MLB Player News
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Sandy Leon C | ATL
Braves' Sandy Leon: Joining Atlanta for camp
Atlanta announced Wednesday that Leon will join the big club for spring training as a non-roster invitee.
The 36-year-old Leon saw action in five games for Atlanta in 2025 before being outrighted off the 40-man roster following the season. After electing free agency in early October, he quickly re-signed with Atlanta on a new minor-league contract. Leon will serve as organizational depth behind the plate and will be a candidate to join the big club if Atlanta happens to be without either Drake Baldwin or Sean Murphy (hip) for any period of time.
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Yainer Diaz C | HOU
Astros' Yainer Diaz: Wins arbitration case
Diaz will make $4.5 million in 2026 after winning his arbitration hearing with the Astros on Tuesday, Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com reports.
Diaz slashed .256/.284/.417 in 2025 while tallying 20 homers, 70 RBI and 56 runs scored across 567 plate appearances. His success ultimately led to the arbitration panel choosing his $4.5 million figure over the $3 million that the Astros submitted. The 27-year-old backstop is expected to continue playing nearly every day in 2026 and has two years of arbitration eligibility remaining.
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Kyle McCann C | COL
Rockies' Kyle McCann: Nets NRI from Rockies
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.
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Ben Rortvedt C | NYM
Reds' Ben Rortvedt: DFA'd by Cincinnati
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.
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Harry Ford C | WAS
Nationals' Harry Ford: Could win starting job
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.
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Keibert Ruiz C | WAS
Nationals' Keibert Ruiz: Competing for starting spot
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.
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Drew Romo C | CHW
White Sox's Drew Romo: DFA'd by White Sox
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.
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Edgar Quero C | CHW
White Sox's Edgar Quero: Works on swing at Driveline
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.
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C.J. Stubbs C | TOR
Blue Jays' C.J. Stubbs: Grabs NRI deal from Toronto
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.
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Jancel Villarroel C | HOU
Giants' Jancel Villarroel: Heads to Giants
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.