MLB Player News

The 27-year-old hurler has shown flashes of brilliance in his career but has struggled to find consistency on the mound. He has made 12 appearances out of the Royals’ bullpen this season, registering a 3.86 ERA, 1.54 WHIP and an 8/8 K/BB ratio over 11 2/3 innings. Walter Pennington had his contract selected from Triple-A Omaha in a corresponding move on Friday.

Trejo really struggled in his limited action at the big league level in 2024, slashing an abysmal .143/.182/.143 with zero homers, one RBI and a 15/2 K/BB ratio in 67 plate appearances with the Rockies. He has shown to be viable infield depth in the past though and makes for a quality depth addition for the Rangers.

The 26-year-old backstop spent the 2024 season stationed at Double-A Frisco where he slashed .235/.355/.474 with 14 homers, 46 RBI and a 78/44 K/BB ratio across 300 plate appearances. He’ll serve as an extra body behind the plate during spring training and should ultimately wind up at Triple-A Round Rock to open the 2025 season.

Hoffman, 27, was a fifth-round draft choice by the Mariners back in 2018. He spent the last three seasons in the Orioles’ organization, most recently registering a 3.88 ERA, 1.74 WHIP and a 77/37 K/BB ratio over 58 innings at Triple-A Norfolk in 2024. He’ll add bullpen depth, likely in the upper minors for the Rangers.

The versatile 27-year-old was an eighth-round selection by the Rangers from the 2018 draft class and has spent his entire minor league career thus far in their organization. In 2024 he spent the entire year at Triple-A Round Rock where he slashed .275/.390/.382 with three homers, 55 RBI, 12 stolen bases and an 87/71 K/BB ratio over 452 plate appearances. He’ll continue to function as excess infield depth for the Rangers.

The 28-year-old hurler passed his physical on Thursday and the Mets officially announced the deal, which had been agreed to on Wednesday. While he has shown glimpses of greatness in the past, Canning struggled to a pedestrian 5.19 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and a 130/66 K/BB ratio over 171 2/3 innings for the Angels during the 2024 campaign. Perhaps a change of scenery and being able to pitch for a contender for the first time are what Canning needs to get his career back on track.

The idea isn’t necessarily for Lorenzen to see much time at the plate, it’s to potentially circumvent the limit of 13 pitchers that each MLB team is allowed to carry on their roster. If Lorenzen appears in 20 games in the outfield or as a designated hitter (and gets at least three plate appearances in each), he would gain two-way status for the 2025 season and the following year, giving the team that signs him extra roster flexibility. It’s a small wrinkle, sure, but one that could be intriguing to teams that are interested in the additional roster maneuverability.

The 23-year-old former top prospect split his 2024 season between Double-A New Hampshire and Triple-A Buffalo where he compiled a 3.25 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and a 66/28 K/BB ratio across 55 1/3 innings of work. There’s a good chance that he breaks through to the big leagues for the first time and works out of the Jays’ bullpen at some point during the 2025 season.

The Diamondbacks have always placed a great value on defense in the outfield, so Pache should fit right in with his new ballclub. He had a miserable season offensively in 2024, slashing a woeful .200/.273/.279 with just one homer, 16 RBI and a 64/17 K/BB ratio over 183 plate appearances between the Phillies, Marlins and Orioles. He could potentially see time with the D’Backs as a reserve outfielder, but he can be ignored for fantasy purposes.

This is a nice pick-up for the Reds. The Rangers claimed Contreras off waivers from the Angels at the end of October but decided to waive him themselves a week ago when they re-signed Nathan Eovaldi. The 25-year-old transitioned to the bullpen full-time in 2024 and registered a 3.86 ERA and a 52/25 K/BB ratio in 60 2/3 innings. He did struggle in medium and high-leverage situations, allowing 17 earned runs in 18 2/3 innings while striking out 13 and walking four. However, he was much better in lower-leverage spots allowing just eight earned runs in 36 2/3 innings, so he could be a solid option as a multi-inning reliever or first guy out of the pen in Cincinnati last season.

Soroka struggled in 2024, registering a 4.74 ERA and 1.38 WHIP in 79 2/3 innings for the White Sox in 2024. He did have some success as a multi-inning reliever, posting a 2.75 ERA and 60 strikeouts in 36 innings after the White Sox moved him to the bullpen. However, the Nationals plan to try him out as a starting pitcher, and he seems likely to start the season in the rotation. He doesn’t have much fantasy value outside of deep NL-only formats.