MLB Player News

With the Blue Jays out of contention, it’s a no-brainer for Varsho to hit the injured list after missing Sunday’s game with shoulder soreness. The 28-year-old hit .214 with 18 home runs and 58 RBI this year.

Cabbage set Triple-A on fire in the Angels organization in 2023, hitting .306 with 30 home runs and 32 steals in 107 games, but he has been unable to carry that production over to MLB action. He has a .209/.245/.331 slash line in 67 MLB games with two home runs, two steals, and a 40.8 percent strikeout rate. The Pirates will hope they can get some production out of him in 2025.

Luke Jackson started the year with the Giants and was traded to the Braves at the deadline where he had a 4.50 ERA in 18 innings with Atlanta. The 33-year-old has a 3.94 career ERA in 358 1/3 innings and will likely find another opportunity as a free agent.

Considering Sean Murphy battled a wrist injury and put together a poor 2024 season, it’s surprising that the club would let d’Arnaud move on. However, the 25-year-old did hit just .238/.302/.436 with 15 home runs in 99 games, so perhaps the Braves feel that they can get that production elsewhere. There is still a chance the Braves could try to bring d’Arnaud back later in the offseason, but this could also be good news for Braves catching prospect Drake Baldwin, who is coming off a strong season and could be on the MLB roster next season.

The move was reported last week, but now it’s official. The 33-year-old batted .302 with 39 home runs, 104 RBIs, and a .925 OPS in 2024 and was the best hitter in Atlanta’s lineup. He will resume his place in the middle of the order in 2025 and while it’s unlikely he can duplicate these numbers, he should be a strong fantasy asset again for those looking for power and RBIs.

Fenstermaker, who has spent 15 years in the organization, is being promoted after Chris Young was bumped up to president of baseball operations a couple of months ago. The 37-year-old Figueroa, a former infielder who had 84 major league plate appearances from 2014-16, had been working in the Rays front office.

Pérez has a career 3.80 ERA in 215 1/3 innings but is coming off a bit of a disappointing year, posting a 4.53 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, and 46/28 K/BB ratio in 53 2/3 innings. In most positive news, he didn’t allow a home run all season, so the Orioles will turn to him again as one of their primary left-handed relievers.

O’Hearn enjoyed his second straight solid season on the strong side of a platoon for the Orioles. The 31-year-old slashed .264/.334/.427 with 15 home runs, 60 runs, 59 RBI, and three steals in 142 games. He also cut his strikeout rate to just 14 percent while walking 9.3 percent of the time. By this point, we know who O’Hearn is as a fantasy player. He’ll produce a solid batting average with 15 home run power in a good lineup and that will make him valuable in deeper formats when the Orioles are facing lots of right-handed pitching.

It sounds like Sborz, who came up big for the Rangers in the 2023 postseason before missing much of 2024, might not be ready to contribute when 2025 starts. In a tough business, that could lead to him being non-tendered this month.

Polanco is a free agent after the Mariners decided it wasn’t worth $11.25 million to bring him back for 2025. Coming off his worst full season since 2017, he’ll probably sign a one-year deal and hope for something better next winter.

The A’s have officially listed their home location as “West Sacramento” and listed their new ballpark as “Sutter Health Park” in West Sacramento; however, as of now they have yet to designate themselves as the “Sacramento Athletics.” It’s unclear what they’re waiting on, but all signs point to the Athletics playing in Sacramento for a few seasons.