MLB Player News

The Brewers designated Carter for assignment Tuesday, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

After revealing Monday that they had no intention of tendering Carter a contract for the 2017 season due to the expected salary increase he was due in arbitration, the Brewers signed Korean import Eric Thames to a three-year deal Tuesday to serve as their new everyday first baseman. In order to clear a 40-man spot for Thames, Carter was designated for assignment, which will allow the Brewers to see if any other teams are interested in trading for the slugger before Friday, which is the official deadline for the team to non-tender him. While Carter made a major splash for fantasy owners last season with 41 homers and 94 RBI, his sky-high strikeout rate and poor defense makes him far less attractive in real-life terms, hence the Brewers' decision to move on from him.

The Brewers have decided not to tender Carter a contract for next season, accoridng to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, and he will become a free agent.

Carter set career bests with 41 home runs, 94 RBI, and 160 games played last season, his first with the Brewers, but he also struck out 206 times and posted just a .222 batting average, so the Brewers decided to let him go rather than pay him a hefty sum in salary arbitration. Despite Carter's penchant for punch outs, his durability and pop figure to garner him some attention on the free agent market.

Singleton cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A Fresno on Tuesday, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports.

As expected, the former top prospect will remain an Astro farmhand after no teams were interested in picking up a bat that hasn't produced a major league batting average above .200. Singleton's power is intriguing, but he'll be nothing more than an organizational depth piece until he can make more contact.

Singleton was placed on outright waivers by the Astros on Saturday, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Kaplan predicts that Singleton will clear waivers and be sent to Triple-A Fresno, an understandable thought given that Singleton is still owed $4.5 million. In 420 career plate appearances, the former top prospect has hit an anemic .171/.290/.331 with 151 strikeouts, which simply does not belong in a major league lineup. Blocked at first base and designated hitter by a combination of Yulieski Gurriel, Brian McCann, A.J. Reed, and Tyler White, it's unlikely Singleton sees significant time in the majors any time in the near future.

McBride has re-signed with the A's on a minor league contract, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

There was no word of a spring training invite. It seems like a near certainty that McBride will serve as organizational depth in the minors for most of the year, as he did in 2016. McBride was summoned to the big club on four separate occasions this past season but totaled just 44 plate appearances, compiling a dismal .209/.227/.279 batting line.

Abreu opted out of his three-year deal with the White Sox on Monday and will go through the arbitration process year-by-year with them, Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago reports.

This doesn't change Abreu's fantasy prospects very much in the present given that he's still under club control through the 2019 season, although he could command a higher salary through this method. The slugger posted a .293/.353/.468 slash line last season to go with 25 home runs in 2016, and he'll look to continue that over the next few seasons as the White Sox primary first baseman.

Joseph suffered a wrist injury in the Dominican winter league and has returned home to be examined, Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Joseph, who won't return to the Dominican Republic after his exam, had played in just five games before suffering the injury. GM Matt Klentak said there are "no long-term implications" with the injury, so it sounds like Joseph will be ready for spring training.

The Indians will pick up the $12 million team option on Santana's contract for next season, Jon Heyman of Today's Knuckleball reports.

Santana hit just .192 in the postseason for the Indians, but he also set career regular-season bests in 2016 with 34 home runs, 87 RBI and an .864 OPS, so the Indians did not have to think long about bringing him back for another year. Santana split his time between first base and the designated hitter spot in 2016 and figures to do the same next year.

The Phillies announced Thursday that they have declined the 2017 team option on Howard's contract, MLB.com's Todd Zolecki reports, and he is now a free agent.

Howard hit 25 home runs in 2016 for the seventh time in his career, but he also hit just .196 and would have been due $23 million had the Phillies picked up his option, so there was not much of a decision for them to make. Howard has not announced any intention to hang up the cleats, so he will likely look for a job elsewhere. At this stage of his career, however, he is likely looking at a reserve job wherever he lands.

Wilkins was outrighted to Triple-A Colorado Springs on Friday.

The 28-year-old was left off the Brewers' expanded September roster after going 3-for-24 with 10 strikeouts in 26 games between July and August. Wilkins is now off the 40-man roster and seems like a lock to open 2017 as depth in the minor leagues.