MLB Player News

After being named as the Most Valuable Player of the Korea Baseball Organization in 2022, the 25-year-old outfielder his .318/.406/.455 with six long balls, 45 RBI and six stolen bases across 387 plate appearances before an ankle injury ended his 2023 campaign prematurely. MLBTradeRumors.com projects Lee to eventually land a five-year contract in the neighborhood of $50 million.

That means that the Maeda addition shouldn’t dampen the Tigers’ interest in Seth Lugo. The 34-year-old hurler was terrific in 2023 — posting a 3.57 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and a 140/36 K/BB ratio over 146 1/3 innings in 26 starts with the Padres. If they’re able to land Lugo as well, it would really help to solidify a starting rotation for a Tigers’ team that could compete in the American League Central if things break right in 2024.

The 28-year-old superstar bet on himself — taking a one-year deal with the Cubs after several disappointing seasons to end his Dodgers’ tenure — and that gamble paid off in a big way as he slashed an outstanding .307/.356/.525 with 26 long balls, 95 runs scored, 97 RBI and 20 stolen bases across 556 plate appearances in his 130 games. He’s expected to land an extremely lucrative multi-year contract this winter — with MLBTradeRumors.com projecting that he’ll wind up in the neighborhood of 12 years and $264 million.

The 34-year-old hurler battled his way back after being diagnosed with Stage 4 Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in January, returning to the White Sox’ bullpen at the end of May after undergoing months of treatments. Hendriks ultimately had his season cut short after just five appearances after suffering a devastating elbow injury that led to Tommy John reconstructive surgery. He’ll miss the entire 2024 season, and will have a shot at making another comeback for the start of the 2025 season.

He’ll take the job vacated by Joe Espada when he was promoted to be the Astros’ manager following Dusty Baker’s retirement. Lopez has spent the past 25 years working in the Astros’ organization — including 12 seasons managing in the minor leagues. He has worked alongside Espada on the big league staff for the past four years in the role of first base coach.

Atkins elaborated, “He’s a really good player in a market that doesn’t have a great deal of position players. We are very fortunate to have him and he is our SS moving forward. Rumors, speculation there’s usually something (to that) but in our case Bo is our SS moving forward.” It’s not surprising to hear that other teams have come calling on the dynamic 25-year-old, but it appears that he’ll remain in Toronto for the foreseeable future.

The 19-year-old has only played six games above the Double-A level, but is universally considered one of the top two prospects in all of baseball. Rosenthal notes that the deal is expected to be longer in duration and with more guaranteed money than the six-year, $50 million deal that Luis Robert Jr. signed with the White Sox in 2020 — which is currently the largest such deal for a player with no major league service time. If an agreement is reached, it would remove the service-time obstacle as a consideration for when the Brewers decide to promote Chourio — opening up the possibility for him to be the team’s Opening Day center fielder. Exciting times in Milwaukee.

The deal is now official. It’s a phenomenal landing spot for Maeda, who should benefit from Comerica Park’s hitter-friendly dimensions moving forward. There are some legitimate durability concerns given his injury history, but he’s a borderline top-50 starting pitcher heading into fantasy drafts next spring. The 35-year-old veteran right-hander, who posted a solid 4.23 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 117/28 K/BB ratio across 104 1/3 innings (21 appearances, 20 starts) this past season for the Twins in his return from Tommy John surgery, joins an intriguing Tigers’ starting rotation that also includes Tarik Skubal, Matt Manning, Reese Olson and Casey Mize.

Haseley has been removed from Chicago’s 40-man roster to make room for newly-signed veteran infielder Paul DeJong. The 27-year-old former top-10 overall pick from the 2017 MLB Draft got into 28 games this past season for the White Sox. He’ll likely be able to latch on somewhere else this offseason as a bench outfielder.

McGee made one outstanding start for the Mariners in late April before requiring season-ending Tommy John surgery just a couple weeks later. The 25-year-old right-hander represents a worthwhile multi-year gamble for the Brewers as a potential back-end starting rotation option or versatile swingman. He’ll presumably be ready to contribute at some point around midseason, barring any setbacks in his rehabilitation process.

It’s fitting that Brewer wound up in Milwaukee at some point during his career. Hicklen got into six contests for the Royals during the 2022 campaign and split last year between the Royals and Phillies at the Triple-A level, slashing .236/.350/.455 with 10 homers and 21 steals across 286 plate appearances in 72 games. The 27-year-old represents valuable organizational outfield depth heading into the 2024 season.