MLB Player News

Brown got through two scoreless frames before giving up a pair of runs on two hits, a walk, and an error in the third. He followed with a clean fourth inning, then escaped a bases-loaded jam with two consecutive strikeouts to end the fifth. Brown would lose the lead in the sixth on a two-run homer by Kyle McCann, then left with a runner on, who would eventually come in to score. He struck out seven. The 26-year-old right-hander will take a 3.53 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, and a 168/56 K/BB ratio across 158 innings into a start against the Padres in San Diego on Tuesday.

The 26-year-old southpaw was originally a fifth-round pick by the Angels from the 2020 draft class. He spent the last two seasons in the Brewers’ organization where in 2024 he registered an uninspiring 6.15 ERA, 1.63 WHIP and a 73/23 K/BB ratio over 74 2/3 innings at Double-A Biloxi. He has the ability to work out of the rotation or the bullpen and will give the M’s some added pitching depth.

The 28-year-old hurler had been sent outright to Triple-A Columbus by the Guardians, but Avila rejected the outright assignment and will hit the free agent market instead. He did a nice job for the Guardians in 2024 — posting a 3.25 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and a 73/30 K/BB ratio across 74 2/3 innings in his 50 appearances. He shouldn’t have trouble landing on his feet elsewhere.

The two sides came to a tentative agreement last week and finalized the deal on Tuesday. To make the move official, the Dodgers cleared a spot on their 40-man roster by designating Ryan Brasier for assignment. The expectation is that Yates will take over as the team’s closer, but with Tanner Scott and Evan Phillips also in the mix, Dodgers’ skipper Dave Roberts has a plethora of riches at his disposal in the late innings.

The Dodgers’ 40-man roster is so loaded that they had to make a very difficult decision on who to remove to free up a spot for Kirby Yates and unfortunately this time it was Brasier left on the outside looking in. The 37-year-old hurler should attract plenty of attention on waivers after registering a 3.54 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and a 25/5 K/BB ratio over 28 innings with the Dodgers in 2024.

Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times adds that it’s a one-year pact with a vesting player option for 2026. He’ll earn $7.75 million in 2025 with a $750,000 buyout on his 2026 option that will vest based on plate appearances. 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.