MLB Player News

Cleveland is now one game up on Detroit. The fates really put the exclamation point to their AL Central preference tonight, as Valera hit a rare one-ballpark-out-of-30 homer at Progressive Field. That can only happen in an area a bit to the right of dead center, and Valera made it happen with a 393-foot fly just over a jumping Parker Meadows. He has two homers and a .242/.359/.485 line in 39 plate appearances since debuting at the beginning of the month.

Robertson made the announcement on his social media pages. The 40-year-old was one of the best closers in baseball for a time, and he finishes his career with 206 saves and a 2.93 ERA over 881 career appearances. His best seasons came with the Yankees and White Sox, but he also pitched for the Phillies, Rays ,Mets, Cubs, Marlins and Rangers.

Evans, 24, pitched respectable in his rookie campaign with a 4.32 ERA over 81 1/3 innings in 16 appearances, 15 of those starts. The right-hander will not be able to return until 2027, and it’s hard to see a role as a starter with Seattle barring significant changes.

Reetz hit a .192/.307/.399 in 228 Triple-A plate appearances in the Mets and Orioles organizations last year. He is a well-regarded framer, but he has a career .230/.331/.451 Triple-A slash line in 983 plate appearances. Organizations need lots of catcher depth heading into spring training.

Wilson spent last year with the Guardians and hit .246/.325/.435 in Triple-A before making his MLB debut. Unfortunately, he slashed .192/.267/.244 slash with a 37 percent strikeout rate in 91 plate appearances for Cleveland. He can play anywhere in the infield, so the Mariners could view him as organizational depth at a few positions.

The deal includes an eighth-year club option. Wilson finished second in AL Rookie of the Year voting behind his teammate Nick Kurtz, after hitting .311/.355/.444 with 13 home runs and five steals in 125 games this season. The 23-year-old is an elite contact hitter who has always sported high batting averages in the minors and flashed decent enough power last season. He has graded out as a below-average defender at shortstop in each of the last two seasons and may eventually need to move to second base, but this contract is fair value for a player with his hit tool. The A’s now have Wilson, Brent Rooker, Tyler Soderstrom, and Lawrence Butler under long-term contracts, with Nick Kurtz still on his rookie deal. That’s a solid offensive foundation.

The Nationals just claimed him off waivers on Wednesday, but will now move on after claiming George Soriano on Friday. The 24-year-old Cheng will try to latch on somewhere else.

Soriano was designated for assignment earlier this week when the Braves claimed Jose Suarez. Now, he’ll wind up in Washington, but is still a long shot to make the Opening Day roster after posting a 7.64 ERA in 66 innings over his last two seasons.

Bader seemed likely to get a somewhat bigger deal than this at the beginning of the offseason, but it seems no one was especially convinced last year’s career-best .277/.347/.449 line was repeatable. That’s probably in part because he had an xBA of .223 and xSLG of .364, according to Statcast. His line suggests he sold out for more power, with his strikeout rate jumping from 20% from 2021-24 to 27% last year. However, his exit velocity numbers didn’t get all that much better in the process. Regardless of whether he hits, Bader will provide value to the Giants through his excellent defense in center, allowing them to push Jung Hoo Lee to right. He doesn’t come recommended in fantasy leagues this year.

Sims has been pretty awful since a trade to the Red Sox at the 2024 deadline; he had a 6.43 ERA in 14 innings for Boston then, a 13.86 ERA in 12 1/3 innings for the Nationals last season and then a 5.56 ERA in 34 innings for the Phillies’ Triple-A affiliate after Washington released him. All told, he walked 53 in 60 1/3 innings during that span. He still has his fastball and slider, so there’s always the chance he turns it around. However, even at his best, he was never particularly reliable.

Pérez got $8 million from the Pirates two years ago and $5 million from the White Sox last year, so it’s surprising to see him settle for a minor league deal now, though perhaps he prioritized pitching for a contender this time around. Pérez had shoulder issues last year and was limited to 11 appearances, but he had a 3.54 ERA and a 19.3% strikeout rate comfortably above his career mark of 16.2%. Given that the Braves have so many middle relief possibilities who are out of options, Pérez might open up in the minors unless a starter gets hurt.