MLB Player News

He’ll take the place of Cole Henry on the club’s active roster. It remains to be seen how the Nationals plan to utilize Cornelio this time around. After being used almost exclusively as a starter in the minors, he was used in a bulk role out of the bullpen the last time he was recalled by the Nats. The 26-year-old holds a 4.87 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and a 64/26 K/BB ratio across 44 1/3 innings in 11 appearances (nine starts) at the Triple-A level this season.

Swanson has been in the Yankees’ organization, serving as their minor league catching coordinator since November of 2019. He also served as the bench coach for Great Britain during the 2026 World Baseball Classic. He’ll work with first-time skipper Jason Kanzler to try to get the Mariners back on track after a disastrous 2026 campaign.

The procedure used the NanoNeedle, which was used during Tarik Skubal’s surgery in 2026 and led to a much shorter recovery timeline. The 26-year-old superstar had been scheduled to start swinging in early November, that timeline will now be delayed by an additional couple of weeks while he recovers. He should be ready to go for the start of spring training.

The 31-year-old right-hander passed through waivers unclaimed after being designated for assignment by the Red Sox earlier in the week. Kelly did a nice job in 17 appearances for the Red Sox in 2026, registering a 3.31 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and a 14/7 K/BB ratio over 16 1/3 innings. It’s possible that he could wind up securing a big league deal this winter.

Stock might receive the same treatment as Kyren Paris and Christian Cairo and get DFA’d here, with the Mets hoping he’d clear waivers. It seems likely that someone would grab him, though. Stock is 36, but his arm is about as lively as ever and he’s going to earning barely more than the major league minimum. He had a 5.93 ERA in seven starts and one relief appearances for the Mets last season.

Tena rejoins the Guardians 15 months after being traded to the Nationals for Lane Thomas. The 25-year-old hit .222/.302/.370 with seven homers in 288 plate appearances for the Nationals last season. That was good for an 85 OPS+, which is also his career mark in 659 plate appearances since he debuted with Cleveland in 2023. There’s still additional power potential lurking here, but it’s not likely to come with enough OBP or defensive value to turn him into an especially useful player.

The move opens up a spot on the 40-man for Reiver Sanmartín. Nicolas, 27, was acquired from the Orioles in July, but he never pitched in the majors for the Nationals. He has a 4.96 ERA and a 103/66 K/BB in 105 1/3 innings as a major leaguer, most of which came with the Pirates.

Sanmartín, who was DFA’d on Monday, had a 4.22 ERA in 24 appearances for the Giants last season. The 30-year-old seems more like a quality minor league signing than someone a team should keep on a 40-man all winter, but the Nationals are optimistic about something here. They also claimed fellow reliever Braxton Roxby off waivers last week and traded for Nate Furman on Sunday, so they’ve now taken advantage of the Giants’ roster purge three times.

Cranz, 23, was the 200th overall selection in the 2024 draft, getting taken out of Oklahoma State. He stalled after a late promotion to Triple-A last season, giving up 17 earned runs in 11 2/3 innings. However, he was excellent before that, and he finished with a 76/32 K/BB in 54 innings overall. In his 26 1/3 innings in Double-A, he fanned 36 percent of the batters he faced.

After overcoming a forearm issue that sidelined him for the first half of the season, the 33-year-old Harris had a 2.55 ERA and a 27/16 K/BB in 24 2/3 innings for Boston’s Triple-A affiliate last season. His only major league experience came in 2023, when he had a 5.12 ERA in 19 1/3 innings for the Nationals.

Vivas is hitting .410 with two homers in 11 games. The 25-year-old’s first full season in the majors with the Nationals came with the expected strong plate discipline and very little power, as he finished at .238/.332/.322 in 364 plate appearances. He has outlasted fellow left-handed-hitting infielder José Tena on the roster, but he probably won’t be promised anything in spring training. Since he’s not viewed as even an occasional option at shortstop, it will definitely hurt his chances of sticking around if the team decides to make CJ Abrams a full-time second baseman.