MLB Player News

Montero and several other prospects have been traded from the Cardinals to the Rockies in exchange for Nolan Arenado, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports.

Montero has yet to make his big-league debut, spending the majority of the 2019 campaign at Double-A, where he struggled to a .188.235/.317 slash line with seven homers and 18 RBI (59 games). He figures to have a good chance to begin the 2021 season at Triple-A Albuquerque.

Shaw cleared waivers Monday and was outrighted to Triple-A Norfolk, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

Shaw spent last season in the Giants' player pool but never made the active roster. He was claimed off waivers by the Orioles in November but went unclaimed this time around, hardly a surprise given that he's a 27-year-old left fielder with a career .153/.244/.222 line in 82 plate appearances at the highest level.

Shaw was designated for assignment by the Orioles on Tuesday, Steve Melewski of MASNSports.com reports.

The 26-year-old was claimed off waivers by Baltimore in late November, but he was cleared from the 40-man roster Tuesday to clear space for the signing of Freddy Galvis. Shaw figures to be outrighted to Triple-A if he goes unclaimed on waivers this time around.

Voit (foot) and the Yankees reached a one-year, $4.7 million deal Friday, avoiding arbitration, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports.

Voit dealt with plantar fasciitis at the end of the 2020 campaign, but he's expected to be healthy by spring training after receiving a platelet-rich plasma injection in his foot in November. He won't require arbitration during the offseason after reaching a one-year deal with the club Friday.

Hoskins (elbow) avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $4.8 million deal with the Phillies on Friday, Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Hoskins bounced back from an unimpressive 2019 season with a strong season at the plate in 2020, hitting .245/.384/.503 with 10 homers in 41 games. His season was cut short by an elbow injury which eventually required Tommy John surgery, placing his readiness for Opening Day in some doubt.

Bell signed a one-year, $6.35 million deal with the Nationals on Friday to avoid arbitration, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.

The 28-year-old was acquired by Washington from Pittsburgh on Christmas Eve and will avoid arbitration with his new team. Bell struggled in 2020 with a .669 OPS and career-worst 26.5 percent strikeout rate, but he should have every chance to rebound as the clear starter at first base.

Smith signed a one-year, $2.55 million deal with the Mets on Friday to avoid arbitration, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports.

The 25-year-old was arguably the Mets' best bat in 2020 with a .316/.377/.616 slash line, 10 homers, 21 doubles and 42 RBI in 199 plate appearances, and he's now officially under contract for 2021. Smith's major-league outlook was a question mark not too long ago, but he has a .937 OPS in 139 games over the past two seasons and enters spring training in position to begin the season in a starting role.

Cron (knee) was cleared for full activity Monday, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.

Cron appeared in just 13 games last season before being shut down for knee surgery. He still has some work to do to get back in game shape, but getting cleared for full activity in mid-January is certainly a positive sign. He's been a competent, if unexciting, first baseman throughout his seven-year big-league career, hitting .257/.312/.464, but teams may wait to see how his knee is doing before offering him a contract.

Hoskins (elbow) shared video of himself hitting in a batting cage on his personal Twitter page Thursday.

Hoskins was having a solid season at the plate before suffering a season-ending elbow injury in mid-September. He eventually underwent Tommy John surgery in early October and was given a return timeline that placed his readiness for Opening Day in some question. The first baseman stated Thursday that he was on track for spring training, but players tend to be on the optimistic end regarding their own timelines, so there's still no guarantee he avoids a trip to the injured list.

The Padres will consider experimenting with using Cronenworth in the outfield following the signing of Ha-seong Kim on Monday, Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports.

With Fernando Tatis and Manny Machado cemented on the left side of the infield and Cronenworth coming off a strong season at the keystone, the signing of Kim creates a bit of an infield logjam for the Friars. As a result, it looks like the club will try both Cronenworth and Kim in the outfield next spring in an attempt to possibly get both of their bats in the lineup on a regular basis. A return of the designated hitter in the National League would certainly simplify things for San Diego.