MLB Player News

Wilcox is set to be traded from the Padres to the Rays in exchange for left-hander Blake Snell, pending a review of medical records, Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports.

Wilcox signed a record $3.3 million deal with the Padres after he was selected with the 80th overall pick in the 2020 first-year player draft, and he spent the entire season at the team's alternate training site. The right-hander should get his first chance to play in the minors in 2021 as part of the Rays organization, where he'll work to develop his plus slider and plus changeup after a somewhat inconsistent performance at Georgia.

Snell is set to be traded to San Diego from Tampa Bay for Luis Patino, Francisco Mejia, Blake Hunt and Cole Wilcox, Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports. The deal is pending a review of medical records.

Snell had a 3.24 ERA and 11.3 K/9 last season in a bounce-back campaign atop the Rays rotation. He'll move to the top of the Padres' rotation and could be allowed to go deeper into games. Snell never pitched into the seventh inning last season, including infamously being pulled after 5.1 innings with a lead in Game 6 of the World Series.

Urena (forearm) signed a one-year, $3.25 million contract with the Tigers on Wednesday, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.

The 29-year-old was non-tendered by Miami at the start of December shortly after being designated for assignment, but he's found another big-league opportunity in Detroit. Urena started five games in 2020 and had a 5.40 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and 15:13 K:BB over 23.1 innings before fracturing his forearm in the last game of the regular season. The right-hander will presumably enter spring training as a member of the Tigers' starting rotation, though he did work out of the bullpen for part of 2019.

Faedo (forearm) will undergo Tommy John surgery later this month.

Faedo was shut down for the season in late August due to what was deemed a slight forearm strain, but he'll undergo reconstructive surgery on his UCL during the offseason. As a result, the right-hander won't pitch in 2021, but he'll likely attempt to return to the mound in 2022.

Wacha signed a one-year, $3 million contract with the Rays on Friday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The Rays' reputation is such that it's generally safe to assume that if they want a player, he's probably better than he seems. In Wacha's case, his 6.62 ERA in 34 innings for the Mets last season came with a solid set of peripherals, as he struck out 23.7 percent of opposing batters while walking a career-low 4.5 percent. He did also see his groundball rate plummet from 48.0 percent in 2019 to 35.5 percent in 2020, however. Still, there's enough there to suggest that he should have a decent chance to carve out a successful season as a back-end starter or in whatever creative role the innovative Rays elect to deploy him.

Farrell signed a minor-league contract with the Twins on Thursday as a non-roster invitee, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Farrell elected free agency in early November after he was outrighted to the minors by the Rangers. He'll be invited to spring training with the Twins in 2021, where he should compete for a spot as a low-leverage reliever. The right-hander made four relief appearances for Texas last season, posting an 8.44 ERA and 1.88 WHIP over 5.1 innings.

Sale remains without a clear timeline for his return from Tommy John surgery, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Sale underwent the procedure in late March. A typical recovery timeline would see him back on a big-league mound sometime in the middle of the 2021 season, though it's difficult to predict his exact return date with any precision. While manager Alex Cora declined to give a timeline for the lefty's return Tuesday, he did note that his recovery was coming along well.

Rodriguez is on track in his recovery from myocarditis and is lined up to be ready for the start of the 2021 season, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Rodriguez wasn't allowed to exercise in any meaningful capacity last year, let alone play baseball, after developing the condition (an inflammation of the heart) as a result of his battle with COVID-19. While the Red Sox's optimism is very encouraging news, the year off certainly adds risk to Rodriguez's profile this offseason, and the serious nature of the ailment means the team will be very cautious regarding any potential setbacks.

The Red Sox selected Whitlock with the fourth pick of the Rule 5 draft.

The 24-year-old righty most recently logged a 3.07 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 57:18 K:BB in 70.1 innings at Double-A in 2019 as a member of the Yankees organization. He doesn't throw very hard, but has three potentially average offerings and could eventually develop into a back-end starter. Boston will likely use him as a long reliever and swingman in 2021.

Flexen signed a two-year, $4.75 million contract with the Mariners on Wednesday, Ken Davidoff of the New York Post reports.

Flexen spent the 2020 season with the Doosan Bears of the Korean Baseball Organization, and he had solid results, posting a 3.01 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 132:30 K:BB over 116.2 innings. He had double-digit strikeout totals in each of his final two starts of the year, and he'll now return to MLB on a two-year deal. The 26-year-old struggled to generate much production during his time in the majors from 2017 to 2019, but he'll attempt to carry his momentum from the KBO into improved results with the Mariners.