MLB Player News

Smith put the Dodgers on the board in the second inning when he hit a 412-foot shot off Brewers starter Colin Rea into the left-field stands. It was the 15th homer of the season for Smith, who now has his first homer in August after last homering on July 6. He drove in only one run on the evening but enjoyed a nice surge at the plate — something he was desperately in need of after his slow start to the month.

With Adley Rutschman and Gary Sánchez missing time, Handley spent about one-quarter of last season on the Orioles’ roster as a backup catcher and went 3-for-41 with no extra-base hits and 18 strikeouts. He should clear waivers and stick around as depth behind Rutschman and Samuel Basallo.

It’s probably a split contract. Baddoo has an option year left, and with three years of service time, the Brewers will control his rights through at least 2028 (it’d extend to 2029 if he spends a few weeks in the minors). We doubt they’ll really benefit from that, but maybe he’ll be their latest overachiever. The 27-year-old Baddoo has a career .224/.305/.369 line in 1,143 major league at-bats, all of them with the Tigers. He played in just seven major league games and hit .279/.384/.478 with 16 homers and 27 steals for Triple-A Toledo last season. As things stand now, it looks he’ll be competing with Blake Perkins, Garrett Mitchell (if healthy), Isaac Collins, Brandon Lockridge and Steward Berroa for two places on Milwaukee’s roster. Most likely, he’ll start off in the minors.

Jones, who turns 28 in March, got to play in three major league games with the White Sox early last season, but he was released in May and then got hurt after signing a minor league deal with the Astros. A former shortstop, he still offers some infield versatility, but the bat just doesn’t seem to be there for him to contribute in the majors.

Interestingly, he’s having to take a little bit of a cut after making $1.5 million last season. Davidson led the KBO with 46 homers and finished third with a 1.003 OPS in 2024. Last season, he was second with 36 homers and fourth with a .965 OPS. The 34-year-old, who had back-to-back 20 homers seasons for the White Sox in 2017-18, also spent a season in Japan since last seeing major league action with the A’s and D-backs in 2022.

Baddoo hasn’t done anything useful in the majors since he was a surprise success as a Rule 5 pick for the Tigers in 2021, so it’s quite surprising to see him get a major league deal. Still, he did put up a nice line in Triple-A last season, hitting .281/.385/.483 with 15 homers and 25 steals, and the Brewers generally know what they’re doing. He’ll try to win a bench spot in spring training.

It’s a one-year, $3.75 million deal, according to ESPN’s Jesse Rogers. Milner gets little respect, but his left arm has produced a 3.55 ERA and a 245/63 K/BB in 264 innings the last four years. That his velocity and strikeout rate both declined at age 34 last season is definitely a little worrisome, but as a one-year deal, it should work out fine.

Suarez will make $13 million next season and $16 million each of the following two years, with none of the money being deferred. That means the Braves have committed $47.5 million in 2026 payroll to four relievers in Suarez, Raisel Iglesias ($16 million), Aaron Bummer ($9.5 million) and Joe Jiménez ($9 million). They’re also considering using Reynaldo López ($14 million) as a reliever, though the Suarez addition definitely would seem to give them more incentive to leave him in the rotation. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal said the Braves intend to keep Iglesias in the closer’s role, meaning Suarez will likely pitch the eighth for a year before perhaps resuming closing in 2027. As a result, Suarez, who led the National League with 40 saves for the Padres last season, probably shouldn’t be looked at as a top-25 RP in fantasy leagues heading into next spring.

The Braves gave up some cash to acquire Rolison from the Rockies last month, but now he’s off the 40-man, probably to be claimed by another team. The 28-year-old hasn’t enjoyed any major league success, having posted a 7.02 ERA in 31 appearances for the Rockies, but it’s easy to imagine another team having more luck with him in relief.

Megill is arguably the best reliever available in trade talks or free agency at the moment, and it can’t hurt the Brewers that Robert Suarez just signed with a team that already had a closer. A trade would make things easier on fantasy leagues who wouldn’t have to decide whether to rank Megill or Abner Uribe higher on draft day. If Megill is dealt, both could enter 2026 as top-15 RPs, with Uribe potentially going in the top five.

The three biggest relievers are now off the board, with Suarez joining a Braves team that already re-signed Raisel Iglesias to a one-year, $16 million deal. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal says the plan is for Suarez to set up for Iglesias next season. That Suarez picked the Braves probably means that it’s now safe to look at Devin Williams as a top-10 RP, since there’s no one else the Mets could sign to rival him. The Jays were also thought to be in the mix for Suarez, so this makes Jeff Hoffman a little safer, too. Suarez, who turns 35 in March, led the NL with 40 saves while posting a 2.97 ERA for the Padres last season. He also had 36 saves and a 2,77 ERA in 2024.