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.

The Pirates placed Peguero on outright waivers Tuesday, Danny Demilio of PittsburghBaseballNow.com reports.

Peguero will lose his place on the 40-man roster after appearing in just 33 MLB games in 2025, during which he slashed .200/.273/.363 over 88 plate appearances. If the 24-year-old passes through waivers unclaimed, he will most likely begin the 2026 season at Triple-A Indianapolis.

Story will remain with the Red Sox after choosing not to opt out of the two years and $50 million left on his contract, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.

Story is owed $25 million each of the next two seasons and the Red Sox have a $25 million club option or $5 million buyout on him for 2028. He might have been able to get more than that on the open market, but Story -- who will turn 33 later this month -- has opted to stay put. Story slashed .263/.308/.433 with 25 home runs and 31 stolen bases over 157 regular-season games for Boston in 2025.

The Orioles declined Mateo's $5.5 million option for 2026 on Monday, Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com reports.

He'll become a free agent after slashing just .177/.217/.266 across 42 contests during an injury-shortened 2025 campaign for Baltimore. The 30-year-old Mateo has an underwhelming .221/.266/.363 career batting line over parts of six major-league seasons, but his speed and versatility should be enough to attract some interest on the free-agent market.

Kim became a free agent Monday after exercising the opt-out clause in his contract, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.

After Kim slashed just .234/.304/.345 in 48 games for Tampa Bay and Atlanta in 2025, it was not a given that he would opt out of the $16 million he was owed in 2026. However, the 30-year-old ultimately has decided to test out the free-agent market. Atlanta has a hole at shortstop, so it will likely make an effort to re-sign Kim, but he'll now be free to negotiate with all teams.

Winn has begun jogging and said the pain is gone in his surgically repaired right knee, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Winn -- who won his first National League Gold Glove on Sunday -- is just over a month removed from surgery to repair a torn meniscus and said he can already "really feel the difference" in the knee. The 23-year-old is expected to be ready to go for the start of spring training. Winn slashed a disappointing .253/.310/.363 with nine home runs and nine stolen bases across 537 plate appearances in 2025, though the downturn in his production can likely be blamed in part due to having to play through nagging soreness in his knee for several months.

Bichette went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run and a walk against the Dodgers on Saturday in an extra-innings loss in Game 7 of the World Series.

Bichette put the Blue Jays on the board with a three-run home run off Shohei Ohtani in the third inning. For much of the game it looked like that would be the knockout blow en route to a Toronto championship, but Los Angeles staged a late comeback and ultimately pulled off the victory in 11 innings. Bichette missed seven weeks coming into the World Series due to a knee injury, but he was included on the World Series roster and started six of the seven games. He didn't show any rust, batting .348 with the home run, six RBI, two runs and four walks over 27 plate appearances.

Schunk cleared waivers Friday and elected to become a free agent, Patrick Lyons of JustBaseball.com reports.

Schunk appeared in just 16 games for the Rockies in 2025 and managed to slash just .188/.188/.219 across 33 plate appearances. His Triple-A performance (.829 OPS over 90 games) was much better, however, and could be enough to buy the 28-year-old infielder another opportunity this winter -- likely on a minor-league contract.

Bichette said Friday that he does not expect to require surgery this offseason to repair a PCL sprain in his left knee, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Bichette was diagnosed with a sprained knee in early September and missed seven weeks of action before rejoining the Blue Jays' roster for the World Series. He has been noticeably gimpy, but Bichette expects his knee injury to heal with rest. The impending free agent slashed .311/.357/.483 over 139 regular-season games and is 5-for-16 at the plate so far in the World Series.

Vazquez signed a one-year contract with the Orioles on Thursday.

Vazquez appeared in 36 games for Baltimore in 2025, slashing .160/.208/.240 over 53 plate appearances. He put up far better numbers at Triple-A, logging a .756 OPS over 43 contests. The 26-year-old infielder will now officially return for a second year in the Orioles organization, though he figures to remain a depth piece.