MLB Player News

The Athletics acquired Muller from Atlanta on Monday in a three-team deal which also involved the Brewers, Kiley McDaniel of ESPN.com reports.

Details of the trade are still emerging, but most notably, Atlanta acquired Sean Murphy and Milwaukee received William Contreras. Prospects Freddy Tarnok and Esteury Ruiz are going to Oakland alongside Muller, who was arguably Atlanta's top prospect. The left-handed starter struggled in three big-league appearances in 2022, but his Triple-A performance-3.41 ERA, 159:40 K:BB and a 1.18 WHIP in 134.2 innings inspire confidence in him becoming an effective big leaguer. Atlanta's strong rotation may have kept Muller in the minors longer than he needed. Oakland, on the other hand, figures to work Muller into its starting mix to begin the 2023 season.

Heaney's signing of a two-year, $25 million contract with the Rangers was formally announced by the team Friday.

Heaney reportedly turned down more money from other clubs in order to sign with Texas, which is close to his native Oklahoma. With the help of a new slider, the left-hander tallied a 3.10 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 110:19 K:BB ratio over 72.2 innings for the Dodgers in 2022. Heaney will remain a major health risk in 2023 but should be useful in fantasy leagues when on the mound.

Heaney signed a two-year, $25 million deal with the Rangers on Tuesday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

Heaney missed significant time but posted a 3.10 ERA and 1.09 WHIP with the Dodgers in 2022 -- career bests in both categories. If Heaney can maintain anything close to the 13.6 K/9 he recorded last season, there is still upside with the 31-year-old lefty.

Kaprielian underwent offseason surgery to repair the AC joint in his right shoulder, Evan Webeck of The Mercury News reports.

Kaprielian's rehab is reportedly proceeding as expected, and he's on track to be ready for the start of spring training. "It's something that he dealt with in the past," said manager Mark Kotsay. "I don't think it's a concern. I think it's something the organization and him felt strongly about moving forward with." Kotsay noted that although Kaprielian's rehab is going well, he doesn't yet have an exact timeline for when the right-hander will be back at 100 percent. His status will be worth monitoring as spring camp approaches.

Espino, who was originally shut down in May with patellar tendinitis, ended up missing the rest of the season with a sore right shoulder, Mandy Bell of MLB.com reports.

It was generally accepted that some other non-knee injury must have popped up to keep Espino from making any starts in 2022 beyond April. There's no doubting Espino's stuff, but he now has a lot of developmental time to make up and he needs to build back up his workload after throwing just 18.1 innings in four April starts at Double-A and failing to make it back in time for fall or winter ball. Given Cleveland's impressive rotation depth, Espino may not make his MLB debut until 2024.

Gibson signed a one-year deal with the Orioles on Saturday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

Gibson has been eating innings at the big-league level for a full decade, but how much remains in the tank ahead of his age-35 season is unclear. His 5.05 ERA last season means he's finished above 5.00 in that category in two of the last three seasons, though he did post a 3.71 ERA in 2021 and hasn't seen a big drop in velocity. His 20.1 percent strikeout rate in 2022 was below average as usual, though allowing plenty of contact isn't quite as dangerous as it used to be in Baltimore now that the left-field fence has been pushed back. The veteran righty should have a good shot at a spot near the back of the Orioles' rotation to open the year, but his age means the bottom could fall out at any time without much warning.

DeGrom signed a five-year, $185 million contract with the Rangers on Friday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

The contract includes a conditional sixth year that would make the deal worth $222 million. He has a full no-trade clause. The commitment from ownership in Texas has been quite impressive, as they laid out $556 million for Corey Seager, Marcus Semien and Jon Gray last offseason. DeGrom unsurprisingly opted for a longer contract than he might have been offered by other teams, as durability is the only question mark with him. The 34-year-old righty logged a 3.08 ERA, 2.13 FIP and 0.75 WHIP in 64.1 innings last season with the Mets after dealing with a shoulder injury for the first four months. He dealt with an elbow injury in 2021. According to Statcast park factors, Globe Life Field is the 19th most hitter-friendly park while Citi Field ranked 26th, so it's a slight park downgrade and a major supporting cast downgrade.

Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins said Thursday the team wants to "learn more and see more" before locking Kikuchi into the rotation for 2023, Rob Longley of the Toronto Sun reports.

Kikuchi joined Toronto on a three-year, $36 million deal in March and endured a rough first season with the team, as he finished with a 5.19 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and 124:58 K:BB across 100.2 innings. He started in 20 of 32 appearances but also struggled in his 12 relief outings. The Blue Jays may need to add a couple starters in free agency for Kikuchi to comfortably be kept out of the rotation in 2023 since Hyun Jin Ryu (elbow) won't be available until the second half of the season, at least.

Eflin signed a three-year, $40 million contract with the Rays on Thursday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

Eflin declined a $15 million mutual option with the Phillies for the 2023 season to head to free agency. He's now rewarded with a long-term deal in Tampa Bay and will presumably be a significant part of their rotation plans for the length of the contract. Eflin has been limited by injuries the last two seasons, combining to maintain a 4.12 ERA with a 164:31 K:BB across 181.1 innings.

Boyd agreed to a one-year, $10 million contract with the Tigers on Thursday, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.

The left-hander spent most of 2022 recovering from the flexor tendon surgery he underwent in September of the previous year, but he returned as a reliever for the final month of the campaign in Seattle and had a 1.35 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 13:8 K:BB over 13.1 innings. Boyd will now return to Detroit, where he spent the prior six-plus seasons. He was pitching well in 2021 prior to the injury with a 3.89 ERA across 15 starts, and a return to that form would be a major boost to the Tigers' starting rotation.