MLB Player News

Nelson was claimed off waivers by the Diamondbacks on Wednesday.

Nelson was designated for assignment by the Guardians on Friday after he posted a 9.31 ERA and 1.86 WHIP in 9.2 innings across 10 major-league appearances in 2021. Although he spent most of the year in the minors, he should be in the mix for a major-league roster spot in Arizona during the 2022 campaign.

The Guardians outrighted Garza to Triple-A Columbus on Wednesday.

Garza was one of three Guardians players who cleared waivers Wednesday after recently being removed from the 40-man roster. The 27-year-old right-hander should still be in line for an invitation to big-league spring training, but his lack of a 40-man spot will make it tough for him to secure a spot in Cleveland's Opening Day bullpen. He made 21 relief appearances for Cleveland in 2021, submitting a 4.71 ERA and 1.57 WHIP in 28.2 innings.

The Orioles claimed Perez off waivers from the Reds on Wednesday.

Perez, 25, will be moving on to the third organization of his professional career after stops with Houston and Cincinnati. After being acquired by the Reds last January, Perez split time between the big club and Triple-A Louisville in 2021, making 25 appearances out of the bullpen at the MLB level while posting a 6.38 ERA and a 25:20 K:BB over 24 innings. Trimming his 18 percent walk rate will be essential for Perez to find any success while he moves to Baltimore, but as a lefty with a live arm, he's an interesting flier for an Orioles squad short on relief talent.

Graveman and the White Sox agreed to terms on a contract expected to be worth around $24 million over three years, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports.

Graveman signed a one-year, $1.25 million deal last offseason, but it doesn't take much for a reliever to significantly increase his value. The 30-year-old did that in a big way in 2021, posting a 1.77 ERA in 56 regular-season innings for the Mariners and Astros before following it up with a 1.64 ERA in 11 postseason frames. His underlying numbers don't indicate he was quite that dominant but still paint a picture of a solid setup man, as he was well above average in both strikeout rate (27.5 percent) and groundball rate (54.9 percent). A setup role is presumably what he'll fill in Chicago, as the team already employs both Liam Hendriks and Craig Kimbrel.

Loup signed a two-year, $17 million contract with the Angels on Monday.

Loup had a dominant season with the Mets in 2021 and registered 16 holds while posting a 0.95 ERA and 0.94 WHIP in 56.2 innings across 65 appearances (two starts). Several of the Angels' late relievers became free agents following the 2021 campaign, so the southpaw is a candidate to serve in a high-leverage role in 2022.

Jackson was sent from San Francisco to Atlanta in exchange for cash or a player to be named later Monday, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Jackson recorded a 3.74 ERA in 21.2 innings for the Giants last season, with his 31.1 percent strikeout rate largely offsetting a high 13.3 percent walk rate and a low 27.1 percent groundball rate. He shouldn't be pitching in high-leverage situations, but he could fill a middle-relief role in Atlanta as long as he doesn't regress too much in his age-34 season.

Mejia was traded from the Guardians to the Brewers in exchange for cash or a player to be named later Monday, Will Sammon of The Athletic reports.

Mejia struggled to an 8.25 ERA in 52.1 innings as a swingman in his MLB debut last season. His underlying numbers suggest he didn't deserve a number nearly that bad, but even his comparatively optimistic 4.71 xFIP doesn't provide much reason to get excited. He generated an above-average 47.9 percent groundball rate, something he'd done throughout the minors, but both his 19.7 percent strikeout rate and 10.1 percent walk rate were poor. Still just 25 years old, he has time to improve, but he needs some major improvements to become a notable name.

Young was designated for assignment by Cleveland on Friday.

Young made 40 appearances (two starts) with Arizona and Cleveland during the 2021 campaign. He posted a 6.58 ERA and 1.77 WHIP in 52 innings and will now lose his place on the 40-man roster.

Nelson was designated for assignment by the Guardians on Friday.

Nelson posted a 9.31 ERA and 1.86 WHIP in 9.2 innings across 10 appearances in the majors last year. He spent the second half of the season at Triple-A Columbus and will now be cast off the 40-man roster.

Mejia was designated for assignment by Cleveland on Friday.

Mejia was shuffled between the major-league club and Triple-A Columbus in 2021. He made 17 appearances (11 starts) in his first taste of big-league action but had a lackluster 8.25 ERA and 1.61 WHIP in 52.1 innings. The right-hander will now lose his spot on the 40-man roster.