MLB Player News

Mauricio tore his ACL last offseason while playing in the Dominican Winter League and went back under the knife this week to remove some scar tissue in his surgically-repaired knee, which ostensibly eliminates any shot of him returning this season. Barring any additional setbacks, he should be fully healthy in time for spring training.

According to multiple reports, the Rangers, Yankees, Giants and Mets no longer appear to be in the mix. The Blue Jays remain the biggest X-factor left in the running since Sasaki has met with the club and there’s zero indication they’re out of the running. The NL west rival Dodgers and Padres have long been viewed as the favorites to sign the 23-year-old Japanese phenom with Badler’s latest report echoing that belief. We got an early indication that Los Angeles is a clear finalist in the Sasaki derby last week when they lost top international prospect Darell Morel to the Pirates. Sasaki is expected to make a final decision in the coming days once the international signing period officially kicks off.

The Rangers, Yankees and Giants are out of the Sasaki sweepstakes, while the Mets are also considered unlikely to sign with Japanese phenom. The Dodgers, Padres and Blue Jays seem like the most logical destinations with less than 48 hours left until the international signing period opens.

So far on Monday, Sasaki and his team have told the Mets, Yankees, and Giants that they are no longer in the running. The Mets always seemed like they’d have an uphill battle to land Sasaki, but being out of the running is a big blow for them. With Kodai Senga and Sean Manaea at the top of their rotation, the Mets could really use an ace and Sasaki is the the best option remaining on the free agent market

The deal was officially announced over the weekend. Rea fortifies the back-end of Chicago’s starting rotation mix and could also operate in a swingman-type role, if needed. The 34-year-old veteran was a solid innings-eater last year for Milwaukee, posting a serviceable 4.29 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 135/43 K/B ratio across 167 2/3 innings (32 appearances, 27 starts).

The Yankees join the Giants and Mets as a team that has been eliminated from contention for the Japanese right-hander today. The Yankees already have a full rotation plus Marcus Stroman, who they are dangling in trade talks, so this doesn’t impact the strength of their pitching in 2025, but they obviously would have liked to have signed a player as talented as Sasaki.

Sasaki and his team have entered the final stages of their prolonged off-season schedule as the 23-year-old star can sign with a team starting on Wednesday. It wouldn’t be a surprise to hear other teams begin to be eliminated from contention, but it seems like the Dodgers, Padres, and Blue Jays are the top contenders for now.

Johnson is the most noteworthy of the three despite posting a .177/.248/.226 slash line over 140 MLB plate appearances. In 2024, he hit hitting .288/.407/.431 with the Padres’ Triple-A affiliate in El Paso. He has always posted solid walk rates and can swipe bases, so there’s a chance he can play his way into some at-bats in Pittsburgh in 2024. Nuñez could provide organization depth at the corner infield spots, and Yean was traded with Wil Crowe from the Nationals to the Pirates for Josh Bell back in 2020. Yean had been the Nationals’ 6th-ranked prospect at the time but he hasn’t been able to match those expectations.

The Pirates will now be Smith’s eighth MLB team in a career that also included a year playing professionally in Korea. In 2024, Smith pitched in 50 games between the Marlins and Orioles’ organizations, posting a 4.95 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, and 46/12 K/BB ratio in 56 1/3 innings. He had a poor 19 percent strikeout rate but he possesses elite command with a five-percent walk rate. He has a decent shot to earn a spot in the Pirates’ bullpen.

Hoffman also reportedly failed a physical with the Orioles’ medical staff before agreeing to a contract with the Blue Jays. Each team has its own standards when it comes to physicals, so Hoffman failing two with different teams doesn’t mean the Blue Jays overlooked anything, but it’s not a great sign. Hoffman previously had Tommy John surgery during his Junior year of college, and he also dealt with more minor shoulder injuries in 2018 and 2021, so the health of his shoulder will certainly be something to monitor this season. It adds a bit of risk to his fantasy value this season, but we wouldn’t let these reports cause you to drop him down your draft boards too much since he has no currently reported injuries.

Cannon is seemingly locked into a rotation spot with the White Sox after pitching to a 4.49 ERA and a 91/40 K/BB in 124 1/3 innings in 2024. While the results were not consistent, Cannon was working with a few new pitches, including a power curveball and a sweeper as the White Sox built a “decidedly east-west oriented arsenal” for Cannon under pitching coach Brian Bannister. This offseason, instead of adding new pitches, Cannon has been working on refining his release point to make his offerings more consistent and also have them work better off of one another. If Cannon was able to miss a few more bats while posting an ERA just over 4.00, that would give him some fantasy value in deeper formats given that he seems like a sure bet for innings this season.