MLB Player News

A replacement starter was not announced, though Caleb Kilian will likely figure prominently. Imanaga ends an outstanding rookie season 15-3 with a 2.91 ERA and a 174/28 K/BB in 173 1/3 innings. It’s the kind of showing that would have been good for Rookie of the Year honors in plenty of season. However, in the 2024 NL race, he’ll be vying with Jackson Chourio for the third spot on ballots.

The 31-year-old hurler spent the entire 2024 campaign in the Twins’ organization where he struggled to a 6.79 ERA. 1.84 WHIP and a 62/31 K/BB ratio over 54 1/3 innings of work. He’ll add bullpen depth for the Mets in the upper levels of the minor leagues.

Like Aaron Judge in the American League, Ohtani was a unanimous selection, capturing all 30 first-place votes. It’s the third time in his career that Ohtani has been named the MVP. Each of the other two times, Ohtani had been a two-way superstar for the Angels in both 2021 and 2023. Ohtani becomes the first full-time designated hitter to ever with an MVP award and he joins Hall of Famer Frank Robinson as the only players in major league history to win the award in both the American and National League. On the season, the 30-year-old slugger slashed an incomprehensible .310/.390/.646 with 54 home runs, 130 RBI and 59 stolen bases. Francisco Lindor finished as the runner-up, tallying 23 second-place votes while Ketel Marte finished third.

There was never any doubt on this one, as the 32-year-old slugger was a unanimous selection — capturing all 30 first-place votes for the award. It’s the second time in his career that Judge has won the award, as he captured the honor in 2022 as well. He was certainly deserving — slashing a monstrous .322/.458/.701 while leading the league with 58 home runs, 144 RBI and 133 walks. Bobby Witt Jr. finished as the runner-up, garnering all 30 of the second-place votes. Juan Soto, Gunnar Henderson and José Ramírez rounded out the top five in the voting.

McKenzie had been projected by MLBTradeRumors.com to earn $2.4 million via arbitration, so it looks like the Guardians may have gotten a bit of a discount here after the right-hander’s rough 2024 season. The 27-year-old hurler made just 16 starts at the big league level in 2024, registering an uninspiring 5.11 ERA, 1.56 WHIP and a 74/49 K/BB ratio across 75 2/3 innings. Perhaps he’s able to cure what ails him over the winter and is able to return to the Guardians’ rotation with a vengeance in 2025. At his current average draft position — outside the top-500 players overall — he makes for a nice late-round lottery ticket in deeper formats.

The 27-year-old hurler spent the 2024 campaign in the Tigers’ organization where he registered a 3.14 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and a 56/17 K/BB ratio across 51 2/3 innings in 43 appearances at Double-A Erie. He’ll function as extra bullpen depth for the Giants in the upper minors.

The 25-year-old was originally a first-round pick of the Yankees as a catcher back in 2018 and spent the past seven seasons in their minor league system. In 2024 he transitioned to second base full time and slashed .234/.350/.398 with 12 homers, 49 RBI, 29 stolen bases (in 32 attempts) and a 77/64 K/BB ratio across 433 plate appearances. He’ll add infield depth for the Brewers.

“I think we will have a spring training ABS test that will provide a meaningful opportunity for all major league players to see what the challenge system will look like,” baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said at the owners’ meeting on Wednesday. Triple-A stadiums used ABS in 2024 for the second straight season, but the league has suggested they will continue to look for ways to improve the technology before potentially introducing it during MLB games. “I would be interested in having it in ‘26,” Manfred said. If robot umpires were going to be introduced in MLB games, there would need to be an agreement reached with the Major League Baseball Umpires Association, whose collective bargaining agreement expires on December 1.

The 38-year-old is coming off back-to-back solid seasons and just won his first Gold Glove while slashing .238/.328/.420 with 23 homers and a 114 wRC+ in 594 plate appearances. Santana would provide a veteran presence that the Mariners are reportedly interested in, and he would pair nicely with Luke Raley at 1B/DH since Santana is a switch hitter and the Mariners struggled against lefties in 2024.

The Heroes have decided against bringing back De Jesus, even though the 27-year-old went 13-11 with a 3.68 ERA and a 178/44 K/BB in 171 1/3 innings in his lone season with the team. A former Red Sox prospect, De Jesus pitched briefly in the majors for the Marlins in 2023 before going to Korea.

Red Sox president of baseball operation Craig Breslow also said at the start of the offseason that the Red Sox would likely try to trade away some left-handed hitting this offseason, so Morosi’s report seems consistent with that. Even though Abreu received AL Rookie of the Year votes and just won his first Gold Glove, the Red Sox have plenty of outfield options and could see Abreu as the ticket to get a young starting pitcher onto their roster. Morosi specifically mentions the Mariners as a trade partner, and we know the Red Sox reached out to them last offseason about trading for one of their young starters. If the Red Sox were to land Juan Soto, trading Abreu would make even more sense. Still, even without Soto, the Red Sox also have Jarren Duran, Ceddane Rafaela, Roman Anthony, who is the top prospect in baseball, and Kristian Campbell, who is the 10th overall prospect in baseball, all competing for MLB at-bats in 2025.