Basallo said at the Orioles' recent Birdland Caravan fan event that he's lost around 15 pounds this offseason, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.

Listed at 6-foot-4 and 250 pounds, Basallo could afford to slim down a bit without sacrificing the massive power that's helped propel him to being one of the most exciting young hitters in baseball. The 21-year-old is locked into an Opening Day roster spot after signing an eight-year, $67 million contract extension six days into his big-league career. Where the playing time will come from is less of a sure thing, as the Orioles have Adley Rutschman at catcher and Pete Alonso at first base. Settling in at designated hitter is Basallo's most likely path, but he will get starts in the field, as well.

The Twins traded Pereda to the Mariners on Tuesday in exchange for cash.

The Twins DFA'd Pereda on Friday after signing Victor Caratini, but the former will reclaim a 40-man roster spot now that he's been dealt to the M's. He won't take playing time away from Cal Raleigh, but Pereda could provide some quality organizational depth after slashing .308/.422/.465 across 192 Triple-A plate appearances last year.

Wallach signed a minor-league contract with the Athletics on Sunday.

Wallach spent time with the Rangers' and Angels' Triple-A affiliates in 2025 and slashed .248/.319/.430 with 43 RBI and 33 runs scored across 259 plate appearances. The 34-year-old backstop hasn't appeared in an MLB game since 2023, and he'll likely remain a depth piece at Triple-A Las Vegas in 2026.

The Twins designated Pereda for assignment Friday, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reports.

The 29-year-old backstop will be replaced on Minnesota's 40-man roster by Victor Caratini, whose signing became official Friday. Pereda slashed .246/.325/.333 in 2025 across 78 MLB plate appearances split between the Athletics and Twins. However, he finished the minor-league season with an .887 OPS across 192 plate appearances at Triple-A, which could be enough for another team to pick him up off waivers.

Caratini signed a two-year, $14 million contract with the Twins on Friday, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.

Caratini played with the Astros in 2025 and slashed .259/.324/.404 across 386 plate appearances while racking up 12 homers, 46 RBI and 35 runs scored -- all of which represent career highs. Now in Minnesota, the 32-year-old switch hitter figures to share time with Ryan Jeffers behind the plate and could fill in occasionally for Trevor Larnach as the team's DH against southpaws.

The Athletics re-signed Lavastida to a minor-league contract Dec. 18.

Lavastida split the 2025 season between the Astros and Athletics minor-league systems, hitting .279/.362/.438 with 10 homers in 89 games. The 27-year-old's only major-league experience came back in 2022, and he is merely organizational depth for the A's.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Saturday that he expects Contreras to be his cleanup hitter this season, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.

Things could change based on additional moves the Red Sox make this offseason, but as things stand, Contreras is penciled into the No. 4 spot. Jarren Duran, Trevor Story and Roman Anthony appear likely to hit in the first three spots of the batting order, setting Contreras up for plenty of RBI opportunities. Acquired via trade from the Cardinals in December, Contreras slashed 257/.344/.447 with 20 home runs over 562 plate appearances with St. Louis in 2025.

The Twins and Jeffers avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $6.7 million contract Thursday, Darren Wolfson of Channel 5 Saint Paul reports.

It's a nice raise for Jeffers, who was in his final year of arbitration eligibility ahead of free agency next winter. The 28-year-old catcher slashed .266/.356/.397 with nine home runs across 464 plate appearances with the Twins in 2025. With Christian Vazquez not expected to return, Jeffers is set to be the clear No. 1 catcher for Minnesota in 2026.

The Twins and Jackson avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $1.35 million contract Thursday, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.

He'll get a little pay bump in his first year of arbitration eligibility. Jackson was acquired via trade from the Orioles in November and is set to serve as the Twins' backup catcher in 2026 behind starter Ryan Jeffers.

O'Hoppe agreed to a one-year, $2.625 million contract with the Angels on Thursday to avoid arbitration, Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com reports.

It's the first year of arbitration eligibility for O'Hoppe, who has operated as the Angels' primary backstop the past two seasons. The 25-year-old will likely retain the role to begin 2026 but may need to improve upon his .629 OPS from last season to maintain the job all year.