MLB Player News

Dixon cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Toledo on Wednesday.

Dixon will remain as organizational depth for the Tigers heading into his age-28 season. His .248/.290/.435 slash line in 118 games last season was acceptable for a bench player who spent time at six different positions but clearly wasn't good enough for any team to view him as a desirable addition.

Cabrera signed a one-year, $2.5 million contract with the Nationals on Saturday, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports.

Cabrera played in 93 games with the Rangers last season before being released in August. The 34-year-old turned things around with Washington over the final weeks of the season, hitting .323/.404/.565 with six home runs and 40 RBI over 38 games. While Cabrera was effective with the Nationals last year, he'll likely battle for playing time at second base with Starlin Castro in 2020, but he could see increased action at third base following Anthony Rendon's departure if top prospect Carter Kieboom isn't ready to handle a starting role in the majors.

Calhoun signed a two-year deal with the Diamondbacks on Tuesday, Jon Morosi of MLB Network reports.

Calhoun will make $16 million guaranteed and could make more than that if the Diamondbacks pick up a team option for the 2022 season. The 32-year-old rebounded from a rough 2018 campaign to hit a career-high 33 homers last season. His .232/.325/.467 slash line was good for a respectable 108 wRC+, but he'll have to keep his power numbers up if he's to remain a good fantasy option in 2020, as his batting average has remained low for three straight seasons. He lines up as Arizona's primary option in right field and should see quite a lot of playing time unless his numbers collapse again.

Dixon was designated for assignment by the Tigers on Saturday.

The Tigers acquired C.J. Cron (thumb) and Jonathan Schoop on Saturday, and Dixon was removed from the 40-man roster in order to make room for the infielders. Dixon led the Tigers with 15 home runs in 2019, but he saw limited playing time despite his defensive versatility. It wouldn't be surprising if the 27-year-old was able to find another major-league opportunity elsewhere, but it's unclear whether he would be able to cement himself as an everyday player despite his ability to move around defensively.

Cron (thumb) signed a one-year, $6.1 million contract with the Tigers on Saturday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

Cron saw limited playing time over the second half of the season, and the combination of his decrease in usage and thumb surgery in October resulted in him being non-tendered by the Twins. The 29-year-old will likely be ready for spring training, and he could take over the starting job at first base after Jeimer Candelario struggled to break out in 2019.

Bell (groin) is fully healthy and shouldn't have any restrictions in offseason training, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Bell had been putting together a career-best campaign in 2019 before a groin injury forced him to miss the second half of September. However, the team said Monday that he should be "full systems go" for his offseason training. The 27-year-old recorded a .936 OPS with 37 home runs and 116 RBI last season.

Manager Aaron Boone said Wednesday that he anticipates Voit (abdomen) opening the upcoming season as the Yankees' everyday first baseman, Pete Caldera of The Bergen Record reports. "I'm confident that Luke Voit is an impact player for us," Boone said.

A core-muscle injury limited Voit's effectiveness over the final month of the regular season and ultimately made surgery necessary once the Yankees were eliminated from the playoffs, but the 28-year-old should be back to full strength for spring training. Despite the disappointing finish to his 2019 campaign, Voit was still a well above-average performer at the dish, contributing a .263/.378/.464 slash line (126 wRC+) over his 510 plate appearances.

Manager Mike Matheny said Tuesday that O'Hearn will be under consideration for the Royals' everyday job at first base this spring, Lynn Worthy of The Kansas City Star reports.

Along with O'Hearn, the Royals are also expected to give Ryan McBroom the chance to battle for the job, while Hunter Dozier and Salvador Perez (elbow) could also see work at the position when they aren't playing third base or catcher, respectively. After a hot start to his big-league career upon being promoted from Triple-A Omaha in the second half of 2018, O'Hearn struggled mightily last season, slashing just .195/.281/.369 with 14 home runs in 370 plate appearances. O'Hearn will at least have the platoon advantage working in his favor in the competition, as McBroom, Dozier and Perez all hit from the right side of the plate.

Cronenworth has been traded from the Rays to the Padres along with Tommy Pham in exchange for Hunter Renfroe and Xavier Edwards, Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports.

A two-way prospect who can work as a middle infielder or right-handed reliever, Cronenworth is close to big-league ready. In his age-25 season at Triple-A he logged a .334/.429/.520 slash line with 10 home runs, 12 steals, a 12.1 percent walk rate and 15.3 percent strikeout rate in 88 games. The Padres have a lot of middling options at second base, led by Jurickson Profar, and Cronenworth could realistically emerge as the best option at the keystone at some point in 2020. His two-way versatility could work as a tie breaker for holding a spot on the 26-man roster.

Cron (thumb) was non-tendered by the Twins on Monday, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.

He had a significant thumb surgery in October and was set to make north of $7 million in arbitration, so this move is not all that surprising. It's unclear if he will be physically ready for spring training, so he may have a hard time catching on elsewhere on a big-league contract in the short term.