MLB Player News

Francona is just the 13th manager in MLB history to earn 2,000 wins as a manager. He has the Reds over .500 and within three games of a playoff spot in his first season with the team. Congrats to Tito on the milestone.

Van Eyk lost his spot on Toronto’s 40-man roster amid their avalanche of moves to open the offseason. The 28-year-old rookie posted a pedestrian 5.40 ERA across 11 2/3 innings during his first taste of the majors.

This was one of the easier option decisions out there this offseason. Straw heads to free agency after spending the last two years in a reserve outfield role with the Blue Jays. He offers zero fantasy impact at this stage of his career.

Both will become free agents. Koenig had a 2.67 ERA in 128 innings for the Brewers between 2024 and ’25, but he dealt with elbow issues early last season and pitched just seven innings in the majors before being sent down in mid-July, never to return. That his velocity was down about two mph in the minors surely played a role in him going unclaimed, but it’s a little surprising no one was willing to commit to a 40-man spot for him.

Katz takes over Colorado’s pitching apparatus after serving as an assistant pitching coach with the Astros this past season. He spent the previous five years as the pitching coach for the White Sox. He becomes the latest pitching guru to attempt to solve the undefeated Coors Field challenge.

Baddoo hit .224/.305/.369 with 28 homers in 1,143 plate appearances for the Tigers from 2021-25. He was in the running for a bench job in Milwaukee last spring, but he suffered a strained quad in March and missed two months. He was sent down once healthy and hit .252/.342/.469 with 11 homers and seven steals in 64 games for Triple-A Nashville. If they keep him on the 40-man, the Pirates will give him a chance to win a bench spot in spring training.

Orze heads to Chicago after losing his spot with Minnesota at the start of the offseason. The 29-year-old middle reliever struggled to an underwhelming 5.66 ERA, 1.52 WHIP and 36/21 K/BB ratio across 41 1/3 innings this past season.

The deal is now official. Webb returns to Chicago’s high-leverage mix after recording a career-high nine saves along with a sparkling 3.36 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 73/25 K/BB ratio across 67 innings of work. The 33-year-old former journeyman figures to cede the closer role to hard-throwing Daniel Palencia, but he’s proven to be a capable late-inning option, if needed.

Contreras will receive $15.5 million, which is exactly what he made the last two years combined ($6.1 million and $9.4 million). He’ll be eligible for free agency for the first time next winter. That’s led to some speculation that the Brewers could trade him. Most, though, would probably prefer that they try to run it back.

The option, coming at the end of a five-year, $50.5 million deal he did with the Rockies after the 2021 season, was worth $14 million. He won’t come close to that in free agency, but he will draw ample interest after reinventing himself as a reliever.

Sánchez got a World Series ring after hitting .209/.349/.422 in 275 plate appearances as Willson Contreras’s backup and an occasional DH against lefties last season. The Brewers might have some interest in bringing him back, but they did acquire Bo Naylor at the trade deadline as a potential replacement.