MLB Player News

The 27-year-old southpaw has been filthy for the Marlins this season, registering a minuscule 0.93 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and a 12/5 K/BB ratio over 19 1/3 innings in his first 12 appearances. He hasn’t thrown more than 21 pitches in an outing since mid-May, so don’t expect him to work very deeply into Saturday’s game. More than likely he’s just there to get through the tough left-handed bats at the top of the Nationals’ lineup the first time through. Anticipate Janson Junk to follow him in a bulk role on Saturday.

We assumed France’s potential ability to eat innings at a minimum salary would make him attractive to non-contenders, especially since he has an option year left, but obviously no one thinks he’s a very good bet going forward after he returned from shoulder surgery last summer. He’ll stick with the Astros and head to camp as a non-roster player.

With Ramón Urías and Jorge Mateo gone, the Orioles needed a utilityman, and Alexander can hit lefties and play quality defense. He spent a chunk of last year as the D-backs’ third baseman and finished at .230/.323/.383 in 266 plate appearances, albeit with an ugly 32% strikeout rate. Alexander figures to play second base over Jackson Holliday against tough lefties, and he could also log some outfield time if players get hurt. His departure from Arizona would seem to increase the chances of Jordan Lawlar breaking camp with the team, but we assume there’s still more to come from the Diamondbacks.

Despite strong strikeout rates, Strowd’s track record as a minor league reliever is pretty bad. However, he did muster a 1.71 ERA in 26 1/3 innings for the Orioles as a rookie last season. Strowd works at 94-98 mph with his fastball, but his low-90s cutter is his best pitch, making him about as effective against lefties as righties. He doesn’t project especially well going forward, but in a wide open Arizona pen, pretty much anyone who gets off to a good start could wind up closing for a time.

Kade Strowd will get top billing because he’s a major leaguer, but Aracena is probably the more important pickup in the Alexander trade. The Orioles got him from the Mets for Gregory Soto over the summer, and he wound up with a 2.25 ERA and a 114/51 K/BB in 92 innings, most of them in Low-A ball, between the two organizations. Aracena can reach triple-digits with his fastball and has a promising slider, as well. He might not be able to hold up as a starting pitcher, but he could turn out to be a closer someday.

Mejía, who received a $410,000 bonus to sign out of the Dominican Republic three years ago, made his U.S. debut last summer, hitting .274/.418/.411 with a 16/26 K/BB in 124 plate appearances in the Florida Complex League. We’re not sure if any power is on the way from the 20-year-old, but the approach is certainly nice. The Orioles mostly had him split time between second and third base.

Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic notes that the Diamondbacks will receive Kade Strowd, Wellington Aracena and Jose Mejia in return for the versatile 26-year-old. Alexander has shown intriguing power potential in his limited big league work, but his paths to a full-time job were blocked in Arizona. They don’t appear to be much better in Baltimore as he’ll likely function in a utility role to open the season. If he does find full-time at-bats though, he could be an intriguing late-round option for fantasy purposes.

Soriano was just claimed off of waivers from the Braves at the end of January, but he’ll go back into roster limbo as the Nationals needed to clear a spot for Ken Waldichuk. The 26-year-old hurler has already been claimed on waivers three times since the 2025 season came to a close, so it’s likely that there will be interest in him once more this time around.

The 28-year-old southpaw was acquired from the Braves in January, but the Rays attempted to slip him through waivers this week to remove him from their 40-man roster. Waldichuk struggled in his return from Tommy John surgery in 2025, but he’s intriguing enough that the Nationals felt he was worthy of a roster spot.

The Bombers needed to clear a spot on their 40-man roster for the addition of Osvaldo Bido on Thursday and unfortunately Shewmake drew the short straw this time around. The 28-year-old infielder spent the 2025 season at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre where he slashed .244/.318/.362 with four homers, 29 RBI and a 52/30 K/BB ratio over 315 plate appearances. There’s a decent chance he’ll pass through waivers unclaimed and continue to function as extra infield depth for the Yankees.

It’s the fifth time since the 2025 season came to a close that Bido has changed teams via waivers — going from the Athletics to the Braves, to the Rays, to the Marlins, to the Angels and now to the Yankees. He’s talented enough that he’s going to keep getting opportunities, though if the Yankees need a 40-man roster spot in the coming weeks, Bido could be on the move once again.