MLB Player News

The White Sox traded Narvaez to the Mariners on Friday in exchange for Alex Colome.

Narvaez was one of the best hitting catchers in baseball last summer, slashing .315/.401/.502 with nine homers over the final four months. His 122 wRC+ ranked fifth among catchers with at least 200 plate appearances. This trade is great news for his fantasy value, as Narvaez appears primed to serve as a true primary starter with Seattle instead of splitting time with Welington Castillo.

Ruiz's contract was purchased by the Dodgers on Tuesday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Ruiz will move to the 40-man roster for protection from the Rule 5 draft. He should be in line to start the 2019 season at Triple-A after slashing .268/.328/.401 with 12 homers and 47 RBI over 101 games with Double-A Tulsa in 2018.

Stubbs was added to Houston's 40-man roster Tuesday, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Stubbs will be shielded from the Rule 5 draft following the Astros' latest move. He's advanced to Triple-A Fresno in each of the last two seasons and appears to be closing in on his big-league debut after slashing .310/.382/.455 with four homers and 38 RBI over 84 games with the Grizzlies in 2018.

Zavala's contract was selected from Triple-A Charlotte on Tuesday.

Zavala was added to the White Sox's 40-man roster for protection ahead of the Rule 5 draft. He split time between Charlotte and Double-A Birmingham in 2018, hitting a combined .258/.317/.418 with 13 homers across 104 games. The 25-year-old backstop will likely head back to Triple-A to begin the 2019 season after struggling during his first stint with the Knights (.243/.267/.359 across 48 games).

Jackson was added to the Braves' 40-man roster Tuesday.

Jackson and several other prospects had their contracts selected by Atlanta in order to protect them from the Rule 5 draft. While he has big-time pedigree (No. 6 overall pick in 2014 by Seattle) and plus power, Jackson has struggled to hit in the upper levels of the minors. He posted strikeout rates north of 30 percent at Double-A and Triple-A while hitting just .201 across those two stops in 2018. Look for him to spend the bulk of 2019 back at Triple-A working on improving his on-base skills.

Grandal will decline the Dodgers' one-year, $17.9 million qualifying offer Monday, Robert Murray of The Athletic reports.

Grandal figures to draw plenty of interest as the best catcher in the free agent pool. While the 30-year-old struggled in the postseason, he was one of the best backstops in the league during the regular season, hitting .241/.349/.466 with 24 homers and 68 RBI across 140 games for the Dodgers. He's one of two catchers to have surpassed 20 homers in each of the last three seasons.

Nicholas signed a minor-league contract with the Rockies on Sunday, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports.

The 30-year-old backstop spent all of last season in the Padres organization. He slashed .291/.353/.485 with 16 homers and 83 RBI at Triple-A El Paso but was unable to crack the big-league roster at any point. He has a .756 OPS in 110 MLB plate appearances in his career, though as things stand now, Nicholas figures to largely provide catching depth for the Rockies behind Chris Iannetta, Tony Wolters and Tom Murphy.

Nola agreed to a minor-league contract with the Mariners on Friday, Mariners Minors reports.

Nola appeared in 69 games for Triple-A New Orleans last year, piecing together a .279/.370/.376 slash line with two homers and 32 RBI. He figures to begin the 2019 campaign with Triple-A Tacoma.

Sanchez underwent successful left shoulder surgery Thursday.

The surgery was performed by team physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad and went as expected. Seeing as the procedure typically carries a three-month recovery timeline, Sanchez should be fully healed by the time spring training rolls around. The backstop will look to bounce back in 2019 after he struggled to a .186/.291/.406 line across 89 games during an injury-plagued 2018 campaign.

Sanchez will undergo left shoulder surgery this offseason and is expected to be ready by Opening Day, Lindsey Adler of The Athletic reports.

The issue has apparently been bothering Sanchez since 2017, and it was recently decided that the backstop would benefit from a debridement. The procedure typically carries a three-month timeline, giving Sanchez plenty of time to get back to full speed before the start of the 2019 campaign. A healthy Sanchez will look to bounce back after struggling through an injury-riddled 2018 season that saw him hit just .186/.291/.406 with 18 homers across 89 games.