MLB Player News

It was a strong night at the plate for Swanson, who also drew two walks in this one. Swanson’s homer, his 12th of the season, came in the fourth inning to put the finishing touch on a five-run frame for the Cubbies. Swanson is hitting just .229 on the year, but is slashing a solid .270/.337.432 in the month of August with seven extra-base hits.

Farmer officially joins the Rockies after hitting .214 with a .646 OPS for the Twins in 2024. The 34-year-old can play all over the field, and should serve in a utility role — perhaps as the starting second baseman depending on the rest of the offseason for Colorado — but his fantasy value is significantly limited even if he’s a regular.

Gallegos, who possesses a 3.49 ERA in 311 career relief appearances, had a rocky year that saw him get released by the Cardinals with two months to go, but it still seemed like his history might get him a guaranteed deal this winter. Perhaps it still might have eventually, but he’s decided against playing the waiting game and joined a team that has a better chance than most of helping him get things turned around.

Piña, 25, went 13-8 with a 4.14 ERA and a 132/27 K/BB in 129 1/3 innings between Double- and Triple-A in the Phillies system last season. He’s currently sporting a 1.61 ERA and a 21/2 K/BB over 22 1/3 innings in the Dominican Winter League. Since the Marlins rotation is likely to deal with injuries once again, Piña could be a useful depth piece.

It’s a big cut from the $6.3 million that Farmer made as an arbitration-eligible player with the Twins last season, but we’re skeptical anyone else was offering Farmer this much after a season in which he posted an 82 OPS+. Maybe he’ll bounce back some at age 34... it could mean the difference between the Rockies winning 64 or 65 games next year.

The versatile 29-year-old is under contract through the 2025 season, but the Dodgers would like to lock him up on a much longer term. There’s no indication that anything is close on that front, but with money being no issue for the Dodgers, the two sides shouldn’t have trouble ironing out the details in the coming weeks.

The Red Sox didn’t waste any time bringing back Campbell and Bryan Mata on Friday, signing each to minor league contracts just hours after they were non-tendered. Campbell missed the majority of the 2024 season due to shoulder woes, appearing in just eight games for the Red Sox and posting a troublesome 16.20 ERA and 2.40 WHIP over his 6 2/3 innings of work. He’ll continue to serve as extra bullpen depth.

Well that didn’t take long. Mata was non-tendered on Friday evening, but just a couple of hours later he was brought back on a minor league deal. The former top prospect has struggled to live up to his billing thus far, but if he’s able to stay healthy he certainly has the stuff to get his career back on track.

Robert Murray of Fansided was the first to report that the two sides were nearing an agreement. No word yet on the financials of the deal — which also includes an option for the 2026 season. Farmer hit the open market at the end of October when the Twins declined his $6.5 million option for the 2025 season. If he finds his way into regular playing time at Coors Field — instead of simply being deployed against southpaws — Farmer could be a sneaky late-round option in deeper mixed leagues.

Woodward previously functioned as the team’s third base coach from 2016-2018 and he has been in the organization for the past couple of years as a senior advisor on the player development side. There was a vacancy at the position after Clayton McCullough left to become the new manager of the Miami Marlins.

All three players had been designated for assignment on Tuesday as the Tigers attempted to clear some room on their 40-man roster, so it’s not shocking that none of the players were tendered contracts. Leonard actually had a decent season in 67 games at Triple-A Toledo in 2024 — hitting .263/.326/.455 with 10 homers, 26 RBI and seven swipes in 282 plate appearances — but never got an opportunity at the big-league level. It may need to be a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training, but Leonard shouldn’t have any difficulty finding another opportunity.