MLB Player News

Altuve signed a five-year, $125 million contract extension with the Astros on Tuesday, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Altuve's extension ensures he will remain as Houston's second baseman through the 2029 season. Altuve slashed .311/.393/.522 with 17 homers and 51 RBI across 410 plate appearances last season while stealing 14 bags. He missed a significant amount of time at the beginning of the year due to a fractured right thumb and later battled an oblique injury, but the 33-year-old has shown no signs of slowing down entering his 14th big-league campaign.

Dubon will make $3.5 million in 2024 after winning his arbitration hearing with the Astros on Monday, Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 Houston reports.

Houston had offered $3 million. Dubon earned the substantial salary bump after slashing .278/.309/.411 with 10 home runs and seven stolen bases over 132 games for the Astros in 2023. He played seven different positions last year and is in line for a super-utility role again in 2024.

Rojas, who's projected to fill the strong side of an infield platoon with Dylan Moore, is now likelier to do so at third base rather than second as a result of the Jorge Polanco trade, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports.

Kramer notes that Polanco should play either second base or shortstop based on his big-league resume. As a result, Rojas -- who contributed a solid .272 batting average and .721 OPS across 134 plate appearances after his trade from the Diamondbacks last season -- could see the majority of his time at the hot corner. Offseason arrival Luis Urias is also a candidate to see time at third base. Rojas could end up in a super-utility role instead, as he's played every position except catcher, first base and center field during his five-year MLB career.

De Goti signed a minor-league contract with the Rangers on Jan. 26.

De Goti spent the 2023 season at the Triple-A level between the Marlins and Twins organizations, posting a .609 OPS in 55 games. The 29-year-old appeared in two big-league games for the Astros back in 2021.

The Red Sox claimed Gonzalez (shoulder) off waivers from the White Sox on Wednesday, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

It's unclear whether Gonzalez will be ready for Opening Day after having surgery on his right shoulder labrum last July, which could have affected the White Sox' decision to try to slip him through waivers. Gonzalez brings defensive versatility to the table along with a 90.4 mph average exit velocity during his 86 games in the majors. Gonzalez also has a 36 percent strikeout rate and 2.1 percent walk rate during that span, numbers which surely will need to improve if he wants to make an impact in Boston.

Polanco was traded from the Twins to the Mariners on Monday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

It's unclear as to what the Twins are getting in return for Polanco, but Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic states there are four players, two major leaguers and two minor leaguers, headed to Minnesota as part of the deal. This is a huge upgrade for the Mariners at second base, and the 30-year-old will also be available to slot in at the hot corner and in the DH spot as needed. Polanco slashed .255/.335/.454 with 14 homers, 48 RBI, four stolen bases and 38 runs scored over 80 games a season ago with Minnesota.

Frazier signed a one-year, $2 million contract with the Royals on Saturday, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports.

Frazier slashed .240/.300/.396 with 60 RBI across 454 plate appearances with the Orioles last season. He elected free agency earlier in the offseason to avoid being completely phased out by Baltimore's young talent, and he will presumably replace Michael Massey as the Royals' primary second baseman while occasionally getting a look in the corner outfield spots. His new contract includes an $8.5 million mutual option for 2025 with a $2.5 million buyout.

Gonzalez (shoulder) was designated for assignment by the White Sox on Friday, LaMond Pope of the Chicago Tribune reports.

The club needed to clear a spot on its 40-man roster for the addition of John Brebbia. Gonzalez underwent surgery in July to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder and it's not clear whether he'll be healthy in time for Opening Day. The 27-year-old will now go through the waiver process.

Foscue's defensive work this offseason has been focused mainly on first and third base, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports.

Foscue -- who is a natural second baseman -- plans to receive most of his reps leading into spring training at first base. During his time at Triple-A Round Rock in 2023, Foscue made starts at every infield spot aside from shortstop, in addition to nine starts at designated hitter. The 2020 first-round pick's best chance at extended playing time with the Rangers in 2024 -- barring an injury to one of the team's starters -- likely would be as a utility infielder and/or DH. Foscue slashed .266/.394/.468 with 18 home runs and 14 stolen bases over 122 contests with Round Rock last season.

Caballero is likely to be the Rays' Opening Day shortstop, Adam Berry of MLB.com reports.

Things could always change if the Rays make further additions, of course, but as things stand right now, Caballero appears to be the favorite to man shortstop in the opener. Acquired earlier this month in a trade with the Mariners, Caballero slashed .221/.343/.320 with four homers and 26 stolen bases over 104 contests in 2023. The 27-year-old could just be keeping the seat warm until Junior Caminero is ready.