MLB Player News
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Pete Alonso 1B | NYM
Pete Alonso: Handed $21.05M qualifying offer
The Mets extended Alonso a one-year, $21.05 million qualifying offer Monday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.
If Alonso departs in free agency, the Mets will receive a draft pick as compensation. Alonso put up a .788 OPS with 34 home runs over 696 regular-season plate appearances with the Mets. The first baseman will turn 30 in December.
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Ryan O'Hearn 1B | BAL
Orioles' Ryan O'Hearn: $8 million club option exercised
The Orioles exercised O'Hearn's $8 million club option for 2025 on Monday, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.
O'Hearn made $3.5 million in 2024, so he will be getting a nice salary bump in 2025. The 31-year-old has slashed .275/.329/.450 with 29 home runs over 254 regular-season games during his two years in Baltimore. He'll garner regular playing time against right-handed pitching again next season.
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Carlos Santana 1B | MIN
Carlos Santana: Wants to play 3-to-4 more seasons
Santana's agent, Ulises Cabrera, said Monday that his client wants to play for 3-to-4 more seasons, Jon Morosi of MLB Network reports.
It seems unlikely that Santana will be able to hang around that much longer, considering he'll turn 39 in April. However, he's coming off a strong 2024 season, having slashed .238/.328/.420 with 23 home runs over 150 games for the Twins while winning his first-ever Gold Glove at first base.
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Paul Goldschmidt 1B | STL
Paul Goldschmidt: Will not be given qualifying offer
Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak confirmed Monday that the team will not extend Goldschmidt a one-year, $21.05 million qualifying offer, John Denton of MLB.com reports.
It's been reported previously that the Cardinals are also not expected to negotiate with Goldschmidt on a lesser salary, so the veteran first baseman will be allowed to depart as a free agent. Goldschmidt slashed just .245/.302/.414 with 22 home runs in 2024 and turned 37 in September, but he should still draw some interest from clubs willing to take a shot on a bounce-back year in 2025.
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Joey Gallo 1B | WAS
Joey Gallo: Washington declines option
The Nationals declined their portion of Gallo's $8 million mutual option for 2025 on Sunday.
Gallo signed with Washington over the winter and delivered a career-worst .613 OPS with 10 homers in 76 games. He struck out 102 times in 260 plate appearances and could have a difficult time securing a big-league contract for 2025.
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Owen Miller 1B | MIL
Rockies' Owen Miller: Shipped to Colorado
The Brewers traded Miller to the Rockies on Saturday in exchange for cash, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.
Miller spent the majority of 2024 with Triple-A Nashville, where he slashed .274/.353/.382 with 36 RBI across 385 plate appearances. He'll have a better chance of getting back to the majors as part of the Rockies organization, though he will first need to be added to the 40-man roster.
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Wilmer Flores 1B | SF
Giants' Wilmer Flores: Sticking with Giants
Flores (knee) exercised his $3.5 million player option for 2025 on Saturday, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.
Flores slashed just .206/.277/.318 with 26 RBI across 242 plate appearances in 2024 before suffering a season-ending knee injury in late July. Given his poor performance and injured knee, he was unlikely to receive more than $3.5 million on the open market, making it easy to see why he chose to opt in for 2025. It's unknown if he'll be ready for the start of spring training.
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Anthony Rizzo 1B | NYY
Anthony Rizzo: Club option declined
The Yankees declined Rizzo's $17 million club option for 2025 on Saturday.
Rizzo slashed just .228/.301/.335 with 35 RBI across 375 plate appearances in 2024 -- his worst season at the plate since his rookie year with the Padres in 2011. Despite his significant drop in production, the 35-year-old first baseman should still be able to attract some attention in the open market, though he likely won't receive anything close to the $17 million average annual salary he'd been getting from New York.
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Ty France 1B | CIN
Ty France: Becomes free agent
France elected free agency Friday.
France refused an outright assignment to the minors, exercising his right to hit the free agent market instead. The 30-year-old slashed only .234/.305/.365 with 13 home runs over 140 games this season between the Mariners and Reds. France should be able to find a major-league deal somewhere, although perhaps not as an everyday player.