MLB Player News

Fujinami agreed Wednesday with the Athletics on a one-year contract, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

According to Passan, the 28-year-old right-hander is expected to slot into the Oakland rotation while he makes the jump to MLB after spending the past 10 seasons in his native Japan with Nippon Professional Baseball's Hanshin Tigers. Fujinami stands at imposing 6-foot-6 and sports an upper-90s fastball that can touch the triple digits, but he didn't dominate against NPB competition to the extent his skill set might suggest. While moving between the rotation and bullpen in 2022 for Hanshin, he turned in a 3.38 ERA and struck out 23.6 percent of the batters he faced. He was able to trim his walk rate to a palatable 7.5 percent after often struggling with his control in his prior seasons with Japan, but the move to MLB could make it difficult to maintain that improvement while he faces higher-caliber hitters.

The Tigers claimed Uceta off waivers from the Diamondbacks on Wednesday.

Detroit will likely give Uceta the chance to compete for a spot in its Opening Day bullpen during spring training, provided he's not moved off the 40-man roster before then and scooped up by another organization. Between stops with the Dodgers and Diamondbacks, the 25-year-old right-hander has submitted a 6.27 ERA, 1.39 WHIP and 11.5 K-BB% across 37.1 career innings in the majors.

Merryweather was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays on Tuesday.

Merryweather has flashed plenty of upside at times out of the Blue Jays' bullpen, but he's ultimately had trouble with health and consistency with a career 5.64 ERA over parts of three seasons. The 31-year-old doesn't have any options left, which could affect his appeal on waivers.

Ortega was designated for assignment by the Twins on Tuesday.

The move clears a spot on the 40-man roster for A.J. Alexy, who was acquired via trade. Ortega was just picked up off waivers a few days ago and now could be on the move again. He holds a 3.95 ERA over 35 relief appearances in the majors covering the last two seasons.

Alexy was acquired by the Twins from the Nationals on Tuesday in exchange for Cristian Jimenez.

Alexy has bounced around from the Rangers to the Nationals and now to the Twins over the last month. The right-hander struggled both at the minor- and major-league level in 2022, but he's just 24 and has some bat-missing ability. Alexy also has an option remaining, which surely appealed to the Twins.

The Angels designated Warren for assignment on Monday.

Warren serves as the Angels' roster casualty after the club signed Brett Phillips to a one-year deal Monday. The 26-year-old reliever gave up 10 earned runs over 16 innings in the majors last season. Warren had better luck in Triple-A, however, recording an impressive 2.12 ERA and 1.18 WHIP through 34 frames. He's likely to catch on with another team searching for some depth in the back-end of their bullpen.

Hendriks announced Sunday that he has been diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

Hendriks will begin treatment Monday and said in a statement he's "confident that I will make a full recovery and be back on the mound as soon as possible." It's obviously going to take time, though, with general manager Rick Hahn saying in his own statement that "we do not expect to have any updates on Liam's playing status prior to Opening Day at the very earliest." In much less important news, the White Sox will have an opening at closer while Hendriks is away. Kendall Graveman and perhaps Reynaldo Lopez loom as the most likely options to fill that void.

Topa was traded from the Brewers to the Mariners on Saturday in exchange for Joseph Hernandez.

The 31-year-old righty already has two Tommy John surgeries on his resume and has logged 18.1 innings over the past three MLB seasons. The high point of his value was after the 2020 season, when he was dominant across six appearances. He should work in low-leverage situations for the Mariners, as they try to help him recapture his form from a couple years ago.

Lange could have a path to the closer role in Detroit, as Jon Morosi of MLB Network reports that Gregory Soto was traded to the Phillies on Saturday.

Lange has just one career save, and the Tigers have yet to announce their plans for the ninth inning, but the righty appears to be the logical choice with Soto, Joe Jimenez and Andrew Chafin all leaving this winter. Will Vest is the only Tiger remaining on the roster who saved any games last season, but his 4.00 ERA hardly turns heads. Lange managed a 3.41 ERA in his first full season and struck out 30.3 percent of opposing batters.

Logue cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Toledo on Friday.

Logue was designated for assignment Dec. 31 shortly after Detroit claimed him off waivers, and he'll remain in the organization for the time being. The 26-year-old appeared in 14 games (10 starts) for the A's in 2022 and had a 6.79 ERA across 57 innings.