The Royals and Garcia (hamstring) avoided arbitration by agreeing to a five-year contract extension with a club option for 2031 on Friday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

Anne Rogers of MLB.com says the deal is worth a guaranteed $57.5 million and can reach $85 million if he hits escalators and the option is exercised. Garcia had been eligible for salary arbitration for the first time as a Super 2 qualifier, but his new deal with cover all arbitration years and at least one year of free agency. Slated to turn 26 in March, Garcia had a breakout 2025 season, slashing .286/.351/.449 with 16 home runs and 23 stolen bases while capturing his first American League Gold Glove award. The third baseman recently strained his hamstring while playing in the Venezuelan Winter League, but he should be fine for the beginning of spring training.

Garcia suffered a strained hamstring Sunday while playing for Tiburones de La Guaira in the Venezuelan Winter League, Marcos Grunfeld of El Emergente reports.

Garcia will wait to hear back from the Royals about either returning to winter ball at a later date or shutting things down. At the very least, he is expected to be sidelined for the next week or so. Garcia had a breakout 2025 campaign for Kansas City, slashing .286/.351/.449 with 16 home runs and 23 stolen bases over 160 games.

Astros general manager Dana Brown said Monday that Paredes (hamstring) will be "full-go" at the start of spring training, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Brown said during last month's general managers' meetings that Paredes wasn't fully recovered from his right hamstring tear and that the infielder likely wouldn't be 100 percent by spring training. Now, however, Brown seems confident that Paredes will not have any limitations when camp opens. Paredes should have an everyday role for Houston in 2026 -- assuming he's not traded -- though it's not yet clear what position he will play.

The Angels and Rendon (hip) are in talks to buy out the final year of his seven-year, $245 million contract, Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com reports.

Rendon is expected to agree to defer at least some of the $38 million he is owed in 2026, and, once the buyout is finalized, the 35-year-old is expected to retire. It will spell the end of one of the worst free-agent contracts in baseball history, as Rendon has slashed .242/.348/.369 and never played more than 58 games during his five seasons with the Angels. He missed most of the 2025 campaign following left hip surgery. Even after the dreadful tenure with the Halos, Rendon will still finish with a career .280/.364/.464 batting line with 158 home runs over 12 major-league seasons. He made one All-Star team, finished in the top-10 in National League MVP voting four times and won a World Series in 2019 with the Nationals.

Bride signed a minor-league contract with the Rangers on Tuesday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

Bride finished 2025 with a mere .435 OPS over 125 plate appearances between Miami and Minnesota. He slashed .281/.423/.453 over 43 games in Triple-A, however, which was enough to earn him a shot with the Rangers this spring. He'll most likely report to Triple-A Round Rock at the start of the upcoming season.

The Yankees and Cabrera (ankle) avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $1.2 million contract Friday, Jack Curry of YES Network reports.

Cabrera was limited to just 34 games in 2025 after requiring surgery in mid-May to repair a fracture and ligament damage in his left ankle. He should be a full participant in spring training and will get a nice raise in 2026 in his first year of arbitration eligibility. Cabrera is pegged for a utility role next season in The Bronx.

Astros general manager Dana Brown said during last week's general managers' meetings that Paredes was about 65 percent recovered from his right hamstring injury, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Brown added that he's hopeful Paredes will be 80-to-90 percent recovered by spring training and potentially be ready to go by Opening Day. Paredes missed two months due to a right hamstring tear suffered in mid-July before making a late-season return, though he was limited to designated hitter duty and severely compromised as a baserunner. The 26-year-old will continue to rehab the injury and it sounds like he'll be slow-played at the start of spring training.

Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said Monday that Mayer's recovery from right wrist surgery had progressed to the point that he could have been available had the team made a deep postseason run, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports.

That suggests Mayer -- who underwent a right wrist arthroscopy in August -- should be fully recovered well ahead of spring training. As things currently stand, Mayer could open the 2026 season as the starter at either second or third base, though much will depend on what additions the Red Sox make to their roster.

Barger went 2-for-2 with a grand slam during Toronto's 11-4 victory in Game 1 of the World Series against the Dodgers on Friday.

Having already scored three runs in the sixth inning, Toronto was on the verge of taking full control of Friday's contest when Barger entered the game to hit for Davis Schneider. With the bases loaded, Barger slugged a 413-foot home run into center field off lefty Anthony Banda, marking the first pinch-hit grand slam in World Series history. The 25-year-old Barger has gone deep in two of his last three playoff games and is slashing .324/.405/.622 through 42 plate appearances in the postseason.

Barger went 2-for-3 with a home run, a walk and three RBI in Sunday's 6-2 win over Seattle in Game 6 of the ALCS.

Barger got the scoring started in bottom of the second inning, driving in Daulton Varsho on a single. The 25-year-old would later add a two-run home run off Logan Gilbert in the fourth inning, notching his second long ball of the playoffs. Barger is now batting .281 with two home runs, four RBI and three runs scored over 32 at-bats in nine games during the postseason.