MLB Player News

The Mets' lukewarm pursuit of Cespedes is now over, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports.

The Mets' signing of Alejandro De Aza in essence was the final nail in the coffin, as they are now looking for a right-handed hitter as a support component rather than a big ticket item like Cespedes. This news is not a big shock, as the Mets were reportedly only interested if they could land Cespedes on a 2-3 year deal, rather than the 5-6 years he is pursuing. Cespedes' market has yet to heat up but the Giants, Angels, Tigers and White Sox have all been linked to him.

Choi was selected by the Angels in the major league portion of the Rule 5 draft on Thursday, JJ Cooper of Baseball America reports.

Choi has spent six years in the Mariners' minor league system, and in 2015 he played 18 games with Triple-A Tacoma. He batted .298/.403/.421 with 17 hits and 16 RBI's in those 18 games. He hasn't shown a ton of power in his career but he's been an efficient bat a majority of the time. He'll start the 2016 season behind Albert Pujols, CJ Cron, and possibly Efren Navarro.

Butxon could begin the 2016 season in the minors, manager Paul Molitor told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "There will be a question about whether Triple-A at-bats are needed for him to start the season or will he make an impression that will be so favorable that we will lean to go with him right out of the chute," Molitor said in remarks to the media at the MLB winter meetings.

It seems unlikely that Buxton would begin the season in the minors given that the Twins traded away Aaron Hicks this winter, but he did struggle in his first exposure to the majors last season. Buxton hit just .209 with a .576 OPS in the majors and looked overmatched as he was often lost and free swinging at the plate. He had an ugly 6:44 BB:K ratio in stark contrast to his minor league career where he showed impressive control of the strike zone. Eddie Rosario could begin the season in center field, but the odds are still high that Buxton wins the job in spring training as the organization's top prospect.

Belt (concussion) was fully cleared by doctors to resume his normal offseason program, Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area reports.

Belt was shut down at the tail end of the 2015 season due to lingering concussion symptoms. With a few months of recovery, he has been fully cleared to resume his offseason activities. Belt also underwent a procedure to repair a torn meniscus in his knee, but he has fully recovered from that as well. He should enter 2016 healthy, and the starting first baseman for the Giants.

Stanton (broken hamate bone) has begun swinging pain-free and is expected to be healthy heading into spring training, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports.

According to the report, Stanton has begun to "rev up" his hitting program, which is taking place in California. Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill seemed optimistic regarding Stanton's health saying, "He took 60 swings off the tee, which is just part of the first step in his offseason hitting program" adding, "he said he felt great." Amidst a tumultuous offseason, the Marlins are in desperate need of some good news and the slugger's health sure seems to qualify as such. However, considering Stanton has played in more than 123 games just twice in six major league seasons, fantasy players fixated on his first-round upside should proceed with caution.

McCutchen has had a "normal" offseason, saying he feels "100 percent healthy, has been working out regularly and has no (surgical) procedures planned," the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports.

McCutchen played through knee pain for much of 2015, even taking games off in spring training. The center fielder batted .185/.280/.293 in his first 107 plate appearances before turning in a typical campaign at the plate. He finished with just 11 steals, however, the lowest number in his career -- and it remains to be seen whether that drop off is permanent at age 29.

The Indians announced Monday that Brantley is on track in his recovery from shoulder surgery and is not facing an absence longer than originally expected.

A report came out Monday that suggested Brantley could be out until June, but the Indians reiterated that they expect Brantley to need 5-to-6 months to recover from the early November procedure. There is still a chance Brantley will not be ready for Opening Day, but as long as his recovery continues going as planned, he should be back at 100 percent sometime in April or May.

Brantley (shoulder) may be held out of games until June, but the Indians have disputed that report, according to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

The report of the longer timetable is from a source close to the situation. Nevertheless, Brantley is coming back from a major shoulder procedure (on his front shoulder) and it's reasonable to err on the side of caution in early drafts at least until there are signs of significant progress in his rehab work.

Choi signed a minor league contract with the Orioles on Tuesday, MASN's Roch Kubatko reports.

The 24-year-old first base prospect washed out of the Mariners system, but the Orioles thought enough of him to extend an invite to spring training. He has always shown a good approach in the minor leagues, but he probably doesn't have quite enough bat to make it as a big league regular at first base.

Harper said Thursday that he's open to a contract extension with the Nationals, the team's website reports. "I'm definitely excited to be part of the Nationals organization," said Harper. "I think that being able to play in [Nationals Park], this city, this town, around the fans, it's such a great place to play. Baseball is up and coming... I'm very excited to further my career with the Nationals. I have a couple of more years in D.C., and then hopefully at the end of that, we can do what we can and I can be a National for life, hopefully."

He's not eligible for free agency for another three years, but Harper is headed for some big arbitration awards before then if he isn't locked up. Mike Trout signed a six-year, $144.5 million extension in 2014 that bought out his arbitration years, and given his numbers last year and the fact that Scott Boras is his agent, you can expect Harper to look for something better than that if the Nats want to follow suit.