MLB Player News

Considering Williams is on the active roster, he’s likely to favorite to get the first crack at the job. The 28-year-old is just 2-for-17 in 23 games at the big league level this season but was hitting .287/.348/.508 in 46 games at Triple-A with eight home runs and 15 steals. He also hit 12 home runs and stole 28 bases in Triple-A last year with the Braves and Dodgers, so there is some mild five-category upside in deeper formats if he can hold onto the job. Both Alejo Lopez and Brian Anderson would need to be added to the 40-man roster, but Lopez is hitting .308/.394/.393 in 96 games at Triple-A with 21 steals, so he could be a speed asset if he gets an opportunity. Nacho Alvarez is currently dealing with pneumonia, which has taken him out of the running for the job, and Bowman claims there are no current plans to move Whit Merrifield to third base.

The deal is now official. Higashioka is coming off the finest offensive campaign of his career last season when he launched 17 round-trippers in 263 plate appearances for the Padres. The 34-year-old veteran backstop provides the Rangers with an excellent complement for starter Jonah Heim, who has started at least 127 games in each of the past three seasons. It’s a nice landing spot in a hitter-friendly ballpark, but he’s unlikely to play enough to make an impact for fantasy purposes outside of extremely deep two-catcher formats.

Acuña made an unexpectedly strong impression during last season’s brief cameo with the Mets, slashing .308/.325/.641 with three homers in 14 contests after posting a pedestrian .654 OPS with seven homers and 40 steals in 131 games for Triple-A Syracuse. The 22-year-old’s prospect stock has tumbled over the last few years, but there’s enough speed here that he could wind up mattering for fantasy purposes in deeper mixed leagues, if he’s getting regular at-bats for New York. That is going to be a challenge with Francisco Lindor at shortstop indefinitely, but the Mets could get creative next season to give him opportunities to make an impact.

No word yet on the financial terms or length of the deal. The update comes shortly after MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reported the two sides were making progress towards an agreement. Higashioka provides the Rangers with a capable complement for Jonah Heim, who has started at least 127 contests in each of the last three seasons. The 34-year-old backstop slugged a career-high 17 round-trippers in 263 plate appearances last year for the Padres. He’s a non-factor for fantasy purposes outside of extremely deep two-catcher formats.

Holmes, who served as the Yankees’ closer for much of last season before ceding the role to Luke Weaver, has pitched exclusively in relief since 2018. Sherman adds that teams are willing to explore the possibility of moving him back to a starting role after Seth Lugo, Michael King and Reynaldo López successfully made the transition over the last few years. It’s an interesting offseason wrinkle, and Holmes would make a ton of sense for the Mets since they succeeded with a couple cost-effective reclamation projects last offseason in Luis Severino and Sean Manaea. They also just rolled the dice on Frankie Montas as a similar gamble heading into 2025.

“Melton’s another guy that could be a big piece for us,” Brown said during last month’s annual GM meetings. “He’s a really good defensive outfielder with power. He has a chance to make an impact.” The 24-year-old outfielder will presumably compete next spring with established veterans Chas McCormick and Jake Meyers to carve out a permanent role in Houston’s outfield mix, but he’s on the verge of reaching the big leagues after batting .253/.310/.426 with 15 homers and 30 steals in 443 plate appearances last year between Double-A Corpus Christi and Triple-A Sugar Land. Melton checked in at OF70 in Rotoworld’s 2025 Top 500 dynasty rankings and his power/speed combination makes him an easy top 100 fantasy prospect heading into next year. He’s a name to keep on watch lists, even in re-draft formats entering spring training.

Hart is aiming to return to the big leagues next season after a dominant run last season overseas in Korea where he finished with a stellar 2.69 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 182/38 K/BB ratio across 157 innings (26 starts). The 32-year-old journeyman southpaw, who made four appearances (three starts) for the Red Sox during the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign said earlier this month in an interview with Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com last month that re-working his slider, in addition to increasing his average velocity on the offering into the 91 mph range, were the biggest variables that fueled his success overseas. Given the current state of the pitching market, Hart figures to secure a multi-year deal and should get a real chance to prove that his success in Korea wasn’t a mirage.

The 35-year-old outfielder said “I’ve just had some time to reflect...I still enjoy doing it. I’m pretty sure I still want to play.” He’s going to be in Dallas for the Winter Meetings next week in the hopes of jumpstarting his comeback. Pillar had moments of fantasy usefulness for the Angels this past season but finished the year slashing .229/.291/.377 with eight home runs and 12 steals in 314 plate appearances. He also graded out as a below-average outfielder by Outs Above Average for the first time since 2021 and only the third time in his career. He might need to accept a minor league deal to play in 2025.

Soroka missed all of 2021 and 2022 with injuries and was limited to just 32 1/3 innings in 2023 before posting a 4.74 ERA and 1.38 WHIP in 79 2/3 innings for the White Sox in 2024. However, he was much better once Chicago moved him to the bullpen, registering a 2.75 ERA and 60 strikeouts in 36 innings as a reliever. That figures to be where the Mets see the most value, and giving Soroka a short-term contract where he can prove his value is exactly the type of move the Mets seem to be interested in making with pitchers these days.

Even the Athletics have expressed interest in Buehler, so the list of teams who are linked to him remains extensive at this point. The 30-year-old did not have a good 2024 season after missing all of 2023 while recovering from Tommy John surgery. He posted a 5.38 ERA in 75 1/3 innings and his strikeout rate sat at a poor 18.6 percent. However, he looked dominant in the World Series with added velocity on his fastball that we haven’t seen since 2021. A lot of teams are hoping that they can turn that short stint into a resurrection; however, Buehler may have to take a shorter, prove-it contract given how much he struggled during the regular season. That could benefit the Mets since president of baseball operations David Stearns seemed to prefer giving out short-term contracts to pitchers in his first year with the Mets.

Ramirez was non-tendered by the Mets in late November after hitting just .210/.291/.299 in Double-A last season. However, he is just 21 years old and was once a top prospect for the Mets, so the team is certainly hoping they can help him rediscover the potential he had once shown.