MLB Player News

Miller notched his 19th save of the season for his efforts. The fire-balling 26-year-old hurler got Ernie Clement on a called third strike to start the inning before allowing a one-out single to Bo Bichette. He then won an eight-pitch battle with Vladimir Guerrero Jr., getting the 26-year-old slugger to ground into a game-ending double play. Miller wraps up his first half with a 4.04 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and a 57/17 K/BB ratio across 35 2/3 innings while making good on 19 of his first 22 save chances. He’s allowed runs in only two of his 15 outings since the start of June.

The deal is now official. Bleday heads to Cincinnati as a relatively low-risk reclamation project after being non-tendered by the Athletics last month with top prospects Denzel Clarke and Colby Thomas taking over in center field with Tyler Soderstrom and Lawrence Butler in the corners. The 28-year-old former top-five pick figures to compete with Will Benson in spring training for playing time in a platoon role for the Reds next season. At a bare minimum, he’ll occupy a bench role as an insurance policy behind TJ Friedl in center field. His fantasy appeal is strictly limited to NL-only formats based on his pedestrian plate skills and lack of stolen base upside. He’s an extremely streaky hot-and-cold power hitter that will have stretches of fantasy relevance, especially in Cincinnati’s favorable offensive environment.

Thompson signed a one-year, $1.3 million contract with Cincinnati last month. The 30-year-old righty didn’t appear in the big leagues this past season after making 104 appearances for the Cubs since the start of 2021. The Reds are presumably hoping he’ll pass through waivers unclaimed and remain with the organization heading into spring training.

“Wherever we can get his bat in the lineup, that’s what we’re going to try to do. And we want to find a spot for him where he can be productive for the Padres, and there’s a lot of different places that I think he can fit,” newly-minted Padres skipper Craig Stammen told reporters earlier this week. He also floated the possibility of Song seeing time in the outfield, a notable wrinkle given that the 29-year-old spent most of the past few seasons in Korea at third base. The 29-year-old appears primed for a versatile super-utility role, which modestly boosts his fantasy appeal — particularly in deeper mixed leagues. He’s a challenging hitter to forecast for fantasy purposes but projecting double-digit homers and steals doesn’t seem outlandish.

Higgins is merely emergency organizational catching depth for the Reds entering his age 32 campaign. The well-traveled backstop has spent the past two seasons at Triple-A Louisville and hasn’t appeared in the majors since the 2022 campaign when he got into 74 games for the Cubs. He adds some additional insurance behind Tyler Stephenson and Jose Trevino.

Cabrera heads to Philadelphia to compete for a bullpen spot in spring training after being jettisoned from the Twins’ 40-man roster last month. The 29-year-old southpaw spent time with four different teams this past season, including the Mets, Cubs, Pirates and Twins, posting an underwhelming 6.54 ERA — 6.56 FIP — and 35/18 K/BB ratio across 42 2/3 innings over 42 2/3 innings this past season. He’s made 312 appearances in the big leagues dating back to 2019.

San Francisco’s front office continues throwing metaphorical darts at various left-handed relief options in the hopes that one of them pans out in spring training. Margevicius last appeared in the majors during the 2021 season, which is a half-decade ago at this juncture, and holds a lackluster 6.12 ERA — 5.12 FIP — across 110 1/3 innings over 32 appearances (22 starts) since 2019. He recorded a respectable 3.89 ERA — 3.60 FIP — and 22 percent strikeout rate across 74 innings at the Triple-A level this past season.

Bleday was very good for the Athletics back 2024, hitting .243/.324/.437 as their primary center fielder, but that’s the only real success he’s enjoyed in four seasons as a major leaguer. Overall, the 28-year-old former top-five pick has come in at .215/.307/.394 in 1,527 plate appearances. He figures to compete with Will Benson for one spot on Cincinnati’s roster. In a best-case scenario, he could be a starter against righties, but he’d have to earn it and there isn’t much reason to think he will.

The 6-foot-4, 285-pound Baker has appeared in 73 games for the Cardinals over the last three seasons, hitting .206/.317/.338 with four homers in 189 plate appearances. He’s batting .250/.347/.508 with 104 homers in 414 career games in Triple-A, which is where he’ll probably open up next season. With his power and ample walk rate, it still seems possible that he could contribute on the short side of a platoon in the majors, but he might be running out of chances.

The 30-year-old Kolozsvary has played in 11 major league games: 10 with the Reds in 2022 and one with the Orioles in 2023. He’s spent the last two years in the Red Sox system, missing big chunks of both seasons due to injury. Overall, he’s played in 121 Triple-A games over parts of five seasons, hitting .194/.209/.338 in 407 plate appearances. He’ll enter camp no higher than fourth on the Phillies’ catching depth chart.

If you’ve heard of Braswell, it’s probably from seeing him at third base on LSU’s College World Series-winning club over the summer. He went undrafted after hitting just .189/.309/.270 as a Senior, but he’s trying his hand at pitching for the first time since making seven relief appearances as a Freshman at South Carolina in 2022. It’s unclear at the moment whether the Royals will develop him as a starter or as a reliever.