MLB Player News

The 25-year-old hurler, and first round pick of the Giants from the 2007 draft, owned a 6.12 ERA, 1.56 WHIP and 37/19 K/BB ratio over 50 innings at Triple-A Norfolk. He’ll attempt to latch on elsewhere on a minor league deal.

There’s no room in the Yankees outfield for Fernandez, with both Spencer Jones and Jasson Dominguez not even getting at-bats; however, this is a good claim for the Yankees. Fernandez is just 23 years old and hit .284/.347/.502 with 13 home runs and just a 14 percent strikeout rate in 64 games at Triple-A Albuquerque in 2025. He also posted a 46 percent pull rate, which should play for a left-handed hitter in Yankee Stadium.

While the Pirates have a genuine interest in Valdez, there is a belief that their interest may just raise the price for other bidders. As Rosenthal notes, “The Baltimore Orioles have been linked to Valdez the entire offseason,” and “the Atlanta Braves and San Diego Padres continue to pursue starters.” However, the Pirates did hire Bill Murphy as their new pitching coach. He has “worked with Valdez for the vast majority of the pitcher’s professional career, as both a minor- and major-league coach with the Houston Astros,” so that may be enough for the left-hander to honestly entertain joining the Pirates.

The Pirates have enough defensive versatility with their current starting lineup that they could add a hitter who is mainly a DH. It would mean Ryan O’Hearn would play primary first base and also some left field, while Spencer Horwitz and Jake Mangum would also work in at those positions. The Pirates may not want one of those players to be moved out of the lineup, but they could certainly use Ozuna’s thump in the middle of their order.

Drury was tremendous in spring training for the White Sox last year before suffering an injury that eventually led to his release. He’d later join the Angels but spent the entire year in the minors. The veteran hit 26 home runs in 2023 and was a Silver Slugger winner in 2022 before his production fell off in 2024. It’s a worthwhile gamble for the Royals.

Adams is a former first-round pick who has bounced around over the past few years, and he’ll need an outstanding spring training if he has any chance to make the Brewers’ Opening Day roster.

Valdez has been linked to the Orioles and Mets, but there’s another team playing in the East that reportedly has interest in the former Houston ace. Even with Toronto adding Dylan Cease and having a pretty full rotation, it’s not surprising to see them having interest in a player with the ability of Valdez as they look to return — and possibly win — the World Series.

Diaz won out after the Astros filed at just $3 million. The catcher hit .256 with 20 homers, 70 RBI and a 95/20 K/BB ratio over his 567 plate appearances with Houston in 2025.

Keller returns stateside with a contract that can pay him $1.9 million according to Will Sammon of The Athletic, if he makes the club. The 32-year-old pitched well in his two years in the NPB with a 2.42 ERA over 156 2/3 innings, and he’ll have a good chance of earning a roster spot with a quality showing at spring training.

Luciano was designated for assignment at the end of January, and finally, no one claimed him. The former top prospect will need to be added to the 40-man roster if the Yankees deem him worthy of an MLB spot at any point.

Are the Dodgers just bored? Siani was designated for assignment by Los Angeles and claimed by the Yankees a little over a week ago, and now they’ve decided they want him back, after all. To make room for Siani, the team designated Andy Ibáñez for assignment three weeks after they signed him for $1.2 million. Baseball is weird.