MLB Player News

The 25-year-old hurler has an opportunity to play with the Doosan Bears in the Korea Baseball Organization, so the Twins granted him his release so he can play overseas. Balazovic posted a 5.60 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and a 49/15 K/BB ratio over 35 1/3 innings at Triple-A St. Paul this season.

Lipcius, 26, got off to a great start with the Dodgers’ Triple-A club last season and made a case for a callup when Max Muncy was sidelined, but he cooled off and never did get a chance with the major league team. Overall, he hit .271/.351/.458 with 25 homers in 140 games. His lone major league experience came with the Tigers in 2023, when he hit .286/.342/.400 in 38 plate appearances. There isn’t a lot of upside here, but he probably would have been one of the White Sox’s best players had he been with the club last year. If younger players fail to emerge, he might get a chance to step in somewhere; he has experience at third, second, first and in left field.

Clarke heads back to Kansas City where he spent two seasons from 2022-2023 after spending last year in the Brewers’ organization. He missed most of last season recovering from right knee surgery and didn’t end up making an appearance for Milwaukee. The 31-year-old righty holds a pedestrian 5.03 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and 260/97 K/BB ratio across 279 1/3 innings (183 appearances) in the majors since 2019. He’s merely extra organizational relief depth at this juncture of his career.

Thaiss is on the move again in a crosstown Chicago swap just a few weeks after being shipped to the Cubs from the Angels where he batted .208/.313/.342 with 22 homers and six steals in 771 plate appearances dating back to 2019. The 29-year-old former first-round pick never quite panned out in Los Angeles and projects as merely extra catching depth for the White Sox behind starter Korey Lee until top prospects Edgar Quero and Kyle Teel are ready to ascend to the big leagues.

Miller will compete in Tigers camp for a spot in the club’s season-opening bullpen after being released last month by the rebuilding Angels. The 28-year-old righty recorded a respectable 4.15 ERA, 1.62 WHIP and 11/8 K/BB ratio across 13 innings (13 appearances) last year in his big-league debut. He’ll bolster Detroit’s organizational relief depth heading into next year.

The trade is official. Bellinger, who will take over as New York’s everyday center fielder next season, stands to benefit significantly from a fantasy standpoint with the move to Yankee Stadium’s high-octane offensive environment, which ranked third out of 30 ballparks over the past three seasons for left-handed home run power in Baseball Savant’s park factors. He spent the previous two years in Wrigley Field’s power-suppressing environment for left-handed pop, which ranked seventh worst for southpaws during that span. We’re willing to chalk up some of Bellinger’s struggles last season to a pair of early-season injuries (ribs and finger) that adversely impacted his offensive production as he finished with a pedestrian .266/.325/.426 triple-slash line with 18 big flies and nine steals in 569 plate appearances following a stellar 26-homer, 20-steal bounce-back campaign the prior year in his Chicago debut. He’ll continue to make a ton of weak contact, which isn’t ideal. However, it doesn’t seem outlandish to forecast a return to 20-homer territory with double-digit steals next season in New York, which would make him a borderline top 10 option at first base for fantasy purposes.

Poteet provides the Cubs with a versatile swingman to fortify their starting pitching corps heading into next season. The 30-year-old righty spent most of last year at the Triple-A level, but posted a solid 2.22 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 16/8 K/BB ratio across 24 1/3 innings (five appearances, four starts) for the Yankees. He doesn’t miss a ton of bats and is more of an innings-eating long reliever than someone we’d project as a mainstay in a big-league rotation.

Cabbage was cut loose earlier this week by Pittsburgh to pursue an opportunity overseas and will head to Japan in an effort to build up his long-term appeal. The 27-year-old has put up ridiculous power/speed combo numbers at the Triple-A level, but has also struck out a ton in the process, and never quite was able to make it work in the majors.

Baddoo went unclaimed on waivers and will remain with Detroit since it’s the first time he’s been designated for assignment in his career. The 26-year-old outfielder felt like a logical change of scenery candidate, but there wasn’t another organization out there willing to roll the dice. He’s facing an uphill climb to get back to the majors next season.

Brewer fortifies New York’s organizational relief depth heading into next season after posting a lackluster 5.66 ERA, 1.60 WHIP and 22/9 K/BB ratio across 20 2/3 innings (16 appearances) last year for the Cubs. The 32-year-old journeyman righty has made 100 appearances in the big leagues dating back to 2018.

ESPN’s Jesse Rogers adds that New York is absorbing all but $5 million of the $52.5 million left on the final two years of Bellinger’s existing deal, which also includes an opt-out following the 2025 season. The versatile 29-year-old slugger gives the Yankees a quality defensive option in center field in addition to a fallback plan at the cold corner. His left-handed pop should fit perfectly in the hitter’s paradise that is Yankee Stadium. The move makes him a logical bounce-back candidate for fantasy purposes after batting just .266/.325/.426 with 18 round-trippers and nine steals in 569 plate appearances last year following a sublime 26-homer, 20-steal Cubs debut. We’re not expecting him to reach the 30-homer threshold, but a return to 20-plus round-trippers with double-digit steals seems within reach.