MLB Player News
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James McCann C | ARI
Mets' James McCann: Reaches deal with Mets
McCann signed a four-year, $40 million contract with the Mets on Saturday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.
McCann has been close to a deal with the Mets for several days, but he now has a deal in place, pending a physical. The 30-year-old had a career-best .289/.360/.536 slash line with seven home runs and 15 RBI over 31 games with the White Sox in 2020, and he should take over as the Mets' primary catcher next season.
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Chadwick Tromp C | ATL
Giants' Chadwick Tromp: Rejoining San Francisco
Tromp announced via his personal Twitter account Tuesday that he signed a contract with the Giants.
The 25-year-old was non-tendered by the Giants last week, but he'll be rejoining the club on a lesser deal. Tromp made his big-league debut in 2020 and had a .213/.219/.426 slash line with four home runs and 20 strikeouts in 64 plate appearances.
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Omar Narvaez C | HOU
Brewers' Omar Narvaez: Gets $2.5 million from Brewers
Narvaez agreed to a one-year, $2.5 million deal with the Brewers on Wednesday, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports.
The Brewers are going to stick to their pre-2020 evaluation of Narvaez and keep him around for at least another season. He hit .278/.353/.460 with 22 home runs in 2019 but slashed .176/.294/.269 with two round trippers this past season. The Brewers pride themselves on being able teach catchers how to be better pitch framers, and indeed, Narvaez went from being a huge defensive negative in 2019 to actually rating as a positive defender this past season, according to FanGraphs.
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Luke Maile C | KC
Brewers' Luke Maile: Heading to Milwaukee
Maile signed a major-league deal with the Brewers on Tuesday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.
It seemed likely the 29-year-old would have to settle for a minor-league deal after missing the 2020 campaign due to finger surgery, but he was able to secure a major-league contract with the Brewers. Maile is a defense-first catcher with a .198/.252/.304 slash line in 215 career games. He shouldn't fill more than a backup role and joins a catching group that includes Jacob Nottingham, Omar Narvaez and Manny Pina (knee), though that player list could change ahead of Wednesday's non-tender deadline.
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Elias Diaz C | KC
Rockies' Elias Diaz: Avoids arbitration with Rockies
Diaz signed a one-year, $1.2 million contract with the Rockies on Monday, avoiding arbitration, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.
The deal comes with $300,000 in incentives. Manager Bud Black likes how Diaz has improved defensively behind the plate, so he should enter spring training atop the depth chart. He was not as sharp offensively, hitting .235/.288/.353 with two home runs in 26 games. Tony Wolters and Dom Nunez linger for now as depth options.
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Ivan Herrera C | STL
Cardinals' Ivan Herrera: Contract selected by Cardinals
Herrera's contract was selected by the Cardinals on Wednesday.
Herrera will join the Cardinals' 40-man roster in order to protect him from the upcoming Rule 5 draft. Even if the team doesn't bring Yadier Molina back during the offseason, the 20-year-old has mainly worked in the lower levels of the minors and is unlikely to be considered for a major-league roster spot in 2021. Herrera slashed .284/.374/.405 with nine home runs and 47 RBI between the Low-A and High-A levels in 2019.
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Luke Maile C | KC
Pirates' Luke Maile: Reaches free agency
Maile elected free agency after being outrighted off the Pirates' 40-man roster Oct. 30, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
Maile will presumably be in the market this winter for a minor-league deal with an organization that includes an invitation to big-league spring training. The 29-year-old catcher didn't see any action for the Pirates in 2020 after fracturing his right finger in summer camp and requiring season-ending surgery.
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Tyler Heineman C | TOR
Cardinals' Tyler Heineman: Signs minor-league contract
Heineman signed a minor-league contract with the Cardinals on Friday as a non-roster invitee.
Heineman appeared in 15 major-league contests with the Giants during the 2020 season, but he failed to generate much production, slashing .190/.292/.214 with a double and one RBI. The 29-year-old will get to work with the major-league coaching staff during spring training as he prepares to join his third team in as many seasons.
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Luke Maile C | KC
Pirates' Luke Maile: Outrighted off roster
Maile (finger) was reinstated from the 60-day injured list and outrighted to the minors Friday, Alex Stumpf of DKPittsburghSports.com reports.
Maile missed the entire season after undergoing finger surgery. As a 29-year-old with a career .198/.252/.304 slash line in 216 big-league games, he's understandably not a major part of the Pirates' plans going forward.