MLB Player News

It happened against the Angels on Aug. 24, but since that was a 3-0 game at the time of Taylor Ward’s homer, he still wound up with a win. This one was a 1-0 game when Francisco Lindor homered, and Francis was immediately lifted from a tie game that the Jays went on to lose 6-2. The other major difference between the two outings was that Francis had just one strikeout today, compared to 12 against the Halos. His velocity was down about two mph, and he gave up eight hard-hit balls. Still, everything found a glove until Lindor’s shot to right. Francis has a 1.26 ERA and a 38/4 K/BB over 43 innings in his last six starts. He’ll probably make his next start against the Rangers in the middle of next week, but the Jays could push him back some after the 111-pitch outing today.

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.

La Sorsa was removed from the Nationals last Friday and it didn’t take him long to find work elsewhere. The 26-year-old southpaw registered a 4.58 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and a 14/5 K/BB ratio over 17 2/3 innings in 16 appearances at the big league level in 2024. With a strong showing in spring training, he could fight for inclusion in the Reds’ Opening Day bullpen.

Maldonado was claimed off waivers from the Marlins in November after registering a 5.68 ERA and 1.47 WHIP across 19 MLB innings and a 4.66 ERA in Triple-A with a 53/22 K/BB ratio in 46 1/3 innings. He was designated for assignment to clear room on the 40-man roster for Elvis Alvarado, who was claimed off waivers from the Pirates.

Santos appeared in 33 games for Triple-A Memphis last season, pitching to a 5.61 ERA, 1.52 WHIP, and 60/33 K/BB ratio in 77 innings. Santos was released earlier in January once it was revealed that he expected to miss the 2025 season while rehabilitating from an injury, but the Cardinals will now have him for two more seasons and can help him with the rehab. Santos and Nick Robertson came to the Cardinals last off-season in a trade with the Red Sox for Tyler O’Neill. Robertson is no longer on the Cardinals.