MLB Player News

Walsh will report to Arizona before he is assigned to Triple-A Charlotte. The 30-year-old hit .226/.317/.321 with a home run and seven RBI in 60 plate appearances with the Rangers this season, but was let go after the team brought back Nathaniel Lowe from the injured list.

The Yankees have also reached out to the Cubs about Hoerner, but all indications, for now, are that the Cubs would rather hold onto Hoerner and trade Matt Shaw. Both Hoerner and Donovan are high-contact rate hitters who would provide nice balance to a Giants infield that features power bats in Willy Adames, Matt Chapman, and Rafael Devers. Nothing appears imminent, but the Giants don’t appear comfortable beginning the 2026 season with Casey Schmitt or Christian Koss as their starting second baseman.

Kieboom had only eight plate appearances for the Angels in 2025, but hit .319/.368/.449 with nine home runs and 11 steals in 93 games for Triple-A Salt Lake. The former top prospect will likely be corner infield depth for the Guardians in 2026 and should no longer be counted on for any major MLB production.

“We want a neutral ballpark where if you hit a ball well, it should be a home run,” said Royals general manager J.J. Picollo. According to Stacast’s Park Factors, Kauffman Stadium ranked 6th in baseball as an offensive park. However, this ranking was largely due to its having the second-largest outfield in baseball, which promotes doubles and triples. It ranked 25th in baseball as a home run park, which is the fourth-lowest mark of any stadium that has been in use for at least the last three seasons. The team will keep centerfield at 410 feet, but will shorten the power alleys from 389 feet to 379 feet, and “the fences will continue on that path, 9 to 10 feet shorter, nearly all the way to the corners.” This will not only help established power hitters like Bobby Witt Jr., Vinnie Pasquantino, and Salvador Perez hit more home runs, but should be a nice boost for young players with plus power like Jac Caglianone and Carter Jensen. However, batting average hitters with fringe power, like Isaac Collins and Jonathan India, may see a slight regression with a smaller outfield for extra base hits to fall in.

With Carlos Correa now back in town and Yordan Alvarez likely spending all of next season at DH, the Astros have a surplus of infielders and likely need to trade one of Walker or Isaac Paredes. The Astros would like to keep Paredes and play him at first base, but they would need to find a way to trade Walker. The 34-year-old did hit 27 home runs last season, but he has two years, $40 million left on his contract and has been declining offensively over the last couple of years. The Astros would likely get back far more in a trade for Paredes, so the question will be whether Houston prefers to make essentially a salary dump trade or tries to bring back players of value.

There was some thought that the Cubs would try to trade Nico Hoerner and move Shaw to second base, but Law suggests that Shaw may be wearing out his welcome in Chicago. After a poor rookie season, Law reported that Shaw has shown “resistance to help from the Cubs’ staff.” His approach at the plate in 2025 was “undisciplined and often defensive,” according to Law, and he wasn’t eager to make adjustments with the hitting coaches. If that’s the case, it’s easy to see why the Cubs would want to trade Shaw, but may limit his market if teams are worried about him taking the same approach in a new place.

Enright spent the last two seasons as pitching coach for the Angels. Over that stretch, the Angels posted a 4.73 ERA and a poor 20.4 percent strikeout rate. Enright will now be working primarily with minor league pitchers as Mike Maddux serves as the MLB pitching coach, so perhaps he’ll have more success in that role.

Sammons is a 30-year-old starter who made his MLB debut with the Tigers back in 2024, posting a 3.62 ERA and 18/9 K/BB ratio in 27 1/3 innings. He pitched in Japan in 2025, posting a 3.78 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, and 73/40 K/BB ratio. He figures to just remain organizational depth for the Tigers.

Chicago continues fortifying its relief mix with Martin representing their latest middle relief lottery ticket this offseason. The 30-year-old former top pitching prospect was the centerpiece of the Zack Greinke trade between the Astros and Diamondbacks in 2019 before injuries derailed his promising trajectory. He compiled an underwhelming 6.00 ERA — 5.30 FIP — and 23/9 K/BB ratio across 18 innings over 17 appearances for the Orioles this past season in his first big-league action since the 2022 campaign.

Stoudt hasn’t resurfaced at the major-league level since making four appearances for the Reds back in 2023. The 28-year-old former pitching prospect has bounced around between a couple different organizations, including the Orioles and Mariners, over the past two seasons while pitching in relief in Triple-A. He’s merely organizational depth at this stage of his career.

Waldichuk represents an intriguing addition for Tampa Bay’s pitching development apparatus to sink their teeth into this spring. The 28-year-old former top prospect’s stuff hasn’t rebounded to pre-Tommy John surgery levels but he still offers some appeal as a potential swingman, capable of stepping into the starting rotation or gobbling up multiple innings out of the bullpen. He spent a couple weeks with the Braves after being jettisoned by the Athletics last month and hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since the 2023 campaign.