MLB Player News

Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said Wednesday that Contreras will be a full-time first baseman and designated hitter next season, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.

Mozeliak added that it's unlikely Contreras will do any catching at all in 2025, with Ivan Herrera and Pedro Pages set to split duties behind the plate. Contreras has played 11 games at first base in his career, with his last start there coming in 2019. Contreras has slashed a robust .263/.367/.468 with 35 home runs over 209 games in his two seasons in St. Louis, but he's had trouble staying healthy and his defense at catcher has often drawn criticism. The move enhances Contreras' fantasy outlook for 2025 since he should be in the lineup more often, and it also bumps up the playing time projection for Herrera and Pages.

The Guardians agreed to a one-year, $4 million contract with Hedges on Wednesday, Buster Olney of ESPN reports.

Hedges will return to Cleveland as Bo Naylor's backup. The 32-year-old slashed only .152/.203/.220 with two homers in 66 contests for the Guardians this season but is lauded for his defense and handling of a pitching staff.

The Giants signed Porter to a minor-league contract with an invitation to spring training Tuesday, Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 Houston reports.

Porter spent time at Triple-A Sacramento in the Giants organization in 2024, one of three different teams the catcher played on. He slashed .267/.370/.453 with 10 home runs between the three stops. With Patrick Bailey and Tom Murphy back in 2025, Porter is projected to begin next year back at Sacramento.

Stallings declined his mutual option Monday and entered free agency, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.

Stallings will test out the open market after slashing .263/.357/.453 with nine homers, 36 RBI and 31 runs scored over 82 regular-season games with Colorado in 2024. He'll be a strong candidate to become a back-up catcher elsewhere.

Bethancourt elected free agency Monday, Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

The Cubs cleared some space on their 40-man roster and Bethancourt has decided to hit free agency rather than accepting an outright assignment. Bethancourt finished the 2024 season strong with an .814 OPS in 24 games with the Cubs, but that was after he had a .466 OPS in 38 contests with the Marlins.

The Orioles claimed Pinto off waivers from the Rays on Monday, Matt Weyrich of The Baltimore Sun reports.

Pinto began the 2024 season as the Rays' starting catcher but was sent down in early May after a slow start and was never recalled. The 28-year-old has hit .231/.263/.404 with 10 home runs over 82 games at the big-league level. Baltimore has an opening at backup catcher and Pinto will be a candidate to fill it.

Atlanta declined d'Arnaud's $8 million club option for 2025 on Monday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

President of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos said last month that the team planned to exercise d'Arnaud's option, but evidently feelings changed since then. The emergence of catching prospect Drake Baldwin could have played into the club's decision, as Baldwin is viewed as nearly major-league ready and could potentially be paired with Sean Murphy in 2025. D'Arnaud, who turns 36 in February, should be able to land a starting job somewhere after slashing .238/.302/.436 with 15 home runs over 99 games in 2024.

The Dodgers exercised Barnes' $3.5 million club option for 2025 on Saturday, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.

Barnes slashed .264/.331/.307 with 11 RBI across 156 plate appearances in 2024 -- good enough for the Dodgers to keep him around as the backup catcher behind Will Smith. While Barnes is likely to break spring training as Los Angeles' reserve backstop, a drop in production from the 34-year-old could eventually result in prospects Dalton Rushing or Hunter Feduccia taking his spot on the roster.

Wynns (shoulder) declined his outright assignment to Triple-A Louisville on Saturday and elected free agency.

Wynns spent the majority of last season in Triple-A, where he slashed .250/.309/.410 across 110 plate appearances. However, a teres major tear in his right shoulder cut his season short toward the end of July. It's unknown if he'll be ready for the start of spring training, but the 33-year-old backstop should be able to at least net a minor-league deal in free agency.

The Reds declined Maile's $3.5 million club option for 2025 on Friday.

Maile slashed just .178/.268/.252 across 154 plate appearances last season, so the Reds will opt to move on from the 33-year-old backstop rather than give him a $500,000 raise from 2024.