MLB Player News

Kopech (knee) signed a one-year contract with the White Sox on Friday to avoid arbitration, James Fegan of The Athletic reports.

Kopech offered a mixed bag in 2022, holding a 3.54 ERA but with a 105:57 K:BB over 119.1 innings before shoulder and knee injuries prematurely ended his season. The hope is that he will be ready for spring training, but he won't be a good bet for a full workload in 2023.

Cease signed a one-year, $5.7 million contract with the White Sox on Friday to avoid arbitration, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.

It's a massive raise for Cease, who was in his first year of arbitration eligibility. The bump in pay was earned after the right-hander held a 2.20 ERA and 227:78 K:BB across 184 innings in 2022 to finish runner-up to Justin Verlander in American League Cy Young Award voting.

Giolito agreed to a one-year, $10.4 million contract with the White Sox on Friday to avoid arbitration, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

Giolito entered 2022 with a 3.47 ERA across the previous three seasons, but he struggled last year with a 4.90 ERA, 1.44 WHIP and 177:61 K:BB in 161.2 innings. Now entering his final season before hitting free agency, the 28-year-old will look to bounce back in a contract year.

Canninga (back) and the Angels agreed on a one-year, $850,000 contract Friday, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.

Canning will avoid the arbitration process with the Angels after the two parties were able to strike a deal Friday. The right-hander missed the 2022 campaign while rehabbing a stress fracture in his lower back, and he'll have a shot at returning to the Angels' rotation in 2023. Canning owns a career 4.73 ERA over three seasons with Los Angeles.

Paddack (elbow) and the Twins agreed on a one-year, $2.4 million contract Friday to avoid arbitration, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.

The right-hander underwent the second Tommy John surgery of his career in May and isn't expected to be available for at least the first half of the 2023 campaign. Prior to injuring his elbow, Paddack produced a 4.03 ERA and 1.21 WHIP with 20 punchouts over 22.1 innings in five starts with Minnesota.

Keller signed a one-year, $5.775 million contract with the Royals on Friday to avoid arbitration, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.

Keller is coming off back-to-back dreadful seasons, even getting demoted to the bullpen at one point in 2022. The Royals will hope he can bounce back in his walk year and perhaps boost his value enough that they can flip him for a prospect at the trade deadline.

Seabold was designated for assignment by the Red Sox on Thursday.

The move clears a spot on the 40-man roster for the addition of Corey Kluber. Seabold has been blasted for a 10.55 ERA over six starts at the major-league level from 2021-22, but he has a 3.39 ERA with 141 strikeouts across 140.2 innings at Triple-A during that span. There figures to be some interest in the righty on waivers.

Toussaint signed a minor-league contract with the Guardians on Wednesday, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.

Toussaint will join the Guardians ahead of the 2023 campaign and his minor-league deal includes a big-league spring training invite, giving him a shot to prove himself with his new team. The right-hander posted a 4.62 ERA and 1.34 WHIP with 26 strikeouts over 25.1 innings in eight appearances, including two starts, with the Angels last season. After a promising start to his career in 2018 with Atlanta, Toussaint has struggled with consistency over the past few seasons, something he'll look to correct with Cleveland, a franchise that just seems to pump out quality pitching every year.

Ryu (elbow) said Wednesday he's targeting July for his return from Tommy John surgery, Jee-ho Yoo of the Yonhap News Agency reports.

The 35-year-old underwent the procedure in June 2022, so a return in July would be on the short end of the usual 12-to-18-month recovery timeline. Even if cleared for game action in July, Ryu could have a limited workload down the stretch coming off the injury.

Kluber and the Red Sox agreed Wednesday on a one-year, $10 million contract that includes an $11 million club option for 2024 and additional incentives, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

The 36-year-old makes his offseason home in Massachusetts, which may have factored into his decision to continue his career in Boston after a one-year stint in Tampa Bay. Though Kluber was able to steer clear of the health concerns that derailed him in each of the prior three seasons, the two-time American League Cy Young Award winner didn't return to peak form in 2022. His strikeout rate (20.2 percent) took a dramatic dip along with fastball velocity (88.9 miles per hour average), though a career-best 3.0 percent walk rate helped him maintain a respectable 1.21 WHIP over 164 innings. Altogether, Kluber still performed comfortably above the league median (117 ERA-, with 100 being average), so his addition should bring some stability to a Boston rotation that will be counting on two veterans with even more troubling injury histories (Chris Sale and James Paxton), not to mention younger arms such as Garrett Whitlock, Tanner Houck and Brayan Bello with more limited track records as starters at the big-league level.