MLB Player News

Dodgers GM Andrew Friedman said Sunday that Vargas could open 2023 as the club's primary second baseman, Jim Bowden of The Athletic reports.

The 23-year-old had a .455 OPS across 18 games in his first taste of big-league action in 2022, but he could be an Opening Day starter for Los Angeles this year following the offseason departures of Trea Turner and Justin Turner. Vargas is the organization's top prospect, and it appears he'll enter spring training with a leg up for playing time over veteran Miguel Rojas, who would fill an infield utility role after being acquired from the Marlins.

Torres agreed to a one-year, $9.95 million contract with the Yankees on Saturday to avoid arbitration, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports.

It's the penultimate year of arbitration eligibility for Torres, and he'll receive a nice raise after he made $6.25 million in 2022. The 26-year-old rebounded at the plate last season with a .257/.310/.451 slash line and 24 home runs after he struggled to a .697 OPS in 2021.

McNeil signed a four-year, $50 million contract extension with the Mets on Friday to avoid arbitration, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

After slashing .326/.382/.454 across 589 plate appearances last season, the reigning NL batting champion earned himself a nice raise from his $3 million salary in 2022. The deal reportedly includes a fifth-year club option, which could bump the total value of the deal up to $63.75 million.

Remillard re-signed with the White Sox on a minor-league contract Friday.

Remillard had reached minor-league free agency, but he'll return to the White Sox and be given an invitation to major-league spring training. The 28-year-old spent 2022 at Triple-A Charlotte, posting a .773 OPS with nine homers and 19 stolen bases. He'll compete for a reserve role but is almost certainly headed back to Charlotte to begin 2023.

Albies hasn't had any restrictions this offseason after fracturing his pinky finger in mid-September, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

Albies missed the remainder of the regular season as well as Atlanta's lone playoff series, though he said Saturday that he would have been ready to go had the team advanced to the NLCS. The 26-year-old is coming off a down season in which he hit .247/.294/.409 and was limited to just 64 games due to the broken pinky and a broken foot. He can seemingly be considered fully healthy heading into camp.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters on Friday that Hernandez has a chance to be the starting shortstop for the Red Sox, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.

Hernandez will be playing in the infield after spending the majority of the 2022 season in center field. The versatile 31-year-old has played 100 games in his career at shortstop with 258 at second base. Hernandez should get plenty of playing time whether if he's the everyday option at short or not, but there's not going to be much fantasy relevance in his bat no matter where he's playing.

Arraez is being acquired by the Marlins from the Twins in exchange for Pablo Lopez, infield prospect Jose Salas and outfield prospect Byron Chourio, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

Arraez won a batting title with the Twins in 2022 by hitting .316 and sports a career .314 batting average. He can play all over the infield as well as in left field, and it's unclear where Miami plans to slot him into the lineup. Going to LoanDepot Park is a bit of a downgrade for Arraez's power outlook, although that's not a big part of his game, and his overall fantasy outlook is a little dimmer as the Marlins lineup certainly looks worse on paper than the Twins.

Hernandez is expected to move into a full-time role in the middle infield to begin the 2023 season with Trevor Story (elbow) expected to miss a significant chunk of the campaign, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

Hernandez handled a utility role for most of his first seven years in the majors, but he's primarily manned center field since joining Boston ahead of the 2021 season. The Red Sox had earmarked Story for shortstop following Xander Bogaerts' offseason move to San Diego, but those plans are on hold after Story underwent surgery on his throwing elbow and is now set to miss a sizable portion of the upcoming season. With Boston signing Adam Duvall to a one-year deal Wednesday and set to install him as their everyday center fielder, Hernandez will turn his focus to the infield, where he could play regularly at either second base or shortstop. According to Cotillo, Boston is still expected to bring aboard another middle infielder this offseason, but any new arrival is more likely to affect the playing-time outlook of Christian Arroyo rather than Hernandez. Since he didn't play more than 11 games at any spot besides center field in 2022, Hernandez won't carry multi-position eligibility in most fantasy leagues entering 2023, but it shouldn't take long for him to gain eligibility at whichever middle-infield spot he ultimately settles.

Castro signed with Colorado as a non-roster invitee Saturday, Daniel Alvarez-Montes of El Extrabase reports.

Any hitter who has the opportunity to earn playing time at Coors Field is worth a second look, and that's true for Castro even with the caveat that he's yet to earn a roster spot, let alone regular at-bats. He doesn't hit for much power, homering 15 times in 351 career games, but his .284/.309/.377 lifetime slash line is fine for a utility infielder. A starting role in Colorado may not be on the table, but a good spring could earn him a bench spot, putting him one injury away from consistent playing time.

Rosario signed a one-year, $7.8 million contract with the Guardians on Friday to avoid arbitration, Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

After making $4.95 million in 2022, Rosario is now the fourth-highest paid player in Cleveland. He is coming off a season in which he led the team in hits and at-bats while batting .283 and recording 71 RBI and 86 runs. The 27-year-old also went 18-for-22 on stolen-base attempts.