MLB Player News

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol told reporters Siani has yet to resume taking swings, so it seems unlikely he’ll be back before September. The 25-year-old defensive ace hit the injured list back in early August with a moderate right oblique strain. His extended absence has created an opportunity for both Jordan Walker and Victor Scott II at the highest level.

Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times adds that it’s a one-year pact with a vesting player option for 2026. The Astros had been aggressively pursuing the 31-year-old second baseman, but ultimately he decided to re-up for another year with the Mariners. He struggled through an injury plagued 2024 season with the M’s, slashing just .213/.296/.355 with 16 homers, 45 RBI and four stolen bases. Polanco is expected to function as the Mariners’ regular third baseman, which is interesting as it will give him extra eligibility from a fantasy perspective.

The deal, which had been agreed to earlier in the week, is now official. The 34-year-old backstop hit .265/.313/.382 with six long balls and 39 RBI in 351 plate appearances between the Rockies and Padres in 2024. He’ll share the load behind the plate with Luis Campusano but is unlikely to suddenly return to relevance from a fantasy perspective.

Despite having the same surname as Brian and James McCann — backstops who have both mashed at the big league level — Kyle has yet to carve out a regular role for himself there. He performed decently in limited action in 2024 — slashing .236/.318/.371 with five homers and 15 RBI in 157 plate appearances, but the A’s deemed him expendable after acquiring Jhonny Pereda from the Marlins on Thursday. There’s a chance he could garner some interest on waivers.

The Marlins had designated Pereda for assignment earlier in the week, so they were content to flip him for anything that they could get at this stage. The 28-year-old backstop slashed .231/.250/.231 with four RBI and a 10/0 K/BB ratio in his 40 plate appearances with the Marlins in 2024. He’ll add catching depth for the A’s.

The Mets just signed Covey to a guaranteed one-year contract earlier this offseason, but he gets the boot from their 40-man roster to make room for Ryne Stanek who was officially signed on Thursday. Covey, 33, has shown enough at the big league level that there could be teams looking his way on waivers.

The deal, which was agreed to on Wednesday, is now official. Stanek, 33, also has the potential to earn an additional $500,000 in incentives. He’ll join the ranks of an improving setup corps in front of closer Edwin Diaz in 2025, though his fantasy value will be limited mostly to leagues that count holds.

The Reds needed to clear a spot on their 40-man roster to make the Austin Hays signing official on Thursday and Legumina drew the short straw. The 27-year-old hurler made six appearances at the big league level with the Reds in 2024, registering an underwhelming 8.68 ERA, 1.82 WHIP and a 7/2 K/BB ratio over 9 1/3 innings. It seems likely that he’ll pass through waivers unclaimed and continue to function as extra bullpen depth for the Reds.

As Ken Rosenthal of The Athletics reported earlier in the week, Hays has the potential to earn an additional $1 million on the contract in incentives. The 29-year-old lefty-mashing outfielder was non-tendered by the Phillies back in November after hitting .255/.303/.396 with five homers and 20 RBI in 255 plate appearances between the Phillies and Orioles in 2024.

Mark Feinsand of MLB.com adds that it’s a one-year contract worth $15.5 million. The Jays have been linked to the 40-year-old hurler throughout the offseason and it looks like they were finally able to come to an accord. Scherzer made just nine starts for the Rangers during an injury-plagued 2024 campaign, compiling a 3.95 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and a 40/10 K/BB ratio across 43 1/3 innings. If healthy, there’s no reason that Scherzer can’t be a viable mid-round starter for fantasy purposes.

The 37-year-old has pitched nearly exclusively as a starter in his 13-year big league career, but he could be an interesting option in short spurts out of the bullpen. Rosenthal notes that Lynn is “intrigued” by the idea, but it’s unclear which teams may have been inquiring about the role. Lynn registered a 3.84 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and a 109/44 K/BB ratio over 117 1/3 innings in 23 starts with the Cardinals in 2024. If he did find a job at the back end of the bullpen, it would make him relevant from a fantasy perspective once again.