MLB Player News

Diaz's contract was selected by the Athletics on Friday.

The move prevents Diaz from being selected in the Rule 5 draft. The 21-year-old has some potential and hit .288/.337/.483 in 90 games last season, but those at-bats all came at the High-A level, so he's not close to making his major-league debut.

Stott has hit .320/.450/.493 with 20 walks against just 12 strikeouts through 21 games in the Arizona Fall League.

Stott is an interesting but fringy prospect, as he might not have quite a good enough glove to stick at shortstop and may not have quite a good enough bat to profile as an everyday player elsewhere. There's a chance he's good enough on both sides of the ball, however, which could give the Phillies a capable everyday shortstop for years to come. His fall numbers cap a strong season for the 24-year-old, who hit .299/.390/.486 with 16 homers and 10 steals across the three highest levels of the minors. Just 10 of those games came at Triple-A, so he may be a long shot to crack the Opening Day roster, but if the Phillies don't acquire anyone better than Didi Gregorius at shortstop this winter, it could be a sign that they expect Stott to take over sooner rather than later.

Semien rejected Toronto's $18.4 million qualifying offer Monday, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports.

As expected, the shortstop will test the open market coming off the most impressive season of his MLB career. He smashed a career-high 45 home runs and also set career bests in RBI (102) and stolen bases (15) in 162 games. Semien is just one of a handful of quality shortstops headed for free agency this offseason, as Carlos Correa, Corey Seager and Trevor Story are also set to test the waters.

The Blue Jays extended a qualifying offer to Semien on Saturday, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports.

Coming off a career year, Semien will likely decline the one-year, $18.4 million qualifying offer and cash in with a large multi-year deal deal. The Blue Jays don't have strong internal candidates to replace Semien, so they could remain in the mix to bring him back even if he declines the offer.

Gorman has missed the last two weeks of Arizona Fall League play due to hamstring tightness, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.

The injury is unfortunate, as Gorman was one of the league's best players through six games, slashing .375/.565/.625 with one home run and a 2:7 K:BB. Regardless of whether he is able to return to AFL play before the league wraps up this month, Gorman is a candidate to make his big-league debut early in the 2022 season.

Altuve went 2-for-5 with a solo homer and a pair of runs scored in Saturday's World Series Game 4 loss against Atlanta.

Altuve singled to lead off the game and came around to score on a Carlos Correa groundout in the top of the first. He made it 2-0 in the top of the fourth with a shot to center field off Kyle Wright. The homer was the 23rd postseason blast of Altuve's career, moving him ahead of Bernie Williams into sole possession of second on the all-time leaderboard, six behind Manny Ramirez, but it wasn't enough to secure the Astros a win, as Atlanta would score three late runs to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the series.

Barreto (elbow) elected free agency after clearing waivers last week, Taylor Blake Ward of HomePlateView.com reports.

A once-acclaimed prospect in the Blue Jays system who later became the main piece in the trade sent Josh Donaldson from Oakland to Toronto, Barreto has not only faltered across various stints at the big-league level (45 wRC+ in 237 career plate appearances), but he's also struggled to stay healthy in recent years. He didn't see any action in affiliated ball at all in 2021, as he battled right elbow inflammation in spring training that later required Tommy John surgery in May. Though he'll face a shorter recovery timeline than a pitcher, Barreto will still likely face at least some restrictions heading into next spring, which may force him to settle for a minor-league deal this winter. Still just 25 years old, Barreto shouldn't be written off entirely from making a big-league impact, but he'll first need to prove healthy and effective at the Triple-A level before getting another look.

Lux isn't starting Game 6 of the NLCS against Atlanta on Saturday.

Lux will remain out of the lineup for a second straight contest but should be available off the bench. Cody Bellinger will start in center field while Matt Beaty takes over at first base.

Haggerty (shoulder) was outrighted to Triple-A Tacoma on Friday.

Haggerty missed most of the season while dealing with a right shoulder injury. He hit .186/.247/.291 in 35 games prior to hitting the injured list, so it's unsurprising that he passed through waivers unclaimed.

Barreto (elbow) cleared waivers and was outrighted off the Angels' 40-man roster Friday, Sam Blum of The Athletic reports.

Barreto underwent Tommy John surgery back in May and was given a recovery timeline of 10-to-12 months, meaning there's no guarantee he's ready for the start of the regular season. Between that procedure and the fact that he owns a career .175/.207/.342 slash line in 237 major-league plate appearances, it's no surprise to see him pass through waivers unclaimed.