MLB Player News

There’s no word yet on the severity of the strain, but it could sideline Palencia for the rest of the regular season. He suffered the injury during Sunday’s meltdown against the Nationals, when he was tagged for five runs in a blown save. His absence leaves Chicago’s ninth-inning role unsettled, though Andrew Kittredge is one of the favorites to step in given his prior closing experience. The other logical candidate is veteran Brad Keller, who has made the leap from journeyman swingman to dominant high-leverage arm this season.

Díaz reportedly got $69 million over three years from the Dodgers. His exit means that Devin Williams, who signed a three-year, $51 million deal with deferrals that brought its value down to about $45 million, probably will be the Mets’ closer. Perhaps there’s still some chance the team could sign Robert Suarez to pitch the ninth.

That seems like a big loss for the Pirates, as pitching development is the one thing they’ve done fairly well of late. Bleich immediately joined the Pirates after retiring in 2019. The 38-year-old was the 44th overall pick in the 2008 draft, taken by the Yankees out of Stanford. He very briefly made the majors in 2018, only to give up two runs in one-third of an inning in his lone appearance for the A’s.

This finalizes a deal agreed to a week ago. Weiss topped out in Triple-A with the Diamondbacks and Royals before pitching in Taiwan in 2023 and Korea the last two season. 2025 was his breakthrough campaign, as he went 16-5 with a 2.87 ERA and a 207/56 K/BB in 178 2/3 innings for Hanwha. The Astros will have the 28-year-old contend for a rotation spot in spring training.

The Yankees, too, of course. The Kyle Schwarber re-signing might take the Phillies out of the mix, but Bellinger has a wide range of suitors, regardless, and figures to command at least a five-year deal at age 30.

Sammon makes it clear that the Mets aren’t actively shopping Peterson, but they would move the 2025 All-Star if it helps them fill needs elsewhere, like to acquire an outfielder to replace Brandon Nimmo. Since coming back from hip surgery after the 2023 season, Peterson has a 3.67 ERA in just under 300 innings and is likely to earn $7.6 million in arbitration in 2026, so he would be extremely affordable for whatever team wanted to acquire him. That also means the Mets would “hold a high asking price” in any deal.

Quite the morning for the Phillies, who have also reportedly agreed to a five-year deal with slugger Kyle Schwarber. Thomson has thrived since taking over for Joe Girardi during the 2022 season, posting a 346-251 (.580) record. The Phillies have won back-to-back NL East championships, but that regular season excellence hasn’t gotten them back to the World Series. With this new contract, Thomson will try to finish the job.

The big moves keep on coming. Per Jeff Passan of ESPN, Díaz will get a three-year deal worth $69 million, which sets a new AAV (average annual value) record for a reliever at $23 million. Díaz also held the previous record AAV at $20.4 million. Apparently the Mets just weren’t willing to go that high. Regardless, it always made sense that the back-to-back World Series champion Dodgers would make a play, as their bullpen was the glaring weakness for the club in 2025. It’s safe to say they satisfied that need. After an up-and-down first season back from knee surgery in 2024, the 31-year-old Díaz posted a 1.63 ERA with 28 saves and 98/21 K/BB ratio over 66 1/3 innings this past season. He’s quite simply one of the best in the game.

Schwarber received plenty of interest on the open market, but he ultimately will return to Philadelphia, where he was the NL MVP runner-up in 2025 after hitting .240/.365/.563 with 56 home runs and an NL-leading 132 RBIs. There was some thought that his being 33 years old and only a designated hitter would hurt his value on the market, but that was clearly not the case, as he’ll get $30 million a season until he’s 38 years old. This is great news for the Phillies, and fantasy managers know what to expect from Schwarber in a Phillies uniform. Passan indicates that his signing could also “accelerate” the free agent market.

Kim is coming off a rough, injury-plagued season in which he hit .234/.304/.345 in 48 games with the Rays and Braves. He was significantly better with Atlanta to close the year, hitting .253/.316/.368 with three home runs and 12 RBI in 24 games. In his career, Kim has been a solid defender at shortstop and also shown the ability to play second base and third base. The Tigers have been using Zach McKinstry a lot at shortstop with Trey Sweeney not developing the way the team had hoped. That means the spot could be open for a free agent, like Kim.

The Astros are looking to use offseason trades to acquire young starting pitchers and have also been linked to Shane Baz and Connelly Early. Burrow is 26 years old and coming off a decent season with the Pirates, in which he posted a 3.94 ERA in 96 innings with a 24 percent strikeout rate. Burrow has decent velocity on his fastball with decent shape and a changeup that eats up left-handed hitters. His slider has flashed the ability to get swinging strikes against righties, so there is a path here for him to become an interesting starter if he can develop that slider a bit more.