MLB Player News

Alvarez (knees) posted a video of himself running the bases on his personal Instagram account Tuesday, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

The 23-year-old was running on an anti-gravity treadmill in mid-October, and he's continued to progress his running program over the past couple months. Alvarez underwent arthroscopic surgery on both knees in late August, and it's a good sign to see him on the basepaths with no obvious limitations. There's still a couple months before the start of spring training, and Alvarez is expected to be ready by that point.

Buxton signed a one-year, $5.125 million contract with the Twins on Wednesday to avoid arbitration, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.

The 26-year-old appeared in 39 games during 2020 and showcased his power with 13 home runs, though he also saw his walk rate drop to a minuscule 1.5 percent. The end result was a marginal improvement to an .844 OPS. As always, the question for Buxton is his health, and he missed some time with head and shoulder injuries.

Soler agreed to a one-year, $8.05 million deal with the Royals on Wednesday, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports.

He will return as the Royals' primary designated hitter for the 2021 season. Soler, who turns 29 in February, hit .228/.326/.443 with eight home runs in 43 games last season -- a significant drop off from the .265/.354/.569 line and 48 home runs he logged in 2019. Even if he doesn't bounce all the way back to the statistics he put up in his career year, he should have a secure spot in the heart of the lineup this upcoming season.

Solak will likely win the starting job at second base if he can prove this spring that he can handle the position defensively, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.

The main reason the Rays traded Solak to the Rangers for Pete Fairbanks a couple years ago was because he was seen as a player with limited defensive potential who fit best as a designated hitter. Solak hit .293/.393/.491 in 135 plate appearances as a rookie and .268/.326/.344 in 233 plate appearances in 2020. Rougned Odor would move to a utility role if Solak wins the job this spring, which seems to be the Rangers' preference. There will also be at-bats at third base available early in the season for whoever loses out on the second base job until prospect Josh Jung gets the call.

Rooker (forearm) was cleared to resume swinging a bat Monday, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.

Rooker appears to be making good progress since requiring surgery in late September to address a fractured right forearm. The 26-year-old will likely gradually ramp up the intensity of his workouts throughout the winter with the aim of receiving full clearance ahead of spring training. He'll likely be competing for a spot on the Twins' Opening Day roster in 2021 as a right-handed bench bat.

Lewis was named the AL Rookie of the Year on Monday.

Lewis earned some sleeper buzz heading into the season and went on to surpass expectations, finishing with a .262/.364/.437 slash line while hitting 11 homers and stealing five bases. That was enough to earn him all 30 first-place votes for the award. Luis Robert finished second, picking up 27 second-place votes, with Cristian Javier coming in third.

Ohtani has been throwing for approximately a month and has reached 120 feet, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

Ohtani remains somewhat limited but has been able to throw at 75 to 80 percent effort. The Angels expect him to enter spring training as a two-way player. Of course, he was expected to be a two-way player this year as well, but he wound up allowing seven runs while recording just five outs over a pair of starts before the Angels shut him down from throwing. The team will hope that putting his Tommy John surgery another year in the rearview mirror and going through a normal offseason and spring buildup process will bring different results this time around.

Martinez will not opt out of the remaining two years on his contract with the Red Sox, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports.

This seemed like a forgone conclusion, especially with Martinez coming off a down year. He is due $38.75 million over the next two years. The designated hitter, who turned 33 in August, slashed .213/.291/.389 with seven home runs in 54 games this season.

Choi is out of the lineup Sunday for Game 5 of the World Series versus the Dodgers, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

For the second straight day, the lefty-hitting Choi heads to the bench with the Dodgers bringing another southpaw starter (Clayton Kershaw) to the hill. Yandy Diaz will serve as the Rays' first baseman.

Choi will sit for Game 4 of the World Series against the Dodgers on Saturday, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.

The Rays will load up on righties with southpaw Julio Urias on the mound, just as they did in Game 1 against Clayton Kershaw. Yandy Diaz gets the start at first base in Choi's absence.