MLB Player News

McCoy signed a minor-league contract, which includes an invitation to big-league spring training, with the Padres on Sunday, Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports.

McCoy made his big-league debut with Toronto in 2023 but played in just six games, spending most of the campaign at the Triple-A level. He'll likely serve as organizational infield depth for San Diego in 2024.

Mateo signed a one-year, $2.7 million contract with the Orioles on Friday, avoiding arbitration, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports.

Mateo made $2 million in 2023 while slashing .217/.267/.340 with seven homers and 32 steals over 116 games as the O's primary shortstop. He might be more of a utility player in 2024, which will stunt his fantasy value, but the 28-year-old offers good speed and defensive versatility for the reigning AL East champions.

Hampson became a free agent Friday after being non-tendered by Miami.

Hampson played all around the diamond defensively in 2023 and posted a respectable .729 OPS across 252 plate appearances, but the Marlins did not want to pay his price tag as a second-year arbitration-eligible player. The 29-year-old should be able to find a super-utility job elsewhere.

Smith became a free agent Friday after the Athletics declined to tender him a contract.

The A's will officially move on from Smith after the 27-year-old infielder slashed just .185/.220/.326 through 146 big-league plate appearances. However, he put up an impressive 1.025 OPS with Triple-A Las Vegas, so he should be able to secure a minor-league deal relatively easily.

Gray signed a minor-league contract with the Marlins on Friday, Craig Mish of the Miami Herald reports.

It's the first transaction made by new president of baseball operations Peter Bendix. The former Rays executive is familiar with Gray from his time in Tampa Bay, where the 27-year-old went 2-for-5 with a home run during a short stint in the majors. Gray has hit 30-plus home runs each of the last two seasons at the Triple-A level while also striking out at a 31.7 percent rate. He'll presumably receive an invitation to major-league spring training.

Shewmake was traded from Atlanta to the White Sox on Thursday along with Michael Soroka (forearm), Jared Shuster, Nicky Lopez and Riley Gowens in exchange for Aaron Bummer.

Shewmake entered the 2022 season with a chance to win the starting shortstop job in Atlanta, but Orlando Arcia's strong form ended that opportunity. Even after posting a disappointing 72 wRC+ across 526 plate appearances with Triple-A Gwinnett, Shewmake should once again be in a position to vie for a consistent role in the majors during spring training thanks to this change of scenery.

Anderson is open to playing either shortstop or second base with his new team, Russell Dorsey of Stadium reports.

Anderson's defensive metrics at shortstop were good through 2021, but they've regressed there the last two seasons, and it's possible the club he signs with in free agency would prefer to shift him to the other side of the diamond. He played two games at second base for the White Sox this season and they kicked around the idea of moving him there full time before ultimately deciding against picking up his option for 2024. The 30-year-old was also used some at the keystone during the World Baseball Classic. Regardless of where he plays defensively, Anderson's bigger task next season will be to rebound at the plate after he posted a woeful .582 OPS across 524 plate appearances in 2023.

The Pirates selected Cheng to their 40-man roster Tuesday.

Cheng got off to a hot start in the first half of the season with High-A Greensboro, slashing .308/.406/.575 across 253 plate appearances. However, his OPS fell to .656 upon being promoted to Double-A Altoona in late June. A spot on the 40-man roster will prevent Cheng from being taken in next month's Rule 5 Draft, and he will likely return to Altoona to begin 2024.

Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said Wednesday that he expects Cruz (ankle) to be fully healthy by the start of spring training, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Cruz fractured his left ankle in the ninth game of the 2023 regular season and was unable to return before the end of the year after encountering multiple minor setbacks. He's in a good place now, though, and could even play some winter ball in the Dominican Republic to make up for lost time. "All of the updates we've gotten over the last couple weeks have been encouraging," Cherington said.

Atlanta general manager Alex Anthopoulos said Wednesday that the team is considering moving Grissom to left field, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.

Grissom has only played shortstop, second base and third base as a professional, but all of those positions are spoken for long term at the major-league level. Atlanta wants to find a clearer path for the 22-year-old, who slashed .330/.419/.501 across 468 plate appearances this past season with Triple-A Gwinnett.