MLB Player News

Collins was invited to the White Sox's major-league camp, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Collins was the White Sox's first-round pick (10th overall) in 2016 and is the organization's top-ranked catching prospect. He's known more for his bat, so developing defensively has been his biggest challenge, as it is for most bat-first catchers. Another challenge for Collins has been his patience. He has impressive on-base skills, which can mitigate his power potential. His manager last year at Double-A Birmingham, Ryan Newman, said Collins can be too selective and let drive-able pitches pass by.

Alvarez was invited to the Astros' major-league camp Tuesday, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

After impressing in the upper minors in 2018, Alvarez will get a chance to show off his skills in front of the Astros' brass during spring training. The 21-year-old split time between Double-A Corpus Christi and Triple-A Fresno last season, hitting a combined .293/.369/.534 with 20 homers and six stolen bases. Alvarez appeared in just 45 games at Triple-A and is blocked at the major-league level, so he'll likely open the year back in the minors. That said, he could force a promotion this summer if he continues to excel on the farm.

General manager Billy Eppler said Monday that Ohtani (elbow) will have a follow-up appointment soon, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

Ohtani is slowly working his way back from Tommy John surgery that he underwent in October of 2018. The Angels are hoping a timetable for Ohtani to resume hitting will emerge following his upcoming visit with doctors. At this point, the 24-year-old is not expected to be ready for Opening Day.

The Phillies met with Harper for five hours Saturday in Las Vegas and are viewed as the clear favorites to sign the free-agent outfielder, three officials told Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.

Philadelphia has been in heavy pursuit of both of the top two stars on the open market -- Harper and infielder Manny Machado -- this offseason, but the organization has shifted its main focus to signing the former in recent days. While Nightengale notes that the Phillies have yet to submit an official offer to Harper, that's expected to come within the next week. In addition to the Phillies, the White Sox and Nationals have been the primary teams linked to Harper this offseason, but neither of those squads have extended formal offers either.

Pederson agreed to a one-year contract with the Dodgers on Friday, avoiding arbitration, J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles Daily News reports.

It seems like just yesterday that Pederson was breaking into the majors, but this is already his second year of arb eligibility. While he hasn't blossomed into a superstar, Pederson had a really good 2018 season by most measures. The one big problem is that he continued to struggle in a major way against lefties, making a platoon situation likely even after the Dodgers moved both Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp.

Ozuna and the Cardinals agreed to a one-year deal Friday, avoiding arbitration, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports.

Ozuna was a bit of a disappointment in his first season for the Cardinals, failing to repeat his numbers from his breakout 2017 campaign. His homers fell from 37 to 23 while his wRC+ dropped from 144 to 106. His .280/.325/.433 line was still decent, though, and he'll line up to play almost every day heading into the season.

Canha avoided arbitration with the Athletics by signing a one-year, $2.05 million contract, Robert Murray of The Athletic reports.

Canha had a breakout season in Oakland during 2018 with a .249/.328/.778 slash line with 17 home runs in 411 plate appearances. The 29-year-old receives a sizable pay raise for 2019, but he was largely relegated to a reserve role down the stretch last season following the emergence of Nick Martini and Ramon Laureano in the outfield.

Buxton signed a one-year deal worth $1.75 million Friday, avoiding arbitration, Robert Murray of The Athletic reports.

Buxton's relationship with the team was potentially on rocky ground after the Twins did not call him up in September, a move which secured the team an extra year of control. Avoiding arbitration will at least remove an opportunity to damage that partnership further. Injuries limited the center fielder to just 28 games last season. He hit very poorly in those games, finishing with an ugly .156/.183/.200 line.

Cespedes has no timetable for his return from heel surgery this season, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports. "If he gives us anything this year, that is great," special assistant to the general manager Omar Minaya said Wednesday.

Cespedes was shut down with heel problems in mid-July after appearing in just 38 games last season. He underwent a procedure to remove calcifications in his right heel in August and a similar procedure on his left heel in October. Reports around the time of that second surgery suggested that he would resume baseball activities in late February and would have a chance to return around the All-Star break, but the team is now backtracking. It's hard to justify taking a chance on Cespedes if the team isn't confident that he'll receive even a single at-bat this season.

Brantley has agreed to a two-year, $32 million deal with the Astros, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sport reports.

Brantley spent his entire big-league career with the Indians prior to becoming a free agent this offseason (2009-18). Although the deal hasn't been made official quite yet, both sides have agreed in principle and are working out the details. He put up stellar numbers at the dish a season ago, posting a .309/.364/.468 batting line, and he showed some pop by hammering 17 home runs and driving in 76 over 143 games. Houston already has a number of solid outfielders (George Springer and Josh Reddick to name a few), though Brantley figures to slot in as the starting left fielder, especially considering he made 134 starts in left field during the 2018 season. However, he may also see time at first base and as the designated hitter, per Passan.