MLB Player News

Newman agreed to a one-year, $1.95 million contract with the Pirates to avoid arbitration Tuesday, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.

It was Newman's first year of arbitration eligibility, and he was able to reach a deal with the Pirates without needing an arbiter. The 28-year-old broke out in 2019 with a .799 OPS, but he's struggled over the past two seasons and hit just .226/.265/.309 in 148 games during 2021.

Peterson signed a one-year deal with the Brewers on Tuesday, avoiding arbitration.

The terms of the deal have yet to be disclosed. Peterson proved to be a useful bench piece for Milwaukee last season, hitting .247/.348/.367 (good for a roughly average 97 wRC+) in 94 games while appearing everywhere except catcher and center field.

Muncy said Monday in an appearance on MLB Network that he isn't healing as quickly as anticipated after he sustained a torn UCL in addition to a dislocation of his left elbow in October, Matthew Moreno of DodgerBlue.com reports. "That's what happens when you do some serious damage to your body. A torn UCL is a slow process," Muncy said.

When Muncy first suffered the injury in the team's Oct. 3 regular-season finale against the Brewers, the Dodgers were initially secretive about the extent of his elbow issue. Muncy didn't resume baseball activities after injuring his elbow and was ultimately left off the roster for the wild-card round, NLDS and NLCS, but a firm diagnosis wasn't provided until the 31-year-old shed light on his situation Monday. While Muncy has seemingly avoided surgery on the elbow and has instead gone the rest-and-rehab route, the nature of his injury could make it difficult for him to gain full clearance for the start of spring training in late February. Muncy's uncertain health could make a risky investment for fantasy managers drafting early in 2022, as more information on where he stands in his recovery may not come until closer to spring training.

Farmer played through a sports hernia injury over the second half of the season, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reported in October. He eventually sat out the final games of the season and found out he will not need surgery this offseason.

So far the Reds have not signed one of the many quality free agent shortstops out there, nor is it anticipated that they will do so. Farmer still has to beat out Jose Barrero for the job, if the Reds don't opt to put Barrero in center field first.

Escobar signed a two-year, $20 million deal with the Mets on Friday, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports. The contract includes a team option for a third season, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

Escobar bounced back from a very poor shortened season in 2020 to hit .253/.314/.472 with 28 homers for the Diamondbacks and Brewers in 2021. That line was good for a 107 wRC+, meaning he's now been an above-average hitter in each of the last three 162-game seasons, averaging 28.7 homers in those campaigns. That doesn't make him a star given the high offensive bar at third base (though he can also be part of the mix at second), but he should still be a very useful player as long as his skills don't deteriorate too much heading into his age-33 season.

The Twins released Astudillo on Wednesday after he cleared waivers, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.

After a four-year stint in the Minnesota organization, the 30-year-old Astudillo will try his luck elsewhere following his removal from the 40-man roster last week. Though he's seen the bulk of his work at catcher during his minor-league career, the Twins were reluctant to use him behind the plate at the big-league level for most of the past two seasons, with Astudillo instead serving mostly as a utility infielder. While Astudillo's 91.3 percent career contact rate is matched by few, a paucity of power and a minuscule 1.9 percent walk rate has thus far rendered him a below-average hitter (86 wRC+) during his time in the majors. He'll likely have to settle for a minor-league deal this winter.

Noel was added to Cleveland's 40-man roster Friday.

Noel is a rare case of a hitting prospect in the lower levels getting added to the 40-man roster as Rule 5 draft protection. However, he is one of Cleveland's best prospects, with a chance to develop a plus hit tool to go with easy plus power. He should spend a good chunk of next season at Double-A.

Freeman (shoulder) was added to Cleveland's 40-man roster Friday.

This move was a given, even though Freeman's 2021 season didn't go as planned. He performed up to his usual standards (.323/.372/.470), but was limited to 41 games at Double-A when a shoulder injury ended his season. He is recovering from left labrum surgery and should spend the bulk of the 2022 season at Triple-A.

Rosario was added to the Padres' 40-man roster Friday.

With the Padres' system a lot shallower than it used to be, Rosario is now one of the team's better hitting prospects in the upper levels. He hit .281/.360/.455 at Double-A and .262/.348/.361 in the Arizona Fall League.

Astudillo was designated for assignment Friday, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.

Astudillo is a fan favorite with a very unique statistical profile, possessing a career 4.7 percent strikeout rate and a 1.9 percent walk rate. He posted impressive small-sample numbers in his debut in 2018 but hasn't done much since then, hitting .254/.278/.382 across 139 games. That line doesn't work even for a player who's nominally a catcher, and Astudillo's poor defense at that spot meant he only started 25 games behind the plate over the last three years.