MLB Player News

Blackmon and the Rockies agreed to a one-year, $3.5 million contract Monday, avoiding arbitration, Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports reports.

Blackmon got a nice deal to avoid arbitration, as the midpoint between the Rockies and him was $3.3 million. He'll likely slate in as the Rockies' centerfielder again in 2016 after posting a .797 OPS with 17 home runs and 43 stolen bases last season.

Cespedes agreed to a three-year contract with the Mets on Friday, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports.

Cespedes' deal includes an opt out after just one year, but he will spend at least another season with the team he spurred to a World Series berth in 2015. It remains to be seen exactly where he will hit in the order, but he knocked in runs in bunches for the Mets last season with 44 RBI in 57 games. He will be the team's every day left fielder in 2016.

Cespedes has received an offer from the Washington Nationals, Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reported Wednesday night.

It's unclear if the Nationals are willing to go rich enough to sign Cespedes, who was a National League MVP candidate thanks to his absurdly excellent post-trade performance for the division rival Mets last year. Rosenthal says the contract offer is for less than the six years and $132.75 million Justin Upton received from the Tigers, so we'll have to see if he's willing to accept second place in the outfield market this offseason.

Manager Pete Mackanin said Ryan Howard, who platooned with Ruf at first base toward the end of last season, will need to show improvement against left handed pitchers this spring to avoid entering the season with the same arrangement, CSN Philadelphia reports.

Howard hit just .130 with a .418 OPS and 40 strikeouts against lefties last season. It seems unlikely that Howard will finally overcome his difficulties with lefties this spring. A more likely scenario has Howard opening the season in a platoon with Darin Ruf, who hit .371 with 8 home runs and a 1.107 OPS against lefties last season. Ruf could also earn at-bats against right handed pitching if Howard struggles or if the team decides to bench him more as he heads toward free agency after the 2016 season.

Turner (knee) agreed to terms with the Dodgers on a one-year, $5.1 million deal Friday, avoiding arbitration, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports.

Turner followed up an impressive 2014 with a productive 2015 campaign, hitting .294 with a career-high 16 home runs to go with 60 RBI and five steals. The third baseman underwent microfracture surgery on his knee in November, and while it's expected to keep him from working out at full speed until next month, he said he expects to be 100 percent by the time spring training begins.

Ozuna has been the subject of trade talks between the Miami Marlins and the Texas Rangers for a month, Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reports, but those talks have "yet to significantly advance."

Ozuna was disappointing in 2015 (.259/.308/.383 in 494 plate appearances), but he is just 25 years old and all of one year removed from a 23-homer, 85-RBI season with the Marlins. If the Marlins are ready to give up on Ozuna, there will be a team ready to pounce. However, it doesn't appear the Rangers, seemingly set with an outfield of Josh Hamilton, Delino DeShields, and Shin-Soo Choo, are ready to pull the trigger just yet.

The Tigers continue to be mentioned as a suitor for Cespedes, whose "price might be dropping," reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today.

The 30-year-old outfielder hit .291 with 35 home runs and 105 RBI last season between the Tigers and Mets. He was the American League's Gold Glove winner in left field and late in the season indicated he would be interested in returning to Comerica. The Tigers have indicated their big moves are done, but the longer Cespedes is out there, the more the rumors swirl.

The Mets' lukewarm pursuit of Cespedes is now over, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports.

The Mets' signing of Alejandro De Aza in essence was the final nail in the coffin, as they are now looking for a right-handed hitter as a support component rather than a big ticket item like Cespedes. This news is not a big shock, as the Mets were reportedly only interested if they could land Cespedes on a 2-3 year deal, rather than the 5-6 years he is pursuing. Cespedes' market has yet to heat up but the Giants, Angels, Tigers and White Sox have all been linked to him.

Choi was selected by the Angels in the major league portion of the Rule 5 draft on Thursday, JJ Cooper of Baseball America reports.

Choi has spent six years in the Mariners' minor league system, and in 2015 he played 18 games with Triple-A Tacoma. He batted .298/.403/.421 with 17 hits and 16 RBI's in those 18 games. He hasn't shown a ton of power in his career but he's been an efficient bat a majority of the time. He'll start the 2016 season behind Albert Pujols, CJ Cron, and possibly Efren Navarro.

Butxon could begin the 2016 season in the minors, manager Paul Molitor told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "There will be a question about whether Triple-A at-bats are needed for him to start the season or will he make an impression that will be so favorable that we will lean to go with him right out of the chute," Molitor said in remarks to the media at the MLB winter meetings.

It seems unlikely that Buxton would begin the season in the minors given that the Twins traded away Aaron Hicks this winter, but he did struggle in his first exposure to the majors last season. Buxton hit just .209 with a .576 OPS in the majors and looked overmatched as he was often lost and free swinging at the plate. He had an ugly 6:44 BB:K ratio in stark contrast to his minor league career where he showed impressive control of the strike zone. Eddie Rosario could begin the season in center field, but the odds are still high that Buxton wins the job in spring training as the organization's top prospect.