MLB Player News

The Royals parted ways with Mike Matheny earlier this month after he put up a 165-219 record over three seasons. Quatraro has been the Rays’ bench coach since 2019 and has interviewed for multiple managerial gigs in recent years. He’s also reportedly a candidate for the Marlins’ current opening.

Madris failed to appear in the majors last year for the first time 2021 and wound up hitting .238/.328/.410 in 60 games for Triple-A Toledo. The 29-year-old former Pirates prospect has hit .204/.273/.286 with two homers and two steals in 228 career MLB plate appearances.

Fulmer’s stuff didn’t immediately come all of the way back after Tommy John, so he bounced around last year, pitching for four organizations. He ended up with a 3.39 ERA and an 86/29 K/BB in 66 1/3 innings while working mostly as a reliever in Triple-A. During his time in the majors, he allowed three earned runs and struck out three in 5 2/3 innings. The 2016 AL Rookie of the Year hasn’t started regularly since 2020, so he’ll presumably compete for a spot in the Giants pen this spring.

The 38-year-old Peralta already sat out last season after failing to draw any quality offers as a free agent, though he did make a cameo in the Venezuelan Winter League and go 10-for-40 with a homer in 12 games. Originally a pitcher in the Cardinals system, Peralta started playing outfield in indy ball after being released at age 22. He surfaced in the majors with the Diamondbacks at age 26 and put together a really nice career 11-year career that saw him hit .278/.335/.448 in 4,590 plate appearances. He twice led the NL in triples, and he won a Silver Slugger after hitting 30 homers in 2018.

The White Sox gave Clevinger a try as a reliever last year, but it didn’t take at all. After returning to the minors, he made 22 starts for Triple-A Charlotte with a 4.20 ERA and a 93/36 K/BB in 100 2/3 innings. He’s enjoyed major league success just once in four years since returning from Tommy John surgery, going 9-9 with a 3.77 ERA for the White Sox in 2023, and he seems like quite a long shot to help the Pirates.

We’re not at all sure a merely competent outfielder was a thing the White Sox already needed with Andrew Benintendi already locked into the lineup, but Hays should be a steady enough presence, even if he is a below average hitter against right-handers. Since he’s potentially more valuable as a fourth outfielder starting against lefties, there’s also the bonus that he could be attractive to contenders at the deadline. Playing for the Reds last year, he hit .266/.315/.453, giving him a 105 OPS+ that’s right in line with his career mark of 106.

After the White Sox traded for Jordan Hicks and signed Seranthony Dominguez, it was clear they did not view Grant Taylor as a potential closer. However, the former starter is not moving back into the rotation either. The team will keep him in a bulk relief role, and Taylor himself is targeting 100 innings pitched as his goal for this upcoming season. White Sox manager Will Venable had a slightly different idea, saying, “We are going to have more freedom to use Grant to win games, as opposed to fulfill some innings limit.” However, Venable acknowledged that Taylor may one day move back to starting games, so they would like to keep him as stretched out as possible. While we don’t normally draft middle relievers in fantasy baseball, it does seem like Taylor will be given plenty of innings and brought in during plenty of close games, which could lead to a surprising amount of fantasy value.

Gasper had been with the Red Sox previously, so this is a bit of a reunion for the 30-year-old. He has hit .303/.406/.512 in 117 games in Triple-A over the last three years, but that has not carried over to the MLB level, where he’s slashed .133/.250/.195 in 58 games with the Red Sox and Twins over the last two years.

The Yankees just claimed Hamel off waivers from the Rangers earlier this week, but he’ll be let go to make room for Yanquiel Fernandez. Dom was once a top prospect for the Mets but had just a 5.32 ERA in 11 starts and 20 relief appearances for Triple-A Syracuse in 2025.

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.