MLB Player News

Ferrell signed a minor league contract Friday to return to the Tigers, George Sipple of the Detroit Free Press reports.

Ferrell opted for free agency in October after being DFA'd by the Tigers, but he will return to the club he's spent his entire career with. He posted a 7.36 ERA with Triple-A Toledo in 2016, though he pitched just 7.1 innings over six games. He'll likely return to Toledo next season.

Dahlstrand has signed a minor league contract with the Red Sox, the Boston Globe reports.

The 24-year-old right-hander will remain with the only organization he's known, for an eighth season. Dahlstrand made eight starts in 2016 as he worked his way back from Tommy John surgery, and the results with Double-A Portland (6.05 ERA) suggest he hadn't quite regained a feel for his pitches. He will likely spend most (if not all) of 2017 at the upper levels of the minor leagues.

Smoral was selected by the Rangers in the Triple-A phase of the Rule 5 draft Thursday.

The former first-round draft pick has been riddled with injuries since signing with Toronto in 2012, producing just one season so far with more than 30 innings pitched (2014). Even when he was healthy last season, the results weren't pretty, posting a 13.15 ERA in 11 appearances with Low-A Vancouver during 2016. Although the 22-year-old has proven to be effective at missing bats and generating strikeouts, he has struggled mightily with his control, as evidenced by his 11.08 BB/9 last season. Smoral continues to showcase potential, but he will need to stay healthy and hone in his command in order to advance from the Rangers' farm system to the majors.

Kiekhefer cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Tacoma on Friday.

The left-hander had a brief cup of coffee with the Cardinals last season, but he had nowhere near the success that he experienced in the minors (sub-3.00 ERA in three seasons at Triple-A). Kiekhefer will likely act as organizational depth unless some major turmoil crops up at the major league level.

Jerez was designated for assignment by the Red Sox on Thursday.

In an effort to make room on their roster for the newly-signed Mitch Moreland, Boston opted to designate Jerez for assignment. Jerez spent all of 2016 at Double-A Portland, where he threw for a 4.71 ERA and 1.54 WHIP over 40 games (65 innings).

Hauschild was selected by the Rangers with the 16th pick in the Rule 5 draft Thursday.

The 6-foot-3 righty is coming off an impressive season at Triple-A, posting a 3.22 ERA and 119:40 K:BB in 139.2 innings (24 starts). However, as a 26-year-old who will turn 27 before the start of the season and has never reached the big leagues, he has swingman/emergency starter upside. Look for him to be used as a mop-up man for the Rangers if he makes the roster out of camp. He will need to be kept on the active roster all season, otherwise he will be subjected to waivers and offered back to the Astros.

Mariners manager Scott Servais hinted that he's unlikely to vary the role of Diaz in 2017 to mimic the way the Indians utilized Andrew Miller in the 2016 postseason, the Tacoma News Tribune reports.

Servais cited days off in the postseason schedule as part of the reason that tactic is more effective during that playoffs than it would be during the regular season. Diaz will open the 2017 season as the Mariners' closer, with the potential to emerge as one of the best ninth-inning options in the game after he ripped off 18 saves in 21 chances as a rookie last season with an impressive 88:15 K:BB (51.2 innings).

Covey (oblique) was selected by the White Sox with the ninth pick in the Rule 5 draft Thursday.

Covey has back-of-the-rotation upside, but he is not ready to turn over a big league lineup. The 25-year-old righty has just 29.1 innings of experience above High-A, and while his 1.84 ERA at Double-A looks nice, he posted an ugly 26:17 K:BB in that span. The White Sox will need to keep him on the active roster all season, otherwise he will be exposed to waivers and offered back to the A's. An oblique injury ended his 2016 season in May, but he should be ready for the start of spring training. Look for Covey to be used occasionally as a mop-up man in 2017.

Betances will move back into a setup role in 2017 with the Yankees' re-signing of Aroldis Chapman.

If he were getting steady saves, Betances has the strikeout ability and ratios necessary to become a top-five closer, but instead he'll be used as part of the bridge to get the ball to Chapman in the ninth inning. Even without save opportunities, Betances is a useful staff filler in many formats, but his value takes an understandably large hit as a result of Chapman's return.

Chapman inked a five-year, $86 million contract with the Yankees on Wednesday evening, Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reports.

The Yankees dealt Chapman to the Cubs before the 2016 trade deadline and he locked down the ninth inning for the eventual World Series champs. After posting an immaculate 1.01 ERA and 0.83 WHIP over 28 regular-season appearances with the Cubs, the left-handed fireballer struggled a bit in the postseason, allowing six runs over 15.2 innings. Regardless, he will retake his role as the closer for New York in the coming season, while his signing will push Dellin Betances back to a setup job.