MLB Player News

It clears room on the 40-man roster for Eli Morgan, who is reportedly being traded to Chicago from the Guardians. Wisdom still has impressive power, but his contact issues have kept him from contributing in any other category over his short career. Still, someone looking for pop off the bench will likely give Wisdom a look. We won’t make the easy pun.

Simon fortifies Pittsburgh’s bench depth heading into next season after being non-tendered last month. The 25-year-old former prospect hit .234/.299/.273 with seven RBI and one steal in 27 games this past season between the Pirates and Marlins. He figures to have a decent shot at making the club’s season-opening roster in a versatile utility role.

Perdomo represents a worthwhile low-risk flyer for the Angels after making four relief appearances this past season for the division-rival Athletics. The hard-throwing 31-year-old lefty has compiled a robust 34.2 percent strikeout rate across 52 innings over 56 career appearances in the big leagues since the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign.

Rivero is back in the fold as emergency catching depth for the Halos after getting into 11 games this past season, his first stint back in the majors since the 2022 campaign.

Muñoz sticks around with the Reds as extra relief depth after being non-tendered last month by the club. The 25-year-old was scooped up off waivers from the division-rival Cardinals earlier this offseason after posting an underwhelming 6.73 ERA over 93 2/3 innings across 27 appearances (17 starts) in the big leagues since the start of 2024.

Banfield returns as extra catching depth at Triple-A Louisville after going 1-for-10 over seven games this past season in his first opportunity at the highest level. He projects as an emergency backup at this stage of his development and can be safely ignored for fantasy purposes.

Contreras will enter Athletics camp vying for a spot in their bullpen after making 14 relief appearances for the Astros over the past two seasons, finishing with a lackluster 7.50 ERA (4.15 FIP) and 19/10 K/BB ratio across 18 innings. The 29-year-old righty has a lengthy track record of missing bats in the upper minors and represents a low-risk lottery ticket.

It seems like an odd way to put it. López, who missed almost all of 2025 following shoulder surgery, has a 2.11 ERA in 26 starts and one relief appearance for the Braves, so if the team thinks he can stay healthy in the rotation, he obviously deserves to be there. But it’s quite possible the Braves believe they’d get more out of him as a reliever and are trying to soften the blow. For the moment, the Braves have Chris Sale, Spencer Strider and Spencer Schwellenbach guaranteed rotation spots if healthy. That would leave two openings for López, Grant Holmes, Hurston Waldrep, Bryce Elder, Osvaldo Bido, Joey Wentz and José Suarez. Of that group, only Waldrep has options remaining.

Acuña has led off in 84% of his career starts, but Brian Snitker had him hitting third for much of last year and even dropped him as low as seventh while he was slumping in September. We’re guessing he’ll go back into the leadoff spot under Weiss, but if not, he would likely bat third behind Jurickson Profar and Matt Olson. Acuña is currently playing winter ball in Venezuela and has gone 9-for-29 with two homers and six steals in eight games.

Ken Rosenthal adds that the Reds, essentially Schwarber’s hometown team, were at about $125 million for five years. The Reds probably won’t make a similar offer to any other free agent, but the Orioles are still on the prowl, with Kyle Tucker, Pete Alonso, Framber Valdez and Ranger Suárez all on their list.

The Red Sox thought Grissom could be their long-term second baseman when they acquired him for the Braves from Chris Sale, but he was often hurt and hit just .190 in 31 major league games during his two-year stint with the club. He’ll get a fresh start with the Angels, who have openings at second base and third base at the moment. If he makes the team, it could be at second, with Christian Moore moving to third or heading to Triple-A. If not, he’ll likely go on waivers, since he’s out of options.