MLB Player News

The Pirates and closer Mark Melancon avoided arbitration Friday, agreeing to a one-year, $5.4 million contract, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Melancon, who is in his second year of arbitration, made $2.595 million in 2014.

Melancon totaled a career-high 33 saves in 2014. He is 6-7 with a 1.65 ERA and 49 saves in two seasons with Pittsburgh.

The Dodgers have avoided arbitration with closer Kenley Jansen and third baseman Justin Turner prior to Friday's deadline, reports the Los Angeles Times. Jansen agreed to a $7.425 million salary for 2015, while Turner settled for $2.5 million.

Last season Jansen posted a 2.76 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 101:19 K:BB ratio in 65 1/3 innings in 2014.

While the Braves have been aggressive this offseason reshaping their roster, which included trades of Jason Heyward, Justin Upton and Evan Gattis, one player not on the move is All-Star closer Craig Kimbrel, Braves president of baseball operations John Hart told MLB.com.

"We love our core group," Hart said. "We have added quality players around this group to allow us to compete while strengthening the farm system. We’ve added (Nick) Markakis, (Jason) Grilli, (Jim) Johnson, A.J. (Pierzynski) and others to help us compete this year. We have never entertained trading (Kimbrel) and have had zero conversations with any clubs about Craig. I want him finishing out a World Series win."

Kimbrel, who was NL Rookie of the Year in 2011, was an All-Star for a fourth straight season in 2014. While he was 0-3 last season, he posted a 1.61 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and 47 saves in 54 appearances. He is 15-10 with a 1.43 ERA and 0.90 WHIP in five MLB seasons. He has had at least 42 saves the last four seasons.

The Yankees acquired reliever Chris Martin from the Rockies on Tuesday. The Rockies will receive cash considerations.

The 28-year-old Martin made his MLB debut in 2014, posting a 6.89 ERA and 1.66 WHIP in 16 relief outings.

In order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster, the Yankees designated reliever Gonzalez Germen for assignment.

The Phillies announced Monday they signed pitcher Jeanmar Gomez to a minor-league contract. It includes an invite to spring training.

Gomez went 2-2 with a 3.19 ERA in 44 relief appearances for the Pirates in 2014. He also had one save.

To make room for catcher Nick Hundley, the Rockies announced pitcher Chris Martin has been designated for assignment on Monday. Martin produced a 6.89 ERA in 16 games during the 2014 season.

The Mariners agreed to trade pitcher Brandon Maurer to the Padres in exchange for outfielder Seth Smith.

In 2014, the right-handed Maurer went 1-4 with a 4.65 ERA and fills the Padres’ need for bullpen help. The left-handed-hitting Smith hit .266 with 12 homeruns and 48 RBI in 136 games.

The Athletics announced Thursday they acquired pitcher Eury De La Rosa from the Diamondbacks for cash. To clear a spot on the 40-man roster, pitcher Fernando Rodriguez was designated for assignment.

De La Rosa was 2-0 with a 2.95 ERA in 25 relief outings for Arizona in 2014, while Rodriguez was 1-0 with a 1.00 ERA in seven relief outings for Oakland.

The Diamondbacks have reached an agreement with David Hernandez on a contract, according to the azcentral.com.

Hernandez was eligible for arbitration, but settled on a $2 million salary figure for next season. The 29-year-old posted a missed all of last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

Diamondbacks general manager Dave Stewart indicated Friday that pitchers Rubby De La Rosa and Allen Webster are in line to pitch in the rotation in 2015, MLB.com reports. The two pitchers were acquired from the Red Sox in a trade that was announced Friday.

An earlier report stated that Stewart indicated that Josh Collmenter would start the regular-season opener, but he just happened to be the first name listed by the general manager when discussing the team's rotation plans. The team could still choose to bring in more starting pitching help, especially after clearing significant salary by trading away two veterans this week. Currently, Collmenter is lone holdover in the Diamondbacks rotation after the team acquired De La Rosa, Webster and Jeremy Hellickson to fill three spots.