MLB Player News

Crawford took teammate Otto Kemp’s shoulder to his face on a play down the left-field line. He suffered broken teeth, but he might be able to make it back for the end of the season.

The 23-year-old Jobe, considered one of the game’s best prospect a year ago, underwent his surgery last June, and the Tigers are hoping to get him back for the stretch run this year.

Valdez, who can opt out after 2027, gets a deferred $20 million signing bonus and salaries of $17.5 million this year, $37.5 million next year and $35 million in 2028. The mutual option is worth $40 million and includes a $5 million buyout. The contract also includes bonuses for finishing first ($2 million), second ($1 million) or third ($500,000) in the Cy Young balloting, winning World Series MVP ($2 million) and ALCS MVP ($1 million), any of which would be applied to the following year’s salary.

The Tigers were holding back just a little when they indicated that Olson might not be ready for Opening Day. This is really unfortunate, but it does explain why the Tigers felt they needed Justin Verlander on top of signing Framber Valdez. Olson was limited to 13 starts by shoulder issues last season. The 26-year-old has a 3.60 ERA in 53 starts and three relief appearances since debuting in 2023. His absence means it’s safe to pencil in a Tigers rotation of Tarik Skubal, Valdez, Jack Flaherty, Casey Mize and Verlander. Drew Anderson, Troy Melton and Keider Montero are next in line.

It’s short for Collin Joseph, in case you were wondering. Kayfus will likely battle for playing time in right field and at DH this spring as he enters what he hopes is his first full big-league season.

It was thought Fedde might give Korea another try after a rough 2025, but he’s instead returning to the White Sox team that originally brought him back to the U.S. in 2024. Fedde had a 5.49 ERA and an 83/67 K/BB in 141 innings for the Cardinals, Braves and Brewers last season. Assuming that Shane Smith, Anthony Kay and Davis Martin are safe, the White Sox could have Sean Newcomb, Sean Burke, Jonathan Cannon and Fedde battle for two spots in the rotation.

Bush underwent Tommy John surgery almost exactly a year ago. There hasn’t been word yet on how he’s recovering, but if everything is going as hoped, perhaps he could begin pitching in the minors in May and contribute to the White Sox in the second half of the season.

Francis missed the final 3 1/2 months of last season, but that was due to a shoulder impingement. He’s turning 30 in April, so this is obvious a giant setback to his career. Francis was a huge surprise down the stretch for the Jays in 2024, posting a 1.33 ERA and a 49/6 K/BB in his final eight starts that year. However, he struggled to a 6.08 ERA in 14 starts before getting hurt last year, and he wasn’t in the Jays’ immediate plans for 2026.

It’s certainly become clear why Bieber stunningly exercised his $16 million player option over the winter. It sounds like Bieber won’t be in the mix for the Opening Day rotation, which means José Berríos is essentially a lock for the rotation. Eric Lauer would be next in line.

It’s labrum surgery. The Jays had indicated that Santander would be healthy this year after last year’s shoulder issues, but obviously things didn’t respond as hoped after he resumed baseball activities. This opens things back up with a Blue Jays lineup that had seemed set with Kazuma Okamoto essentially replacing Bo Bichette as the one real change from last year. As things stand now, they’ll probably go back to using a Nathan Lukes/Davis Schneider platoon in left field, though maybe Joey Loperfido could enter the mix. Santander would probably return around the All-Star break in a best-case scenario.

Cushing, a 22nd-round pick in 2019, had spent his entire career in the Athletics’ minor league system and had a 6.67 ERA in 79 2/3 innings for Triple-A Las Vegas last year, though he managed to go 11-2 anyway. His chances of getting a cup of coffee in the majors probably aren’t improved by the move to Toronto.