MLB Player News

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.

The Reds outrighted Wynns to Triple-A Louisville on Friday.

Wynns is not on the 40-man roster but will remain in the organization for now. The veteran catcher suffered a teres major tear in his right shoulder in late July and it's not clear whether he will be healthy for the start of spring training.

The White Sox declined Stassi's $7.5 million club option for 2025 on Friday.

Stassi will be paid a $500,000 buyout and is now a free agent. The veteran catcher has not played in the majors since 2022, as he missed all of 2023 due to a hip injury in addition to a family medical issue and then all of 2024 (aside from five rehab games) before having left hip surgery in June. It's not clear what Stassi's current health status is.

Smith hit his first homer of this World Series in Tuesday's Game 4 loss to the Yankees.

The playoffs and especially the World Series tend to magnify what would be the normal ebbs and flows of the regular season. Smith is playing through a sore hand after taking a foul ball of his left hand in the NLCS. He had a slightly disappointing regular season, hitting .248/.327/.433 with 20 homers, trading some on-base and batting average for a little more power.

Wells went 2-for-3 with a home run and a walk in Tuesday's 11-4 win over Los Angeles in Game 4 of the World Series.

Wells hit his second-deck solo shot with the Yankees up 5-4 in the sixth inning. The Yankees tacked on five more runs and cruised to victory. Los Angeles now leads the series 3-1 and will have a chance to close things out in Game 5 on Wednesday.

Wells is not in the lineup Monday for Game 3 of the World Series versus the Dodgers.

The Yankees will give the righty-hitting Jose Trevino a start at catcher even as the Dodgers send right-hander Walker Buehler to the bump. Wells is just 4-for-41 with 18 strikeouts so far this postseason.

Trevino will start at catcher Monday in Game 3 of the World Series against the Dodgers, Buster Olney of ESPN reports.

Right-hander Walker Buehler will be on the mound for the Dodgers, but it will be the right-handed hitting Trevino behind the plate rather than the lefty-batting Austin Wells. It's the second start this postseason for Trevino, who is 1-for-3 with an RBI single so far during the playoffs.