MLB Player News

Torres and the Brewers avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year contract on Friday.

Financial figures of the pact were not disclosed, but the agreement ties Torres to the Brewers for another year. Torres is coming off the best season of his career, one in which he posted a 2.73 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, and 78:30 K:BB over 82.1 innings. Those numbers will garner Torres consideration for the closer's role if Milwaukee is unable to add a reliever in free agency, but he owns just four saves over 281 big-league appearances, so it's more likely that he begins the campaign as part of the group that will bridge the gap between the starters and the to-be-named closer.

Smith agreed to a one-year deal with the Giants on Friday, avoiding arbitration, CSN Bay Area's Alex Pavlovic reports.

The terms of the agreement were not disclosed. He saw some looks late last season as a potential closer for the Giants, but will move back to a more comfortable role setting up closer Mark Melancon in 2017. Smith will become a free agent after the 2019 season.

Hand agreed to a one-year deal with the Padres on Friday, avoiding arbitration.

The terms of the agreement were not made public. Hand officially transferred to a relief role last season and was quite successful, posting a 2.92 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 111:36 K:BB in 89.1 innings out of the bullpen. He should continue to pitch in high-leverage spots this season, but Brandon Maurer figures to open the year as the team's closer, so saves won't be readily available.

Gomez and the Phillies avoided arbitration on Friday with a $4.2 million deal, Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Gomez had an excellent season as the Phillies' closer derailed by an awful September, a month in which he allowed 17 of his 37 earned runs on the season, adding up to a 4.85 ERA. Still, the arbitration system loves saves, of which Gomez had 37, so he'll nab nearly a $3 million raise in his third year of arbitration eligibility.

Fields and the Dodgers avoided arbitration Friday with a one-year, $1.05 million deal, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

Fields' career has been a case study in underperforming his peripherals, as his career 2.99 FIP is more than a run under his 4.34 ERA. He'll return to the Dodgers in a middle relief role in 2017.

Maurer and the Padres avoided arbitration with a one-year, $1.9 million settlement, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Maurer's 4.52 ERA in 2016 doesn't look great for a closer at first glance, but he quickly shaped up once he started regularly seeing work in the ninth inning. He posted a 3.09 ERA and a 5.0 K/BB in 32 innings once he assumed closing duties, numbers that should make the Padres comfortable in handing him the job for 2017.

Edgin and the Mets avoided arbitration Friday, Adam Rubin of ESPN reports.

After logging at least 20 innings in each season between 2012 and 2014, Edgin saw zero innings in 2015 and just 10.1 in 2016, allowing six earned runs and also walking six, so don't expect his role with the Mets to increase much this season.

Coleman signed a minor league deal with the Reds on Tuesday, FanRag Sports' Jon Heyman reports.

It is unclear if this deal includes an invite to spring training. Coleman posted a 4.69 ERA, 1.44 WHIP and 45 strikeouts in 48 innings with the Dodgers last season, leading to him being non-tendered earlier this offseason. While the Reds lack impressive organizational bullpen depth, Coleman is unlikely to compete for high-leverage innings.

Beato signed a minor league contract with the Phillies on Saturday, Rich Dubroff of PressBoxOnline reports.

The 30-year-old right-hander made 65 relief appearances at Triple-A Norfolk in the Orioles' organization last season, notching a 2.65 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP with 62 strikeouts. While those are strong numbers, the fact that he's heading to the Phillies on a minor league deal suggests that it'll take some bullpen attrition at the major league level for him to be added to the 40-man roster.

Hudson signed a two-year, $11 million contract with the Pirates on Monday, Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports reports.

While Hudson produced an ugly 5.22 ERA and 1.44 WHIP over 60.1 innings with the Diamondbacks last season, the right-hander flashed the skills that suggested he could become a dominant reliever. Hudson had an average fastball velocity of nearly 96 miles per hour and struck out almost a batter per inning last season, so if pitching coach Ray Searage can work his magic and help Hudson improve his secondary offerings, he could show vast improvement with his numbers. For the time being, Tony Watson is the frontrunner to open the season as the Pirates' closer, but Hudson may rank as the top challenger out of the bullpen. He briefly served as the Diamondbacks' closer in the final month of the season to promising results, generating three saves and a 1.54 ERA over 11.2 innings.