MLB Player News

Reyes became a minor-league free agent Friday, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

Reyes split time between the Guardians and Cubs in 2022, recording a .638 OPS over 473 plate appearances -- a significant drop from his .846 OPS mark in 2021. Though the rapid decline is alarming, if Reyes can return to form in the minors, it's possible he'll be able to contribute to another major-league club at some point next season.

Choi will undergo minor surgery on his right elbow, Justice delos Santos of MLB.com reports.

The 31-year-old was acquired by Pittsburgh from Tampa Bay on Thursday, and his new team likely already knew about the procedure when it traded for him. Choi played through the elbow issue last season and finished the campaign with a .233/.341/.388 slash line, 11 home runs and 52 RBI in 113 games, and he's expected to be healthy in time for spring training in February.

Reyes cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Iowa on Thursday, Andy Martinez of Marquee Sports Network reports.

The 27-year-old was claimed off waivers by the Cubs in August but won't stick on the 40-man roster through the offseason. Overall in 2022, he had a .221/.273/.365 slash line with 14 home runs and 47 RBI in 118 games.

The Dodgers declined Turner's $16 million club option for 2023 on Thursday, making him a free agent, Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Turner finished up his ninth campaign with Los Angeles in 2022 and had a .278/.350/.438 slash line with 13 home runs, 81 RBI and 61 runs in 128 games. The veteran split time between third base and designated hitter last season and will now return to the open market, though the Dodgers are apparently interested in re-signing him at a lower price.

Choi was acquired by the Pirates from the Rays on Thursday in exchange for minor-league pitcher Jack Hartman.

Choi had a .233/.341/.388 slash line with 11 home runs and 52 RBI in 113 games for Tampa Bay in 2022, and the team opted to move on as he enters his final year of arbitration eligibility. The 31-year-old should enter spring training as Pittsburgh's primary option at first base.

Solak (foot) was acquired by the Reds from the Rangers on Thursday in exchange for cash considerations.

Solak appeared in only 35 games for the Rangers in 2022 before he suffered a fractured right foot in September. He has a .246/.317/.354 slash line in 749 plate appearances across the past three seasons and should compete for a utility role with Cincinnati during spring training.

Soler (back) elected not to opt out of his contract Tuesday, Craig Mish of SportsGrid.com reports.

The three-year deal Soler signed with the Marlins back in March allows him the chance to opt out after each of the first two seasons. With injuries limiting him to 72 games and a disappointing .207/.295/.400 slash line, it's no surprise that he doesn't see this winter as a good time to get back on the open market.

Harper is expected to undergo an MRI later this week that will determine whether or not he'll require offseason surgery to address the torn UCL in his right elbow that he played through for most of the 2022 season, Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports.

The torn UCL first cropped up in mid-April and limited the lefty-hitting Harper to serving exclusively as a designated hitter the rest of the season, after the injury to his throwing elbow didn't respond well enough to platelet-rich plasma injections to allow the 30-year-old to resume duties in the outfield. Harper also missed considerable time after undergoing surgery in late June to repair a fractured thumb and struggled down the stretch in the regular season when he was activated from the injured list in late August, but the reigning National League MVP finally appeared to return to elite form at the plate during the Phillies' run to the World Series. At this point, neither the elbow or thumb injuries look to be anything that will affect the Harper at the dish heading into 2023, but the Phillies would ideally like to have him available to play in the outfield on a more frequent basis during the upcoming season while deploying either Kyle Schwarber or Nick Castellanos more frequently at DH. Harper's upcoming evaluation should help guide those plans, though it could influence his readiness for spring training depending on what kind of surgery he requires, if any. In a worst-case scenario, Harper may need Tommy John surgery to fully repair the ligament, but even then, he would still likely be able to play on an everyday basis as a DH before potentially gaining clearance to play the outfield late in the 2023 campaign.

The Mets will exercise Vogelbach's $1.5 million team option for 2023, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.

Vogelbach will unsurprisingly remain in New York after a strong showing with the Mets in the second half of the 2022 campaign. After being traded from the Pirates to the Mets on July 22, the slugger slashed .255/.393/.436 with six homers, 25 RBI and 18 runs scored over 55 contests.

Alvarez went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run during Saturday night's 4-1 win over the Phillies in Game 6 of the World Series.

Alvarez hit a 450-foot blast off Jose Alvarado in the sixth inning to give the Astros a 3-1 lead. It was Alvarez's first homer since the ALDS but a monumental one nonetheless. The 25-year-old hit .192 across 52 at bats in the playoffs, but he managed to knock in 14 runs and help the Astros win their second World Series in the last five years. Alvarez will remain a vital piece to the heart of the Houston lineup for the foreseeable future.