MLB Player News

Gallagher rejected his outright assignment to Triple-A Norfolk on Tuesday and elected free agency, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

Gallagher was claimed off waivers by the Orioles in September but won't remain with the organization through the offseason. He never saw the field in Baltimore but appeared in 18 games earlier in the year for Kansas City and went 9-for-42 with no home runs and five RBI.

Contreras declined the Cubs' $19.65 million qualifying offer and became a free agent Tuesday, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.

Contreras slashed .243/.349/.466 in 2022 -- a very good individual season -- but he will now join the list of star players to depart from Chicago in the last couple of years as the Cubs enter a rebuild. Contreras is known as a great catcher and should garner plenty of interest from teams looking to add a high-quality piece to their lineup.

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

Bemboom signed a one-year split deal with Baltimore in October, and his sights are now set on competing for the backup catching job behind Adley Rutschman. He'll compete in spring training with Cam Gallagher, who was scooped up in mid-September off waivers.

Lee was added to the Astros' World Series roster on Saturday, Marly Rivera of ESPN.com reports.

Lee will join the team in place of Yuli Gurriel, who suffered a knee injury in Game 5. He's unlikely to be anything more than injury insurance behind the plate, allowing Christian Vazquez to serve as the designated hitter while Trey Mancini takes Gurriel's spot at first base.

Wallach cleared waivers and elected free agency Thursday.

The Angels outrighted Wallach to Triple-A Salt Lake, but he rejected that assignment and has instead chosen free agency. He played in 12 major-league games last season and spent most of the campaign at Salt Lake, where he had a .219/.304/.361 slash line.

Wallach cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Salt Lake on Thursday.

Wallach spent most of the season at Salt Lake and won't retain his spot on the 40-man roster through the offseason. He had a .219/.304/.361 slash line in 89 games at Triple-A and appeared in 12 major-league games.

Maldonado is out of the lineup Wednesday for Game 4 of the World Series matchup with the Phillies, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Maldonado will take a seat after he was behind the plate for each of the Astros' last four postseason games. Christian Vazquez will catch for starting pitcher Cristian Javier in Game 4.

Realmuto went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, a double, three RBI and a walk during Friday's 6-5 win over the Astros in Game 1 of the World Series.

Realmuto played a crucial part in the Phillies' five-run comeback -- he tied the game with a two-run double in the fifth inning off Justin Verlander and put the Phillies ahead in extra innings with a solo shot off Luis Garcia. The 31-year-old catcher was locked in at the plate during Game 1 -- he reached base three times, and his other two at bats were both line-drive outs. Realmuto's homer was his second in the last three games and third of the playoffs. Playing in his first career postseason, he has racked up six RBI and 11 runs scored.

Cartaya posted a composite .254/.389/.503 slash line with 22 homers, 72 RBI and 74 runs across 95 games split between Single-A and High-A this season.

While those overall numbers definitely got a boost from his time in the hitter-friendly California League, Cartaya's .856 OPS in High-A at age 20 is still impressive. He's striking out too often -- 119 times in 445 plate appearances, a 26.7 percent clip -- but Cartaya also draws plenty of walks and offers rare power at the catcher position. Among prospect backstops, perhaps only Francisco Alvarez offers more upside.

Realmuto went 1-for-2 with a solo home run, two additional runs scored and two walks during Saturday's 10-6 win over the Padres in Game 4 of the NLCS.

Realmuto put the finishing touches on the Phillies' comeback in Game 4 with a solo homer off Steven Wilson in the seventh inning. The 31-year-old catcher entered the game struggling in his first career postseason, hitting .200 across 35 at bats, but he was able to reach base three times to help the Phillies win a crucial Game 4. Although his offensive numbers in the postseason do not jump off the page, Realmuto has now scored nine times, and his team is one win away from reaching the World Series.