MLB Player News

Stewart made only 17 plate appearances at the major league level last season. The veteran catcher holds a .230/.297/.291 career batting line in the bigs.

The White Sox made waves on Sunday morning when it was announced that they had signed the Japanese slugger to a two-year, $34 million contract. While it’s a bit surprising that he didn’t generate more interest around the league, he does add right-handed power to the middle of the White Sox’ lineup. His arrival likely pushes Miguel Vargas over to third base while potentially taking at-bats away from Lenyn Sosa or Edgar Quero.

This might be one of Nightengale’s exaggerations, but Robert, who will earn $20 million next season, has already been linked to both teams and the Padres as well. The White Sox certainly don’t need to trade him; even after signing Munetaka Murakami, their payroll is still just right around $80 million, and they will have another club option that they could use to keep him around in 2027. Robert, Murakami, Andrew Benintendi and Anthony Kay are their only players making more than $1 million.

The Mariners trading DeLoach and Prelander Berroa to the White Sox for Gregory Santos seemed pretty interesting at the time, but two years later, only Berroa has stuck with his organization, and he just missed all of 2025 after Tommy John. DeLoach, 27, played in 22 games for the White Sox in 2024, hitting .209/.293/.328 and then got dropped from the 40-man after the season. He went on to miss much of 2025 and never appeared in the majors, finishing up at .236/.326/.414 in 51 games for Triple-A Charlotte.

He’ll make $100,000 extra for 80, 90, 100, 110 and 120 innings thrown. Blackburn will probably compete with Ryan Yarbrough for the fifth rotation spot coming out of spring training, with the loser of the battle going to middle relief. However, Carlos Rodón could be back to claim the rotation spot before the end of April.

Well, this is pretty clear confirmation that no team was especially high on Murakami. The 2022 Central League MVP is just 25 (26 in February) and he’s coming off a season in which he hit .273/.379/.663, but his soaring strikeout rate and questions about his defense scared off much of MLB. The White Sox really have nothing to lose here. They’ll probably plug him in at first base, with Miguel Vargas sticking at third. If he thrives, he’ll be great trade bait in July or potentially a key figure on a team that might be ready to compete in 2027.

With just two days left before his deadline to sign with a major league team, there have been very little in the way of good rumors involving Murakami, which many have taken as a sign that MLB teams just aren’t very high on him. However, it’s also true that MLB teams are simply much better at keeping these things out of the news now than they were 10-15 years ago, and posted players almost always seem to take it to the very end. We’re not sure whether Murakami will thrive in MLB, but it’s certainly worth a roll of the dice for a White Sox team in need of firepower and one with few other significant financial commitments. The Pirates and Marlins would also fit that description, and it’s still quite possible some big-budget teams are involved. The Angels are another club that has been whispered about here.

The Blue Jays seem destined to land one of the big four remaining free agent hitters. Bregman would be the best fit defensively, but as the oldest of the group, it’s probably the case that he’s a worst bet offensively than Kyle Tucker, Bo Bichette and Cody Bellinger going forward. Bregman is also on the radars of the Red Sox, Diamondbacks and Cubs. It doesn’t seem like the Tigers are as involved this year as they were last winter.

The 35-year-old Armstrong arrives in Cleveland after a terrific season in which he had a 2.31 ERA in 74 innings for the Rangers. Still, there isn’t any telling what Armstrong will give a team on a year-to-year basis. In the five big-league seasons in which he’s pitched at least 50 innings, he’s finished with ERA of 5.74 (2019), 4.38 (2022), 1.38 (2023), 4.86 (2024) and 2.31. His career ERA is 3.82, but he’s never actually finished in the 3.00s once in the 11 years since his debut. The Guardians figure to have him help set up for Cade Smith.

The Jays just acquired Bruihl from the Blue Jays for cash on Wednesday, but now they’ll try to pass him through waivers. The 28-year-old has a 4.72 ERA in 89 2/3 major league innings since arriving in 2021.

11 days after being agreed to, Finnegan’s contract is finally official. He’s become accustomed to closing with the Nats, but he’ll probably do more setting up for the Tigers with both Kenley Jansen and Will Vest in the fold.