MLB Player News

Guerrero has been working with hitting coach Guillermo Martinez to refine his swing plane and improve his launch angle, Gregor Chisholm of The Toronto Star reports.

The 20-year-old is coming off a solid rookie season, but Vladito didn't meet the inflated expectations attached to him in the minors thanks in large part to a 6.7 percent launch angle and groundball rate north of 50 percent. Guerrero demonstrated in the Home Run Derby that he can crush a baseball; the trick now is to do it more consistently during game conditions. If he can add more loft to the ball and make better contact, the sky is the limit on his power potential.

Bell is working to improve his throwing mechanics at first base during spring training, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports.

He's throwing from a three-quarters slot in hopes of making better throws from first base to second. Bell ranked last in the majors among 14 qualified first basemen with a minus-18.2 defensive WAR. The switch hitter enters his age-27 season with a reason as to why he feels he slumped offensively in last year's second half (he hit .224 after July 6). Bell claims he struggled because he went from synching up fastballs to synching up breaking balls. "I feel like if you're not synching up to the fastballs, you can't hit either," the slugger noted. "But once I started focusing more and more on offspeed pitches, I just went downhill for a stretch of time." Bell's name surfaced in trade talks, but it's likely the new management team in Pittsburgh will want to see what it has in its players before making any rash moves.

The Twins have agreed on a deal to send Brusdar Graterol, Raley, and the 67th pick in the 2020 draft in exchange for Kenta Maeda and cash, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

Raley spent the majority of his 2019 season with Triple-A Rochester, hitting .302/.362/.516 with seven home runs, 28 runs scored and 21 RBI in 138 plate appearances. The 25-year-old was drafted by the Dodgers in 2016, and traded to the Twins as a part of the Brian Dozier deal in 2018. Raley returns to Los Angeles as an outfield prospect with big-time left-handed power.

Flores agreed to a multiyear contract with San Francisco on Tuesday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

Flores hit an impressive .317/.361/.487 with nine home runs, 37 RBI and 31 runs scored across 89 games for the Diamondbacks in 2019. The 28-year-old will compete with Mauricio Dubon for playing time at second base, and he could serve in a utility role having played all four infield positions throughout his seven years in the majors. Flores' versatility in the infield will allow the Giants to rest either Brandon Crawford or Brandon Belt when needed against left-handed pitching.

Kirilloff was invited to the Twins' major-league spring training Monday.

Kirilloff dealt with a wrist injury at the beginning of last season that may have hindered his production over the rest of the year as he posted career lows in batting average (.283) and OPS (.756). While the 22-year-old has shown promise in previous seasons, he'll likely begin the season in the minors, although he could make his big-league debut at some point in 2020.

Court signed a minor-league contract with the Athletics on Tuesday, Alex Coffey of The Athletic reports.

As a member of the Mariners organization last season, Court reached the majors for the first time at 31 years old. He didn't stick around in Seattle for long, logging just 25 plate appearances before he was outrighted off the 40-man roster less than two months after his debut. Court is capable of playing every infield spot in addition to left field, so he'll likely serve as a utility bat for Triple-A Las Vegas as he heads to a new AL West organization.

Joseph joined the Red Sox as a non-roster invitee Friday.

The 28-year-old owns a lopsided .247/.297/.460 slash line in 249 career big-league games, not quite good enough for a player who can only play first base. All of those games came in 2016 and 2017, as he spent 2018 in the minors and headed to Korea for 2019. In 55 games there for the LG Twins, he hit a respectable but hardly dominant .274/.332/.426.

Vaughn was invited to the White Sox's big-league camp, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Vaughn finished his first season with High-A Winston-Salem with a .252/.349/.411 slash line to go along with three home runs and 21 RBI. The White Sox first-round pick (third overall) in the 2019 draft has shown great plate discipline in addition to having a powerful bat, as the first baseman recorded a 30:35 BB:K in 229 plate appearances for Low-A Kannapolis and High-A Winston-Salem. The highly rated prospect likely needs some more minor-league experience before he's ready to push for a big-league roster spot.

Dalbec is entering spring training with the goal of making Boston's Opening Day roster, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.

At first inspection, it looks like Dalbec could use more seasoning at Triple-A Pawtucket, but the Red Sox have an open slot at first base. He entered the organization as a third baseman but split time at both corner infield positions in 2019. Michael Chavis (oblique) is the current frontrunner, while the team could add an established first baseman. The 6-foot-4, 234-pound Dalbec, who was added to the 40-man roster during the offseason, slashed .239/.356/.460 with 27 home runs, 19 doubles, two triples and 73 RBI combined in 105 games at Double-A Portland and 30 games at Pawtucket. Seven of those 27 homers came in 123 plate appearances for the PawSox.

Rivas was traded from the Athletics to the Cubs on Monday in exchange for Tony Kemp.

Rivas is primarily a first baseman but has also spent time in the outfield corners. In two professional seasons, which includes eight games at the Triple-A level but none at Double-A, he's hit .290/.390/.411. He's shown strong contact skills and the ability to take a walk, but he may not have enough power to be a significant big-league contributor.