MLB Player News

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.

Eovaldi agreed to a two-year, $34 million contract with the Rangers on Tuesday, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.

Eovaldi missed a solid chunk of last season with back and shoulder injuries, though he was able to turn in a decent campaign while healthy with a 3.87 ERA and 1.23 WHIP across 109.1 innings. If he can break his norm and avoid the injured list in 2023, Eovaldi could provide a solid addition to the middle of Texas' new-look rotation. According to Jeff Passan of ESPN.com, the contract includes a $20 million player option for 2025 that will vest if he exceeds 300 innings across the first two years of the deal.

Rucinski agreed to a one-year contract with the Athletics on Tuesday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports. According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, Rucinski's deal is for $3 million in 2023 and contains a $5 million club option for 2024.

Rucinski hasn't pitched in affiliated ball since 2018 and spent the past four years in the Korea Baseball Organization, where he had a 3.06 ERA across 121 starts. He'll turn 34 years old Dec. 30 and should have a chance to slot into the back end of Oakland's rotation to open 2023.

Lyles signed a two-year, $17 million deal with the Royals on Tuesday, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports.

Lyles will be getting pretty good money for a 32-year-old with a 5.10 career ERA. His 4.42 ERA last season for the Orioles beat his career mark by a significant margin but still wasn't particularly strong, especially in a year in which offense dropped across the league. Lyles' 18.6 percent strikeout rate in 2022 was in line with his 17.6 percent career figure, so don't expect him to become a different pitcher any time soon. He should at least be able to eat a healthy amount of innings for the Royals, as his 62 starts over the past two seasons tie him for 13th in the league. Toss in his pitcher-friendly home park and relatively weak division and Lyles becomes a viable end-game option in deeper formats despite his rather bland numbers.

Milone signed a minor-league deal with the Mariners on Thursday, Paul Braverman, Director of Media Relations and Baseball Information for the Tacoma Rainiers reports.

Milone spent the majority of the 2022 season with Triple-A Tacoma and maintained a 2.68 ERA with a 1.02 WHIP across 40.1 innings. He appeared as a reliever for short stints in Seattle and will likely serve as organizational depth once again in 2023.

Rodon signed a six-year, $162 million contract with the Yankees on Thursday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

Rodon bet on himself by signing a one-year contract with San Francisco for the 2022 season. He delivered an excellent 2.88 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 237:52 K:BB across 178 innings and will now be rewarded with a lucrative long-term deal. In addition to his strong ratios and strikeout total, Rodon's inning total was also notable, as he overcame shoulder and elbow injuries from earlier in his career to prove he's capable of carrying a heavy workload. He'll join Gerrit Cole, Nestor Cortes (groin), and Luis Severino to form an imposing rotation in New York.

Lorenzen signed a one-year, $8.5 million contract with the Tigers on Wednesday, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.

After spending one season with the Angels, the 30-year-old righty is once again on the move. Lorenzen spent a bit of time on the injured list between July and September last season with a shoulder injury, though he was still able to put up a 4.24 ERA and 1.28 WHIP on the year -- both improvements from his 2021 campaign. He will likely take a spot toward the back end of the Tigers' rotation in 2023.

Eflin's three-year, $40 million contract with the Rays was formally announced by the team Tuesday.

The surprise deal was reported at the beginning of the month and has now been made official. Eflin held a 4.04 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 65:15 K:BB ratio over 20 appearances -- 13 starts -- for the Phillies in 2022. He's battled chronic knee issues and his career numbers are rather pedestrian, but the Rays have earned the benefit of the doubt when they see something in a pitchers. It wouldn't be a surprise if they're able to coax a career year out of Eflin in 2023.

The Blue Jays signed Bassitt to a three-year, $63 million contract Monday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

The righty will be a valuable addition to the middle of Toronto's already-strong starting rotation. Bassitt had a 3.42 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 167:49 K:BB in 181.2 innings with the Mets in 2022, numbers which fully merit the roughly $21 million AAV on this new contract. He joins a remarkably tough division in the AL East, but the NL East was no slouch, either, so it shouldn't change his 2023 outlook too drastically.