MLB Player News

You simply can’t slow down Lawrence Butler right now. Over his last 11 games, Butler has 20 hits, 20 RBI, four doubles, two triples, and six HR. Since 1920, when RBIs became an official stat, only five other MLB players have reached all of those numbers over an 11-game span and all five are in the Hall Of Fame, including Lou Gehrig and Willie Mays. Now, we shouldn’t plan Butler’s plaque right now, but the 24-year-old has clearly made the adjustments the Athletics were hoping for when they sent him to the minors in May, and he needs to be rostered in all leagues right now while he’s producing at this level.

Rendon, coming off hip surgery, was due $38 million in the final season of a seven-year, $245 million contract. The buyout figures to allow him to collect all that money over a longer period of time, and in return, Rendon won’t have to show up to spring training for rehab and pretend that he wants to play. Rendon will finish his Angels tenure with a .242/.348/.369 line in 257 games played.

There’s a new favorite to close for the Angels, who lost out on a bid to re-sign Kenley Jansen. It’ll be Yates’ second stint with the team, though you could have blinked and missed the first; he made one appearance and gave up two runs for the Halos in 2017. Yates struggled to a 5.23 ERA while dealing with injuries with the Dodgers last season, but he still struck out 52 in 41 1/3 innings. He had a 1.17 ERA and 33 saves for the Rangers in 2024. The deal is worth $5 million, according to the New York Post’s Jon Heyman.

Rosario, who agreed to the deal over two weeks ago, is again signing very cheap at $2.5 million, but at least that’s $500,000 more than last year. He made $7.8 million in his final year of arbitration in 2023 and now a total of $5 million the three subsequent years. Rosario wound up hitting .276/.309/.436 in 191 plate appearances for the Nationals and Yankees last season. That was good for a 109 OPS+, the best mark of his career. The Yankees will likely primarily use him to spell corner infielders Ben Rice and Ryan McMahon against lefties. He’ll also be an option at shortstop while Anthony Volpe is out, but José Caballero figures to be the main guy there.

Ruiz led the AL in steals with 67 for the A’s in 2023, but he’s spent most of the last two years in the minors, hitting .303/.412/.511 in Triple-A last season. He’s a career .241/.296/.343 hitter in 621 major league plate appearances, and for all his speed, he’s just not a very good outfielder. Using a bench spot on him as an occasional starter against left-handers and a pinch-runner isn’t the worst idea, but he’d have offer a lotmore utility if he were a quality defender somewhere.

The Dodgers are getting a little something for a player they probably were going to DFA at some point. Marrero was signed by the Marlins as a 17-year-old last winter and had a 3.82 ERA and a 35/12 K/BB in 33 innings as a starter in the Dominican Summer League.

Wagaman’s 46.5% hard-hit rate and 19.5% strikeout rate last season were both pretty encouraging, but they produced only a modest .250/.296/.378 line in what might have been the 28-year-old’s only really good chance to establish himself in the majors. Maybe he’ll get lucky and the Rockies or Nationals will pick him up as a first base option. If not, Asia might be a possibility.

Except in terms of durability, Ruiz seems like a downgrade from Dane Myers, who the Marlins just traded to the Reds. The 26-year-old Ruiz hit .303/.412/.511 in Triple-A last season, also going 4-for-21 in his brief time with the Dodgers. He has an option year left, but the Marlins probably intend to carry him as a reserve outfielder. Marrero is an 18-year-old who has yet to pitch in the U.S.

Okamoto’s posting deadline is on January 4th, which will give him the remainder of the week to decide on a team. Previous reports seemed to indicate that he was all but down to the Angels and the Pirates, but Yahoo is reporting that Okamoto has meetings set up with the Blue Jays, Cubs, Red Sox, Diamondbacks, Padres, Angels, and Pirates, so his market may be a bit more robust than previously believed.

If Santander is healthy, the Blue Jays will almost assuredly give the 30-year-old a spot in their starting lineup after signing him to a five-year, $92.5 million deal last year. However, he won’t have a long leash. With George Springer locked in at designated hitter, Santander would need to start in right field, but the Blue Jays also have Myles Straw, Davis Schneider, and are firmly in the mix for Kyle Tucker. The key for Santander will be getting healthy in time for spring training, and then the team can go from there.

Crismatt threw 34 innings for the Diamondbacks in 2025, posting a 3.71 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, and 25/9 K/BB ratio in eight appearances (five starts). This will be Crismatt’s second stint with the Rangers after playing one month with them in Triple-A in 2024.