MLB Player News

Nuno will compete for a rotation role in spring training, Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post reports.

The Nationals apparently see Nuno as a possible fit at the back of their rotation, something of a surprise considering he's started just one game since 2015. Between Joe Ross and Erick Fedde, the team doesn't have a player with a firm hold on the fifth starter job, so it's possible Nuno wins it in an upset, though a bullpen role is far more likely if he makes the team.

Nuno signed a minor-league contract with the Nationals on Thursday, Jon Heyman of FancredSports.com reports.

Nuno missed a good chunk of the 2018 season due to a hamstring injury, but he impressed when healthy, posting a 1.64 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 29:10 K:BB across 33 innings of relief for the Rays. The 31-year-old southpaw will compete for a spot on the team's Opening Day roster as a middle reliever who can eat innings if necessary.

Peterson was invited to the Mets' big-league camp Thursday.

Peterson still hasn't reached Double-A, so he isn't a real candidate to make the team's Opening Day roster. The 23-year-old made 22 starts between Low-A Columbia and High-A St. Lucie in 2018, posting a combined 3.16 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 115:30 K:BB across 128 innings.

Gray signed a one-year, $2.925 million deal with the Rockies on Friday, avoiding arbitration, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports.

Gray attributed his down year to his lack of health, claiming he continuously battled injury throughout the 2018 season. He posted a disappointing 5.12 ERA, although he did rack up a career-high 183 punchouts and 12 wins over 172.1 innings. Now that he's 100 percent, Gray will aim to piece together an improved 2019 campaign.

Velasquez agreed to a one-year, $2.249 million deal with the Phillies, avoiding arbitration, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.

This is Velasquez's first foray into the arbitration process. The 26-year-old righty seemed to be pretty unlucky last year, logging a 4.85 ERA with a 3.75 FIP. He is under club control for three more seasons before becoming a free agent after the 2021 season.

Matz and the Mets agreed to a one-year, $2.625 million contract Friday, avoiding arbitration, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports.

Matz will more than quadruple his salary after earning just $577,000 last season. The raise comes after a season in which the lefty made a career-high 30 starts, finishing with a 3.97 ERA.

Wheeler and the Mets avoided arbitration with a one-year, $5.975 contract Friday, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports.

Wheeler will earn a raise of over $4 million after making $1.9 million last season. The new salary is well-deserved after the 28-year-old recorded a career-best 3.31 ERA in 29 starts in his first full season back from a lengthy injury absence.

Gausman and the Braves agreed to a one-year, $9.35 million contract Friday, avoiding arbitration.

Gausman recorded a 2.87 ERA in 10 starts for the Braves after a midseason trade from Baltimore. He'll have a firm hold on a rotation spot heading into the season despite a wealth of interesting young arms in Atlanta, and should be a strong mid-rotation presence.

Davies agreed to an unspecified one-year deal with the Brewers, avoiding arbitration.

He will have his work cut out for him to hold onto a rotation spot for the entire 2019 season, particularly if he does not improve upon last season's numbers (4.77 ERA, 49 strikeouts in 66 innings). That said, he notched sub-4.00 ERAs over full seasons in 2016 and 2017, so perhaps he can return to his old form in his age-26 campaign.

DeGrom and the Mets agreed to a one-year, $17 million deal Friday, avoiding arbitration, Matt Ehalt of The Bergen Record reports.

The deal represents a record raise for an arbitration-eligible player after deGrom earned just $7.4 million last season, per Jeff Passan of ESPN.com, beating the record set by Mookie Betts just hours earlier. It's hard to argue the deal is anything less than what deGrom deserves after winning the NL Cy Young by posting a 1.70 ERA, striking out 32.2 percent of batters while walking just 5.5 percent.