MLB Player News

The Orioles demoted Rleal in July after he compiled a 4.50 ERA in 42 innings. He ended up with a 6.65 ERA as a reliever for Ottawa, so he’s not going to get much work in close games.

McCann’s arrival bolsters Colorado’s catching depth chart behind fantasy stalwart Hunter Goodman. He’ll compete with youngster Braxton Fulford and utility specialist Brett Sullivan for the backup role in spring training. The 28-year-old backstop spent last season with a stint in the independent Mexican League after being cut loose by the Athletics at the end of spring training. He batted .236/.318/.371 with five homers and 15 RBI in 157 plate appearances during the 2024 campaign.

Pennington was cut loose last month after spending all of last season in Baltimore’s system. The 27-year-old southpaw made 16 relief appearances between the Rangers and Royals back in 2024.

Hurtubise provides Milwaukee with emergency bench depth behind Jake Bauers and Blake Perkins heading into spring training and is most likely ticketed for Triple-A Nashville. The 28-year-old has gotten into 41 contests at the highest level over the past two seasons, hitting .167 (11-for-66 with four RBI and two steals in 83 plate appearances. He’s merely organizational depth at this point of his career.

There’s no shortage of versatile utility specialists lurking around the fringes of Houston’s big-league roster with Winkler becoming the latest addition. The 27-year-old got into 14 games for the Marlins last year, going 4-for-16 at the dish with a pair of doubles and one stolen base. He struck out at a nearly 30 percent clip at the Triple-A level last year but managed to post a respectable 632 OPS with six homers and 25 thefts across 281 plate appearances. He represents quality emergency depth for the Astros entering next season.

Hudson lost his spot on Chicago’s 40-man roster after the club finalized a one-year pact with veteran outfielder Austin Hays earlier this week. The 28-year-old lefty posted a serviceable 4.80 ERA — 4.65 xERA — and 19/13 K/BB ratio across 15 innings between the White Sox and Brewers last season. There should be some interest on waivers given his success two years ago as a key component of Milwaukee’s relief mix.

That probably wouldn’t have boded very well for Miguel Andujar’s chances of playing regularly for his new (but still unofficial) team. But it still seems likely that the Padres will add one more bat, potentially affecting the playing time of Andujar, Sung-Mon Song and Gavin Sheets. Rhys Hoskins and Ty France are probably the closest comparables to Goldschmidt, so perhaps one of them is next on the team’s list. Mitch Garver would also make some sense, especially given Luis Campusano’s similar potential to contribute as more than a backup catcher. Nathaniel Lowe and Marcell Ozuna are also out there as potential starters at first base and DH, respectively.

The financial terms come from Jon Heyman of The New York Post. It’s been said that Ben Rice was going to get a shot against lefties this year, but that hardly seems to be case now, at least not while everyone is healthy. It’s certainly an understandable move by the Yankees. Goldschmidt, a future Hall of Famer perhaps entering his last season at age 38, hit .336/.411/.570 in 168 plate appearances against southpaws last season. Besides diminishing Rice’s role, his return figures to push Jasson Domínguez back to Triple-A, again assuming that the starting lineup makes it through the spring healthy.

He’ll be sentenced on May 22. The 35-year-old faces up to 15 years in federal prison, though it doesn’t sound like prosecutors will aim for that. Puig initially made a deal to plead guilty to charges back in 2022 and would have gotten probation and a fine, but he backed out of it, resulting in the greatly delayed trial. Puig lied during a Jan. 2022 interview he voluntarily participated in regarding his bookmaker, Wayne Nix. Nix later pleaded guilty of conspiracy to operate an illegal gambling business.

Laweryson was claimed off waivers from the Twins in November and then DFA’d on Monday. That he’s being released here after clearing waivers would seem to suggest he’s on his way to Asia. Otherwise, he’d seem like someone the Angels would want to hang on to as a non-roster player.

Barlow was able to command a major league deal, though it’s from a team playing games in a minor league ballpark. The 33-year-old has finished with ERAs in the 4.20-4.40 range three years running, though he did so with both the worst strikeout rate (24.8%) and highest walk rate (14.9%) of his career in Cincinnati last season. Just about anyone could emerge as the Athletics’ closer, but Barlow doesn’t seem like a good bet at this point.