MLB Player News

Charles looked like a potentially savvy pickup last December for the Orioles when they inked him to a minor league contract, but he never wound up making it to Baltimore. The 27-year-old relief prospect compiled a lackluster 8.60 ERA, 2.18 WHIP and 32/33 K/BB ratio across 30 1/3 innings (31 appearances) this season between Triple-A Norfolk and Double-A Bowie.

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.

Young mentioned that the Rangers “really enjoyed our time, but that’s about the extent of anything I will say on that today.” The Rangers are now the fourth team we can confirm has met face-to-face with Sasaki out in Los Angeles, with the Cubs, Mets, and Yankees being the other three. The Padres and Dodgers are still the rumored frontrunners, but the Rangers would be an appealing destination given their strong lineup and solid rotation of veterans, led by Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi. If Sasaki were to decide to head to Texas, that would immediately put the Rangers among the favorites in the AL.

The deal was originally reported on Friday, and it’s now official. The 33-year-old hit 26 homers with an .803 OPS in 130 games in 2024 with Arizona and is a perfect fit for Houston’s short porch in left field. He should be in for a big year with the Astros.

Montes is a long-time Rockies minor leaguer who made his MLB debut in 2023. He hit .335/.414/.551 slash line with 9 HR, and 47 RBI in 64 games for Triple-A Albuquerque in 2024 before being released by the Rockies and signing to play in Japan. He then hit .272 in 46 games in Japan and will now provide organization depth in the infield for the Rays.

It seems that the Mariners felt their offer, which included a player option for a second year, was good enough to bring Santana into the fold, but Cleveland’s trade of Josh Naylor changed things. Rosenthal noted that, on Saturday morning, Santana “flew to Cleveland to retrieve some personal belongings from his house,” but Naylor was traded in the afternoon and the Guardians were quickly in contact with Santana. “Later that day, he agreed to a one-year, $12 million contract with the Guardians, turning down more guaranteed money from the Mariners.” The Mariners will continue their quest to find a first baseman, but the options have significantly dwindled. They will either have to pay big money for Pete Alonso or agree to part with a starting pitcher like Bryan Woo or Bryce Miller in a trade, which they have refused to do as of now.

That role was vacated on Monday morning with Joc Pederson signing with the Rangers, and it seems like the team is more than happy for Smith to simply step in and take it. As Sommers noted, 85 percent of Smith’s at-bats in 2024 came against right-hand pitching, and he did hit .270/.348/.547 with nine home runs and a .896 OPS in just 158 plate appearances. The lineup around Smith will be good, and he should push over 400 plate appearances in the role, which will give him value in deeper formats, but Chase Field is the worst park in baseball for left-handed power and Smith will be removed mid-game when left-handed relievers come in so it makes it a bit hard to roster him in most fantasy formats.

Ogando was originally signed by the Diamondbacks and spent six years in their farm system before pitching all of 2024 in Indy Ball. He posted a 5.95 ERA with two different teams and also had a 5.48 ERA across three minor league levels in 2023 but did post 57 strikeouts in 44 1/3 innings, so maybe the Orioles can do something with that swing-and-miss upside.