MLB Player News

Turner rejected the Dodgers' qualifying offer Monday, making him a free agent, Jon Heyman of Today's Knuckleball reports.

Coming off of another productive season at the plate, Turner's decision to decline the one-year offer comes as no surprise. He'll now hit the open market, where he figures to secure a long-term deal from another franchise. Another Dodgers player, Kenley Jansen, also declined the team's qualifying offer Monday, as expected.

Ruf was traded to the Dodgers on Friday along with Darnell Sweeney in exchange for Howie Kendrick.

The 30-year-old fell out of favor in the Phillies' organization, as he failed to capitalize on his opportunities against left-handed pitching in 2016 (.695 OPS) and was passed by Tommy Joseph on the organizational depth chart at first base. He will get a fresh start with the Dodgers although there's not a clear path to at-bats and he's far from a lock to even make the Opening Day roster. Adrian Gonzalez struggled against lefties but a healthy Scott Van Slyke (if he's tendered a contract) may be a better platoon option.

The Pirates and Washington discussed a deal involving McCutchen at the trade deadline last summer, Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reports.

According to Rosenthal, the Pirates wanted outfield prospect Victor Robles along with additional prospects. McCutchen, 30, performed poorly in 2016 but features a reasonable $14 million contract for 2017 and a $14.5 million option the following season. The Mets have also been rumored in trade talks for the outfielder, who may be asked to move from center field to right field in 2017.

Carpenter was told Tuesday that he will enter the 2017 season as the Cardinals' first baseman, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

The Cardinals thought that the jumbled infield contributed to the team's uneven play throughout the year, so they decided to commit Carpenter to one position right out of the gate. This move definitely hurts Matt Adams' fantasy value, but it means that Jhonny Peralta and Jedd Gyorko will likely get to compete for St. Louis' starting third base job. All in all for Carpenter, however, it doesn't affect his value a ton for the 2017 campaign given his enormous position eligibility he'll carry over from 2016, but it could drop his 2018 stock considerably for those in dynasty leagues, as he'll now have to outperform big boppers like Edwin Encarnacion to garner fantasy value as a first baseman.

Cespedes received a qualifying offer from the Mets on Monday, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.

Cespedes already opted out of the last two years of his contract with New York, so there's little to no chance that he'll accept this offer either. The 31-year-old will likely command a high price on the free agent market, although the draft pick that needs to be sacrificed in order to add him certainly doesn't add to his value.

Turner received a qualifying offer from the Dodgers on Monday, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.

Turner put together another productive season at the plate for Los Angeles, meaning that he'll likely decline this offer. However, the 31-year-old's market value will likely take a hit now that he'll also cost his signing team a draft pick.

As expected, Cespedes officially opted out of the final two years and $47.5 million remaining on his contract with the Mets on Saturday, Adam Rubin of ESPN reports.

In an injury-shortened 2016 campaign, Cespedes tallied 31 home runs and 86 RBI while hitting .280 across 132 games. The 31-year-old figures to garner a big pay day on the open market, as he will no doubt be one of the top outfield options available.

Brantley (shoulder) is expected to resume baseball activities in December, and the team anticipates that he'll be ready for spring training.

Some reports cropped up that Brantley might miss some of the 2017 season due to his current shoulder ailment, but the Indians are sticking with the expectation that his injury will be a thing of the past in a month or so. That being said, Brantley's status is one to keep an eye on over the offseason, as the rate at which he recovers could determine his availability in the beginning of the season, as well as his ability to play the outfield during the spring.

Cespedes will likely opt out of the two years and $47.5 million remaining on his contract with the Mets, Adam Rubin of ESPN reports.

Cespedes continued to produce in 2016 despite a Mets lineup that declined, notching 31 home runs and 86 RBI in an injury-shortened 132-game campaign. Assuming the opt-out occurs, he should garner a big payday on the open market as one of the top outfielder options available.

Harper is doing fine physically and is on track to begin his normal offseason strength and conditioning work soon, according to agent Scott Boras, Jon Morosi of FOX Sports reports.

The 24-year-old's uneven play throughout the summer months led to much speculation about his health, and Sports Illustrated reported in September that Harper had indeed been playing through a neck/shoulder issue for a significant portion of the season. While manager Dusty Baker strongly denied the report, Boras recently confirmed to the Washington Post that Harper "played with limitations at times this year, no question."