MLB Player News

Adames passed his physical with the Giants on Tuesday, making his seven-year, $182 million contract with the team official, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

The Giants and Adames agreed to the lucrative deal Saturday, one he earned in large part due to the career-high 32 home runs and 112 RBI he compiled across 161 regular-season games with the Brewers in 2024. The star shortstop's contract is the largest in team history, and he'll be formally introduced at a news conference Thursday.

Adames signed a seven-year, $182 million contract with the Giants on Saturday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

Adames slashed .251/.331/.462 with 32 homers, 112 RBI and 21 steals during the regular season in 2024 -- good enough to land the largest contract in Giants franchise history. The 29-year-old infielder immediately gives a power boost to a San Francisco lineup that ranked 15th in the majors with a .396 slugging percentage, and he's a safe bet to play in the field every day after starting all but one of Milwaukee's games last year. Assuming Adames fills in as the Giants' shortstop, the team may now choose to move Tyler Fitzgerald to second base while Brett Wisely gets pushed to the bench.

Swanson underwent surgery to address a core injury in early October, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Going under the knife immediately after the end of the regular season should allow Swanson to return in 2025 without missing any time. The 30-year-old infielder slashed .242/.312/.390 with 16 homers, 66 RBI and 19 steals during his second season in Chicago and is expected to remain the Cubs' everyday shortstop next season.

The Padres re-signed McCoy to a minor-league contract Friday that includes an invitation to spring training, Russell Dorsey of Yahoo Sports reports.

McCoy was non-tendered by San Diego last month but now returns as a spring training invitee. The utility player put up a .523 OPS in 19 games with the Padres in 2024.

Wade signed a one-year, $900,000 contract with the Padres on Friday to avoid arbitration, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.

Wade struggled at the big-league level in 2024, slashing just .217/.285/.239 across 155 plate appearances. However, the Padres will keep him around for another year to serve as bench depth, and the 29-year-old will earn a $50,000 raise in the process.

The Cubs selected Cowles to their 40-man roster Tuesday, Andy Martinez of Marquee Sports Network reports.

Cowles was acquired from the Yankees at the trade deadline as part of the Mark Leiter deal, though a wrist injury limited Cowles to playing just four games with Double-A Tennessee at the very end of the year. Prior to his injury, the 24-year-old infielder had slashed .292/.372/.471 with 52 RBI across 379 plate appearances. He'll likely be bumped up to Triple-A Iowa for the start of 2025.

Barrero signed a minor-league contract with the Cardinals on Saturday and received an invitation to spring training, Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com reports.

Barrero owns just a .497 OPS across 447 plate appearances in his major-league career, and his offensive woes followed him to Triple-A last season, where he slashed .188/.277/.345 over 49 games. His chances of contributing for the Cardinals will remain low as long as he continues to struggle at the plate, though the 26-year-old may still see a healthy amount of playing time with Triple-A Memphis.

Atlanta acquired Allen from the Athletics on Monday in exchange for Jared Johnson.

Allen, 26, has managed just a .209/.254/.283 batting line over parts of three seasons at the major-league level. He does have a reputation as a solid glove at shortstop, although he came in at negative-2 Outs Above Average during his 41 games with the Athletics in 2024. Allen offers an alternative at shortstop to Orlando Arcia, who is coming off a disappointing season, but ultimately Allen should be more of a depth option.

Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes said Wednesday that the assumption is Betts will move back to the infield next season, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.

Betts was the Dodgers' regular shortstop and occasional second baseman for the first three months of the 2024 season before fracturing his hand. Upon his return in mid-August, he moved back to right field on a full-time basis. However, it would appear he'll be on the move again in 2025 to one of the middle infield spots (or perhaps both). The decision could negatively affect the playing time outlook of Miguel Rojas and/or Gavin Lux.

Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey indicated Tuesday the club is considering moving Luciano to the outfield, Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Luciano has played only shortstop and second base but has struggled mightily defensively at both spots. Additionally, Posey believes a move to a less taxing position could unlock Luciano's potential at the plate. The 23-year-old has slashed just .217/.286/.304 with no home runs and a 35.7 percent strikeout rate in his first 126 major-league plate appearances.