MLB Player News

Montgomery made it through a simulated game earlier this week without any issues and is trending towards returning to take the ball early next week against Kansas City. The 31-year-old southpaw hit the injured list back in late June with right knee inflammation. Hopefully the extra time off to focus on his mechanics and ramp-up process will translate to improved results after a calamitous start to his Arizona debut earlier this year.

Roberts said he hasn’t made any final decisions. Second and third are the usual spots of Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, respectively, which made us think Tucker might open up in the cleanup spot. If Tucker bats second, he’d presumably be followed by Betts and Freeman, but if Tucker bats third behind Betts, it might make sense to slide Freeman down to fifth to separate the lefty bats and use Will Smith in the cleanup spot.

We’re kind of confused by this, as Molina was already named a special assistant to the president of baseball operations for the Cardinals after the 2023 season. But apparently that arrangement quietly ended at some point. It’s back on now with Chaim Bloom having replaced John Mozeliak as the leader of the Cardinals’ front office. The 43-year-old Molina has made no secret of his desire to manage in the bigs someday. He will be at the helm for Team Puerto Rico in the WBC.

David Peterson, Nolan McLean, Clay Holmes, Kodai Senga and Sean Manaea would seem to be the Mets’ rotation for the moment, with prospects Jonah Tong, Christian Scott, Brandon Sproat and journeyman Cooper Criswell in reserve. Depth is nice, but getting a true upgrade is going to be expensive. It’s already possible that one or two of those prospects are better than the team’s veterans.

Tucker is getting the highest AAV of all-time, at least once one factors in the extreme deferments in Shohei Ohtani’s $70 million-per-year salary. He’s the third player to sign for exactly $240 million. The other two were Albert Pujols’ 10-year deal with the Angels in 2012 and Robinson Cano’s 10-year pact with the Mariners in 2014. Tucker will step in as the Dodgers’ right fielder, shifting Teoscar Hernández to left. Whether he winds up hitting third, fourth or fifth is still to be determined. As long as he’s third or fourth, he’s probably worth picking in the 10-15 range in spring drafts. It’d be surprising to see him hitting fifth, which would take a toll on his value, but, of course, it is a stacked lineup that he’s joining.

Siani will likely go on waivers for a third time this winter after previously bring dropped by the Cardinals and Braves. As a top-flight center fielder with pinch-running ability, he’s a decent bench option on the right team. He just shouldn’t be starting games very often.

This presumably will be a one-year, major league contract. García, who turns 39 this month, had a 3.42 ERA in 55 1/3 innings for the Dodgers, Nationals and Angels last season. He actually came in at 1.61 over 28 innings for those last two teams after the Dodgers cut him in July.

The deal includes a full no-trade clause, a $20 million signing bonus and opt outs after 2027 and 2028. Everything in recent days was trending towards this outcome, especially with the Mets seemingly taking themselves out of the mix by acquiring Luis Robert Jr. last night. The Cubs had been another suitor, but that appeared to end when they landed Alex Bregman, and the Dodgers solved their outfield need with Kyle Tucker. Bellinger’s return as the primary left fielder would seem to leave little room for Jasson Domínguez and top prospect Spencer Jones in the Yankees’ immediate plans. Domínguez could remain a fourth outfielder, which is how he ended last year, but it’s also possible the team could send him down to play regularly initially.

Marino reported that “Jonah Tong’s name briefly came up in talks with the Brewers about Freddy Peralta before the Mets quickly ended that discussion.” The Mets then rejected a follow-up offer that was Brandon Sproat and Jett Williams for Peralta. Given that Peralta is a free agent at the end of the upcoming season, it makes sense that the Mets may not want to deal one of their top prospect who could have multiple years of value; however, it feels likely that some team will be willing to do that to acquire Peralta.

Rosenthal reports that Tucker’s decision to sign with the Dodgers was “a boiling point” for owners, who are also upset about the Mets’ deal with Bo Bichette. Rosenthal suggests that “the Dodgers and Mets might be the only teams that will try to stand in the way of a cap.” The Dodgers project to have a payroll over $400 million again in 2026, but only three other teams are likely to have a payroll over $300 million, which highlights the disparity that many are worried about. Nothing is confirmed yet, but it seems painstakingly clear that we are headed for another MLB lockout.

The deal was reported last week and is now official. Suárez is a groundball-heavy pitcher with tremendous control, which is a profile that should age well. Obviously, the team will hope to get his fastball velocity trending back up, but Suárez should fit nicely alongside Garrett Crochet and Sonny Gray at the top of a rotation with both talent and experience. It remains to be seen what the Red Sox will now do with their rotation, which appears to have far more candidates than it has free spaces.