MLB Player News

Gillaspie was added to the White Sox's 40-man roster on Monday to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.

Gillaspie was traded from Tampa Bay in exchange for reliever Dan Jennings this past season. It's hard to envision Gillaspie turning into a useful fantasy piece at this point, as few players hurt their stock more in 2017 than the 24-year-old first baseman. He has plus power, but has not been able to hit for a high average of late. The White Sox will likely be able to find playing time for him at some point in 2017, however, and his power could be of use in really deep leagues.

Santana has officially declined the Indians' qualifying offer prior to Thursday's deadline, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

Santana will now head to free agency, with Cleveland receiving draft-pick compensation should he decide to sign elsewhere. The 31-year-old is coming off another steady year of production, hitting .259/.363/.455 with 23 homers, 79 RBI and 90 runs scored in 154 games for the Indians.

Cabrera is the leading candidate to start at third base for the Mets in 2018, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports.

Cabrera bounced around the Mets' infield last year, appearing in 30 or more games at second base, shortstop and third base. While he's expected to start somewhere around the infield in 2018 after the Mets picked up his option, it appears New York would prefer to use him at the hot corner while looking elsewhere for a fill-in at second base. The 32-year-old has hit a respectable .280 with a .798 OPS, 37 homers and 121 RBI over the past two seasons (276 games) with the Mets.

Smith will have to compete for the Mets' starting job at first base in spring training, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports. "He didn't win it in September, let's put it that way," general manager Sandy Alderson said.

This is an odd thing to say about a cornerstone player who was just getting his feet wet in the majors at the end of last season as a 22-year-old. He hit .220/.304/.450 with six home runs and a 30.4 percent strikeout rate in 100 at-bats from Sept. 1 through Oct. 1. It is understandable that the Mets want to find at-bats for Wilmer Flores, who is coming off a year when he slashed .271/.307/.488 with 18 home runs in 362 plate appearances, but third base and second base seem like better places to try to work him in. As Puma went on to say, this could be a motivational tactic aimed at getting Smith to show up to camp in great shape. He is still the clear leading candidate to open the year as the Mets' starting first baseman, but we now know that he is not a lock to open the year in that role.

Dalbec slashed .297/.407/.576 with seven home runs and 22 RBI over the final 31 games of the 2017 season for Low-A Greenville.

Dalbec made a splash after being a fourth-round draft pick in 2016, resembling Babe Ruth in the short-season NY/Penn League with a 1.101 OPS over 34 games. That had us anticipating his 2017 season with great interest, but it took some time for the 22-year-old to regain his timing following a broken hamate bone suffered in mid-May. The Red Sox hope Dalbec can build off that final month. The 6-foot-4, 225-pounder is the real deal in terms of power, but there will be significant swing-and-miss in his game (37.4 K percentage at Greenville). The question is whether he can maintain a high enough average.

Wade was diagnosed with concussion-like symptoms after colliding with a teammate in an Arizona Fall League game, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

The game was delayed several minutes while Wade, 23, lay on the outfield grass. He was eventually removed from the game on a stretcher, but he gave the thumbs-up sign and appears to have escaped any serious physical injury.

The Indians gave Santana a qualifying offer prior to Monday's deadline, the Los Angeles Times reports.

This year's qualifying offer is worth $17.4 million, and it's not completely unreasonable to think that Santana may be tempted to sign it, as he may be unable to secure a higher average annual value from a multi-year deal via free agency if he turns it down. While he failed to reach his career-high 34 homers from 2016, Santana delivered another steady line at the plate, hitting .259/.363/.455 with 23 long balls, 79 RBI and 90 runs scored as an everyday contributor in a strong Cleveland lineup.

Dickson (shoulder) was cut by the Dodgers on Monday, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Dickson spent most of his time with Triple-A Oklahoma City last season, hitting .246/.328/.484 with 24 homers in 116 games. He saw time with the big club as a September callup, but failed to impress in his little playing time (1-for-7) before injuring his shoulder. He'll likely need to prove his shoulder is fully healthy before he's able to find a deal for next season.

The Mets exercised their $8.5 million club option to keep Cabrera on the team in 2018, Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports reports.

Cabrera is expected to hold a starting spot in the infield for the Mets next season, after hitting .280 with a .785 OPS during 135 games this past year. He also smacked 14 home runs and had 59 RBI, while cutting down on his strikeouts to achieve his lowest rate since the 2010 season.

Gurriel is batting fifth and playing first base for Game 4 of the World Series on Saturday.

With his impending suspension deferred to 2018, Gurriel will stick in his usual spot in the order against the Dodgers for Game 4. Gurriel is 3-for-9 with a home run and an RBi in the last two games and will face lefty Alex Wood on Saturday.