MLB Player News

Dalbec was invited to major-league spring training Thursday.

The 23-year-old broke out in the power department last year, bashing 32 home runs and 35 doubles in 543 plate appearances between High-A Salem and Double-A Portland. He'll now get a chance to strut his stuff in big-league camp during spring training, though it's unlikely he'll break camp with Boston. He only has 124 plate appearances at Double-A to his name and could use some more seasoning against upper-level pitching in order to cut down on the 32.4 percent strikeout rate he posted last season.

Voit will be the Yankees' starter at first base unless Greg Bird beats him out, Jack Curry of YES Network reports.

Going purely off the two players' prospect hype, it may have made sense for the Yankees to give Bird one more shot, but the team's decision is certainly in line with the pair's recent performance. Bird hit just .199/.286/.386 in 82 games last year and hasn't posted an above-average batting line since 2015. Voit hit an incredible .333/.405/.689 in 39 games after heading to the Yankees last season. That line was well above expectations, but he can fall quite far and still outperform Bird this season.

Duenez returned to the Royals on a minor-league contract Monday.

Duenez has topped out at Double-A over the last three seasons, hitting .282/.357/.463 in 80 games for Northwest Arkansas last season. He doesn't have any standout tools, so he'll have to take a jump forward to project as anything more than a backup, but he's still just 22, so such a jump can't be completely ruled out.

Santana was traded from Seattle to Cleveland in exchange for Edwin Encarnacion on Thursday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports. The Indians also dealt Yandy Diaz and a player to be named later to Tampa Bay for Jake Bauers, per Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times.

Santana was recently dealt to Seattle last week after spending the past season in Philadelphia. The first baseman hit just .229/.352/.414 with 24 home runs and 86 RBI in 161 games for the Phillies, and like the rest of the team, struggled down the final stretch in September. Prior to his brief stint in Philadelphia, Santana had played his entire career in Cleveland. Outside of a dip in batting average and slugging percentage, there were some inspiring signs from Santana's 2018 campaign, including a career-best 13.7 percent strikeout rate and 16.2 percent walk rate, which was his highest since 2015. Look for Santana to see some time alongside Yonder Alonso at first base to go along with a primary role as the Indians' designated hitter, though Bauers figures to be in the mix at both positions, and in the outfield as well.

The Indians traded Diaz to the Rays on Thursday as part of a three-team deal with the Mariners, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.

According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Rays view Diaz as an upgrade both offensively and defensively over Jake Bauers, who heads to Cleveland in the deal. Diaz still has yet to get to much in-game power, but he puts bat to ball with consistency, and don't put it past the Rays and their analytics team to unlock something in the power department. He will likely see time at both first and third in 2019.

Bour agreed to a one-year, $2.5 million contract with the Angels on Wednesday, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports.

Bour split time with the Marlins and Phillies in 2018, slashing a combined .227/.341/.404 with 20 homers across 141 games. He posted an .819 OPS against right-handed pitching in 2018 -- compared to his .570 mark against southpaws -- so he seems like a strong candidate to settle into the strong side of a platoon at first base with Albert Pujols.

The Mariners agreed in principle Monday to acquire Santana from the Phillies, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.

The trade won't be confirmed until all players involved have passed their physicals, but Sherman relays that the Mariners will also acquire J.P. Crawford, while Jean Segura is the principal piece heading to Philadelphia. Santana's departure should pave the way for Rhys Hoskins to reclaim an everyday role at first base in Philadelphia, while the move to Seattle allows the veteran to serve as a designated hitter and corner-infield option. Though he's always liable to be a drain in the batting-average category, Santana retains exceptional plate discipline and above-average pop as he heads into his age-33 campaign. He's supplied no fewer than 18 home runs and an on-base percentage no worse than .352 in any of the past eight seasons.

Cron agreed to a one-year, $4.8 million contract with Minnesota on Friday, avoiding arbitration.

Cron was scooped up off waivers by the Twins after being designated for assignment by the Rays. He should add much-needed power to Minnesota's lineup in 2019 after launching 30 homers a year ago.

Duenez was non-tendered by the Royals on Friday, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports.

He posted a 120 wRC+ at Double-A last year in his age-21/22 season, but only hit 10 home runs in 80 games. Duenez is a first baseman, so while his bat would probably play at some positions, the bar is much higher given his defensive limitations. Flanagan reports that Duenez is expected to re-sign with Kansas City on a minor-league deal.

Cron was claimed off waivers by the Twins on Monday.

Cron was scooped up by the Twins after being designated for assignment by Tampa Bay last week. The 28-year-old, who hit .253/.323/.493 with 30 homers across 140 games in 2018, will likely slide in as Minnesota's primary first baseman following the retirement of Joe Mauer.