MLB Player News

Burger's contract was purchased by the White Sox on Friday.

Burger's pro career has been greatly affected by Achilles injuries, but as the 11th overall pick in 2017, the team is too invested in his development to leave him exposed to the Rule 5 draft at this juncture. He is fully healthy but turns 25 in April and has never played above Low-A. Given his age and standing on the 40-man roster, he will probably be thrown into the deep end at some point during the 2021 season to see how he fares against upper-level pitching prospects.

Monasterio signed a minor-league contract to return to Cleveland on Tuesday.

The contract did not come with an invitation to big-league camp. That's hardly a surprise, as Monasterio has yet to advance beyond Double-A and posted a .217/.279/.253 slash line at that level in 70 games for Akron in 2019.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said Wednesday that Urshela won't require offseason surgery to address the existing bone spur the third baseman has in his right elbow, Pete Caldera of The Bergen Record reports.

Though Urshela was able to play through the bone spur after being reinstated from the 10-day injured list Sept. 15, he acknowledged shortly after his activation that offseason surgery could be needed. After posting an .826 OPS over the remainder of the regular season following his reinstatement, however, Urshela proved that the bone spur wasn't any hindrance at the plate. While rest and rehab won't necessarily resolve the elbow issue permanently, Urshela's 2021 outlook shouldn't be affected at all.

White Sox general manager Rick Hahn announced Monday that Madrigal recently underwent surgery on his left shoulder, James Fegan of The Athletic reports. The second baseman is expected to require 5-to-6 months of the recovery time.

After jamming his left shoulder in an Aug. 4 game, Madrigal spent most of the month on the injured list before being activated. Following his reinstatement, Madrigal quickly caught fire at the dish, slashing .349/.385/.384 over his final 24 regular-season contests. Despite closing the campaign with a flurry at the dish, offseason surgery was always expected to be in the cards for Madrigal. Based on the timeline the White Sox provided, Madrigal likely won't be at full strength for the start of spring training, but he'll still have a decent chance at being ready to go for Opening Day. Once cleared to play, Madrigal should be locked into an everyday role at the keystone.

Bregman went 2-for-4 with a solo homer, a walk and a pair of runs in Monday's ALDS Game 1 win over Oakland.

Bregman scored the first of Houston's 10 runs with a solo homer in the top of the fourth inning. He later came around to score on Carlos Correa's ninth-inning single. He's now homered 11 times in 47 career playoff games.

The Rangers outrighted Rivera (elbow) to Triple-A Nashville on Friday.

Texas initially dropped Rivera from its 40-man roster Sept. 4, but he ended up reverting to the 10-day injured list after undergoing elbow surgery, which may keep him sidelined for the start of the 2021 campaign. The Rangers formally activated and DFA'd Rivera again in a procedural move after the regular season ended, officially taking him off the 40-man roster. The utility infielder saw action in four games in 2020, going hitless in five plate appearances.

Urshela went 2-for-5 with a grand slam and an additional run scored in Wednesday's Game 2 series-clinching victory over Cleveland.

He also flashed the leather with some good plays in the field. Urshela's fourth-inning blast put the Yankees up 5-4, but each team went on to score five more runs in the 10-9 game.

The Twins recalled Astudillo from their alternate site Monday and added him to their postseason roster.

Astudillo is one of four catchers on the playoff roster, though he's at least capable of providing the Twins with some depth at multiple infield spots, if needed. So long as Minnesota's position players stay relatively healthy during the postseason, however, Astudillo likely won't be in line for much action.

Donaldson (calf) is not on the Twins' AL Wild Card Round roster, Brandon Warne of Access Twins reports.

Calf issues, which are hardly something new for the veteran third baseman, limited Donaldson to just 28 games this season. The issue returned during the final series of the campaign and evidently hasn't subsided to the point that the Twins feel comfortable with him playing at any point in the next three days. Marwin Gonzalez will be the third baseman in Game 1 against the Astros.

Donaldson (calf) participated in live batting practice Monday, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.

Donaldson missed the final two games of the regular season with a right calf cramp, but he took batting practice with the Twins on Monday, just one day before Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series. The team hasn't announced whether he'll be available to begin the series, but his participation in batting practice is an encouraging step.