The Padres signed Hunt to a minor-league contract Tuesday.

Hunt spent the 2025 season at Triple-A Tacoma in the Mariners organization, slashing .272/.368/.452 with eight home runs in 68 contests. The 27-year-old was up in the big leagues briefly with the Orioles in 2024 but is still looking to make his major-league debut. Hunt was originally selected by the Padres in the second round of the 2017 First-Year Player Draft before being traded to the Rays in the Blake Snell deal.

The Mariners signed Knizner to a one-year contract Tuesday.

Knizner saw 88 plate appearances this past season with the Giants, putting up a .598 OPS. A career .211/.281/.316 hitter over parts of seven big-league seasons, Knizner is poised to open the 2026 season as the Mariners' backup catcher behind star Cal Raleigh.

Perez suffered a left thumb injury Sunday while playing in the Venezuelan Winter League, Al Son de la LVBP reports.

Perez posted a video on Instagram of himself working out and he didn't seem to be overly affected by the injury, so it seems to be a day-to-day situation that shouldn't affect his availability for spring training. The 35-year-old Perez has gone 6-for-29 with two home runs for Leones del Caracas in winter ball thus far.

The Reds re-signed Banfield to a minor-league contract Dec. 2.

Banfield was non-tendered by the Reds in November but wound up returning to the organization on a minor-league pact. The 26-year-old catcher went 1-for-10 with six strikeouts during a cup of coffee with the Reds and will provide depth behind the plate at Triple-A Louisville.

Jansen signed a two-year, $14.5 million contract with the Rangers on Friday, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.

Following a poor 2024 campaign, Jansen looked more like his usual self in '25, slashing .215/.321/.399 with 14 homers, 36 RBI and 38 runs scored across 337 regular-season plate appearances between Tampa Bay and Milwaukee. His return to form was enough to draw a multi-year commitment from Texas, where the 30-year-old will now compete with Kyle Higashioka for starting reps behind the plate.

The Orioles designated Handley for assignment Thursday, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

Handley will lose his place on the 40-man roster in order to make room for Pete Alonso, whose signing became official Thursday. Handley went 3-for-41 (.073) in the majors this past season but slashed a more respectable .258/.373/.367 over 154 plate appearances at Triple-A Norfolk.

The Orioles designated Romo for assignment Wednesday, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

The move frees a spot on the 40-man roster for Josh Walker, who was claimed off waivers. Romo was a waiver claim himself just last week, and he'll now go through the waivers process again. The switch-hitting catcher is 9-for-54 at the plate during his brief time in the majors.

The Twins selected Susac with the fourth pick in the Rule 5 Draft on Wednesday and then traded him to the Giants, Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs reports.

Daniel's older brother Andrew was drafted by the Giants in 2011 and played his best two seasons in the majors with San Francisco in 2014 and 2015 as Buster Posey's backup, so it's understandable that Posey, the Giants president of baseball operations, would then trade for the younger Susac. The 24-year-old catcher was the No. 19 overall pick in 2022 and was left unprotected by the Athletics after he slashed .275/.349/.483 with 18 home runs and a 26.8 percent strikeout rate in 97 games in the Pacific Coast League. He is a fine defender, but Susac is a very aggressive hitter who will likely chase and strike out quite a bit if the Giants keep him on the big-league roster this season.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Wednesday that he expects Rice to play "a lot" against left-handed pitchers in 2026, Greg Joyce of the New York Post reports.

The left-handed-hitting Rice's playing time against southpaws in 2025 was limited, though that was due in large part to Paul Goldschmidt's effectiveness versus lefties. Rice hit only .208 over 119 regular-season plate appearances against left-handers this past season, but he slugged seven home runs while boasting a .481 slugging percentage in those matchups. Heading into his age-27 season, Rice will be the Yankees' primary first baseman in 2026, and he could get an opportunity to be an everyday player.

The Angels re-signed Rivero to a minor-league contract Tuesday, Taylor Blake Ward of The Sporting Tribune reports.

Rivero was non-tendered by the Halos last month but is back with the club on a minor-league pact. He's hit .172/.226/.212 over 45 games at the big-league level and will give the Angels some experienced catching depth at Triple-A Salt Lake.