Marte might be at risk of a minor-league demotion to begin the 2025 season following the Reds' acquisition of Gavin Lux, Gordon Wittenmyer of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

After making a fantastic splash in the majors in 2023, Marte had a lost 2024 season, which started with him sustaining an injury in Winter League play and then serving an 80-game suspension for a positive PED test. Once he returned, he never got on track offensively or defensively, hitting just .210/.248/.301 in 229 at-bats. With Lux on the team, the Reds have to find spots for Matt McLain, Jeimer Candelario and Christian Encarnacion-Strand in addition to Marte, and it doesn't make sense for Marte to ride the bench instead of playing regularly in the minors.

LeMahieu could be the current favorite to start at third base for the Yankees, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.

Sherman said Monday on the Pinstripe Post podcast that he believes the Yankees are "going to try to take another look at LeMahieu" and that LeMahieu's likeliest position is third base. Jazz Chisholm ended the 2024 season at the hot corner for the Yanks, but the club seems to prefer him at second base. It could all be a moot point if the team winds up acquiring a player at either of those positions, but for now, LeMahieu looks to be in line to handle the hot corner. The 36-year-old had just a .527 OPS over 67 games during an injury-shortened 2024 campaign.

Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said Monday that Devers is the team's third baseman "as of now," Gabrielle Starr of the Boston Herald reports.

The "as of now" part is the takeaway here. It's been reported that Boston has considered shifting Devers to first base, and that seems to still be in play if the club makes an outside addition at third base. The Red Sox have been connected to Alex Bregman via free agency and Nolan Arenado via trade this offseason.

Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris said Friday that Keith will move to first base next season, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.

The newly signed Gleyber Torres will take over as the Tigers' second baseman, shifting Keith over to the cold corner. Keith has never played first base in pro ball, but he's been working out there this offseason and the Tigers don't seem to have any concerns about his ability to adapt to the position. With Keith now at first base at least against righties, Spencer Torkelson's role on Detroit's roster looks unclear.

Urshela agreed to a one-year contract with the Athletics on Thursday, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

Urshela split time between Detroit and Atlanta last season and hit .250 with nine home runs and a .647 OPS. He was released by Detroit in August after slashing just .243/.286/.333, but he fared better with Atlanta by hitting .265 with a .711 OPS. Urshela still has a decent glove at third base as his Defensive Runs Saved ranked 18th at the position last season. He'll compete for a regular role this spring at third base, but he might be a better fit with the A's as a veteran bench player.

Arenado used his no-trade clause to block a potential trade to the Astros, Mark Feinsand, John Denton and Brian McTaggart of MLB.com report.

The report says the Cardinals were willing to send $15-20 million to the Astros to help cover part of Arenado's salary, but the third baseman informed St. Louis he would not waive his no-trade clause to go to Houston. It's not clear what the Cardinals would have received in return. While the two sides are still having "ongoing talks," the Astros "aren't holding out much hope that a deal will get done."

The Diamondbacks signed Vargas to a minor-league contract Tuesday that includes an invitation to spring training, Aram Leighton of Just Baseball reports.

Vargas was non-tendered by the Nationals last month after he slashed just .246/.295/.316 in 2024. The 33-year-old first reached the majors with the Diamondbacks in 2017 and has spent parts of five seasons in the big leagues with Arizona. Vargas has a shot to win a utility job with the Diamondbacks.

Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer indicated Tuesday that Busch is not under consideration to play third base and will instead remain focused on first base, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.

The Cubs have an opening at the hot corner following the trade of Isaac Paredes and Busch has some experience at third base. However, the team views Busch as a potential Gold Glove-caliber first baseman and wants him to remain there. Top prospect Matt Shaw looks to be the current favorite to start at third base.

Wisdom signed with the Kia Tigers of the Korea Baseball Organization on Saturday.

The Cubs moved on from Wisdom earlier this offseason, non-tendering him after he slashed .171/.237/.392 with eight homers, 23 RBI and five stolen bases in 75 games. He had slugged at least 20 home runs in each of the three previous seasons, and he'll now head overseas with hopes of re-establishing himself at the plate.

The Astros acquired Smith, Isaac Paredes and Hayden Wesneski from the Cubs on Friday in exchange for Kyle Tucker, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

The 14th overall pick in the 2024 First-Year Player Draft, Smith debuted in pro ball with a .313/.396/.609 slash line and seven home runs over 32 games across three levels. He finished the year at Double-A Tennessee and will likely begin the 2025 campaign at Double-A Corpus Christi, with a debut by late 2025 or 2026 possible. He immediately becomes the best prospect in an Astros system that has seen a steady exodus of talent in recent years as the team stayed in World Series contention.