MLB Player News

The Astros have been active this offseason trying to reshape the roster for the 2015 campaign. Some of the roster moves made have included the acquistions of Evan Gattis, Luis Valbuena and Dan Straily, as well as the signings of Jed Lowrie, Pat Neshek and Colby Rasmus. 

Astros second baseman Jose Altuve is pumped up about the roster additions and indicated Friday he feels the Astros have a chance to compete for a playoff spot in 2015, per The Houston Chronicle.

“I think the front office, they know what they’re doing,” Altuve said. “I always expect a winning season. No matter what team we have, I always want to win.

“Obviously, there’s a lot of movement lately on the team. It seems like the thing is we’re ready to go to the playoffs, so we’re going to work hard for that.”

The Astros finished fourth in the AL West in 2014 (70-92). Altuve made his second All-Star team in 2014, while leading the majors in hits (225) and batting average (.341).

The Rays have reached settlements with the six remaining players on one-year deals, reports the Tampa Bay Times on Friday.

Alex Cobb is due to make $4 million, while Jake McGee will make $3.55 million. John Jaso will make $3.175 million, Rene Rivera is set for $1.2M, and Logan Forsythe will earn $1.1 million next season. Drew Smyly settled for $2.65 million, plus the chance at an additional $25,000 if he makes 28 starts and $25,000 more if he gets to 30, per the report.

The Nationals have avoided arbitration with infielder Danny Espinosa, the team announced. 

Espinosa is set to receive $1.8 million next year, according to The Washington Post. The 27-year-old is coming off a season in which he hit .219/.283/.351 over 333 at-bats. He was slated to open the year as the team's starter at second base until the team acquired Yunel Escobar. Espinosa will now open the year in a utility role. 

Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said Thursday infielder Yunel Escobar, who was acquired in a trade Wednesday with the Athletics, will be the team's starting second baseman.

Rizzo added Danny Espinosa, who started a team-high 77 games at second base in 2014, will return to a utility role.

The Astros announced Tuesday they will have 17 non-roster invites for spring training, including starting pitcher prospect Mark Appel and shortstop prospect Carlos Correa. Appel was the No. 1 pick in the 2013 MLB draft, while Correa was the No. 1 pick in 2012.

The other non-roster invitees are outfielder Andrew Aplin, pitcher Darin Downs, infielder Matt Duffy, catcher Luis Flores, infielder Nolan Fontana, catcher Tyler Heineman, pitcher Jordan Jankowski, infielder Dan Johnson, infielder Colin Moran, catcher Roberto Pena, infielder Gregorio Petit, pitcher Brady Rodgers, infielder Joe Sclafani, pitcher Jason Stoffel and outfielder Preston Tucker.

Correa (No. 1) and Appel (No. 2) are considered the team's top two prospects, according to Baseball America. Moran (No. 7) is also considered a top-10 prospect.

Angels general manager Jerry Dipoto said the team has has substantive talks with free agent infielder Gordon Beckham. However, it appears the Angels bringing him back are slim, according to the Los Angeles Times.

"The possibility exists that we’ll re-sign Gordon, but no promises," Dipoto said. "We’ve built up quite a bit of infield depth. As much as Gordon fits our club and we want to be open to it, the likelihood is that we do have our second baseman in-house."

The Astros have outrighted left-hander Darin Downs to Triple-A Fresno after having cleared waivers. 

The team has also announced that infielder Gregorio Petit has accepted an assignment to Fresno. He and Downs are set to join the squad in spring training.

The Astros sent infielder Gregorio Petit outright to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Monday. Petit hit .278 with two home runs, eight doubles and nine RBI in 37 games for Houston in 2014.

The Angels and Royals have completed a minor swap in which the latter acquired right-hander Brian Broderick for veteran infielder Johnny Giavotella.

Giavotella, who was designated for assignment Thursday, has earned just 78 at-bats in the last two seasons combined. The 28-year-old Broderick pitched in 11 games for Washington in 2011, but has otherwise not hurled in a major league game.

Royals infielder Johnny Giavotella was designated for assignment Thursday. Giavotella appeared in just 12 games for Kansas City in 2014 and has a .238/.277/.334/.612 slash line over four MLB seasons (125 games).