MLB Player News

Lail has been gobbled up by the Blue Jays after three excellent starts this season for the High Point Rockers of the independent Atlantic League. The 28-year-old righty made a pair of relief appearances last year for the Mariners and holds an inflated 6.00 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 15/8 K/BB ratio across 21 innings (11 appearances) in the majors since 2019.

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.

There’s no reason to read much into it, but it’s still hilarious that the Rockies, finally having broken away from the old guard on the baseball operations side, are starting off the Paul DePodesta era by signing the son of their long-time GM Dan O’Dowd. Jack never hit as a second baseman and utilityman at the University of Texas, but he excelled in indy ball last season, batting .333/.449/.642 for Billings in the batter friendly Pioneer League. The 24-year-old has also been doing a little catching, though it’s unclear whether the Rockies will go forward with him there.

With the transaction official, Weaver goes into the 40-man spot opened up by the Jeff McNeil trade. The 32-year-old figures to pitch in front of Devin Williams with the Mets, just as he did with the Yankees at the beginning of last season. Primarily a starter previously, he had a 3.21 ERA, 12 saves, 43 holds and a 175/46 K/BB over 148 2/3 innings in his two years in the Bronx.

The Athletics needed a spot on the 40-man roster after acquiring Jeff McNeil, so Waldichuk was let go. The 27-year-old missed all of 2025 while recovering from Tommy John surgery, so it’s unlikely anybody will claim him on waivers. He will then decide if he wants to stay in the Athletics’ organization or try his luck elsewhere.

Rodriguez is just 17 years old and has pitched 15 1/3 innings in the Dominican Summer League, so this is the epitome of a flyer for the Mets. Considering the Mets also sent money to the Athletics, this move was all about moving on from McNeil and clearing space on the roster. It will take another 2-3 years before we have any idea what type of pitcher Rodriguez will become.

This deal was reported earlier in the day and is now official. It seems likely that McNeil will shift back to the infield for the Athletics and take over the starting second base job. While contact skills remain, McNeil’s production has fallen off from his strong 2022 season. Playing in a minor league ballpark might help him a bit, but the smaller field will actually mean less room in the gap which could hurt his batting average upside more than you’d think.

The details are not yet known, but we do know that the deal is a major league one. Pop only pitched 6 2/3 innings in the big leagues last year, but he allowed 11 earned runs on 15 hits. In his career, he has a 4.88 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, and 126/55 K/BB ratio in 162 1/3 innings out of the bullpen.

The move was announced last week and is now official. Griffin had a 1.62 ERA and a 77/18 K/BB in 78 innings as a starter in Japan for the Yomiuri Giants last season, thanks in large part to revamping his secondary pitches. Over his three seasons in Japan, he went 18–10 with a 2.57 ERA in 54 starts. That success and his contract should give him a chance to win a spot in the Nationals’ rotation to open the season.