MLB Player News

Cabrera signed a one-year deal with the Rangers on Tuesday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

Cabrera has been a steady but unspectacular bat for the last several years, posting a wRC+ between 104 and 120 for four straight campaigns. Those numbers were more impressive when he was more able to play a middle-infield position, but he's expected to be a third baseman in Texas. The hitter-friendly home park should prop up his numbers and make him an interesting deep-league option, though at 33, age-related decline can't be ruled out.

Flores agreed to a one-year deal with a club option with the Diamondbacks on Wednesday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

Flores is unlikely to be an everyday starter in Arizona but will have the opportunity for frequent at-bats in an infield which includes a number of similar players. None of Jake Lamb, Ketel Marte, Eduardo Escobar or Nick Ahmed will be confused with a star player, but all can provide competent performances, so Flores isn't there to plug any particular hole. His best shot for frequent playing time could come at second base if Arizona elects to try Marte out in center field. With a respectable .262/.303/.424 career slash line (good for a 99 wRC+) and the ability to play second and third base, the 27-year-old Flores won't hurt the Diamondbacks or fantasy owners, but he also doesn't provide a whole lot of reason to get excited.

Hiura was invited to the Brewers' major-league spring training camp Wednesday.

Hiura has yet to reach Triple-A, and he has no real shot at making the Opening Day roster. He should open the season at the highest level of the minors but may be up midseason if he builds off of his MVP-winning performance at the Arizona Fall League. Milwaukee's current best alternatives at the keystone are Cory Spangenberg and Hernan Perez.

Cooper (wrist) took batting practice Monday, Andre Fernandez of The Athletic reports.

Cooper is slowly working his way back from season-ending wrist surgery that he underwent in August of 2018. The 28-year-old appeared in just 14 games with the Marlins last season, slashing .212/.316/.242 in those appearances. Assuming he's fully healthy for spring training, Cooper will compete for an Opening Day roster spot, likely as a reserve first baseman/outfielder.

Abreu agreed to a one-year, $16 million contract with the White Sox on Friday, avoiding arbitration, Bruce Levine of 670TheScore.com reports.

For the first time in five seasons in affiliated baseball, Abreu fell short of 25 homers and 100 RBI, but he still put together a nice season and will be rewarded with a $3 million pay increase in his final year of arbitration. Abreu is set to remain the primary first baseman in 2019 with Yonder Alonso expected to see most of his time at DH, and projects to remain the three hole hitter.

Dalbec was invited to major-league spring training Thursday.

The 23-year-old broke out in the power department last year, bashing 32 home runs and 35 doubles in 543 plate appearances between High-A Salem and Double-A Portland. He'll now get a chance to strut his stuff in big-league camp during spring training, though it's unlikely he'll break camp with Boston. He only has 124 plate appearances at Double-A to his name and could use some more seasoning against upper-level pitching in order to cut down on the 32.4 percent strikeout rate he posted last season.

Voit will be the Yankees' starter at first base unless Greg Bird beats him out, Jack Curry of YES Network reports.

Going purely off the two players' prospect hype, it may have made sense for the Yankees to give Bird one more shot, but the team's decision is certainly in line with the pair's recent performance. Bird hit just .199/.286/.386 in 82 games last year and hasn't posted an above-average batting line since 2015. Voit hit an incredible .333/.405/.689 in 39 games after heading to the Yankees last season. That line was well above expectations, but he can fall quite far and still outperform Bird this season.

McBride reached a minor-league agreement with Philadelphia on Friday which includes an invitation to spring training.

McBride was in the same exact position a year ago and wound up spending the entire season at Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He slashed .242/.333/.479 with 10 home runs and 26 RBI, solid numbers but nothing worthy of a promotion. Expect to see him back with the IronPigs in 2019.

Duenez returned to the Royals on a minor-league contract Monday.

Duenez has topped out at Double-A over the last three seasons, hitting .282/.357/.463 in 80 games for Northwest Arkansas last season. He doesn't have any standout tools, so he'll have to take a jump forward to project as anything more than a backup, but he's still just 22, so such a jump can't be completely ruled out.

Santana was traded from Seattle to Cleveland in exchange for Edwin Encarnacion on Thursday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports. The Indians also dealt Yandy Diaz and a player to be named later to Tampa Bay for Jake Bauers, per Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times.

Santana was recently dealt to Seattle last week after spending the past season in Philadelphia. The first baseman hit just .229/.352/.414 with 24 home runs and 86 RBI in 161 games for the Phillies, and like the rest of the team, struggled down the final stretch in September. Prior to his brief stint in Philadelphia, Santana had played his entire career in Cleveland. Outside of a dip in batting average and slugging percentage, there were some inspiring signs from Santana's 2018 campaign, including a career-best 13.7 percent strikeout rate and 16.2 percent walk rate, which was his highest since 2015. Look for Santana to see some time alongside Yonder Alonso at first base to go along with a primary role as the Indians' designated hitter, though Bauers figures to be in the mix at both positions, and in the outfield as well.