MLB Player News

Phillies manager Rob Thomson handed the ball to Kerkering to protect a three-run lead in the final frame after Jordan Romano and Matt Strahm worked the seventh and eighth innings, respectively, with the score much tighter at the time. The hard-throwing 24-year-old righty made it look easy against the bottom of Miami’s order, getting Eric Wagaman to ground out and striking out Liam Hicks before putting away Connor Norby on a harmless ground out to seal the victory. Kerkering will likely be in position to vulture the occasional save chance moving forward, which gives him some appeal in deeper fantasy formats.

Huff, 27, appeared in 20 games with the Giants during the 2025 campaign, slashing .208/.259/.340 with a pair of homers, four RBI and a 25/4 K/BB ratio across 58 plate appearances. He’ll look to find an opportunity where he can compete for a reserve role on a team’s big league roster.

The 28-year-old hurler will hit the open market after refusing an outright assignment to Triple-A Sacramento. Hjelle made 12 appearances with the Giants during the 2025 season, registering an uninspiring 7.80 ERA, 2.00 WHIP and an 11/9 K/BB ratio across 15 innings of work. He’ll most likely have to settle for a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training in free agency.

That means that teams will now have a 45-day window in which to negotiate a deal with the 25-year-old slugger. Murakami was limited to just 69 games in 2025 due to injury, slashing .286/.392/.659 with 24 homers, 52 RBI and a 71/38 K/BB ratio in 263 plate appearances. He set an NPB single-season record with 56 home runs during the 2022 campaign. The Dodgers and Yankees are among the teams that are expected to have interest in his services, though expect most of the usual suspects to be involved in the bidding as well.

The 30-year-old right-hander was designated for assignment by the Royals earlier in the week and passed through waivers unclaimed. Rather than accepting his outright assignment to Triple-A Omaha though, he has decided to peddle his wares on the open market. Wright hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since the 2023 season due to shoulder surgery. He made eight minor league starts in the Royals’ organization in 2025, posting a 5.48 ERA, 1.57 WHIP and a 21/14 K/BB ratio over 23 innings. He could be an intriguing low-cost flier for teams that are in the market for rotation depth.

The 28-year-old slugger saw just 50 plate appearances at the big league level in 2025, slashing .191/.240/.213 with zero RBI and an 18/3 K/BB ratio for the Braves. He delivered a much more palatable .263/.331/.431 slash line with 15 homers and eight steals in 102 games this season at the Triple-A level. He’ll add solid outfield depth for the Phillies.

Wynns will enter next season as the primary backup to starter Shea Langeliers after Willie MacIver was claimed off waivers by the Rangers earlier this week. The 34-year-old journeyman backstop was acquired from the Reds back in June as an emergency stopgap option and went on to post a robust 44.4 percent hard hit rate across 22 games before suffering a season-ending abdominal strain.

The deal is now official. Taveras heads to Baltimore as additional outfield depth behind young starters Colton Cowser and Dylan Beavers after struggling to a subterranean .530 OPS with three homers and nine steals in 58 games between the Mariners and Rangers last season. The 27-year-old is just a few years removed from being one of the top prospects in baseball, but he needs to show something at the dish if he’s going to remain a viable option in the majors.

The American League winners will be announced on Friday night. Here is the complete list of winners for the senior circuit: Hunter Goodman (C), Pete Alonso (1B), Ketel Marte (2B), Manny Machado (3B), Geraldo Perdomo (SS), Juan Soto (OF), Corbin Carroll (OF), Kyle Tucker (OF), Ohtani (DH) and Alec Burleson (UTIL). Ohtani has claimed the award in back-to-back seasons since joining the Dodgers and four times overall in his career. Soto takes home the honor in his Mets debut, giving him six in eight seasons. At this rate, he might need an entire room just to display them all by the time his 15-year megadeal is through. Alonso, Perdomo, Goodman, Carroll and Burleson are all first-time winners.

Wright passed through waivers unclaimed after being removed from Kansas City’s 40-man roster earlier this week. The 30-year-old righty hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since 2023 due to shoulder surgery. He led the majors with 21 victories during the 2022 campaign before shoulder issues derailed his career. He’s a pure lottery ticket heading into next season.

Vargas passed through waivers unclaimed after being jettisoned from Arizona’s 40-man roster and opted to test the open market instead of accepting an outright assignment. The 34-year-old veteran infielder should be able to latch on somewhere else as organizational depth but figures to return to Arizona next spring.