MLB Player News

The Rockies signed McCann to a minor-league contract Tuesday that includes an invitation to spring training, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports.

McCann got into 54 games for the Athletics in 2024 before splitting the 2025 season between Triple-A Las Vegas and the Mexican League. The 28-year-old is ticketed for Triple-A Albuquerque to begin the 2026 campaign.

The Reds designated Rortvedt for assignment Tuesday.

Booting Rortvedt off the 40-man roster clears a spot for Eugenio Suarez, who was officially signed Tuesday. Rortvedt was a waiver claim by the Reds earlier this offseason and is now likely to be on the move again. The defensive-minded catcher is a career .190/.279/.270 hitter over parts of four big-league seasons.

Ford is expected to compete with Keibert Ruiz for the starting catcher spot heading into the 2026 season, Jessica Camerato of MLB.com reports.

Ford was acquired by the Nationals from the Mariners in an offseason deal, and he's immediately been identified as one of his new club's top young prospects. The 22-year-old struggled to see time behind Cal Raleigh in Seattle, logging six at-bats in eight games in 2025, but that's set to change in Washington. Ruiz is coming off a tough season in which he didn't see the field after suffering a concussion in July, so if Ford can stay healthy, he appears likely to break camp with the big-league squad and could even overtake Ruiz for the starting job.

Ruiz (concussion) will compete with Harry Ford for the starting catcher job heading into the 2026 season, Jessica Camerato of MLB.com reports.

Camerato states that it's not clear whether Ruiz is back at 100 percent after missing significant time a season ago due to a concussion, but the team should have more information on his status once he reports to spring training. Ruiz has had a firm handle on the starting catching gig over the last four seasons with Washington, but he'll be challenged by one of the Nationals' recently acquired prospects in Ford.

The White Sox designated Romo for assignment Sunday.

The 24-year-old catcher was claimed off waivers by Chicago in early January and will now go through the waiver process once again. Romo has also spent time on the rosters of the Rockies, Orioles and Mets this offseason. He spent most of 2025 at the Triple-A level and had a .738 OPS in 244 plate appearances.

Quero visited Driveline Baseball last week with a goal of increasing his bat speed and improving his launch angle, Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com reports.

Quero had a healthy 46.3 percent hard-hit rate and 90.4 mph average exit velocity during his rookie season, but his bat speed ranked in the fourth percentile and his average launch angle ranked in the seventh percentile. An assessment determined Quero was lacking lower-body strength, so he was given drills to help increase his explosiveness and add more bat speed. He also had a pull-air rate of just 7.8 percent last season, and the instructors at Driveline worked with him on catching the ball in front of the plate in order to pull the ball with authority. Quero had a respectable .268/.333/.356 batting line in his rookie season and sported a 17.9 percent strikeout rate, but he swatted just five home runs. If the young switch hitter is able to boost his power while maintaining his quality eye at the dish, he could break through. Quero is set to share catching duties with Kyle Teel in 2026 and is also expected to see ample starts at designated hitter for the White Sox.

The Blue Jays signed Stubbs to a minor-league contract Friday that includes an invitation to spring training.

Stubbs made his major-league debut in 2025 with the Nationals, going hitless in three plate appearances. The 29-year-old will merely be organizational catching depth for the Blue Jays at Triple-A Buffalo.

Villarroel was traded from the Astros to the Giants in exchange for Kai-Wei Teng on Thursday, Chandler Rome and Andrew Baaggarly of The Athletic report.

The Giants needed to clear a spot on their 40-man roster after signing Harrison Bader, which was the motivation for this deal. Villarroel reached High-A in 2025 and batted 276/.306/.362 in 15 games, and it's unclear if he'll hit enough to be a productive big leaguer given his lack of defensive value.

Basallo said at the Orioles' recent Birdland Caravan fan event that he's lost around 15 pounds this offseason, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.

Listed at 6-foot-4 and 250 pounds, Basallo could afford to slim down a bit without sacrificing the massive power that's helped propel him to being one of the most exciting young hitters in baseball. The 21-year-old is locked into an Opening Day roster spot after signing an eight-year, $67 million contract extension six days into his big-league career. Where the playing time will come from is less of a sure thing, as the Orioles have Adley Rutschman at catcher and Pete Alonso at first base. Settling in at designated hitter is Basallo's most likely path, but he will get starts in the field, as well.

Barnes signed a minor-league contract with the Mets on Thursday that includes an invitation to spring training.

Barnes appeared in 13 regular-season games for the Dodgers in 2025, posting a .519 OPS across 44 plate appearances before being cut loose by the team in May. The 36-year-old backstop will now aim to return to the big leagues with the Mets, though he'll most likely fill in as minor-league depth at Triple-A Syracuse.