MLB Player News

Hultzen (shoulder) will report to spring training as a reliever, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reports.

All 35 of Hultzen's professional appearances to this point have come as a starter, but with the lefty coming off yet another season plagued by shoulder issues, the team has decided to transition him to a full-time relief role. Hultzen, the second overall pick in 2011, was designated for assignment last month, went unclaimed on waivers, and was then outrighted to Triple-A Tacoma.

Smith was traded to the Mariners on Monday, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports.

Smith was part of a deal that also sent Roenis Elias to Boston in exchange for Wade Miley and Jonathan Aro. The 26-year-old put up impressive numbers in his first full season last year, working to a 2.31 ERA with a strong 92:22 K:BB ratio in 70 innings and figures to see high leverage opportunities in the back end of the Boston bullpen.

Fields was tendered a contract by the Astros on Wednesday, Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle reports.

This makes it official that Fields will return to the Astros in 2016. The 30-year-old had his most successful MLB campaign last season in the Houston bullpen, posting a 3.55 ERA and 1.14 WHIP, which he'll hope to carry into next season.

Coulombe was outrighted to Triple-A Nashville on Wednesday, CSN Bay Area reports.

He lost his 40-man roster spot when the team acquired Jed Lowrie from the Astros last week, but Coulombe will remain in the organization after passing through waivers unclaimed. The left-hander was traded from the Dodgers to Oakland in September and ended up making nine appearances for the big club over the final month.

The Royals agreed to a contract with Collins on Monday.

Collins tore his UCL early in spring training 2015 and underwent Tommy John surgery shortly thereafter. Although the 26-year-old southpaw missed the entire season and will likely miss a good portion of the upcoming campaign, he could factor into the Royals' bullpen, once he regains his health. In the wake of the signing, it was revealed that Collins inked a one-year, $1.475 million deal, according to Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com.

Nolin will compete for a rotation spot with the A's in 2016, CSN Bay Area's Joe Stiglich reports.

Sonny Gray and Rich Hill are the only two pitchers currently on Oakland's roster who seem like locks to be in the Opening Day rotation. Jesse Hahn (forearm) will need to show he is healthy, and there are performance questions with Kendall Graveman, Chris Bassitt and Aaron Brooks, so with a strong spring Nolin could find himself in the rotation when the A's break camp. Nolin has better pure stuff than Graveman (the other pitcher acquired from Toronto in the Josh Donaldson deal), and could end up being a solid No. 3 or No. 4 starter, especially in that ballpark.

Hultzen (shoulder) was outrighted to Triple-A Tacoma on Wednesday, the Seattle Times reports.

The No. 2 overall pick in the 2011 draft, he is out of options and coming of a 2015 season plagued by shoulder issues, so it's not much of a surprise that the lefty went unclaimed on waivers. Hultzen will remain in the Mariners' organization at least through 2017, after which he can become a minor league free agent if he's not on the 40-man roster.

Yates was acquired from the Rays in exchange for cash considerations Wednesday, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

The 28-year-old was designated for assignment last Friday, so it's clear the Rays weren't looking to get much in return for their right-hander. Yates was hit around plenty in his 2015 stint with Tampa Bay -- in 20.1 innings, Yates recorded a 7.97 ERA and 1.48 WHIP -- but he could have a chance to rehabilitate his numbers with the Indians.

Beato signed a minor league contract with the Orioles on Tuesday, MASN's Roch Kubatko reports.

The deal comes with an invite to spring training, where the right-handed reliever will look to show he can over valuable bullpen depth. He notched a 2.65 ERA in 74.2 innings of relief at Triple-A in 2015.

Kahnle was traded to the White Sox on Tuesday in exchange for pitching prospect Yency Almonte.

While it is obviously an improvement for any pitcher to be traded from Colorado, Kahnle has not started a game as a professional, so he just offers Chicago with some organizational bullpen depth. The 26-year-old righty has a career 4.41 ERA and 102 strikeouts in 102 innings in the big leagues.