MLB Player News

Fortes worked on changes to his stance and swing this offseason, and Marlins manager Skip Schumaker is expecting more offense from him this season, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports.

It would be hard for Fortes' offense to get worse in 2024 after he stumbled to a .562 OPS through 323 plate appearances last year, a significant decline from the .696 OPS he posted in 2022. The Marlins like his work with the pitching staff, however, and offseason addition Christian Bethancourt has a career .622 OPS in the majors, so the starting job behind the plate likely still belongs to Fortes.

Triolo is likely to get regular at-bats while playing multiple positions this season, Jake Crouse of MLB.com reports.

Triolo appeared in 54 games for the Pirates in 2023 and hit .298 across 209 plate appearances. There's significant reason to doubt that performance carries forward, as he posted a .440 BABIP to go along with a 30.1 percent strikeout rate. However, he's an above-average defender at first base, second base and third base, giving him multiple paths to playing time even if he doesn't start regularly at a single position.

Peguero is the favorite to start at second base for the Pirates entering spring training, Jake Crouse of MLB.com reports.

Peguero was promoted to the majors in mid-July and stuck with the team through the close of the 2023 season. He made 33 starts at second base and 39 at shortstop, though Oneil Cruz will be back to handle the latter position in 2024. Peguero will still have to battle with Jared Triolo and Nick Gonzales for playing time at the keystone, but he arguably has the highest long-term upside of the group. That could be enough to convince the Pirates to give him a long look to begin the season, even after he struck out at a 28.1 percent clip with a 64 wRC+ in his first significant taste of the majors.

Bae is likely to begin the 2024 season as the Pirates' fourth outfielder, Jake Crouse of MLB.com reports.

Bae started 92 games for the Pirates in 2023, 56 of which came at second base and 33 in center field. His results were subpar, as he measured out as a well below average defender at second base while posting just a 66 wRC+ across 371 plate appearances. As a result, he's likely to begin the new campaign in a reserve outfield role, with Nick Gonzales, Liover Peguero and Jared Triolo vying for at-bats at second base.

Pineda cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Rochester on Friday, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reports.

Pineda is no longer on the Nationals' 40-man roster but will retain a spot in the organization. The 23-year-old catcher slashed just .152/.215/.212 across 107 plate appearances at Double-A Harrisburg in 2023.

Diekman signed a one-year, $4 million contract with the Mets on Friday, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

The deal also includes a vesting option for 2025. Diekman held a 2.18 ERA and 53:25 K:BB over 45.1 innings for the Rays last season after being released by the White Sox. The left-handed reliever has a long history of control problems and swing-and-miss ability and the Mets will be hoping for more of the latter than the former in 2024.

Fujinami agreed to a one-year, $3.35 million contract with the Mets on Friday, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.

The Japanese right-hander made his MLB debut with Oakland as a starter last season but was moved to the bullpen after posting a 14.26 ERA in the rotation. Fujinami pitched better as a reliever and was dealt to Baltimore in July, though his 4.85 ERA for his new club still wasn't pretty. He has plenty of strikeout potential with a 98-plus-mph fastball, but his 9.5 K/9 was underwhelming while his 5.1 BB/9 illustrated his control issues.

Conforto is in line to serve as the Giants' primary designated hitter in 2024, Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic reports.

San Francisco wants to improve its outfield defense, which led to the signing of Jung Hoo Lee and its apparent plan to use Luis Matos in left field and Conforto at DH, at least against righties. Conforto made 104 of his 115 starts last year in the outfield but finished in the 22nd percentile in Outs Above Average, per Baseball Savant.

The Giants plan for Matos to be their starting left fielder this season, Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic reports.

Baggarly writes that San Francisco is content with a "semi-stable" outfield of Matos in left, Jung Hoo Lee in center and a platoon of Mike Yastrzemski and Austin Slater in right. That would leave Michael Conforto as the primary designated hitter against right-handers, with Wilmer Flores getting most of his starts versus lefties. Blake Sabol could also be a factor in left field against tougher righties. Matos posted a .661 OPS in 76 games in 2023, but he just turned 22 and slashed .331/.401/.543 between Double-A Richmond and Triple-A Sacramento.

Scott will join big-league camp with the Mets to begin spring training, Abbey Mastracco of the New York Daily News reports.

The organization's top pitching prospect is coming off a breakout 2023 season in which he climbed up to Double-A and posted a 2.47 ERA, 0.81 WHIP and dazzling 77:8 K:BB over 12 starts and 62 innings for Binghamton. Scott isn't on the 40-man roster yet after being a fifth-round pick in 2021, but he's still a candidate to bolster the big-league rotation at some point in 2024 if last year's success carries forward into Triple-A.