MLB Player News

The Giants and Marlins have agreed to a deal that has sent deposed starting third baseman Casey McGehee to San Francisco, per CBSSports.com Baseball Insider Jon Heyman.

Giants pitchers Matt Duffy and Hunter Strickland are reportedly among the possibilities to be sent to Miami.

The Padres have acquired outfielder Justin Upton from the Braves via trade, according to CBSSports.com Baseball Insider Jon Heyman on Friday.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported the trade between both clubs.

Left-hander Max Fried, shortstop Jace Peterson, third baseman Dustin Peterson, outfielder Mallex Smith will be heading to Atlanta in exchange for the 27-year-old outfielder and a low-level player, per Heyman. Upton spent his first six seasons in the NL West and has a career .291/.359/.541 slash line at Petco Park. He is coming off a season in which he hit .270/.342/.491 with 29 homers and 102 RBI over 566 at-bats with the Braves.

Orioles manager Buck Showalter conveyed third baseman Manny Machado has a better chance of being ready for the Orioles season opener than catcher Matt Wieters, according to CSNBaltimore.com. 

Machado had right knee surgery in August and Wieters underwent Tommy John surgery in June.

"With both of these guys, it will be when and not if. I think if you held a gun up to my head, I think Manny makes the start of the year, and I think Matt is very close thereafter, but we won’t put either one of these guys on the field until it’s time to go, and try to keep the finish line in mind," Showalter said.

The Pirates are planning to use Pedro Alvarez as their everyday first baseman in 2015, despite his struggles against left-handed pitchers. Alvarez is batting .196 in his career against southpaws.

"We're going to find out. It's going to be Pedro's job to keep," manager Clint Hurdle said, per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "Pedro knows what challenges he's got to meet. He loves his teammates, he wants to do well and perform well. He's taken on some necessary opportunities this winter to prepare and get ready."

Following an All-Star campaign in 2013, Brewers shortstop Jean Segura had a down year in 2014. He struggled offensively, batting just .246 with a .289 on-base percentage, but manager Ron Roenicke is hopeful Segura will bounce back in 2015, per MLB.com.

"I think just mentally and maturity-wise, I think he's in a lot better place than he was last year for a lot of the season," Roenicke said of Segura, who became a father in October. "So I'm hoping he comes back and has another great year. If not, Hector [Gomez] is there, and [prospect Orlando] Arcia is coming." 

The Twins tendered contracts to all six of their arbitration-eligible players prior to Tuesday's deadline, MLB.com reports. Those players include: Third baseman Trevor Plouffe, reliever Brian Duensing, outfielder Jordan Schafer, shortstop Eduardo Nunez, pitchers Tommy Milone and Casey Fien.

The Pirates have tendered a contract to 11 arbitration-eligible players prior to Tuesday's deadline, according to the team's official website. Those players include: Sean Rodriguez, Neil Walker, Francisco Cervelli, Mark Melancon, Chris Stewart, Travis Snider, Pedro Alvarez, Tony Watson, Josh Harrison, Jared Hughes and Vance Worley.

New Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson has predicted a power surge in 2015, greatly as a result to the move to a new home ballpark.

"(There were) 14 balls I hit in Oakland this year I thought would go out for homers but didn't," he told Sportsnet. "I'm looking forward to hitting in Rogers Center."

Donaldson still blasted 29 home runs with the Athletics last season.

The Athletics have dealt third baseman Josh Donaldson to the Blue Jays for third baseman Brett Lawrie and pitcher Kendall Graveman, according to FoxSports.com. CBSSports.com Baseball Insider Jon Heyman has confirmed the deal.

Pitcher Sean Nolin and shortstop Franklin Barreto are also heading to Oakland, according to Yahoo! The 28-year-old Donaldson is entering his first year of arbitration. He's under team control until 2019. Lawrie is also entering his first year of arbitration, but will become a free-agent in 2018. Lawrie is entering his age-25 season. Graveman sky-rocketed through Toronto's farm system last year, jumping multiple levels. The 23-year-old posted a 1.83 ERA in 27 starts over four levels. He made his major-league debut as well, coming out of the bullpen five times at the end of the year. 

The 24-year-old Nolin posted a 3.43 ERA over three levels in the minors last season. He tossed one inning in the majors last season, giving up one run. The 18-year-old Barreto hit .311/.384/.481 over 328 at-bats in Class A ball. 

Pirates third baseman Pedro Alvarez is expected to have a normal offseason, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 

Alvarez had a stress reaction in his foot. The injury ended his season prematurely. The team designated Ike Davis for assignment Thursday, confirming it will move ahead with Alvarez at first next season. General manager Neal Huntington confirmed the news, saying "we've essentially committed to Pedro over Ike Davis."