MLB Player News

The Marlins and Fortes avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year contract Thursday, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

Fortes, 28, has managed just a .222/.275/.344 batting line over parts of four major-league seasons. He sits atop the Marlins' depth chart at catcher but is not an appealing fantasy option.

The Rays and Rortvedt avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $1.125 million contract Thursday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

He was eligible for arbitration for the first time this winter. Rortvedt led Rays catchers with 328 plate appearances in 2024 but is slated to take a back seat to Danny Jansen in 2025.

The Reds and Trevino avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $3.425 million contract Thursday, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.

Picked up in a trade with the Yankees last month, Trevino was arbitration-eligible for the third and final time. The 32-year-old will be the Reds' No. 2 catcher in 2025 behind Tyler Stephenson.

Raleigh agreed to a one-year, $5.6 million contract with the Mariners on Thursday to avoid arbitration, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.

Raleigh will receive a $4.8 million salary bump in his first year of arbitration eligibility after setting career highs with 34 home runs and 100 RBI in 2024. While his career .218 batting average remains an issue for fantasy managers, the 28-year-old's power and consistent playing time make him well worth rostering in 2025.

The Twins and Jeffers avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $4.55 million contract Thursday, Darren Wolfson of Channel 5 Saint Paul reports.

Jeffers had been eligible for salary arbitration for a second time. The catcher took a step back offensively in 2024 with a .226/.300/.432 batting line but still cranked a career-high 21 home runs. He's currently slated to share catching duties with Christian Vazquez in 2025.

The Orioles and Rutschman avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $5.5 million contract Thursday, Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 Houston reports.

Rutschman receives a well-earned raise in his first year of arbitration eligibility. The switch-hitting catcher trailed off in the second half of the 2024 regular season for the Orioles but still popped 19 home runs and drove in 79 runs.

Bart and the Pirates avoided arbitration Thursday by agreeing to a one-year, $1.75 million deal, Andrew Destin of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

The No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 First-Year Player Draft was unable to establish himself as the Giants' long-term answer at catcher over parts of four seasons in the big leagues, but the 28-year-old benefited from a change of scenery after he was shipped to Pittsburgh in April. He ended the 2024 campaign as the Pirates' top catcher, having slashed .265/.337/.462 with 13 home runs, 45 RBI and 38 runs across 282 plate appearances. The Pirates have 2021 No. 1 overall pick Henry Davis and 24-year-old Endy Rodriguez on hand as intriguing young options at catcher, but based on his performance last season, Bart will enter spring training as the favorite to open the 2025 campaign as the Bucs' top backstop.

The Twins acquired Cartaya from the Dodgers on Thursday in exchange for minor-league right-hander Jose Vasquez.

Once regarded as the one of the top catching prospects in all of baseball, the 23-year-old Cartaya has seen his stock plummet over the past two seasons while his plate skills and power output have both trended downward during his stops between Double-A Tulsa and Triple-A Oklahoma City. With Dalton Rushing also leapfrogging Cartaya on the organizational catching depth chart, the Dodgers elected to move Cartaya off the 40-man roster last week, even though he still has a minor-league option remaining. The Twins have swooped in to take a chance on Cartaya, but he'll still likely be headed to the Triple-A level to begin the 2025 campaign with Ryan Jeffers and Christian Vazquez locked in as the catching tandem at the big-league level.

The Padres and Campusano avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $1 million contract Thursday, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.

It was Campusano's first year of arbitration eligibility. The 26-year-old entered last season as the Padres' top catcher, but he was eventually passed on the depth chart by Kyle Higashioka and finished with just a .227/.281/.361 slash line while spending some time in the minors. Higashioka is now with the Rangers and Campusano is currently at the top of the catching hierarchy again in San Diego, but it wouldn't be a surprise if the club brought someone in to at least share the job.

The Tigers and Rogers avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $2.64 million contract Thursday, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.

Rogers had been arbitration-eligible for a second time. The catcher slashed a disappointing .197/.255/.352 with 10 home runs in 2024, but he remains a trusted receiver and is slated to open 2025 at the top of the Tigers' catching depth chart.