MLB Player News

The Athletics opted not to let go of nine arbitration-eligible players, as they tendered contracts to them all prior to Monday's deadline. The players are: catcher John Jason, infielders Daric Barton, Brandon Moss and Jed Lowrie, outfielders Josh Reddick and Seth Smith, and pitchers Jerry Blevins, Jesse Chavez and Fernando Rodriguez.

The team has already reached a one-year contract with Rodriguez, though details have not been announced by the team. They will likely continue to negotiate with the other players prior to arbitration hearings. 

The Rockies may consider dealing outfielder Dexter Fowler for Royals relief pitchers, according to the Kansas City Star.

The team is considering Aaron Crow or Tim Collins. Fowler hit .263/.369/.407 in 415 at-bats. Crow had a 3.38 ERA in 48 innings. Collins had a 3.54 ERA in 53 1/3 innings.

The Kansas City Star reports that the Royals will listen to trade offers for any of their relievers, including closer Greg Holland. Though the team is reportedly looking for ways to limit their payroll, they are unlikely to trade Holland, but setup men Tim Collins and Aaron Crow are much more readily available.

Collins led the Royals with 21 holds, and he notched a 3.54 ERA and 52 strikeouts in 53 1/3 innings.

Crow, a one-time starting pitching prospect, registered a 3.38 ERA, 19 holds and 44 strikeouts in 48 innings.

The Rays have purchased the contract of relief pitcher Kirby Yates from Triple-A Durham and starter Jesse Hahn from Class A Charleston Friday.

Yates went 3-2 with a 1.90 ERA in 61 2/3 innings of work in the minors last season. Hahn went 2-1 with a 2.15 ERA in 19 starts last season.

The Rays added infielder Vince Belnome and pitchers Jesse Hahn, C.J. Riefenhauser and Kirby Yates to the 40-man roster Wednesday, while also signing catcher Mayo Acosta and pitchers Mike Colla, Mark Lowe, Victor Mateo, Eduardo Quinonez, Sam Runion and Albert Suarez to minor-league contracts.

Belnome hit .300/.408/.446 with eight home runs and 67 RBI in 444 at-bats with Triple-A Durham. Hahn went 2-1 with a 2.15 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 63:18 K:BB ratio in 67 innings over 19 starts with high Class A Charlotte.

Riefenhauser went 6-1 with a 1.22 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and 70:19 K:BB ratio in 73 2/3 innings between Double-A Montgomery and Triple-A Durham. Yates went 3-2 with a 1.90 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 93:23 K:BB ratio in 61 2/3 innings with Triple-A Durham.

The Red Sox have signed infielder Mike McCoy and left-handed pitcher Tommy Layne to minor-league deals, the Boston Globe reports.

McCoy has hit .190/.273/.256 with three home runs, 20 RBI and 21 stolen bases in 336 at-bats over four seasons in the majors. He spent all of 2013 in Triple-A, hitting .245/.357/.327 with four home runs, 22 RBI and 29 stolen bases in 355 at-bats.

Layne made 14 appearances with the Padres last season, going 0-2 with a 2.08 ERA, 1.73 WHIP and 6:5 K:BB ratio in 8 2/3 innings. He also made 49 appearances with Triple-A Tuscon, going 2-4 with a 4.50 ERA, 1.65 WHIP and 41:27 K:BB ratio in 46 innings.

Though the Yankees are expected to explore the free agent market in their search to replace retired closer Mariano Rivera, Rivera told The Journal News he would like to see David Robertson, his setup man of the last few years, in the role.

"Hopefully, they give him the job, because he can do that," Rivera said. "You don't know how you're going to respond. You cannot [judge] a pitcher from five outings, or three or two outings. You have to allow [time] to see what you have. I think that's exactly what they did with me. As a matter of fact, I blew like three or four saves in the first week. If they would have given up on me, we would never have this."

Robertson could still end up closing for the Yankees in 2014, but they were much quicker to commit to Rivera as John Wetteland's replacement heading into the 1997 season.

"I knew because they called me, they told me," Rivera said. "It's not surprising [that the Yankees are leaving options open this time]. They want to make sure, I guess. I don't know how they want to run it, but they want to make sure that they explore all of their abilities or chances."

Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow told the Houston Chronicle that reliever Josh Fields earned a place among the team's closer candidates going into next season. Fields was the team's primary closer down the stretch in 2013, and Luhnow said the rookie "did a good job in that role at the end of the year, and I think he clearly deserves a chance to try and maintain that role."

The Astros will also look into free agent closing options, including Jose Veras, who saved 19 games for Houston before getting dealt to the Tigers last July.

CBSSports.com Baseball Insider Jon Heyman reports that the Orioles and Cardinals had discussions around filling their respective needs for pitching and a shortstop, but the Cardinals did not want to part with Shelby Miller for American League Gold Glove winner J.J. Hardy .

Miller went 15-9 with a 3.06 ERA and was a candidate for the National League Rookie of the Year, while Hardy tied the Rockies' Troy Tulowitzki with most home runs for a shortstop with 25.

ESPN.com reports that the Yankees are open to finding a replacement for retired closer Mariano Rivera on the free agent market. Though manager Joe Girardi recently commented that David Robertson was the team's best closer option heading into the offseason, one source has said that the organization is open to keeping Robertson in his current setup role.

The source told ESPN.com on Wednesday, "[Signing a closer] is on the list of potential things that [the Yankees] are looking at. It may not be at the top of the list, but it's there."