MLB Player News

The Indians traded Diaz to the Rays on Thursday as part of a three-team deal with the Mariners, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.

According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Rays view Diaz as an upgrade both offensively and defensively over Jake Bauers, who heads to Cleveland in the deal. Diaz still has yet to get to much in-game power, but he puts bat to ball with consistency, and don't put it past the Rays and their analytics team to unlock something in the power department. He will likely see time at both first and third in 2019.

Bour agreed to a one-year, $2.5 million contract with the Angels on Wednesday, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports.

Bour split time with the Marlins and Phillies in 2018, slashing a combined .227/.341/.404 with 20 homers across 141 games. He posted an .819 OPS against right-handed pitching in 2018 -- compared to his .570 mark against southpaws -- so he seems like a strong candidate to settle into the strong side of a platoon at first base with Albert Pujols.

The Diamondbacks traded Goldschmidt to the Cardinals on Wednesday in exchange for Luke Weaver, Carson Kelly, Andrew Young and a 2019 Competitive Balance Round B draft pick, Jon Heyman of FancredSports.com reports.

Talks between the two clubs quickly escalated Wednesday afternoon, and a deal has been struck to send the perennial All-Star to St. Louis. Goldschmidt will immediately provide a strong middle-of-the-order bat to the Cardinals after slashing .290/.389/.533 with 33 home runs and 83 RBI last season, which is all the more impressive considering he was barely above the Mendoza Line at the end of May.

Cooper (wrist) is hopeful that he'll be healthy by spring training, but is yet to resume any "functional activity," according to President of Baseball Operations Michael Hill, Wells Dusenbury of The Sun Sentinel reports.

Cooper underwent surgery on his right wrist tendon in late August after hitting the disabled list with a sprain in July. The 27-year-old still has a few months to get back into the swing of things, though his availability this spring is vital in securing an Opening Day roster spot. In just 14 games with the big-league team last year, he went 7-for-33 with two RBI.

The Mariners agreed in principle Monday to acquire Santana from the Phillies, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.

The trade won't be confirmed until all players involved have passed their physicals, but Sherman relays that the Mariners will also acquire J.P. Crawford, while Jean Segura is the principal piece heading to Philadelphia. Santana's departure should pave the way for Rhys Hoskins to reclaim an everyday role at first base in Philadelphia, while the move to Seattle allows the veteran to serve as a designated hitter and corner-infield option. Though he's always liable to be a drain in the batting-average category, Santana retains exceptional plate discipline and above-average pop as he heads into his age-33 campaign. He's supplied no fewer than 18 home runs and an on-base percentage no worse than .352 in any of the past eight seasons.

Bour was non-tendered by the Phillies on Friday, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.

Bour was booted off the 40-man roster earlier in the month to make space for a prospect prior to the Rule 5 draft, and he'll search for work elsewhere following the Phillies' latest move. The 30-year-old first baseman slashed .227/.341/.404 with 20 home runs and 59 RBI over 141 games in 2018.

Cron agreed to a one-year, $4.8 million contract with Minnesota on Friday, avoiding arbitration.

Cron was scooped up off waivers by the Twins after being designated for assignment by the Rays. He should add much-needed power to Minnesota's lineup in 2019 after launching 30 homers a year ago.

Duenez was non-tendered by the Royals on Friday, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports.

He posted a 120 wRC+ at Double-A last year in his age-21/22 season, but only hit 10 home runs in 80 games. Duenez is a first baseman, so while his bat would probably play at some positions, the bar is much higher given his defensive limitations. Flanagan reports that Duenez is expected to re-sign with Kansas City on a minor-league deal.

Flores was non-tendered by the Mets on Friday, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.

The 27-year-old super-utility infielder had a rocky tenure with the Mets, falling in and out of favor with the field staff, and once being a part of a trade to the Brewers that later got nixed. He hit .267/.319/.417 with 11 home runs in 429 plate appearances in 2018 and has a career .265/.309/.471 slash line against southpaws. The arbitration process was likely going to overvalue Flores, so this move makes sense from that standpoint. He should be scooped up on a major-league contract by a team lacking infield depth.

Joseph signed a one-year, $1 million contract with the LG Twins of the KBO on Monday, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports.

Joseph spent most of the 2018 season with Triple-A Round Rock, hitting .284/.353/.549 with 21 homers across 84 games for the Express. Across parts of two major-league seasons -- most recently in 2017 -- Joseph compiled a .247/.297/.460 with 43 homers in 249 games.