at Triple-A Syracuse.

The deal is now official. Ross heads to Philadelphia to fill a versatile swingman-type role in addition to providing additional starting pitching depth behind fifth starters Jesús Luzardo and Taijuan Walker. The 31-year-old righty posted a respectable 3.77 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 66/29 K/BB ratio across 74 innings (25 appearances, 10 starts) last year for the Brewers in his return from Tommy John surgery. There isn’t a ton of intrigue for fantasy purposes, but Ross figures to gobble up plenty of frames next year for the Phillies as a relief weapon.

Cuas has been jettisoned from Philadelphia’s 40-man roster to make room for veteran righty Joe Ross. The 30-year-old reliever was claimed off waivers back in September from the Blue Jays and didn’t end up making an appearance for the Phillies.

Ross provides the Phillies with a capable swingman and insurance policy behind Jesús Luzardo and Taijuan Walker at the back-end of their rotation mix. The 31-year-old righty posted a respectable 3.77 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 66/29 K/BB ratio across 74 innings (25 appearances, 10 starts) last year for the Brewers in his return from Tommy John surgery.

The deal is now official. Sandoval boasts one of the most dynamic changeups in the game and represents a worthwhile low-risk reclamation project for the Red Sox. The 28-year-old southpaw underwent Tommy John surgery back in late June and isn’t expected to be an option for Boston’s starting rotation mix until the late stages of next season. It’ll be fascinating to see how he fares in another organization’s pitching development engine, especially one like the Red Sox, who place an emphasis on off-speed pitches.

Armstrong is on the 40-man roster, so the Rangers had to designate Sam Huff for assignment to make room. Armstrong was waived by the Cubs back in September after registering a 4.86 ERA, 1.53 WHIP, and 66 strikeouts in 66 2/3 innings for the Rays, Cardinals, and Cubs in 2024. The 34-year-old does have a 4.15 career ERA in 347 1/3 innings, so he will bring some stability and experience to a Rangers bullpen that is in dire need of it.

The Rangers needed an extra spot on the 40-man roster after signing reliever Shawn Armstrong, so Huff was the odd man out. The one-time Top 100 prospect has never quite figured it out at the big league level and his deficiencies behind the plate make him more of a DH-only. He had just four at-bats for the Rangers in 2024 and hit .246 with 13 home runs in 111 games at Triple-A. Some team will give the 26-year-old another chance at a minor league deal or he’ll choose to take a gamble and remain in the Rangers’ organization.