MLB Player News

Henry signed a minor-league contract with San Diego on Monday, Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports.

Henry spent the 2022 campaign with Double-A San Antonio, accruing a 5.31 ERA and 1.78 WHIP with an 83:55 K:BB across 79.2 frames. He'll be a candidate to begin the 2023 campaign with Triple-A El Paso considering he pitched at Double-A throughout the 2021 season.

The Brewers acquired Payamps from Oakland on Monday in a three-team deal with Atlanta, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

Monday's trade also involved Sean Murphy to Atlanta and William Contreras to Milwaukee, among other components. Payamps was an effective reliever in 2022, posting a 3.23 ERA and 41:16 K:BB in 55.2 innings between Kansas City and Oakland. He figures to handle low-leverage work in the Brewers' bullpen in 2023.

Manaea signed a two-year, $25 million contract with the Giants on Monday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Manaea will remain in the NL West after spending the 2022 campaign with the Padres, going 8-9 while posting a 4.96 ERA and 1.30 WHIP with 156 strikeouts over 158 innings in 30 appearances, including 28 starts. The 30-year-old will provide the Giants with another left-handed option in their starting rotation behind ace Logan Webb. In 2023, Manaea will look to bring his pitching numbers back down closer to his career 3.86 ERA and 1.20 WHIP that he had produced over his first five seasons in the MLB prior to 2022.

Strahm's signing of a two-year, $15 million contract with the Phillies was formally announced by the team Friday.

It's a nice raise for Strahm, who pitched under a one-year, $3 million deal with the Red Sox in 2022. He earned the multi-year pact after posting a 3.83 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 52:17 K:BB across 44.2 innings. The southpaw should serve in a setup role for Philadelphia.

Robertson signed a one-year, $10 million contract with the Mets on Thursday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

Robertson missed the entirety of 2020 and the majority of the 2021 season due to Tommy John surgery. However, he returned to good health in 2022 with 63.2 innings and tallied 20 saves while splitting the season between the Cubs and Phillies. He won't be in line for save opportunities with the Mets barring an injury to Edwin Diaz, though Robertson will be a proven setup option in a bullpen that is otherwise lacking high-leverage relievers.

Bracho agreed to a minor-league contract with the Reds on Thursday that includes an invitation to major-league spring training.

Bracho was let go by Atlanta in November and will now have a chance to secure a roster spot in Cincinnati. The 30-year-old appeared in three big-league games in 2022 and spent most of the campaign at the Triple-A level, where he had a 2.67 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 70:10 K:BB across 57.1 innings.

Atlanta acquired Jimenez from the Tigers on Wednesday in exchange for minor-league infielder-outfielder Justyn-Henry Malloy, minor league left-handed pitcher Jake Higginbotham and cash considerations.

Jimenez finally broke through for the Tigers in 2022, producing a 3.49 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 77:13 K:BB ratio over 56.2 innings. He figures to slide into a middle-relief role for Atlanta and will be arbitration eligible for a final time this winter.

Rodriguez was selected by the Cardinals during the Rule 5 draft Wednesday, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

Rodriguez inked a minor-league deal with the Yankees in August but didn't pitch in the organization in 2022 before being grabbed by the Cardinals. The 32-year-old hasn't been in affiliated baseball since 2015, when he covered 10.2 innings at the Triple-A level. Rodriguez most recently worked in the Mexican League over the summer and had a 2.01 ERA and 73:13 K:BB across 44.2 innings.

Varland was selected by the Brewers with the 14th overall pick in the 2022 Rule 5 draft, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Varland spent the last two seasons at Double-A Tulsa and posted a 6.04 ERA and 1.58 WHIP in 104.1 innings over 57 appearances (21 starts). Despite his lackluster results overall, he had some more success after moving to the bullpen last year, so it's possible the Brewers utilize him in that capacity this season.

Ward was selected by the Nationals with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 Rule 5 draft, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.

Ward missed the start of the 2022 campaign after undergoing Tommy John surgery in June 2021, but he returned to game action in early August. He made 13 total starts in the minors last year and posted a 2.28 ERA and 1.15 WHIP in 51.1 innings. After dealing with an oblique injury to close out the 2022 season, he should be back to full health in time for spring training in 2023. Ward will be stretched out as a starter this spring but will likely spend most of 2023 as a long reliever. However, general manager Mike Rizzo said Wednesday that the team sees the right-hander as a starter in the long run, per Zuckerman.