MLB Player News

The White Sox designated Iriarte for assignment Sunday.

The right-hander received his first taste of the majors late in 2024 and gave up one earned run with a 6:8 K:BB over six innings. Iriarte failed to make Chicago's Opening Day roster last spring and stumbled to a 7.24 ERA and 7.2 BB/9 with Triple-A Charlotte in 2025, which has now cost him his place on the 40-man roster.

The Red Sox are acquiring Ziehl and a player to be named later from the White Sox on Sunday in exchange for Jordan Hicks (shoulder), David Sandlin, two PTBNL and cash, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.

Ziehl was sent to Chicago at the summer deadline in the Austin Slater trade and is now on the move once again. The 22-year-old right-hander worked across four minor-league levels during his first professional season in 2025 and posted a 4.12 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 90:19 K:BB over 107 innings. Ziehl made one appearance at the Double-A level last year but may be more likely to open 2026 at High-A.

The White Sox are acquiring Sandlin, Jordan Hicks (shoulder), two players-to-be-named and cash from the Red Sox on Sunday in exchange for Gage Ziehl and a player-to-be-named, James Fegan of SoxMachine.com reports.

Sandlin was added to Boston's 40-man roster in November in order to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft, and he'll now make his way to Chicago. The right-hander had a 3.61 ERA across 82.1 innings at the Double-A level last season but struggled to a 7.61 ERA upon being promoted to Triple-A. Sandlin is likely to return to the Triple-A level to begin 2026 but will be in big-league camp with the White Sox, so he'll have an outside chance of cracking the Opening Day roster.

The White Sox are acquiring Hicks (shoulder), David Sandlin, two players-to-be-named and cash from the Red Sox on Sunday in exchange for Gage Ziehl and a player-to-be-named, James Fegan of SoxMachine.com reports.

Hicks was shipped from San Francisco to Boston in the Rafael Devers trade last year and is now on the move once again. The right-hander signed a four-year, $44.83 million contract with the Giants in January of 2024 to serve as a starter, and he pitched decently that year with a 4.10 ERA across 109.2 innings. However, he struggled early last year and was shifted to the bullpen, finishing the regular season with a 6.95 ERA over 67.1 frames between the Giants and Red Sox. According to Will Sammon of The Athletic, the Red Sox are covering $8 million of Hicks' salary across the remaining two years of his contract. The 29-year-old missed most of September due to shoulder tendinitis but should be ready for the start of spring training since he was back to throwing before the end of the season.

Bello has been the subject of recent trade talks, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

According to a December report from Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic, the Red Sox "quietly shopped" Bello -- something the organization disputed at the time -- and a league source confirmed to McCaffrey that Bello's name has surfaced in trade discussions. What's changed since December is that Boston's added several starters and has a wealth of starting options. In addition to Bello, Patrick Sandoval and Jordan Hicks are generating interest. The 26-year-old Bello is entering the third year of a six-year deal and is seen as a young, controllable mid-rotation starter another organization might covet. Apparently, Boston is more likely to trade Bello than its top prospects, Connelly Early or Payton Tolle. Bello posted a 3.35 ERA in 2025, but it could have been higher given a favorable BABIP (.268) and a lack of swing-and-miss ability (17.7 K%, 6.7 K/9).

Hays signed a one-year, $6 million contract with the White Sox on Saturday, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports.

After sending Luis Robert to the Mets earlier in the month, the White Sox will add some talent back to their outfield by bringing in Hays. The 30-year-old enjoyed one of his best seasons in the majors last year with the Reds, slashing .266/.315/.453 with 15 homers, 64 RBI and 60 runs scored while adding seven steals in 103 games. He's primarily played in left field over the past few seasons, but the White Sox may look to take advantage of his arm strength in right field, keeping Andrew Benintendi (Achilles) in left.

Pasquantino signed a two-year, $11 million contract with the Royals on Friday to avoid arbitration, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

Incentives could increase the value of Pasquantino's new deal to as much as $16 million. The 28-year-old first baseman played in all but two games for the Royals in 2025, slashing .264/.323/.475 across 682 plate appearances while tallying career-high totals in home runs (32), RBI (113) and runs scored (72). He will still have one more year of team control remaining at the end of his contract.

Quero visited Driveline Baseball last week with a goal of increasing his bat speed and improving his launch angle, Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com reports.

Quero had a healthy 46.3 percent hard-hit rate and 90.4 mph average exit velocity during his rookie season, but his bat speed ranked in the fourth percentile and his average launch angle ranked in the seventh percentile. An assessment determined Quero was lacking lower-body strength, so he was given drills to help increase his explosiveness and add more bat speed. He also had a pull-air rate of just 7.8 percent last season, and the instructors at Driveline worked with him on catching the ball in front of the plate in order to pull the ball with authority. Quero had a respectable .268/.333/.356 batting line in his rookie season and sported a 17.9 percent strikeout rate, but he swatted just five home runs. If the young switch hitter is able to boost his power while maintaining his quality eye at the dish, he could break through. Quero is set to share catching duties with Kyle Teel in 2026 and is also expected to see ample starts at designated hitter for the White Sox.

Evans underwent UCL reconstruction surgery with an internal brace Jan. 23 on his right elbow.

Evans missed several weeks during the second half of last season with right elbow inflammation, so it's possible he had UCL damage for a while that was only recently discovered. He will miss the entire 2026 season, and given the timing of the procedure, could get a late start to the 2027 campaign, as well. Evans had been likely to open the upcoming season at Triple-A Tacoma, but his absence is a blow to the Mariners' pitching depth. The 24-year-old posted a 4.32 ERA and 59:31 K:BB over 81.1 innings covering 15 starts and one relief outing last season.

The Blue Jays signed Stubbs to a minor-league contract Friday that includes an invitation to spring training.

Stubbs made his major-league debut in 2025 with the Nationals, going hitless in three plate appearances. The 29-year-old will merely be organizational catching depth for the Blue Jays at Triple-A Buffalo.