MLB Player News

Rutledge finished strong for the Red Wings, pitching 13 scoreless innings in his final two starts. Overall, though, he had a 6.40 ERA and walked 77 over 122 1/3 innings in Triple-A. One imagines he’ll be in some danger of getting DFA’d or non-tendered this winter. First, though, he’ll get to spend the final weekend in the bullpen.

Veneziano, 28, has a 3.98 ERA and a 40/16 K/BB in 40 2/3 innings with the Royals, Marlins and Cardinals over the last three seasons. He’ll compete for a spot in a Texas bullpen that has plenty of openings at the moment.

Darvish had internal brace and flexor tendon surgery last month and will miss all of 2026. It sure sounded at the time that he intended to come back from it, but it won’t be an easy road at age 39. Darvish is owed $43 million over the next three seasons, though he might walk away if he doesn’t think he can perform.

The Phillies were never willing to give Crawford a try last season, even as he was on his way to hitting .334/.411/.452 in Triple-A. Crawford, who turns 22 next month, is a rather controversial prospect, in part because he’s an extreme groundball hitter and because his defense in center isn’t as good as his speed would suggest. Still, he hits the ball pretty hard, he’s improved his K/BB as he’s climbed the ladder and he’s an excellent basestealer. He’d have some mixed-league potential if he proves to be an everyday guy.

Sato, a right-hander who turns 21 in two days, is viewed as one of Japan’s top young pitching talents with his high-90s fastball and was a candidate to go first in their draft in 2026. In moving to the U.S., he probably won’t pitch in college next season and instead wait for 2027 to potentially enter the MLB draft. He’d still have the option of returning to Japan but that’s clearly not the goal here.

Presumably, that will only kick if Díaz suffers a specific injury that costs him most or all of one of the next three seasons. Should that happen, the Mets could keep him around at a nice discount for one extra year. Díaz’s deal includes a $9 million signing bonus and salaries of $14 million next season and $23 million in 2027 and ’28. $4.5 million will be deferred each season.

Perez, who homered in his lone plate appearance, was playing first base before leaving with an apparent thumb injury. He posted a video of himself working out today, so it doesn’t seem to be a significant problem. Perez is 6-for-29 with two homers in nine games for Caracas.

Canario is hitting just .186 in 82 plate appearances, but he does have four homers and he’s 7-for-7 stealing bases. There was speculation earlier this month that the 25-year-old might make his way to Japan after being non-tendered by the Pirates. He’ll probably have to take a minor league deal if he signs with an MLB team.

Arias is batting .278/.361/.492 in 144 plate appearances. It was recently put out there that the Guardians intend to move Brayan Rocchio back to short next season. Arias started at that spot after Rocchio was sent down last summer and kept it for the rest of the season, with Rocchio finishing up at second base. Arias, though, didn’t excel in hitting .220/.274/.363 in 471 plate appearances. He’s out of options, so he should be guaranteed a roster spot. However, he’s probably looking at a reduced role as a utilityman.

Henriquez has fanned four in three scoreless innings to date. The 23-year-old never truly established himself in the Dodgers pen last season, but he had a 2.37 ERA over 19 innings when he was given a chance, and he averaged 101 mph with his fastball in the process. He would have been a bit of a sleeper for 2026 if the Dodgers hadn’t signed Edwin Díaz to close.

The Mets are in the market for a centerfielder, but it’s unlikely to be Pache. The 27-year-old was a former top prospect, but he has not played major league games since 2024. He is still a plus defender at all three outfield positions, but he spent all of last year at Triple-A in the Diamondbacks organization, slashing .251/.351/.389 with five home runs and 25 RBI in 70 games for the Reno Aces.