MLB Player News

The 21-year-old top prospect wound up making five appearances in his first professional season — posting a 5.40 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and a 10/2 K/BB ratio over 6 2/3 innings across three minor league levels. He’s a longshot to crack the Pirates’ Opening Day rotation, but don’t be surprised if we see him at some point in 2024. The 12 other players invited to major league spring training were INF Andres Alvarez, C Carter Bins, INF Jack Brannigan, RHP Bubba Chandler, OF Matt Gorski, C Abrahan Gutierrez, RHP Thomas Harrington, INF Termarr Johnson, RHP Jared Jones, INF Joe Perez, LHP Anthony Solameto and RHP Sean Sullivan.

Williams was just acquired from the Mets as part of the Freddy Peralta trade last week. The 22-year-old also has experience at second base and center field and is “pretty comfortable at all three positions now,” but he’ll begin his Brewers career playing shortstop. That means that current starting shortstop Joey Ortiz, who was also acquired for a pending free agent starting pitcher, is on notice. Williams hit .262/.363/.465 with 17 homers and 34 steals between Double- and Triple-A last year and could push for MLB at-bats if he gets off to a strong start in Triple-A.

Atlanta and Baltimore are rearranging deck chairs with their end-of-bullpen moves. The Orioles designated George Soriano for assignment back in January and then claimed Jose Suarez off waivers from the Braves. Now, the Orioles have designated Suarez for assignment, so the Braves claimed him back and designated Soriano for assignment. The 26-year-old has a 7.64 ERA in 66 innings over his last two seasons, so we’ll see where he lands next.

Atlanta tried to sneak Suarez through waivers earlier in January after avoiding arbitration, but the Orioles snapped him up. The Orioles then waived him last week, and Suarez is right back in Atlanta. The left-hander had a 1.86 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, and 16/10 K/BB ratio in 19 1/3 innings last season.

The deal is pending a physical, but the two sides have been circling each other for months now. Bader is coming off one of his best seasons, hitting .277/.347/.449 with 17 homers in 501 plate appearances for the Twins and Phillies. That came with career-bests in barrel rate and hard-hit rate. Bader also remains a strong defender, so he should man center field for the Giants, which would push Jung Hoo Lee to right field, where he would likely be on the strong side of a platoon with Jerar Encarnacion.

Mancini was in the Diamondbacks organization last season and hit .308/.373/.522 with 16 homers in 335 plate appearances over 75 games. When the Diamondbacks didn’t give him any MLB at-bats, he opted out of his contract on July 1st. Production like that could net him some opportunities with the Angels, but the 33-year-old has not had an MLB at-bat since hitting .234/.299/.336 with four home runs in 79 games for the Cubs in 2023.

The 32-year-old southpaw made 12 starts for the Rockies in 2025, compiling a cringe-inducing 7.49 ERA, 1.72 WHIP and a 34/17 K/BB ratio across 57 2/3 innings. He’ll add organizational pitching depth for the Rangers and should continue to be ignored for fantasy purposes.

Steele has been throwing since October, but this was the first time that he was able to get up on the mound and do so. Barring any setbacks, he remains on track to return at some point during the first half of the 2026 season.

The 26-year-old hurler spent the first seven years of his minor league career in the Royals’ organization. He missed the entire 2025 campaign while recovering from Tommy John surgery but is now back to full health and has looked very sharp in bullpen sessions. He makes for a nice depth addition for the White Sox.

The 27-year-old former top prospect elected free agency from the Orioles back in November after slashing a meager .203/.278/.336 with six home runs and three stolen bases in 265 plate appearances. While another change of scenery may be just what he needs to get his career back on track, Carlson can be ignored for fantasy purposes at this stage.

The 39-year-old franchise staple took to social media on Saturday to express his frustration with the Pirates, noting that if this is going to be his last season, he would have liked to participate in Fanfest and go out on his terms with a proper farewell tour. It sounds like the radio silence from the Pirates could mean that they’re ready to move on, though an invite to the team’s FanFest still would have been a nice way for him to say goodbye to the fans one final time.