Atlanta exercised Sale's $18 million option for 2026 on Wednesday, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.

The decision was fait accompli, as Sale has re-emerged as one of the best pitchers in baseball since joining Atlanta, collecting a 2.46 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 390:71 K:BB over 303.1 innings since the beginning of the 2024 campaign. Sale missed more than two months of action this season with a left ribcage fracture, but he finished the year healthy and was superb after returning from the injury with a 2.72 ERA and 51:6 K:BB over his final 36.1 frames. The veteran lefty will turn 37 just after Opening Day next season.

The Yankees declined Loaisiga's (elbow) $5 million option for 2026 on Wednesday, Jorge Castillo of ESPN.com reports.

Loaisiga had another season cut short due to injury in 2025 and posted a 4.25 ERA, 1.48 WHIP and 25:10 K:BB across 29.2 innings. He missed most of the final two months of the regular season, first with a back issue and then with a flexor strain. Loaisiga did not require surgery for the latter injury and is expected to be ready for spring training, barring setbacks.

The Yankees exercised Hill's $3 million option for 2026 on Wednesday, Jorge Castillo of ESPN.com reports.

Hill has made 105 regular-season appearances for the Yankees since 2024, collecting a 2.68 ERA and 55:25 K:BB over 111 innings. The southpaw reliever posted a 63.7 percent groundball rate and held left-handed batters to a .181/.224/.220 line during the 2025 regular season.

Bieber exercised his $16 million player option for 2026 on Tuesday, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.

After falling just one game short of capturing his first World Series title, Bieber will opt into another year with the Blue Jays and receive a $6 million raise in the process. The 30-year-old right-hander missed the first several months of the 2025 season while working his way back from Tommy John surgery but returned in time to make seven regular-season starts and post a 3.57 ERA across 40.1 innings. It remains to be seen how his surgically repaired elbow will hold up over the course of a full season, but the 2020 AL Cy Young Award winner is still deserving of fantasy attention heading into 2026.

The Padres declined Hart's $5 million club option for 2026 on Tuesday, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Hart pitched in the majors for the first time in five years in 2025, though he accumulated a 5.86 ERA and 1.19 WHIP across 43 regular-season innings. His poor performance made it easy for San Diego to decline giving the 32-year-old a $4 million raise, so he'll instead receive a $500,000 buyout and look to free agency for his next opportunity.

The Padres declined Diaz's (oblique) $7 million club option for 2026 on Tuesday, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Diaz posted a .607 OPS across 283 regular-season plate appearances in 2025 -- his worst mark since 2019. Rather than pay him $7 million to likely act as a backup in 2026, the Friars will instead give the 34-year-old a $2 million buyout and send him into free agency. His defense should still be enough for him to draw interest from other clubs, but he doesn't offer much fantasy upside at this stage in his career.

The Pirates placed Little on outright waivers Tuesday, Danny Demilio of PittsburghBaseballNow.com reports.

The Pirates claimed Little off waivers from the Dodgers in August, but he never made an appearance for Pittsburgh. He posted a 2.79 ERA and 1.05 WHIP across 19.1 innings at Triple-A Indianapolis, however, which could be enough for another team to give the 27-year-old reliever a 40-man spot early in the offseason.

The Pirates placed Peguero on outright waivers Tuesday, Danny Demilio of PittsburghBaseballNow.com reports.

Peguero will lose his place on the 40-man roster after appearing in just 33 MLB games in 2025, during which he slashed .200/.273/.363 over 88 plate appearances. If the 24-year-old passes through waivers unclaimed, he will most likely begin the 2026 season at Triple-A Indianapolis.

Perez signed a two-year, $25 million contract extension with the Royals on Tuesday.

Perez had a $13.5 million team option for 2026, but his new deal will slightly decrease his AAV while ensuring the veteran backstop remains in Kansas City through 2027. Perez's .236 batting average from 2025 was the second-lowest mark of his 15-year MLB career, but he also finished the season with 30 homers for the first time since 2021 and 100 RBI for the third time in five years.

Contreras underwent a minor procedure on his fractured left middle finger Tuesday, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

General manager Matt Arnold said Contreras is roughly 5-to-6 weeks away from resuming baseball activity, so his surgery isn't expected to affect Contreras' availability for the start of the 2026 season. The 27-year-old backstop also had his $12 million club option declined Tuesday after posting a .754 OPS in the regular season -- his worst as a Brewer. However, he will remain under team control as an arbitration-eligible player.