MLB Player News

The 26-year-old southpaw had been designated for assignment by the Twins earlier in the week. He’ll function as organizational bullpen depth for the Dodgers.

The contract also has a club option for 2027. Webb pitched well for the Rangers last year, posting a 3.00 ERA and 58/19 K/BB ratio in 55 appearances. He also has a 2.99 ERA over 247 MLB appearances with the Braves, Angels, Orioles, and Rangers. It’s a good addition to the Cubs’ bullpen.

Burch missed all of 2025 after undergoing elbow surgery, but he will be ready to go in 2026. The 28-year-old has yet to throw a pitch above Double-A, but he does have a 3.71 ERA in 174 2/3 career minor league innings.

The White Sox just claimed Rolison off waivers from the Braves on December 12th, but they will now waive him to make room for newly signed Sean Newcomb. The 28-year-old Rolison posted a 7.02 ERA in 31 appearances for the Rockies in 2025 and will try to latch on with another team to get another crack at an MLB job.

Newcomb had a mini breakout in 2025, posting a 2.73 ERA and 23.3 percent strikeout rate in 92 1/3 innings across 48 appearances (five starts) with the Red Sox and the Athletics. Boston cut back heavily on his four-seam fastball usage, adding a cutter to his arsenal and also increasing his sinker usage, and the three fastball variations worked wonders for Newcomb. He was one of the top left-handed relievers on the market and a good get for the White Sox.

The Mets are looking to add an outfielder, and while they would prefer a centerfielder, they are reportedly interested in seeing if Hays could play left field for them. The 30-year-old was good for the Reds when healthy last year, slashing .266/.315/.453 with 15 home runs and seven steals in 103 games. The issue is that he couldn’t stay healthy. Hays feels more like a fourth outfielder on a contender, and it remains to be seen just how interested the Mets are.

Like Munetaka Murakami, Okamoto seems to be viewed primarily as a first baseman by major league teams. The Pirates, though, figure to use Spencer Horwitz there against righties. Perhaps they’d be willing to give him a look at third and then utilize him as a first baseman against lefties and a DH if it doesn’t work out. At this point, it’s entirely unclear whether Okamoto will do better than the two-year, $34 million deal that Murakami got. He’s viewed as the safer signing of the two, but he probably doesn’t offer as much upside. Okamoto has until Jan. 4 to sign with an MLB team.

The two teams — Chaim Bloom’s former club and his current club — have already swung a decade’s worth of deals in the last five months, with the Red Sox acquiring Steven Matz at the deadline and Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras in separate trades in the offseason. The Athletic recently placed the Giants and Mariners as the frontrunners for Donovan. The Red Sox and Rays are among the teams that have also sought Ketel Marte for second base, but while Marte is the better player, Donovan has a more varied market because of his ability to play several spots. The Red Sox would probably put Donovan at second, but having him at third and Marcelo Mayer at second might make more sense for them.

Jordan Walker seemed like the biggest beneficiary of last night’s trade, and it still might work out that way, but it could hinge on whether this right-handed bat is someone who would start or someone who would fill in for Lars Nootbaar and/or Victor Scott II against lefties. Austin Hays and Chas McCormick are a couple of guys who could be in the Cardinals’ price range. Tommy Pham, too, but his second stint in the organization didn’t go so well.

That’s potentially doable for the right return. Still, the White Sox don’t necessarily need to eat salary in order to move the 28-year-old Robert. It’d probably help a deal come together if the White Sox happened to have any interest in taking back Gavin Lux’s salary, which should be around $5 million.

That’s a bummer. Henriquez looked like a legitimate closing candidate during a breakthrough 2025, and while we figured the Marlins would acquire a true closer this winter, that they’ve missed out so far had Henriquez shaping up as quite the sleeper. That’s obviously off the table now, so it really is a must that they bring in a couple of quality relief arms. Calvin Faucher is probably the team’s favorite for saves at the moment.