MLB Player News

Sims has battled elbow tightness over the offseason and will be delayed at the start of camp, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

While it's too early to know whether or not the issue will send Sims to the injured list, it's certainly not positive news for the right-hander. He's expected to be in the mix to close games for the Reds with Raisel Iglesias now an Angel and could get quite a few opportunities if a committee approach is used, as the top two apparent alternatives (Amir Garrett and Sean Doolittle) are both left-handed. If he misses time to start the season, however, it's possible one of those two will stake a firm claim to the role before he gets the chance to be part of the competition.

Littell signed with the Giants on Wednesday as a non-roster invitee, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Littell spent the start of the 2020 season with the Twins but battled various injuries before being outrighted to the team's alternate training site. The right-hander has made 35 relief appearances in the majors over the past two seasons, recording a 3.74 ERA and 35:12 K:BB over 43.1 innings. He'll now compete for a spot in the Giants' bullpen during spring training.

Chafin signed a major-league deal with the Cubs on Tuesday, Zach Buchanan of The Athletic reports.

The 30-year-old was traded from Arizona to Chicago in August but covered only three innings after being acquired. Chafin appeared in 77 games for Arizona during 2019 and had a 3.76 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 68:18 K:BB across 52.2 innings, but the three-batter minimum will continue to limit his usage as a specialist.

Yamamoto was traded from the Marlins to the Mets in exchange for Federico Polanco on Monday, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.

Yamamoto moves to a division rival after being designated for assignment on Thursday. Through 90 career innings at the highest level, his 6.20 ERA doesn't look particularly promising, with his poor 11.0 percent walk rate and 35.3 percent groundball rate offsetting a decent 24.2 percent strikeout rate. He's still just 24 years old, though, so there's still time for him to develop into a backend starter.

Edwards (forearm) signed a minor-league contract with Atlanta on Friday, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports.

Edwards became a free agent in October after refusing an outright assignment from the Mariners, and he'll have to settle for a minor-league deal ahead of the 2021 campaign. The right-hander was shut down for most of the abbreviated 2020 season due to a flexor mass strain in his elbow, but he could compete for a spot in the major-league bullpen during spring training if he's healthy.

Hamilton was designated for assignment Friday, Matt Breen of The Philadelphia Inquirer repots.

Hamilton finds himself designated for assignment for the third time in just over four months, having been dropped by the White Sox in September and the Mariners in December. It remains to be seen whether or not he'll find his way to yet another organization. The transaction clears a spot on the 40-man roster for the Phillies to add back J.T. Realmuto.

Moore signed a one-year, $3 million deal with the Phillies on Friday, Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports.

The veteran lefty cruised to a 3.53 ERA over his first four big-league seasons but went overseas to join the NPB's Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in 2020 after struggling to a 5.13 ERA over his next five campaigns. Moore was limited to just 13 starts for the Japanese champions due to a calf injury, but he was quite good when available, finishing with a 2.65 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and a 27.8 percent strikeout rate. Giving Moore a big-league deal suggests the Phillies think he has a real role to play this season, and that role could be as the team's fifth starter, as Vince Velasquez doesn't provide the stiffest competition for that job.

Yamamoto was designated for assignment by the Marlins on Thursday, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

Yamamoto was the roster casualty to make room for Anthony Bass. The young righty showed some potential in his 15-start debut in 2019 with an above-average 25.2 percent strikeout rate, though his mediocre 4.46 ERA seemed rather deserved given his low 35.6 percent groundball rate and high 11.1 percent walk rate. He endured a rough 2020 season, giving up 23 earned runs in just 11.1 innings of work, but that's a small sample and he's still just 24 years old, so there's a decent chance he gets claimed on waivers.

The Reds are hopeful that De Leon can be a big contributor out of the bullpen after his dominant stretch in the Puerto Rican Winter League this winter, Bobby Nightengale of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

De Leon is out of options this spring, but the team was already excited about his progress at its alternate training camp site last fall. He has former high prospect pedigree but hasn't been able to stay healthy long enough to fulfill his talent expectations.

Diaz, Sean Reid-Foley and Josh Winckowski were traded from the Blue Jays to the Mets in exchange for pitcher Steven Matz on Wednesday, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.

The 24-year-old made his big-league debut in 2020 and surrendered two runs while recording two outs during his lone appearance. Diaz is likely to begin the 2021 season in the minors, but he should have the chance to showcase himself for his new team at major-league spring training.