MLB Player News

Ohtani (elbow) announced Saturday via his personal Instagram account that he will be signing with the Dodgers.

The Blue Jays were rumored to be the frontrunners for Ohtani's services, but the two-way superstar will instead swap Los Angeles teams on what his agents are announcing as a 10-year, $700 million deal, according to Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. Ohtani underwent elbow surgery in September that will prevent him from pitching next season, but he'll settle in as a full-time designated hitter for the Dodgers and immediately becomes arguably the biggest threat in a lineup that also features Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts.

Ohtani (elbow) is expected to sign with the Blue Jays, JP Hoornstra of DodgerNation.com reports.

Meanwhile, Ben Nicholson-Smith and Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca report that Ohtani has not made his decision, and there's no timeline for when the two-way superstar will determine his landing spot in free agency. The momentum at least seems to be in Toronto's favor, but perhaps it's not a done deal just yet. Per Hoornstra, the Dodgers and Angels were the other two finalists for Ohtani.

Pittsburgh selected Beer from the Diamondbacks in the minor-league phase of Wednesday's Rule 5 Draft.

Beer never quite got it going at the major-league level in Arizona, but he holds a career .863 OPS on the farm and is only 27 years old. He could get a legitimate look with the Pirates at first base or DH at some point in 2024.

Buxton (knee) is expected to begin baseball activities next week and the Twins plan for him to be the team's starting center fielder next season, the Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. "We're going to go into spring training planning on, if everything continues to go well, having him out there in center field and very hopeful that the procedure he had puts him in the spot he needs to be in," manager Rocco Baldelli said, "but we also have to plan for everything, as usual."

Buxton underwent an arthroscopic procedure in October on his right knee to clean up scarring from a 2022 surgery that led to irritation. Buxton had a workout at Target Field last week and was able to do some activities that he was unable to last season. Buxton wasn't able to play in the field last season due to his knee issues (aside from one game during a minor league rehab stint). While the Twins are optimistic he'll be able to play in the field, the team will seek to find options for a backup given that Buxton hasn't played more than 100 games in any of the past seven years and Michael Taylor elected free agency.

Nationals manager Dave Martinez revealed Monday that Meneses played through a knee injury this season, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reports.

It's not clear when Meneses' knee began bothering him, but Martinez indicated it's a big reason why the 31-year-old was basically a full-time designated hitter. With Dominic Smith no longer around, Martinez would like to use Meneses some at first base in 2024 and possibly even some in the outfield. As for how Meneses is progressing in his recovery from the knee problem, Martinez said the right-handed hitter is "doing a lot of agility stuff" this offseason and "looks good so far."

The Mets claimed Hummel off waivers from the Mariners on Friday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

Hummel, 29, went 2-for-23 at the plate during his time with the Mariners in 2023 but slashed .262/.409/.435 with eight homers and 26 steals at Triple-A Tacoma. He offers unique versatility with an ability to catch and also play the outfield. New Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns was the Brewers' general manager when they drafted Hummel in 2016.

Ford became a free agent Friday after being non-tendered by the Mariners.

Ford was designated for assignment Tuesday and will now officially head to the open market. He was productive at times for Seattle in 2023 but struggled badly down the stretch. The 31-year-old owns a career .211 batting average and .309 on-base percentage in 234 total major-league games.

Lewis became a free agent after being non-tendered by the Diamondbacks on Friday.

Lewis won American League Rookie of the Year honors with the Mariners in 2020, but he's slashed just .150/.216/.280 over 116 major-league plate appearances since the beginning of the 2022 campaign. The 28-year-old played in only 16 games with the NL champions in 2023.

Vogelbach was non-tendered by the Mets on Friday, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports.

Vogelbach served as the Mets' primary designated hitter for a large portion of the 2023 season, but he posted a relatively underwhelming .233/.339/.404 batting line in 104 games (319 plate appearances) and is a liability against left-handed pitching. Mark Vientos appears poised to take over the DH role in Queens next year, pending the team's other offseason moves.

Ford was designated for assignment by the Mariners on Tuesday.

Ford was probably going to be non-tendered ahead of Friday's deadline had he remained part of the 40-man roster mix in Seattle. The 31-year-old served as the Mariners' primary designated hitter for a portion of the 2023 season but batted just .193 with a .663 OPS over his final 130 plate appearances. He'll likely elect free agency if he passes through waivers unclaimed.