MLB Player News

Alvarez has joined the Brewers as an assistant in the baseball operations department, the organization announced Friday.

Alvarez's move into Milwaukee's front office effectively signals the end of his playing days. The No. 2 overall selection in the 2008 first-year player draft, Alvarez reached the big leagues in 2010 and spent parts of nine seasons in the majors with the Pirates and Orioles. The power-hitting corner infielder was named an All-Star and Silver Slugger Award winner in 2013 after bashing a career-high 36 home runs, and he had three other seasons with at least 20 long balls. However, Alvarez's poor contact rates and lack of defensive flexibility played a large part in his playing days being over after his age-31 season.

Bregman (wrist) was cleared to resume hitting Friday, Mark Berman of Fox 26 reports.

Bregman underwent right wrist surgery in early November and appears to be on track in his recovery. The 27-year-old remains hopeful that he'll be ready for the start of spring training.

Vargas signed with the Cubs as a non-roster invitee Friday, Bruce Levine of 670TheScore.com reports.

Vargas has appeared in 176 major-league games over the last five seasons, 15 of which came with the Cubs. He hasn't looked good at the plate, hitting just .233/.268/.355, though his 15.2 percent strikeout rate is at least mildly encouraging. He'll have to show a lot more to earn regular at-bats, however.

Reynolds signed a minor-league contract with the Mets on Wednesday, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Reynolds appeared in 115 games for the Mets between 2016 and 2017, and he's now back in the organization. He's never found much success in the majors and spent 2021 at the Triple-A level, where he hit .269/.373/.395 with five home runs, 20 doubles, 35 RBI and 40 runs in 93 games.

Castillo signed a minor-league contract with the Royals on Thursday.

Castillo made his major-league debut during the 2021 campaign but spent most of the season at Triple-A El Paso. Across 113 appearances in the minors, the 26-year-old hit .287 with three homers, 47 runs, 45 RBI and 12 stolen bases.

Toro will get some outfield reps in spring training to increase his versatility, Corey Brock of The Athletic reports.

Toro will be eligible at second base and third base already, and it sounds like there's a chance he could also earn outfield eligibility in the coming season. He hit .252 with five home runs and three steals in 60 games for Seattle last season.

Urshela agreed to a one-year, $6.55 million contract with the Yankees on Tuesday to avoid arbitration, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports.

Urshela took a step back in 2021 with a .267/.301/.419 slash line in 116 games after posting an OPS over .850 in the previous two seasons, but the Yankees are hoping for a rebound in 2022. The 30-year-old finished the season as New York's starting shortstop after Gleyber Torres was moved to the keystone, but the team's offseason additions figure to dictate where Urshela sees most of his playing time in 2022.

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.