MLB Player News

Fried locked horns with Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet in a throwback pitcher’s duel and authored an impressive performance in his Pinstripes postseason debut, generating 19 swinging strikes and allowing only one extra-base hit over six innings. The 31-year-old southpaw didn’t face much resistance from Boston’s lineup until a pair of fourth-inning hits put a pair of runners in scoring position before he punched out Jarren Duran to eliminate the threat. He wriggled out of another jam in the ensuing frame to keep the Red Sox off the scoreboard. Things began to unravel a bit in the sixth when Carlos Narváez worked a nine-pitch walk against him before a double-play ball off the bat of Nate Eaton got him out of the tight spot. He was forced to settle for a no-decision after Luke Weaver allowed a pair of seventh inning runs following his departure.

Holderman, 30, rack up 48 holds for the Pirates between 2023 and ’24, but he faltered to a 7.01 ERA in 25 2/3 innings before finishing last season in the minors, and he was non-tendered last month. He should have to compete for a spot in the Guardians pen, but he does have two option years left.

The second-largest contract in Orioles history is now official. Hopefully, it works out a whole lot better than the biggest, which was Chris Davis’s ill-fated seven-year, $161 million deal signed a decade ago. Alonso will likely hit third or fourth for the Orioles, and he should benefit some from the move out of Citi Field, though more so from a singles and doubles standpoint than when it comes to homers. The signing frees up to the Orioles to part with Ryan Mountcastle or Coby Mayo and it wouldn’t be surprising to see both of them on the move. One of the two could be part a DH rotation, but neither seems entirely necessary at this point. If both do stick around, Mayo will probably open next season back in the minors.

With Adley Rutschman and Gary Sánchez missing time, Handley spent about one-quarter of last season on the Orioles’ roster as a backup catcher and went 3-for-41 with no extra-base hits and 18 strikeouts. He should clear waivers and stick around as depth behind Rutschman and Samuel Basallo.

It’s probably a split contract. Baddoo has an option year left, and with three years of service time, the Brewers will control his rights through at least 2028 (it’d extend to 2029 if he spends a few weeks in the minors). We doubt they’ll really benefit from that, but maybe he’ll be their latest overachiever. The 27-year-old Baddoo has a career .224/.305/.369 line in 1,143 major league at-bats, all of them with the Tigers. He played in just seven major league games and hit .279/.384/.478 with 16 homers and 27 steals for Triple-A Toledo last season. As things stand now, it looks he’ll be competing with Blake Perkins, Garrett Mitchell (if healthy), Isaac Collins, Brandon Lockridge and Steward Berroa for two places on Milwaukee’s roster. Most likely, he’ll start off in the minors.

Jones, who turns 28 in March, got to play in three major league games with the White Sox early last season, but he was released in May and then got hurt after signing a minor league deal with the Astros. A former shortstop, he still offers some infield versatility, but the bat just doesn’t seem to be there for him to contribute in the majors.

Interestingly, he’s having to take a little bit of a cut after making $1.5 million last season. Davidson led the KBO with 46 homers and finished third with a 1.003 OPS in 2024. Last season, he was second with 36 homers and fourth with a .965 OPS. The 34-year-old, who had back-to-back 20 homers seasons for the White Sox in 2017-18, also spent a season in Japan since last seeing major league action with the A’s and D-backs in 2022.

Baddoo hasn’t done anything useful in the majors since he was a surprise success as a Rule 5 pick for the Tigers in 2021, so it’s quite surprising to see him get a major league deal. Still, he did put up a nice line in Triple-A last season, hitting .281/.385/.483 with 15 homers and 25 steals, and the Brewers generally know what they’re doing. He’ll try to win a bench spot in spring training.

It’s a one-year, $3.75 million deal, according to ESPN’s Jesse Rogers. Milner gets little respect, but his left arm has produced a 3.55 ERA and a 245/63 K/BB in 264 innings the last four years. That his velocity and strikeout rate both declined at age 34 last season is definitely a little worrisome, but as a one-year deal, it should work out fine.

Suarez will make $13 million next season and $16 million each of the following two years, with none of the money being deferred. That means the Braves have committed $47.5 million in 2026 payroll to four relievers in Suarez, Raisel Iglesias ($16 million), Aaron Bummer ($9.5 million) and Joe Jiménez ($9 million). They’re also considering using Reynaldo López ($14 million) as a reliever, though the Suarez addition definitely would seem to give them more incentive to leave him in the rotation. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal said the Braves intend to keep Iglesias in the closer’s role, meaning Suarez will likely pitch the eighth for a year before perhaps resuming closing in 2027. As a result, Suarez, who led the National League with 40 saves for the Padres last season, probably shouldn’t be looked at as a top-25 RP in fantasy leagues heading into next spring.

The Braves gave up some cash to acquire Rolison from the Rockies last month, but now he’s off the 40-man, probably to be claimed by another team. The 28-year-old hasn’t enjoyed any major league success, having posted a 7.02 ERA in 31 appearances for the Rockies, but it’s easy to imagine another team having more luck with him in relief.