MLB Player News

The Guardians declined to tender Maile a contract for 2023, Mandy Bell of MLB.com reports.

Maile has bounced around between Tampa Bay, Toronto, Milwaukee and Cleveland so far in his big-league career. He provides quality defense behind the plate but packs little punch with the bat, and his pitch framing was poor last year according to Statcast.

Kolozsvary was outrighted to Triple-A Norfolk on Thursday, Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com reports.

Kolozsvary was claimed off waivers by the Orioles in mid-October, but he'll now lose his spot on the 40-man roster. It's still possible that he serves as a non-roster invitee at spring training.

Heineman was designated for assignment by the Pirates on Tuesday.

Heineman appeared in 62 games between the Pirates and Blue Jays last season and had a .217/.276/.268 slash line, and he won't stick on Pittsburgh's 40-man roster through the offseason.

Stephenson (collarbone) announced Wednesday via his personal Twitter account that he's resumed taking batting practice.

Stephenson's 2022 campaign came to an end in late July, when he suffered a broken right collarbone that later required surgery. The fact that he's swinging a bat again suggests he's nearing the finish line in his recovery from surgery, but he'll still need to complete a throwing program before he's fully cleared for catching duties in spring training. When healthy last season, Stephenson displayed the upside of a top-tier fantasy catcher, as he hit .319 with six home runs, 35 RBI and 24 runs in just 183 plate appearances.

Rodriguez was added to the Pirates' 40-man roster Tuesday.

Rodriguez is one of the league's best catching prospects and finished 2022 at the Triple-A level despite beginning the season at High-A. He played in only six games at the highest level of the minors, but his .997 OPS on the season could push him toward making his MLB debut next year.

Cartaya was added to the Dodgers' 40-man roster Tuesday, Eric Stephen of SBNation.com reports.

Cartaya is one of the top catching prospects in baseball, so it's no surprise Los Angeles opted to shield him from the upcoming Rule 5 draft. The 21-year-old spent most of 2022 at High-A Great Lakes and posted a .251/.379/.476 slash line with 13 home runs and 41 RBI in 62 games.

The Royals selected Fermin's contract Tuesday.

He made his big-league debut this past season, but only played in three games. The 27-year-old catcher will serve as Kansas City's third catcher on the depth chart. He hit .270/.365/.480 with 15 home runs in 87 games at Triple-A.

Maldonado underwent surgery Tuesday to repair a sports hernia, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Maldonado played through the injury late in the year, though you wouldn't necessarily be able to tell based on his numbers. His 85 wRC+ in the second half wasn't a strong mark, though it was much better than his 61 wRC+ in the first half. The defense-first catcher is expected to be fully recovered from the procedure in time for spring training in 2023.

Barrera rejected an outright assignment to Triple-A Rochester and elected free agency Friday, Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post reports.

Barrera was removed from the Nationals' 40-man roster Thursday and will test free agency rather than report to Triple-A. The 28-year-old played in 19 big-league games last season and had a .180/.212/.200 slash line in 53 plate appearances.

Delay cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Indianapolis on Thursday, Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic reports.

Delay played in 57 games for Pittsburgh last season but won't retain his spot on the 40-man roster. It was the 27-year-old's first taste of the big leagues, and he had a .213/.265/.271 slash line with one home run, 11 RBI and 17 runs.