MLB Player News

Grandal and the Pirates agreed Sunday on a one-year, $2.5 million contract, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Grandal will make the move back to the National League after spending the past four seasons with the White Sox. The 35-year-old lost playing time down the stretch last season and and finished with a .234/.309/.339 slash line over 405 plate appearances. Though he was once an upper-tier fantasy catcher, Grandal is clearly on the downside of his career, as he's posted a lowly 74 wRC+ over the past two seasons. In Pittsburgh, Grandal projects to see a couple of starts per week behind the plate as young backstop Henry Davis' primary backup. The switch-hitting Grandal has typically performed better against left-handed pitching throughout his career, so he could also be deployed as a short-side platoon option at first base or at designated hitter.

Sanchez signed a one-year, $7 million contract with the Brewers on Wednesday, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.

Sanchez spent most of last season with the Padres, slashing .218/.292/.500 with 19 homers and 46 RBI after being claimed by the team in late May. The 31-year-old was particularly effective against lefties, putting up a .984 OPS over 79 plate appearances. Now with Milwaukee, Sanchez will likely receive most of his at-bats at designated hitter while also giving the Crew another option at catcher behind starter William Contreras.

Fortes worked on changes to his stance and swing this offseason, and Marlins manager Skip Schumaker is expecting more offense from him this season, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports.

It would be hard for Fortes' offense to get worse in 2024 after he stumbled to a .562 OPS through 323 plate appearances last year, a significant decline from the .696 OPS he posted in 2022. The Marlins like his work with the pitching staff, however, and offseason addition Christian Bethancourt has a career .622 OPS in the majors, so the starting job behind the plate likely still belongs to Fortes.

Pineda cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Rochester on Friday, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reports.

Pineda is no longer on the Nationals' 40-man roster but will retain a spot in the organization. The 23-year-old catcher slashed just .152/.215/.212 across 107 plate appearances at Double-A Harrisburg in 2023.

The Mets designated Heineman for assignment Tuesday, Will Sammon of The Athletic reports.

Heineman will lose his spot on the 40-man roster to Adam Ottavino, whose signing was made official Tuesday. Heineman slashed .237/.383/.316 in 47 plate appearances between the Pirates and Blue Jays last season, and he logged similar numbers with the teams' Triple-A affiliates.

The Nationals designated Pineda for assignment Saturday, Bobby Blanco of MASNSports.com reports.

Pineda will lose his spot on the 40-man roster to make room for Joey Gallo, whose signing became official Saturday. Pineda played in four games for the Nationals in 2022, but the 23-year-old backstop didn't make it past Double-A Harrisburg in 2023, where he slashed just .152/.215/.212 across 107 plate appearances. He will likely return to Double-A to begin 2024.

Okey signed a minor-league contract with the Dodgers on Jan. 3.

Okey slashed .281/.345/.414 with 26 RBI across 235 plate appearances last season with the Angels' Triple-A affiliate. Now with the Dodgers, the 29-year-old backstop will provide organizational depth and will only potentially see the majors if Will Smith or Austin Barnes are forced to miss time.

Bethancourt agreed to a one-year, $2.05 million contract with the Marlins on Thursday, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports.

The Marlins acquired Bethancourt from the Guardians in exchange for cash in December and they will pay for his services again to avoid an arbiter. The 32-year-old backstop had a .225/.254/.381 slash line with 11 home runs in 104 games for the Rays last year. He will split time with Nick Fortes in Miami this season.

Smith signed a one-year, $8.6 million deal with the Dodgers on Thursday to avoid arbitration, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Smith was in the second year of arbitration eligibility and will earn $3.3 million more than he did in 2023. He posted a career-low .797 OPS across 554 plate appearances last season, though he was still an above-average producer at catcher with 19 homers and 76 RBI.

Higashioka signed a one-year contract with the Padres on Thursday, avoiding arbitration.

Higashioka joined the Padres as part of the trade that sent Juan Soto to the Yankees in December. Higashioka slashed .236/.274/.413 with 34 RBI across 242 plate appearances last season, and he seems destined for a backup role behind Luis Campusano with the Padres.