MLB Player News

Perez signed a minor-league deal with the Athletics on Friday, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports.

The 30-year-old has spent parts of four seasons in the big leagues, though he hasn't done much with his opportunities and hasn't received any since 2018. in 670 career plate appearances at the highest level, he owns a .215/.257/.319 slash line. He was a member of Oakland's player pool last season but never made it onto the big-league roster.

Godoy was invited to Seattle's minor-league camp Thursday, Lauren Smith of The Tacoma News Tribune reports.

Godoy has spent his entire professional career thus far as a member of the Cardinals' system. He's a fringe prospect at best, projecting for a sub-par bat with average defense, but he could earn his big-league debut this season as he lines up as one of Seattle's top minor-league depth options behind the plate.

Realmuto agreed to a five-year, $115.5 million deal to return to the Phillies on Tuesday, Craig Mish of SportsGrid.com reports.

There was no better player to fill the Realmuto-shaped hole in Philadelphia than Realmuto himself, so it makes sense that he and the Phillies were able to come to terms on a deal that suits both sides. Realmuto's average annual value of $23.1 million will be the highest ever for a catcher. It's hard to say the contract is undeserved, as he's been the top backstop in the league over the last several seasons. Heading into his age-30 season, Realmuto will presumably start declining sometime soon, but he showed no signs of doing so last season, hitting .266/.349/.491 with 11 homers and four steals in 47 games. He should remain a key piece of a decent lineup in a hitter-friendly park for the foreseeable future.

The Athletics announced Monday that Soderstrom will report to big-league spring training as a non-roster invitee.

After being selected in the first round of the 2020 first-year player draft, Soderstrom didn't get the chance to make his debut in affiliated ball due to the cancellation of the minor-league season. The assignment to major-league spring training will thus give the Athletics a greater opportunity to evaluate Soderstrom against higher-level competition, even though he won't be a serious candidate to break camp with the big club. Look for the 19-year-old backstop to make his professional debut at the rookie-ball level.

Sanchez and the Yankees reached a one-year, $6.35 million deal Friday, avoiding arbitration, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports.

Despite a lackluster season during the 2020 campaign in which Sanchez lost out on playing time late in the year, the two sides won't need to go to arbitration during the offseason. Sanchez will have to compete for the starting role during spring training after slashing just .147/.253/.365 with 10 home runs and 24 RBI over 178 plate appearances last year.

Contreras and the Cubs agreed to a one-year, $6.65 million contract Friday, avoiding arbitration, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports.

Contreras has been the subject of trade rumors this winter, but he remains in Chicago for now. Wherever he winds up, he'll remain one of the top offensive catchers in the game, as he's posted an average or better slash line in each of his five big-league seasons, including a .243/.356/.407 line last season.

Murphy signed a one-year, $875,000 contract with the Mariners on Friday to avoid arbitration.

The 29-year-old was expected to start behind the plate for Seattle in 2020, but he missed the entirety of the season after fracturing his foot in July. Murphy is expected to work in a timeshare at catcher with Luis Torrens in 2021.

Stallings agreed to a one-year contract with the Pirates on Friday, avoiding arbitration.

The 31-year-old backstop hit .248/.326/.376 with three home runs in 143 plate appearances last year. He was also a strong defensive catcher, so he should be the primary backstop in Pittsburgh this season.

Stassi (hip) signed a one-year, $1.6 million contract with the Angels on Friday, avoiding arbitration, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.

Stassi will double the $800,000 contract he signed in January of 2020. The raise is well-earned, as he's coming off a year in which he hit .278/.352/.533, albeit in a small sample of 105 plate appearances. He appears set to split time behind the plate in 2021 with Kurt Suzuki, who was signed as a free agent Friday.

Hedges avoided arbitration Friday by signing a one-year, $3.28 million deal, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.

Hedges will see a small boost from his 2020 salary of $3 million. It's hard to argue that he deserved a much bigger raise, as he hit an awful .145/.231/.290 in 35 games for San Diego and Cleveland last season.