MLB Player News

The Rangers are expected to get a second prospect if Littleton makes the Red Sox out of spring training. Vaughan, a third-round pick in 2003, had a 2.33 ERA and a 69/24 K/BB ratio in 58 innings as a closer for Double-A Portland and Triple-A Pawtucket last season. Still, no one liked him enough to grab him in today’s Rule 5 draft. He’ll likely receive a non-roster invitation to camp.

Yesterday, it was reported that the Mets were offering $50 million per year to Tucker for a short-term deal. Then, a following report suggested that the Blue Jays are willing to sign Tucker to a long-term deal, so it would make sense that the Mets would have countered by making a longer offer to Tucker. While nothing appears imminent, it seems like Tucker’s free agency is a two-team race between the Mets and Blue Jays, with the Dodgers lurking in the background.

After missing out on Alex Bregman, the Red Sox have indeed pivoted their focus to bolstering their starting rotation by adding one of the best arms still on the market. In 762 career MLB innings, Suarez has a 3.38 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, and 705/240 K/BB ratio. His fastball velocity has steadily declined since 2023, he doesn’t miss many bats, and he has yet to pitch over 157 innings in any MLB season, so there are plenty of reasons his type of contract may seem like a lot of money. However, Suarez consistently limits hard contact, commands the zone well enough to produce a career 22 percent strikeout rate, and has a career 52 percent groundball rate, which should allow him to avoid the pitfalls of pitching at Fenway Park. He will slot in near the top of the Red Sox rotation along with Garrett Crochet and Sonny Gray. This also gives the Red Sox a surplus of starting pitching that they can use to make another trade. The Phillies made Suárez a qualifying offer, so they will receive a compensatory pick, likely in the 4th or 5th round of the 2026 MLB amateur draft.

So Noel will remain with the Orioles after being designated for assignment by both Baltimore and Cleveland this offseason. The 24-year-old has big-time power but needs to make far more contact before he can be relied on as an MLB hitter.

The Twins needed to clear space on the 40-man roster for Vidal Bruján, so Gasper was the choice. The 30-year-old hit .158/.257/.232 in 110 plate appearances for the Twins last season.

Once a top 100 prospect in the Rays’ organization, Bruján hit .253/.305/.310 in 95 plate appearances for the Cubs, Orioles, and Braves last season and owns a .199 average in 261 MLB games. He’s also a subpar defender, which likely makes him just organizational depth at this point in his career.

This jives with recent reporting from The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, who suggested that the Red Sox could double down on pitching upgrades after losing out on Alex Bregman. We already know that the Red Sox have been linked to Freddy Peralta, Joe Ryan, and Cole Ragans since the offseason began. Bradford says that the names “floated as targets are no doubt” top-of-the-rotation arms. We’ll see if this amounts to anything.

The deal was reported over the weekend and is now official. Bregman will also get a full no-trade close and have no opt-outs in the contract, which includes $70 million in deferrals. Bregman is a fantastic defensive addition next to shortstop Dansby Swanson, but unless the Cubs make another offensive signing, he will be asked to essentially replace the offensive production of Kyle Tucker, which would be a tall task.

It’s an intriguing strategy considering Arenado’s bat has fallen off as he has gotten older, but his defense at third base remains strong. He also has seen his power decline, so he would not be the conventional choice for a first baseman. According to Rosenthal, the sticking point “was that the Padres were unwilling to take on as much of Arenado’s salary as the D-Backs,” which is also curious because the Diamondbacks only took on $11 million of Arenado’s $42 million. Perhaps their pursuit wasn’t overly enthusiastic, but the Padres are clearly looking for a solution at first base.

Castro had agreed to a minor league deal with the Blue Jays, but the team released him on Monday so that he could pursue this opportunity. The 26-year-old hit .235/.324/.421 with 19 homers and 18 stolen bases for Triple-A Lehigh Valley in the Phillies organization in 2025.

Ureña played for five different teams in 2025, posting a 4.58 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, and 34/23 K/BB ratio in 55 innings. The 34-year-old has pitched over 1,000 MLB innings and will head overseas for the start of the 2026 campaign.