MLB Player News
-
Luis Vazquez SS | BAL
Orioles' Luis Vazquez: Remains in organization
Vazquez cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Norfolk on Sunday, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.
The 26-year-old was designated for assignment Tuesday, but he'll stick in the organization after passing through waivers unclaimed. Vazquez played 36 games for the Orioles last season and had a .160/.208/.240 slash line in 53 plate appearances.
-
Nick Allen SS | HOU
Astros' Nick Allen: Dealt to Houston
Atlanta traded Allen to the Astros on Wednesday in exchange for Mauricio Dubon.
Allen's strong defensive capabilities at shortstop allowed him to appear in 135 games in 2025, though he finished the year with just a .535 OPS over 416 plate appearances. Now that he's moving to Houston, where Jeremy Pena is locked in at shortstop, Allen is likely to operate in more of a bench role.
-
Jadher Areinamo SS | TB
Rays' Jadher Areinamo: Bumped to 40-man roster
Tampa Bay selected Areinamo's contract from Double-A Montgomery on Tuesday, thus protecting him from the Rule 5 Draft, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
The Rays acquired Areinamo in a deal with Milwaukee in late July. The 21-year-old had been playing at the High-A level prior to the trade, but he immediately jumped up Double-A with the Rays and slashed .255/.316/.397 with four homers, 19 RBI and six stolen bases over 37 contests. Areinamo can play multiple infield positions and has shown a bit of pop along with good speed on the basepaths. Perhaps most impressively, he's struck out below a 13 percent clip each of the past three seasons.
-
Tanner Murray 3B | CHW
White Sox's Tanner Murray: Sent to White Sox
The Rays selected Murray's contract from Triple-A Durham and traded him and Everson Pereira (back) to the White Sox on Tuesday in exchange for pitchers Yoendrys Gomez and Steven Wilson, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Murray has yet to make his big-league debut after being selected by Tampa Bay in the fourth round of the 2020 First-Year Player Draft. The 26-year-old spent all of last season with Triple-A Durham, posting a .241/.299/.400 slash line with 18 home runs, 58 RBI and five stolen bases over 572 plate appearances. The power was a bit of a surprise -- Murray's previous minor-league season high in homers was seven -- but he may be a late bloomer in that regard. His most useful trait is probably his versatility, as he can play in both the infield and outfield.
-
Kahlil Watson SS | CLE
Guardians' Kahlil Watson: Selected to 40-man roster
The Guardians selected Watson's contract from Triple-A Columbus on Tuesday, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.
Watson split the 2025 season between Double-A and Triple-A, slashing .250/.346/.467 with 16 homers, 61 RBI, 53 runs scored and 17 stolen bases over 429 plate appearances between the two levels. Now that he owns a place on Cleveland's 40-man roster, the 22-year-old outfielder is ineligible for the Rule 5 Draft and will most likely remain at Columbus for the start of the 2026 campaign.
-
Angel Genao SS | CLE
Guardians' Angel Genao: Shielded from Rule 5 Draft
The Guardians selected Genao's contract from Double-A Akron on Tuesday, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.
One of the Guardians' top prospects, Genao missed the start of last season with a shoulder injury and never got on track after returning, logging a .259/.323/.359 slash line with two home runs and six steals in 77 games as a 21-year-old at Double-A. The switch-hitting shortstop is a strong bounce-back candidate in 2026, and while he may return to Double-A at the start of the year, he should spend the bulk of the year at Triple-A and could even make his big-league debut next summer.
-
Luis Vazquez SS | BAL
Orioles' Luis Vazquez: Designated for assignment
The Orioles designated Vazquez for assignment Tuesday.
Vazquez re-signed with Baltimore on a one-year contract in late October but will end up having a short stay on the 40-man roster. The 26-year-old appeared in 36 games for the O's last season and had a .160/.208/.240 slash line in 53 plate appearances.
-
Hao Yu Lee SS | DET
Tigers' Hao-Yu Lee: Added to 40-man roster
The Tigers selected Lee's contract from Triple-A Toledo on Tuesday, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.
Lee was one of five players added for Rule 5 protection. While Lee is not exactly an imposing presence in the batter's box at 5-foot-9, he has displayed admirable plate skills and enough power and speed to project as a major-league prospect. The infielder spent his age-22 season at Toledo, slashing .243/.342/.406 with 14 homers and 22 steals across 579 plate appearances.
-
Taylor Walls 3B | TB
Rays' Taylor Walls: Option exercised, another one added
The Rays exercised Walls' (sports hernia) $2.45 million option for 2026 and added a $3.1 million club option for 2027 on Thursday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.
The new deal covers Walls' remaining years of arbitration eligibility, if the 2027 option is picked up. Walls is a career .195/.286/.298 hitter over parts of five major-league seasons but is regarded as a plus defender. He could compete for the starting shortstop job next season with Carson Williams but could ultimately settle into a utility infielder role. Walls is recovering from sports hernia surgery but is expected to be ready for spring training.