MLB Player News

The Twins designated Pereda for assignment Friday, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reports.

The 29-year-old backstop will be replaced on Minnesota's 40-man roster by Victor Caratini, whose signing became official Friday. Pereda slashed .246/.325/.333 in 2025 across 78 MLB plate appearances split between the Athletics and Twins. However, he finished the minor-league season with an .887 OPS across 192 plate appearances at Triple-A, which could be enough for another team to pick him up off waivers.

The Mariners designated Diaz for assignment Friday, Adam Jude of The Seattle Times reports.

With Cooper Criswell coming over from the Mets in a trade, Diaz will give up his place on the Mariners' 40-man roster. The 29-year-old southpaw made just one appearance with the Mariners near the start of the 2025 regular season, allowing one hit and striking out one batter over 1.1 innings. He spent the rest of the season at Triple-A Tacoma and turned in a 4.15 ERA and 1.32 WHIP across 138.2 frames.

Roberts signed a minor-league contract with the Rangers on Friday, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Roberts split time between Double-A and Triple-A in 2025, finishing the season with a 4.21 ERA and 1.42 WHIP across 57.2 total innings. The 27-year-old righty will likely spend the vast majority of 2026 at Triple-A Round Rock.

The Mets traded Criswell to the Mariners on Friday in exchange for cash, Jorge Castillo of ESPN.com reports.

The 29-year-old was DFA'd by the Mets on Wednesday following the team's acquisition of Freddy Peralta and Tobias Myers, but Criswell will recapture a 40-man spot upon moving to Seattle. He posted a 3.57 ERA and 1.58 WHIP in 17.2 regular-season innings with the Red Sox in 2025 and will compete for a spot in the Mariners' bullpen during spring training.

Orioles manager Craig Albernaz said Friday that Kjerstad (fatigue) will be a full participant during spring training, Jacob Calvin Meyer of The Baltimore Sun reports.

Kjerstad didn't play after late July last season due to what the Orioles referred to as fatigue, and he later underwent treatment for an undisclosed medical condition. It's unclear whether the issues were related to his previously disclosed myocarditis diagnosis, but either way, it seems Kjerstad is now in the clear health-wise. Kjerstad slashed .192/.240/.327 in 54 games for the Orioles and .149/.225/.248 over 27 contests with Triple-A Norfolk in 2025, but he had a 112 wRC+ in his first two years with Baltimore and a 156 wRC+ in 2024 at Norfolk. While he will enter spring training healthy, Kjerstad currently looks to be buried on the Orioles' outfield depth chart.

The Yankees designated Ort (elbow) for assignment Friday.

The transaction clears a spot on the 40-man roster for waiver claim Michael Siani. Ort was a waiver claim himself earlier this month, and because he has the ability to refuse an outright assignment, his stint in the Yankees organization will likely be ending soon. The righty reliever posted a 4.89 ERA and 49:27 K:BB over 46 innings with the Astros in 2025 and missed the final month of the season with elbow inflammation.

The Yankees claimed Siani off waivers from the Dodgers on Friday.

Siani is all glove and no bat, but his defense in center field is good enough that the Yankees felt he warranted a 40-man roster spot. The 26-year-old does have minor-league options remaining, so the Yanks could stash him at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to begin the 2026 season.

The White Sox signed Dominguez to a two-year, $20 million contract Friday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

There's also a mutual option for 2028, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post, and the White Sox plan to use Dominguez as their closer. The right-hander has some modest closing experience, having notched 40 saves in his career, including 11 in 2024 between the Phillies and Orioles. The 31-year-old is coming off a 2025 campaign that saw him collect a 3.16 ERA and 79:36 K:BB over 62.2 regular-season frames between the Orioles and Blue Jays. Dominguez boasts a career 27.9 percent strikeout rate, but free passes (career 10.5 percent walk rate) have been a problem. With Dominguez taking over the ninth inning, previous incumbent closer options Jordan Leasure and Grant Taylor will work earlier in games with a rotation job potentially still in Taylor's future.

Taylor was outrighted to Triple-A Tacoma on Thursday.

Taylor lost his spot on the 40-man roster las week and has since cleared waivers. He'll likely enter spring training with the team and could have the chance to regain his role with a strong showing, but he also has the option of electing free agency.

The Mariners signed Dunning to a minor-league contract Thursday, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.

Dunning had to settle for a minor-league deal after posting a 6.97 ERA and 21:7 K:BB over 20.2 innings between Texas and Atlanta in 2025. The 31-year-old could be useful swingman depth for Seattle at Triple-A Tacoma.