MLB Player News

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.

Jimenez (quadriceps) will be shut down until the start of spring training, Bruce Levine of 670TheScore.com reports.

This doesn't come as a huge surprise, as the outfield prospect was already scheduled to complete his stint in winter ball at the end of next week. Jimenez will now work on rehabbing the issue ahead of spring training, though nothing suggests his availability will be in jeopardy due to this injury. Prior to getting hurt, he produced a stellar .448/.500/.759 slash line for Gigantes in the Dominican Winter League.

Jimenez is day-to-day with a quad strain in the Dominican Winter League, James Fegan of The Athletic reports.

Jimenez was expected to be shut down soon for the holidays anyway, so the injury likely won't cost him too much time. It doesn't appear to be serious enough to threaten his availability at the start of spring training. The young outfielder had been on a tear in eight games for Gigantes in the Dominican Winter League, hitting .448/.500/.759.

Dickerson (elbow) inked a minor-league deal with the Padres on Thursday.

Dickerson has spent the past few seasons within the Padres' system, though he failed to play in 2018 after undergoing Tommy John surgery in the spring. He should be fully operational for spring training as the 28-year-old aims to win a spot on the Opening Day roster. In 84 games with the big-league team in 2016, he slashed .257/.333/.455 with 10 home runs and 37 RBI.

Manager Brad Ausmus said Wednesday that he doesn't expect Ohtani (elbow) to be ready for the beginning of spring training, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Ohtani underwent Tommy John surgery in early October and has continued to progress on the right track, though the Angels have refrained from putting any sort of timetable on the 24-year-old. It's abundantly clear that the organization is not going to rush him back. Ohtani will exclusively serve as a DH for the club in 2019 following his elbow procedure. Expect updates on Ohtani's status throughout the winter.