MLB Player News

Davis joined the Rockies' 40-man roster Friday.

The move means Davis won't be selected in the upcoming Rule 5 draft. He looked good in 19 minor-league starts last season, posting a 3.60 ERA while striking out 25.2 percent of opposing batters. All of those starts came at the High-A level, however, so his major-league debut doesn't appear to be imminent.

Greene had his contract selected by the Reds on Friday.

Greene is expected to compete for a spot in the major-league rotation in spring training, and his addition to the 40-man roster protects him from being selected during the upcoming Rule 5 draft. The 22-year-old righty, who is Cincinnati's top prospect, opened the 2021 season at Double-A Chattanooga and posted a 1.98 ERA in 41 innings (seven starts), and he had a 4.13 ERA over 65.1 innings after being promoted to Triple-A Louisville. Even if he misses out on the Opening Day roster, Greene has a strong chance of making his big-league debut in 2022.

Burnes was announced as the winner of the 2021 National League Cy Young Award on Wednesday, the Baseball Writers' Association of America reports.

Burnes and Zack Wheeler each received 12 first-place votes, but Burnes pulled ahead with 14 second-place votes compared to Wheeler's nine. Burnes led the majors with a 2.43 ERA and also had a 0.94 WHIP and 234:34 K:BB over 167 innings. The right-hander will enter spring training as Milwaukee's ace for the foreseeable future.

Overton (shoulder) signed a minor-league contract with the Reds on Wednesday, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.

Overton made his major-league debut in 2021 and logged a 4.70 ERA and 1.24 WHIP in 15.1 innings across nine appearances (three starts) with the Pirates and Blue Jays. It's unlikely that his late-season shoulder injury will limit him to begin the 2022 campaign, and he'll serve as a non-roster invitee during spring training.

Heaney signed a one-year, $8.5 million deal with the Dodgers on Monday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

Heaney had a very poor 2021 season, at least judging by his 5.83 ERA. The ERA estimators all liked him far more than that, however, with SIERA (3.84) and xERA (4.01) being the most optimistic. The Dodgers clearly believe there's still something there for the 30-year-old lefty, whose 26.9 percent strikeout rate and 7.3 percent walk rate were both quite good. He needs to cut the homers to be an effective starter, however, and his 33.1 percent groundball rate suggests he may not be able to take a large step forward in that area, though some positive regression in his 18.1 percent HR/FB rate should help somewhat.

The Cubs exercised Miley's (neck) $10 million option for 2022 on Sunday, Russell Dorsey of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

This move comes as no surprise after the Cubs claimed Miley from Cincinnati's waivers Friday. The lefty will be 35 years old when the 2022 campaign begins and he'll be coming off a neck injury, but he's also coming off an excellent 2021 season in which he posted a 3.37 ERA and 1.33 WHIP in 163 innings. Even if he regresses next year, Miley still figures to be a bargain at $10 million.

Overton (shoulder) was outrighted to Triple-A Indianapolis on Saturday.

Overton made his big-league debut in 2021, posting an unremarkable 4.70 ERA in three starts and six relief appearances. He hit the injured list with a strained shoulder in late September, though he's expected to resume throwing sometime in November, giving him plenty of time to be ready to go by spring training.

Lodolo will compete for a spot in the Reds' 2022 rotation, according to general manager Nick Krall, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

Krall said that Lodolo, along with Hunter Greene and Reiver Sanmartin, will compete for one of the two vacant spots. Greene and Lodolo are two of the Reds' best prospects, so they could become trendy fantasy fliers if they pitch well in spring training. The 23-year-old lefty logged a 1.84 ERA in 10 starts at Double-A and an inflated 5.40 ERA in three starts at Triple-A.

Greene will compete for a spot in the Reds' 2022 rotation, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

The Reds' top pitching prospect did what he could in 2021 to prove his readiness for the majors, logging a 1.98 ERA in seven starts at Double-A and a 4.13 ERA as a 22-year-old at Triple-A. Throwing enough strikes will be the key for Greene to break through with the big-league club early next season. There are at least two rotation spots currently up for grabs, and Greene will be competing primarily with Nick Lodolo and Reiver Sanmartin.

Miley (neck) was claimed off waivers by the Cubs on Friday.

The veteran lefty's underlying numbers may not fully support his 3.37 ERA this season, but seeing him land on waivers was still a surprise. He didn't strike out many batters (18.1 percent), but he avoided walks (7.2 percent) and kept the ball on the ground at a 49.4 percent clip, leading to a 3.97 FIP and 4.07 xFIP. If his ERA regresses to match those estimators next season, the Cubs will likely still be quite happy to have him at a modest $10 million, though there's of course some risk that he regresses far more than that in his age-35 season. Miley missed the tail end of the regular season with a neck strain, but there's been no indication that it's the type of injury which will delay his preparation for spring training.