MLB Player News

Iglesias had a day off on Thursday but will be back in the lineup with Jeff McNeil shifting back to right field, Tyrone Taylor in center field and both Dj Stewart and Harrison Bader on the bench. Iglesias has been tremendous since being called up on May 31st and is a career .281 hitter, so his solid batting average should not be treated as a fluke. If you need batting average with the chance for solid counting stats in a good lineup, Iglesias could fill that need.

Neither Mey or Callihan are Top 30 prospects in Cincinnati’s system, according to MLB Pipeline, but they’ve earned spots on the club’s 40-man roster to protect them from next month’s Rule 5 Draft. Of that pair, Mey is the most intriguing from a fantasy standpoint as he recently was lighting up Statcast radar in the Arizona Fall League with a triple-digit fastball as one of the better relievers on the circuit. The 23-year-old righty will most likely open next season back at Double-A Chattanooga.

It’s not exactly a blockbuster — and he certainly won’t be confused with Juan Soto — but Siri provides New York with a capable defensive centerfielder and some viable outfield depth heading into the offseason. He’s a logical replacement for free agent Harrison Bader and has contributed 43 homers and 26 steals over the last two seasons combined with the Rays. It’s highly unlikely he’ll correct the contact issues that have dragged down his batting average during that span, but he’s likely to remain a cheap power/speed combo source for fantasy managers.

Hence is arguably the highest profile prospect, especially from a fantasy persepctive, that needed to be added to a 40-man roster ahead of Tuesday’s reserve list deadline to protect him from next month’s Rule 5 Draft. the dynamic 22-year-old righty made significant strides last year in the upper minors, flashing some of the best stuff of any prospect in baseball, posting a stellar 2.71 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 109/26 K/BB ratio across 79 2/3 innings (20 starts) for Double-A Memphis. He’ll open next season on the doorstep of the majors and figures to force his way to St. Louis at some point.

Rom has been jettisoned from the Cardinals’ 40-man roster after missing all of last season recovering from arthroscopic shoulder surgery. The 24-year-old southpaw came over from the Orioles back in 2023 as part of the Jack Flaherty trade and made eight starts during the late stages of that season.

It’s now official. Nick Martinez was the lone recipient to accept a qualifying offer this offseason cycle, becoming just the 14th to do so since the system was implemented back in 2012. That leaves Juan Soto, Willy Adames, Pete Alonso, Alex Bregman, Corbin Burnes, Max Fried, Teoscar Hernández, Christian Walker, Sean Manaea, Anthony Santander, Luis Severino and Pivetta officially heading to free agency. Their respective teams will receive draft pick compensation if they wind up signing elsewhere. No real surprises here besides Pivetta, who ESPN’s Jeff Passan indicated last week has at least a “three-year deal” waiting for him on the open market.

Fulton missed all of the 2024 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. He’s expected to be ready for the start of the 2025 campaign. Serna was acquired in the Jazz Chisholm Jr. trade and hit 251/.337/.414 over three levels with 15 homers and 15 stolen bases.

Alzolay underwent Tommy John surgery in August and won’t be able to pitch until the end of 2025 at the earliest, with a good chance he won’t be ready until 2026. The right-hander would have been due a raise on his $2.1 million salary of 2024, and now likely will be signed to a two-year deal — with the majority of that cash coming not in 2025 — with a new club.

Tuesday is the deadline to add players to the 40-man roster or risk losing them to the Rule 5 draft, and the Rays won’t take the chance. Mangum performed well in his first year in the Tampa Bay system with an .800 OPS, 20 stolen bases and .317 average with Durham in 2024 over 104 games.

Lovelady is off the 40-man roster, and it clears room for Jake Mangum. Lovelady should see interest on the waiver wire for a team looking to pile up left-handed options in their bullpen prior to the season.

Raya ranks fifth in MLB.com’s list of the Twins’ top prospects. The right-hander registered a 4.05 ERA and 103/44 K/BB across 25 starts; the final one in Triple-A and the previous 24 in Double-A. He’ll likely begin the year in St. Paul with a solid chance of making appearances for Minnesota over the summer.