MLB Player News

The White Sox added Rodriguez (hand) to their 40-man roster Tuesday.

Rodriguez spent all of 2022 with Double-A Birmingham, where he slashed a respectable .280/.340/.430 through 483 plate appearances and stole 40 bases before suffering a season-ending left hand fracture in August.

The Red Sox added Valdez to the 40-man roster Thursday, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.

The 23-year-old was slated to become a minor-league free agent due to his service time in the minors, but the move to the 40-man roster will keep him in the organization. Valdez was acquired by the Red Sox from the Astros at the 2022 trade deadline along with Wilyer Abreu in exchange for Christian Vazquez.

Ibanez was claimed off waivers by the Tigers on Thursday.

Ibanez appeared in 40 games for Texas last season and had a .550 OPS before he was sent to Triple-A in June, which is where he spent the rest of the campaign. The 29-year-old should compete for a utility role for Detroit during spring training.

Altuve went 2-for-4 with a double, a walk and two runs scored during Thursday's 3-2 win over the Phillies in Game 5 of the World Series.

Altuve got the Houston offense started Thursday night, doubling off Noah Syndergaard to begin Game 5 and coming around to score on a single for the game's first run. The 32-year-old has now scored four times in the World Series, and he has reached base safely in four of the five games. After starting the postseason 0-for-23, Altuve is now 10-for-31 over the last seven games, heating up at just the right time for Houston. The veteran is slated to face Zack Wheeler in Game 6 with the chance to close out the series -- he was 2-for-3 with a double against Wheeler in Game 2.

The Athletics outrighted Mondou to Triple-A Las Vegas on Thursday, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The 27-year-old was promoted for his first taste of the big leagues during the final week of the season, and he went 0-for-2 with a walk and a strikeout in his lone appearance. Mondou had a .283/.374/.431 slash line in 108 games at Las Vegas and is likely to receive an invite to big-league camp in February.

Hernandez (calf) was claimed off waivers by the A's on Thursday, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Hernandez finished the season on Arizona's injured list with a calf strain, and he was recently removed from the 40-man roster. The 24-year-old appeared in 12 big-league games in 2022 and went 2-for-24 with two runs and two stolen bases.

Altuve went 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored during Saturday's 5-2 win over the Phillies in Game 2 of the World Series.

Altuve set the tone in Game 2, leading off the bottom of the first inning with a double off Zack Wheeler and coming around to score the game's first run. After going 0-for-23 in his first 23 postseason at bats, Altuve has completely turned it around, going 7-for-18 in the last four games and achieving a four-game hitting streak. The 32-year-old is heating up at the perfect time for the Astros as they head to Philadelphia for Game 3. Altuve is 0-for-5 with one walk in six career plate appearances against projected Game 3 starter Noah Syndergaard.

Altuve went 1-for-5 with a stolen base during Friday night's 6-5 loss to the Phillies in Game 1 of the World Series.

Altuve had a rough time at the plate Friday night, but he was able to single with two outs in the ninth inning and steal second base off Seranthony Dominguez, putting the potential winning run in scoring position. This marked Altuve's first steal of the playoffs after he stole 18 during the regular season, but he's hitting just .108 across 37 at-bats in the postseason with only one extra-base hit.

Julien wrapped up the 2022 season with a .300/.441/.490 slash line, 17 homers, 19 steals and a 98:125 BB:K across 113 contests, all for Double-A Wichita.

He's gone on to play 10 games in the Arizona Fall League thus far, slashing .363/.544/.636 with a pair of homers, a steal and a 13:10 BB:K. All in all, this has been a spectacular breakout year for Julien, who flew under the radar in 2021 as an over-aged prospect in Single-A and High-A despite putting up a .914 OPS with 18 homers and 34 swipes. Few are sleeping on the 23-year-old now, after he posted one of the most remarkable walk rates you'll ever see from a prospect (19.3 percent) alongside his power and speed contributions. If Julien keeps doing his thing in Triple-A in 2023, it's hard to see how he doesn't find his way to the big leagues by midseason.

Torres (illness) will bat third and start at second base in Game 1 of the ALDS against the Guardians on Tuesday.

Torres missed the tail end of the regular season due to an illness, but the Yankees' time off during the wild-card round allowed him to get fully healthy. He'll need to play a significant role in the ALDS, as DJ LeMahieu was left off the roster due to a foot fracture.