MLB Player News

Cecconi was traded from Arizona to the Guardians on Saturday in exchange for Josh Naylor, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

Cecconi appeared in 20 games for the Diamondbacks last season, with 13 of those outings coming as a starter. He put up poor numbers with a 6.66 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 18.9 percent strikeout rate over 77 innings, but his FIP was better at 5.02, and he ranked in the 92nd percentile leaguewide with a 5.0 percent walk rate. Cecconi could begin 2025 at the back end of Cleveland's rotation or continue to serve in a swingman role.

The Red Sox signed Sandoval (elbow) to a two-year, $18.25 million contract Friday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

Sandoval underwent internal brace surgery in June and was non-tendered by the Angels last month. He will be sidelined until the second half of the 2025 season but nonetheless landed a contract from the Red Sox. It's a fit that makes sense on paper, as Sandoval has strong secondary pitches but a weak fastball, and the Red Sox's staff leaned on non-fastballs in 2024 under the guidance of new pitching coach Andrew Bailey.

The Reds claimed Contreras off waivers from the Rangers on Thursday.

It's the second time this offseason that Contreras has been on the move via the waivers process, as he previously went from the Angels to the Rangers. The 25-year-old held a 4.35 ERA and 56:31 K:BB over 68.1 innings between the Pirates and Angels in 2024. Contreras has experience as a starting pitcher and reliever, though it's not clear which role the Reds have in mind for him.

Soroka agreed to terms on a one-year, $9 million contract with the Nationals on Thursday, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports.

Soroka started last season with a 6.39 ERA and 1.51 WHIP after nine starts with the White Sox. His performance improved dramatically after moving to the bullpen, posting a 2.75 ERA and 1.22 WHIP alongside a 60:20 K:BB over 36 frames as a reliever. The Nationals will attempt to transition Soroka back into a starting role, per Andrew Golden of The Washington Post, but given the 27-year-old's injury history and the fact he hasn't reached 100 innings since 2019, the Nationals may look to limit his workload.

Lorenzen's agent, Ryan Hamill, is marketing his client as a two-way player this offseason, with the goal of gaining a two-way roster designation, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

The only major league player to qualify for two-way status since it was introduced in 2020 is Shohei Ohtani. A player with the designation does not count against a team's 13-pitcher limit on their 26-man roster, effectively allowing them to serve as a 14th pitcher. Lorenzen's plan is to sign with a club -- likely a non-contender -- and then accrue 20-plus innings as a pitcher and play 20-plus games as a position player or designated hitter (with at least three plate appearances in each game), which would meet the necessary criteria for two-way status. Gaining the two-way designation would, in theory, make Lorenzen an attractive trade target for a contending club keen on taking advantage of having an extra pitcher on their roster. Lorenzen has not hit in a major-league game since 2021 and hasn't had more than one plate appearance since 2019, but he boasts a career .710 OPS with seven home runs over 321 plate appearances. He was an effective rotation piece for the Rangers and Royals last year with a 3.31 ERA across 130.1 innings during the regular season.

Canning signed a one-year, $4.25 million contract with the Mets on Wednesday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

Canning made 32 appearances (31 starts) for the Angels last season, accumulating a 5.19 ERA and 1.40 WHIP alongside a 130:66 K:BB over 171.2 innings. He could compete with Tylor Megill for the final spot in New York's rotation during spring training, depending on the health of Paul Blackburn (back) and how successful Clay Holmes is in transitioning to a starting role.

The Royals and Wright (shoulder) avoid arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $1.8 million contract Tuesday, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

Wright will make the same salary in 2025 as he made in 2024 when he missed the season while recovering from surgery to repair a torn capsule in his right shoulder. The right-hander has been throwing off a mound and hopes to be without restrictions during spring training as he competes for a spot in the Royals' rotation.

Rays president of baseball operations Erik Neander said on Dec. 10 in an interview on MLB Network that he expects McClanahan (elbow) to throw "150-ish" innings in 2025.

McClanahan missed the 2024 season following August 2023 Tommy John surgery but has been able to go through a normal throwing program this offseason. The left-hander threw 115 innings in 2023 and had a career-high 173.1 frames in 2022 between the regular season and playoffs. This is McClanahan's second Tommy John surgery, however, and Walker Buehler's 2024 (Buehler was coming back from his second TJS) is an example of the downside involved with McClanahan in 2025. It's not yet clear how the Rays plan to manage McClanahan's workload, but it could involve some early removal from starts and/or extra rest in between outings.

Muller agreed to a contract Sunday with the Chunichi Dragons of Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball, Yahoo Japan reports.

Muller elected free agency this offseason after being outrighted off the Athletics' 40-man roster and has decided to continue his career overseas. The 27-year-old left-hander had seen action at the MLB level each of the past four seasons with Atlanta and Oakland, compiling a 5.90 ERA and 1.57 WHIP over 175.1 innings.

The Athletics traded Boyle, Jacob Watters, Will Simpson and a compensatory draft pick to the Rays on Saturday in exchange for Jeffrey Springs and Jacob Lopez, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

After showing a lot of promise as a prospect in 2023, Boyle wasn't quite able to live up to the hype in '24, accumulating a 6.42 ERA and 1.72 WHIP over 47.2 innings while missing a month of the season with lower-back problems. He'll now attempt to turn things around following a change of scenery, though there's no guarantee the 25-year-old begins his Rays tenure in the big leagues.