-
Tommy Edman 2B | LAD
Cardinals' Tommy Edman: Recovering from wrist surgery
Edman underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right wrist in October, John Denton of MLB.com reports.
Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak made the revelation Thursday, adding that he expects Edman to be ready to go at the start of spring training. The super utility player missed three weeks in July with tendon inflammation in the wrist and opted for surgery after the season when the pain and stiffness lingered. Edman is currently projected to be St. Louis' everyday center fielder in 2024.
-
Kevin Plawecki C | TEX
Padres' Kevin Plawecki: Gets minors deal from San Diego
Plawecki signed a minor-league contract with the Padres on Thursday, Michael Mayer of MetsmerizedOnline.com reports.
Plawecki spent time with three organizations in 2023, with San Diego being one of them. He didn't see any action at the major-league level last year, producing a .739 OPS with four homers in 67 games at the Triple-A level. The Padres appear set at catcher with Luis Campusano and Kyle Higashioka, pointing toward a ticket to Triple-A El Paso for Plawecki.
-
Harrison Bader CF | SF
Mets' Harrison Bader: Nets one-year deal from Mets
Bader signed a one-year, $10.5 million contract with the Mets on Thursday, Andy Martino of SNY.tv reports.
Bader has slashed just .241/.284/.352 over 657 plate appearances since the start of the 2022 campaign but remains one of the premier center field defenders in the game. The 29-year-old should see the bulk of the starts in center for the Mets, allowing Brandon Nimmo to shift to left field. Nimmo is expected to still play some center versus righties, which would likely mean DJ Stewart in left those days. Bader also provides some protection in the event Starling Marte gets hurt again, although Bader has been pretty brittle himself.
-
Chris Sale SP | ATL
Braves' Chris Sale: Agrees to two-year contract
Sale signed a two-year, $38 million contract with Atlanta on Thursday.
The deal also includes an $18 million club option for 2026. Sale had been slated to earn $27.5 million in 2024, but the reworked deal will drop his salary to $16 million for the upcoming season while adding a $22 million salary for 2025. Boston is covering $17 million, so Atlanta will be responsible for just $21 million over two years. The left-hander recently waived his no-trade clause in order to facilitate a trade from the Red Sox that sent Vaughn Grissom to Boston. The 102.2 innings Sale threw in 2023 more than doubled his total across the previous three seasons, and he will remain a major health question mark in 2024. He still boasted a 29.4 percent strikeout rate, though, and finished with a 2.88 ERA in September.
-
Starling Marte RF | KC
Mets' Starling Marte: Making debut in winter ball
Marte (groin) is making his Dominican Winter League debut Wednesday with Leones del Escogido, Michael Mayer of MetsmerizedOnline.com reports.
Marte has been practicing with the club and is now in its lineup for the first time, batting second and playing right field. It will be the 35-year-old's first game action since Aug. 5, as his season ended prematurely due to a nagging right groin injury. Marte was considered healthy heading into the offseason, but playing some winter ball should provide him and the Mets with some peace of mind heading into spring training, assuming he has no setbacks. He was limited to only 86 games in 2023, producing a career-low .625 OPS.
-
Justin Bruihl RP | STL
Reds' Justin Bruihl: Gets NRI from Reds
Bruihl signed a minor-league contract with the Reds on Wednesday that includes an invitation to spring training.
Bruihl held a 5.46 ERA over 27 relief appearances between the Dodgers and Rockies in 2023 and has posted a 4.22 ERA and 46:24 K:BB across 70.1 frames over parts of three major-league seasons. The 26-year-old lefty will try to win a bullpen job with Cincinnati but is likely to begin 2024 at Triple-A Louisville.
-
Bryan Hudson RP | CHW
Brewers' Bryan Hudson: Acquired by Milwaukee
The Brewers acquired Hudson from the Dodgers on Wednesday in exchange for Justin Chambers and a player to be named later or cash considerations, Eric Stephen of SBNation.com reports.
Hudson had been designated for assignment a week ago and is now headed to the National League Central. The big left-hander struggled in a cup of coffee with Los Angeles in 2023 but held a 2.43 ERA and 86:26 K:BB across 55.2 relief innings at Triple-A Oklahoma City.
-
Ronny Mauricio SS | NYM
Mets' Ronny Mauricio: Undergoes ACL surgery
Mauricio underwent surgery Tuesday to repair a torn ACL in his right knee.
Mauricio suffered the injury last month while playing in the Dominican Winter League. Per the Mets, a typical timeline for a return to game action from this procedure is 8-to-12 months, which would indicate the young infielder could be out until September even in a best-case scenario. Mauricio had been slated to compete for the third base job with the Mets, but the bulk of those duties now figure to fall to Brett Baty.
-
Tucker Barnhart C | TEX
Diamondbacks' Tucker Barnhart: Gets NRI deal from Arizona
Barnhart signed a minor-league contract with the Diamondbacks on Tuesday and received an invitation to major-league spring training.
Barnhart slashed .202/.285/.257 with nine RBI across 123 plate appearances with the Cubs last season before being DFA'd and finishing the year with the Dodgers' Triple-A affiliate. With Gabriel Moreno virtually locked in as Arizona's everyday catcher, Barnhart will compete with Jose Herrera in the spring for the backup job.
-
Austin Wynns C | TEX
Reds' Austin Wynns: Loses 40-man roster spot
Wynns was designated for assignment by the Reds on Tuesday.
Cincinnati needed to clear a spot on its 40-man roster for the addition of Frankie Montas. Wynns was just signed to a one-year, $950,000 contract last month and the Reds are betting he'll clear waivers, at which point he would presumably head to spring training as a non-roster invitee.