MLB Player News

Heaney signed a one-year, $8.5 million deal with the Dodgers on Monday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

Heaney had a very poor 2021 season, at least judging by his 5.83 ERA. The ERA estimators all liked him far more than that, however, with SIERA (3.84) and xERA (4.01) being the most optimistic. The Dodgers clearly believe there's still something there for the 30-year-old lefty, whose 26.9 percent strikeout rate and 7.3 percent walk rate were both quite good. He needs to cut the homers to be an effective starter, however, and his 33.1 percent groundball rate suggests he may not be able to take a large step forward in that area, though some positive regression in his 18.1 percent HR/FB rate should help somewhat.

The Cubs exercised Miley's (neck) $10 million option for 2022 on Sunday, Russell Dorsey of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

This move comes as no surprise after the Cubs claimed Miley from Cincinnati's waivers Friday. The lefty will be 35 years old when the 2022 campaign begins and he'll be coming off a neck injury, but he's also coming off an excellent 2021 season in which he posted a 3.37 ERA and 1.33 WHIP in 163 innings. Even if he regresses next year, Miley still figures to be a bargain at $10 million.

Overton (shoulder) was outrighted to Triple-A Indianapolis on Saturday.

Overton made his big-league debut in 2021, posting an unremarkable 4.70 ERA in three starts and six relief appearances. He hit the injured list with a strained shoulder in late September, though he's expected to resume throwing sometime in November, giving him plenty of time to be ready to go by spring training.

Lodolo will compete for a spot in the Reds' 2022 rotation, according to general manager Nick Krall, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

Krall said that Lodolo, along with Hunter Greene and Reiver Sanmartin, will compete for one of the two vacant spots. Greene and Lodolo are two of the Reds' best prospects, so they could become trendy fantasy fliers if they pitch well in spring training. The 23-year-old lefty logged a 1.84 ERA in 10 starts at Double-A and an inflated 5.40 ERA in three starts at Triple-A.

Greene will compete for a spot in the Reds' 2022 rotation, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

The Reds' top pitching prospect did what he could in 2021 to prove his readiness for the majors, logging a 1.98 ERA in seven starts at Double-A and a 4.13 ERA as a 22-year-old at Triple-A. Throwing enough strikes will be the key for Greene to break through with the big-league club early next season. There are at least two rotation spots currently up for grabs, and Greene will be competing primarily with Nick Lodolo and Reiver Sanmartin.

Miley (neck) was claimed off waivers by the Cubs on Friday.

The veteran lefty's underlying numbers may not fully support his 3.37 ERA this season, but seeing him land on waivers was still a surprise. He didn't strike out many batters (18.1 percent), but he avoided walks (7.2 percent) and kept the ball on the ground at a 49.4 percent clip, leading to a 3.97 FIP and 4.07 xFIP. If his ERA regresses to match those estimators next season, the Cubs will likely still be quite happy to have him at a modest $10 million, though there's of course some risk that he regresses far more than that in his age-35 season. Miley missed the tail end of the regular season with a neck strain, but there's been no indication that it's the type of injury which will delay his preparation for spring training.

The Diamondbacks have exercised Kelly's $5.25 million club option for 2022, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports.

Kelly was limited to five games during the shortened 2020 campaign, but he made 27 starts in 2021 and posted a 4.44 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 130:41 K:BB across 158 innings. The 33-year-old should enter spring training with a secure spot in Arizona's 2022 starting rotation.

Fried (1-1) allowed four hits and no walks while striking out six in six scoreless innings to earn the win over the Astros in Game 6 of the World Series on Tuesday.

Fried had given up at least five runs in each of his last two appearances, but he bounced back Tuesday to help Atlanta clinch its first World Series title since 1995. The southpaw made five starts during the 2021 postseason and posted a 4.23 ERA and 1.19 WHIP in 27.2 innings.

May (elbow) played catch for the first time Monday since undergoing Tommy John surgery, per his personal Twitter account.

May went under the knife in May after suffering a UCL injury, and he's since been cleared to resume throwing. It typically takes at least one year to fully recover from this procedure, so the flamethrower is in store for a lengthy rehab stint.

Anderson picked up the win in Game 3 of the World Series against the Astros on Friday, tossing five hitless, scoreless innings while walking three and striking out four.

In a very 2021 move, Anderson was pulled without having allowed a hit after throwing just 76 pitches. He didn't have great control, as just 39 of those pitches (51.3 percent) were strikes, and he'd already hit a batter in addition to his trio of walks, so manager Brian Snitker evidently didn't trust him to maintain that level of performance with the top of the Astros' order due up for the third time. The Atlanta bullpen finished the job with four scoreless innings, so the move looks like the correct one.