MLB Player News

The deal, which is pending a physical, will bring Wendle to Queens after spending the last two seasons with the division-rival Marlins where he posted an underwhelming .610 OPS with five homers and 19 steals across 689 plate appearances over 213 contests. The 33-year-old veteran infielder still offers plenty of defensive versatility, which makes him ideal for a utility role, but he’s not going to make much of an impact at the dish for New York. His presence could make it more difficult for some of the Mets’ top prospects to make their season-opening roster.

He can make an extra $1 million in incentives. Griffin, 30, had a 1.62 ERA and a 77/18 K/BB in 78 innings as a starter for the Yomiuri Giants last season. A first-round pick of the Royals in 2014, he briefly pitched in the majors for Kansas City and Toronto before going to Japan in 2023. His velocity is well below average, but both his slider and cutter performed very well in the NPB. The Nationals will likely give him every opportunity to win a rotation spot.

Navaretto, 30, has played in 10 big-league games: two with the Marlins in 2020 and eight with the Marlins last season, though he spent most of the intervening years in the Milwaukee farm system. He might have a chance of making the team out of spring training if the Marlins want to carry three catchers with Agustin Ramírez and Liam Hicks both likely to do some DHing. However, if that is the plan, the Marlins probably could do a little better.

For a shortstop with nice pop — he’s collected 68 doubles and 41 homers in Triple-A with the Astros and Braves the last two years — Bastidas has never really any prospect attention. Still, he might surface in the majors as a utilityman at some point. The 27-year-old, who can also handle second and third, is currently playing winter ball for the first time and has hit .373/.417/.588 in Venezuela.

Thielbar, who turns 39 in January, had a 2.64 ERA and 25 holds over 67 appearances in his first season with the Cubs. That would seem to set him up for a little raise from the $2.75 million that he signed for last winter.

The Bombers have recently shied away from giving relievers multiyear deals, but Weaver will expect one, even after struggling in the second half of last season and especially faltering in the postseason, when he gave up five runs and retired only one batter over three appearances. Weaver should have his pick of setup gigs with contenders or closing opportunities with lesser teams. It does appear that he’ll remain in the pen, though; he’s indicated he’s open to a return to starting, but according to The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner, it seems his suitors all view him as a reliever.

He’ll be flanked by Brandon Marsh and Marsh’s platoon partner (probably Otto Kemp or Weston Wilson) in left and Adolis García in right. The Phillies could also carry Johan Rojas as a center field alternative against lefties and potential late-game defensive replacement, but the hope is that Crawford will seize the moment and turn into an everyday guy. The soon-to-be 22-year-old hit .334/.411/.452 with 46 steals in Triple-A last season, but his groundball tendencies on offense and his occasional poor routes in center make him something of a question mark.

The 30-year-old Brooks has seen a little major league action the last two years, batting .136/.208/.212 in 72 plate appearances for the Giants and Padres. He’s a career .279/.382/.472 hitter in 468 Triple-A games. Brooks is slated to be the lone foreign position player on Kiwoom’s roster after the team employed Yasiel Puig and Stone Garrett at times last season.

He’ll make $910,000. After six years in the Rays system, Wiles, 27, joined the Braves last season and had a 3.04 ERA and a 105/34 K/BB in 112 2/3 innings for Triple-A Gwinnett. He also made his major league debut, but that didn’t go very well; he gave up three runs in one inning in his lone appearance back in April. If things go well in the KBP, we’ll probably be hearing from him again in a year or two.

García is slated to replace Nick Castellanos as the Phillies’ right fielder, though Castellanos will remain on the roster until the team can find someone willing to take on a portion of his $20 million salary. It may or may not prove to be an offensive upgrade for the Phillies, but García has had the better OPS+ of the two three of the last four seasons (2024 was the exception) and he’ll be a big upgrade on defense. The ballpark switch should be big for García’s fantasy value, as Globe Life Park has really punished right-handed hitters the last couple of years. He’ll still likely be a liability in terms of batting average, but he could bounce back to 25-30 homers and make a run at 90 RBI.

Wendzel represents a depth addition for the Pirates heading into next season as a potential bench option. The 28-year-old got into 27 games for the Rangers back in 2024 and hit .251/.346/.428 with 13 homers in 98 games at the Triple-A level with Cincinnati this past season.