MLB Player News

Mendick predictably went unclaimed on waivers after being designated for assignment earlier this week and will remain with Chicago as extra organizational depth. The 30-year-old has been bypassed by some of the younger talent that the White Sox want to give an opportunity to over the final few months of the year.

That’s probably the right plan. Rocchio played second, with Arias at short, after returning from the minors last July. Arias, though, just hasn’t looked like a big-league regular, and while Rocchio still has much to prove, too, he’s the more intriguing player at this point. The news suggests the Guardians could aim for a stopgap in second while waiting on 2024 first overall pick Travis Bazzana. Or perhaps Bazzana could have a shot of winning the job in spring training, even if his participation for Team Australia in the WBC probably won’t help there.

Brito’s case was pretty obvious, but this is actually a second straight extra option year for Valera. He never used one in 2025, though, since the Guardians non-tendered him and then re-signed him to a minor league contract. He finally made his major league debut in September and performed well enough overall to keep himself in the Guardians’ plans for 2026. However, now there’s no pressure on the team to save room for him on the Opening Day roster. The Guardians will still have Nolan Jones, Jhonkensy Noel, Brayan Rocchio and Gilbert Arias as out-of-options players, which could make it more difficult for C.J. Kayfus, Angel Martínez and maybe Daniel Schneeman to make the team, depending on how the rest of the offseason goes.

He’ll be focused on scoring and player development. Tanous spent the last 15 years with the Mets, including the last three as a vice president of player evaluation and a special advisor to David Stearns. The addition, which comes just days after the hiring of Josh Byrnes as GM, seems like another step forward for a Rockies front office trending towards competence.

The Orioles finally did it. Matching the Phillies’ five-year, $150 million offer to Kyle Schwarber didn’t work out, but the Mets probably weren’t similarly motivated to pay Alonso quite this much, at least not for so long. The 31-year-old Alonso is coming off perhaps his most impressive season since his rookie campaign, having hit .272/.347/.524 with 38 homers and 126 RBI. His average exit velocity off the bat was 93.5 mph, which is about four mph ahead of where he was from 2022-24, and his .385 xwOBA was a career high. His 89 barrels were 23 more than he’d ever collected before. With Alonso slotting in at first base, one imagines the Orioles will seek to move Ryan Mountcastle and Coby Mayo, though it’s possible they could keep one as a DH option.

The Rockies might be selling low on Doyle to move him now after a tough season in which he dealt with a family tragedy, but there’s still evidentially a pretty strong market for a 27-year-old who rates as one of the game’s top defensive center fielders and who flashed some legitimate offensive potential in 2024. It’d still might make more sense to keep him; he’s four years away from free agency and the organization doesn’t have anyone else capable of handling center field in Coors.

Nathan Lukes, Myles Straw and Joey Loperfido are the names being mentioned. Lukes, who played a big role in the Jays’ postseason run, currently tops the team’s depth chart in left field, but expectations are that the Jays will add a bat, turning him back into a bench player (if it’s an infielder, then Addison Barger would likely start in the outfield). Straw was also a key bench guy last season, so the team would surely prefer to move Loperfido, all things being equal. Still, it’s unclear what kind of trade value Loperfido currently possesses; he’s not hopeless, but he wouldn’t seem to project as a regular at this point.

The 32-year-old Herges hasn’t been a starter since his Junior year at the University of South Florida in 2015. The Reds made him a sixth-round pick that year and immediately moved him to the pen in the minors. He was outstanding for the Rockies last season, finishing with a 2.48 ERA and an 81/26 K/BB over 59 appearances. Even if the transition goes well, he certainly doesn’t figure to offer any fantasy value.

McCusker is going to play in Asia next year, according to The Athletic’s Dan Hayes. The 27-year-old made his major league debut last season, going 5-for-30 with no extra-base hits and a 16/1 K/BB. He hit .246/.316/.479 with a 34% strikeout rate in Triple-A. The timing of the move allows the Twins to make a pick in the Rule 5 draft, as they now have an open spot on the 40-man.

Mears, along with closer Trevor Megill, are being heavily sought after. Mears was a nice surprise for the Brewers in 2025, posting a 3.49 ERA in 56 2/3 innings with, as Rosenthal notes, a chase rate that ranked in the top seven in baseball, according to Baseball Savant. Mears is only projected to make around $1.6 million in arbitration so the Brewers don’t have to move him, but trading relievers for younger, controllable assets is often how smaller market teams like Milwaukee remain competitive.

Lowe is due $11.5 million next season in the final year of his contract, and there are many reports that the Rays are interested in trading him away. The Pirates made an aggressive offer to Kyle Schwarber, and they do appear intent on at least making some upgrade to their lineup, which is a nice change of pace.