MLB Player News

Brantley signed a two-year, $32 million contract with the Astros on Wednesday, Mark Berman of Fox 26 reports.

Brantley was pursued by several teams during free agency and was believed to be close to a deal with the Blue Jays earlier Wednesday, but he'll return to Houston on a two-year deal. The 33-year-old should reclaim his role as a top option in left field and at designated hitter after slashing .309/.370/.497 with 27 home runs and 112 RBI over his past two seasons with the Astros.

Brantley signed a three-year contract with the Blue Jays on Wednesday, Hazel Mae of Sportsnet reports.

The financial terms of the deal haven't yet been disclosed. Brantley will join George Springer in Toronto just one day after Springer inked a six-year deal with the team. Brantley spent the past two seasons with the Astros and appeared in 46 games during the abbreviated 2020 season, slashing .300/.364/.476 with five home runs and 22 RBI. The 33-year-old has had an OPS above .800 in each of the past four seasons and will attempt to build on his success with the Blue Jays in 2021.

Canha signed a one-year, $6.925 million contract with Oakland on Friday to avoid arbitration, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.

The 31-year-old receives a sizable raise from his $4.8 million figure for 2020 as he enters his final season of arbitration eligibility. Canha had a .246/.387/.408 slash line with five homers, 33 RBI and four stolen bases in 59 games last season.

Ohtani is expected to be part of the Angels' six-man rotation next season, Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Ohtani has only thrown 53.1 innings over his three-year MLB career. Elbow issues limited him to just 10 starts in his 2018 debut, and he didn't pitch at all in 2019 after undergoing Tommy John surgery. He was set to be a two-way player again last season but was shut down from pitching again after making a pair of disastrous starts. 2021 could be the year Ohtani finally emerges as a true dual threat, though given his track record so far in North America there would seem to be little reason to expect things to go smoothly. The Angels remain committed to the project however, to the point of deploying a non-standard rotation in order to to help him manage his workload.

Alvarez (knees) posted a video of himself running the bases on his personal Instagram account Tuesday, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

The 23-year-old was running on an anti-gravity treadmill in mid-October, and he's continued to progress his running program over the past couple months. Alvarez underwent arthroscopic surgery on both knees in late August, and it's a good sign to see him on the basepaths with no obvious limitations. There's still a couple months before the start of spring training, and Alvarez is expected to be ready by that point.

Buxton signed a one-year, $5.125 million contract with the Twins on Wednesday to avoid arbitration, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.

The 26-year-old appeared in 39 games during 2020 and showcased his power with 13 home runs, though he also saw his walk rate drop to a minuscule 1.5 percent. The end result was a marginal improvement to an .844 OPS. As always, the question for Buxton is his health, and he missed some time with head and shoulder injuries.

Soler agreed to a one-year, $8.05 million deal with the Royals on Wednesday, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports.

He will return as the Royals' primary designated hitter for the 2021 season. Soler, who turns 29 in February, hit .228/.326/.443 with eight home runs in 43 games last season -- a significant drop off from the .265/.354/.569 line and 48 home runs he logged in 2019. Even if he doesn't bounce all the way back to the statistics he put up in his career year, he should have a secure spot in the heart of the lineup this upcoming season.

Solak will likely win the starting job at second base if he can prove this spring that he can handle the position defensively, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.

The main reason the Rays traded Solak to the Rangers for Pete Fairbanks a couple years ago was because he was seen as a player with limited defensive potential who fit best as a designated hitter. Solak hit .293/.393/.491 in 135 plate appearances as a rookie and .268/.326/.344 in 233 plate appearances in 2020. Rougned Odor would move to a utility role if Solak wins the job this spring, which seems to be the Rangers' preference. There will also be at-bats at third base available early in the season for whoever loses out on the second base job until prospect Josh Jung gets the call.

Rooker (forearm) was cleared to resume swinging a bat Monday, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.

Rooker appears to be making good progress since requiring surgery in late September to address a fractured right forearm. The 26-year-old will likely gradually ramp up the intensity of his workouts throughout the winter with the aim of receiving full clearance ahead of spring training. He'll likely be competing for a spot on the Twins' Opening Day roster in 2021 as a right-handed bench bat.

Lewis was named the AL Rookie of the Year on Monday.

Lewis earned some sleeper buzz heading into the season and went on to surpass expectations, finishing with a .262/.364/.437 slash line while hitting 11 homers and stealing five bases. That was enough to earn him all 30 first-place votes for the award. Luis Robert finished second, picking up 27 second-place votes, with Cristian Javier coming in third.