MLB Player News

That’s probably the right plan. Rocchio played second, with Arias at short, after returning from the minors last July. Arias, though, just hasn’t looked like a big-league regular, and while Rocchio still has much to prove, too, he’s the more intriguing player at this point. The news suggests the Guardians could aim for a stopgap in second while waiting on 2024 first overall pick Travis Bazzana. Or perhaps Bazzana could have a shot of winning the job in spring training, even if his participation for Team Australia in the WBC probably won’t help there.

The Blue Jays seem destined to land one of the big four remaining free agent hitters. Bregman would be the best fit defensively, but as the oldest of the group, it’s probably the case that he’s a worst bet offensively than Kyle Tucker, Bo Bichette and Cody Bellinger going forward. Bregman is also on the radars of the Red Sox, Diamondbacks and Cubs. It doesn’t seem like the Tigers are as involved this year as they were last winter.

The 35-year-old Armstrong arrives in Cleveland after a terrific season in which he had a 2.31 ERA in 74 innings for the Rangers. Still, there isn’t any telling what Armstrong will give a team on a year-to-year basis. In the five big-league seasons in which he’s pitched at least 50 innings, he’s finished with ERA of 5.74 (2019), 4.38 (2022), 1.38 (2023), 4.86 (2024) and 2.31. His career ERA is 3.82, but he’s never actually finished in the 3.00s once in the 11 years since his debut. The Guardians figure to have him help set up for Cade Smith.

The Jays just acquired Bruihl from the Blue Jays for cash on Wednesday, but now they’ll try to pass him through waivers. The 28-year-old has a 4.72 ERA in 89 2/3 major league innings since arriving in 2021.

11 days after being agreed to, Finnegan’s contract is finally official. He’s become accustomed to closing with the Nats, but he’ll probably do more setting up for the Tigers with both Kenley Jansen and Will Vest in the fold.

The 25-year-old Malloy gets bumped from the 40-man roster after hitting .221/.346/.308 in 127 plate appearances in the majors last season. The on-base skills are real, but between his modest power, his struggles to hit for average and his lack of defensive ability, he seems like a fringy major leaguer. We still imagine someone will claim him off waivers and see if maybe they can get him to generate more bat speed. That he has two option years left is nice.

Fairchild fortifies Cleveland’s outfield depth and will compete for a bench role in spring training. The well-traveled 29-year-old defensive specialist got into 28 games this past season for the Braves, batting .216 (11-for-51) with two steals across 55 plate appearances. He’s gotten into 277 games at the highest level dating back to 2021.

Brown highlighted the newly-acquired pitching prospect as an “upside play” that they feel can be part of their rotation. The 26-year-old should have a relatively clear path to a rotation spot with a strong showing in spring training after compiling a serviceable 3.94 ERA — 4.00 FIP — 1.24 WHIP and 97/31 K/BB ratio across 96 innings over 23 appearances (19 starts) for the Pirates this past season. The addition of a two-seamer should theoretically help him neutralize left-handed batters after leaning mostly on his fastball and changeup combo against southpaws while shelving his slider almost entirely. At the bare minimum, Burrows is an interesting late-round lottery ticket for fantasy managers in deeper leagues on the chance that he makes a leap in the strikeout department working with Houston’s pitching development engine.

The crown jewel of Tampa Bay’s prospect haul from the Astros as part of a three-team swap that also included the Pirates, Melton struggled in his first taste of the big leagues this past season during a brief 32-game cameo where he batted .157 (11-for-70) with 29 strikeouts. Still, the Rays clearly view the 25-year-old as their long-term answer in center field, with veteran Cedric Mullins signed to a one-year deal as a temporary bridge. Neander added that Melton is not terribly far off and will have an opportunity to compete for a spot on the Rays’ season-opening roster next spring. He boasts an enticing power-speed profile for fantasy purposes and his immediate path to playing time feels more likely in the outfield corners which are occupied by Chandler Simpson and Josh Lowe for now. The move to Tampa Bay offering a clean reset — positioning him as a potential core piece of a younger roster rather than a fringe component behind Houston’s veteran-heavy group. He checks in as a borderline top-100 dynasty outfielder with the athleticism and upside to take a meaningful leap if everything clicks in spring training.

Robinson returns to Los Angeles where he got into one game this past season before being claimed off waivers by the Braves in late September. The 31-year-old journeyman backstop is merely emergency organizational catching depth behind Will Smith and Dalton Rushing entering spring training.

Bernabel heads to Washington after slashing an underwhelming .252/.288/.410 with four homers and just a 17 percent strikeout ratr across 146 plate appearances for the Rockies last season. The 23-year-old corner infielder represents a worthwhile low-risk gamble for the rebuilding Nationals but departing high-octane Coors Field is a hit to his fantasy upside. He’ll presumably have a chance to compete with an in-house option like Andrés Chaparro for playing time between first base and DH next season. His path to regular at-bats evaporates if the Nationals move Luis García Jr. to first base permanently.