MLB Player News

The Yankees announced Wednesday that Garcia signed a minor-league contract with the organization that includes an invitation to big-league spring training.

The 34-year-old Garcia has seen big-league action with the Phillies, Angels and Rangers over parts of the last eight seasons, compiling a 4.26 ERA and a 8.8 K-BB% for his career. Even if he's able to secure a spot in the Yankees' Opening Day bullpen, Garcia will be ticketed for a low-leverage role and won't offer much fantasy value, even in AL-only leagues that count holds as a category.

Beeks (elbow) was placed on the 60-day injured list Wednesday, Neil Solondz of the Rays Radio Network reports.

Beeks is expected to miss most or all of the 2021 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in late August, so the move is simply procedural with pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training Wednesday. Beeks' placement on the 60-day IL will clear room for left-hander Jeffrey Springs and right-hander Chris Mazza, who were acquired from the Red Sox on Wednesday via trade.

Leclerc is healthy after tearing a muscle behind his shoulder last season, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports.

That's good news for the Rangers, but they can't be sure if the right-hander can recapture the form of his breakthrough 2018 season. There's nothing meaningful to be gleaned from 2020, when Leclerc was limited to two appearances, but opposing hitters made better contact against him in 2019. It will be hard to gauge Leclerc's progress during spring training, when hitters are typically behind pitchers, but the team is looking at the right-hander to be its closer in 2021.

Diekman remains the likeliest choice for primary closer in 2021, but manager Bob Melvin has noted he may sometimes utilize the left-hander prior to the ninth inning, Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The departed Liam Hendriks was the unquestioned closer in 2020, but Diekman certainly put on a pretty convincing impression by allowing just one earned run across 21 innings while posting a 0.94 WHIP, 36.8 percent strikeout rate and 96.8 percent strand rate as a seventh- and eighth-inning option. Melvin's recent comments about not always limiting his use of the veteran southpaw to the ninth inning lends some ambiguity to the situation as spring training begins, however, and with other experienced candidates such as Sergio Romo, J.B. Wendelken and Burch Smith (forearm) also available, Diekman may be in line to eventually share some save opportunities.

Patino, who was acquired in the Blake Snell trade with the Padres this offseason, will be given a legitimate opportunity to earn a spot in the Rays' starting rotation during spring training, Jim Bowden of The Athletic reports.

Bowden lists Patino as one of two Rays candidates for rookies most likely to make Opening Day rosters, although he adds it wouldn't necessarily be a surprise to see the hard-throwing right-hander open up at Triple-A Durham due to service-time considerations. In addition to his impressive pitch arsenal, Patino has some big-league experience to fall back on, having logged 14 total appearances, including the playoffs, for the Padres in 2020. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times notes Patino's upper 90s fastball and wicked slider make the 21-year-old one of the most intriguing young prospects to monitor in spring training, especially with manager Kevin Cash's out-of-the-box track record with the management of his staff and the durability questions that plague the team's multiple veteran offseason pitching additions.

Herget was designated for assignment Tuesday, Kennedi Landry of the Rangers' official site reports.

Herget was shuttled off the 40-man roster in order to make room for Josh Sborz, whom Texas acquired in trade from the Dodgers. He was a serviceable reliever for the Rangers in 2020, making 20 appearances and posting a 3.20 ERA despite walking 6.4 batters per nine innings.

Hamilton cleared waivers Tuesday and will join the Twins as a non-roster invitee, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.

Hamilton has been a part of four different organizations dating back to last September, but he'll finally get to settle down in one spot for now, albeit not as a member of any team's 40-man roster. He'll have a tough time claiming an Opening Day roster spot but could join the team down the line if injuries open up a bullpen job.

Sborz was shipped from the Dodgers to the Rangers in exchange for Jhan Zambrano on Tuesday.

Previous reports indicated Sborz had passed through waivers and would remain with the Dodgers, but that's evidently not the case. He finds himself in a landing spot where it should be much easier to earn a big-league job, but his track record (a 6.08 ERA in just 13.1 career MLB innings) remains unimpressive even for a Rangers reliever.

Puk, who underwent shoulder surgery in mid-September, is expected to start the season out of the bullpen in order to manage his workload, Shayna Rubin of The Mercury News reports.

This news contradicts early December reports that Puk projected to break camp as a member of the starting rotation, and there could conceivably be a change of plans yet again before spring training concludes. However, given the towering southpaw already underwent Tommy John surgery in 2018 and has subsequently dealt with frequent shoulder issues, it certainly would be understandable if the organization erred on the side of caution. Puk didn't need any repairs during the cleanup procedure and was already projected to be ready for spring training since shortly after the operation, so he should be able to give manager Bob Melvin and his staff plenty of opportunity for evaluation over the coming weeks.

Lange will be competing for a bullpen spot with the Tigers this spring, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

Lange is one of several young Detroit arms who will be vying for one of the final bullpen spots. The 25-year-old, who came to the Tigers in the Nicholas Castellanos trade, has yet to appear above the Double-A level. He will likely begin the 2021 campaign with Triple-A Toledo and could get a shot in the majors at some point during the season.