MLB Player News

Noriega signed a minor-league contract with the Brewers on Monday.

Noriega split time between Double-A Biloxi and Triple-A Colorado Springs in 2017, though he hit just .238/.258/.300 in 82 games between both stops. He should serve as organizational depth again in 2018.

According to manager Buck Showalter, Machado will begin the season as the Orioles' starting shortstop while Tim Beckham moves to the hot corner, Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports reports.

Machado will move back to his "natural position" and although he lost shortstop eligibility for fantasy leagues heading into this campaign, he will regain it during the season. The 25-year-old recently avoided arbitration a couple weeks ago on a one-year, $16 million deal and should be primed for a big year after an impressive second half in 2017.

The Braves officially invited Riley to big-league spring training.

Riley took part in the Arizona Fall League after playing the last couple months of the 2017 season at the Double-A level. The third baseman will get a chance to show the Braves' brass his potential when he faces major-league pitching come spring, and he could be in line for a promotion to the big leagues towards the latter part of next season if he's able to hold his own. Either way, expect Riley to start the 2018 campaign with Triple-A Gwinnett after slashing .315/.389/.511 over 48 games with Mississippi last year.

Burger has been invited to the White Sox's major-league camp this spring, James Fegan of The Athletic Chicago reports.

Burger is still a year or two away from the majors, but the White Sox will nonetheless give their 2017 first-round pick a look during spring to see how he fares against major-league competition. The 21-year-old held his own in his first season of pro ball, hitting a combined .263/.336/.412 with five homers in 51 games across two levels. He has an impressive hit tool that could see him produce 25-30 homers with a .275 average when he ultimately arrives in the majors.

The Pirates announced Monday that Newman would join the major-league squad spring training as a non-roster invitee, Adam Berry of MLB.com reports.

In addition to Newman, fellow shortstop prospect Cole Tucker (hand) will also work out with the big club this spring, though neither is a serious candidate to make the Opening Day roster. Tucker probably offers more long-term fantasy upside of the two shortstops due to his base-stealing ability and projectable power, though Newman boasts a better hit tool. Newman slashed .283/.314/.373 across 178 plate appearances with Triple-A Indianapolis following a July promotion and is expected to open the 2018 season in the International League.

LeMahieu agreed to a one-year, $8.5 million contract with the Rockies on Friday, avoiding arbitration, Jon Heyman of FanRagSports.com reports.

LeMahieu earned a significant raise (from $4.8 million) by batting .310 with a .374 OBP in 155 games with Colorado in 2017. Unfortunately, his ISO fell back below .100 last season as the 29-year-old drove the ball into the ground 55.6 percent of the time. Ideally, he'd add some power to his game before hitting the open market next winter.

Machado agreed to a one-year, $16 million deal with Baltimore on Friday, avoiding arbitration, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports.

This marks the final offseason as an arbitration-eligible player for Machado, who will become an unrestricted free agent following the 2018 campaign. Currently, the third baseman has been involved in trade rumors all winter, following a 2017 season that saw him slash .259/.310/.471 with 33 home runs and 95 RBI, even after a rough start to the year. No matter what jersey he's wearing come the spring, expect Machado to be a top-tier fantasy performer yet again.

Duffy (Achilles) agreed to a one-year, $930,000 deal with Tampa Bay on Friday to avoid arbitration, Roger Mooney of The Tampa Bay Times reports.

This was the first offseason Duffy was an arbitration-eligible player, and he earned a $384,700 raise from his 2017 salary. The third baseman wasn't able to play in any games last year because of an Achilles injury he suffered during the 2016 campaign. He was able to resume running earlier this week and could start off the year as the Rays' everyday third baseman if he's able to demonstrate full health during spring training.

Rendon agreed to a one-year, $12.3 million contract with the Nationals on Friday, avoiding arbitration, Chelsea Janes of The Washington Post reports.

Rendon put together an excellent 2017 season and will be handsomely rewarded, as his salary more than doubles in his second year of arbitration eligibility. Last season was Rendon's third full campaign in four years, so he's distancing himself from the health concerns that dogged him earlier in his career, and his plate skills are still improving.

Donaldson agreed to a one-year, $23 million deal with the Blue Jays on Friday to avoid arbitration, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Although this figure isn't particularly surprising considering Donaldson's abilities, it marks the largest arbitration agreement in the history of the league. During the 2017 season, Donaldson hit .270/.385/.559 with 33 home runs and 78 RBI. Besides missing six weeks of the season due to a calf injury in the spring, the 32-year-old nearly put together another MVP-type campaign in the second half, ranking fifth in baseball with a 160 wRC+ after the All-Star break. Expect more of the same from the third baseman in 2018.