MLB Player News

The Cubs and Steele (elbow) avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $6.775 million contract Thursday, Patrick Mooney of The Athletic reports.

Steele gets a modest raise after he missed nearly all of the 2025 season following UCL revision surgery. The left-hander's rehab has come along well, but he is expected to be sidelined for at least the first month or so of the 2026 campaign.

The Mets and Peterson avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $8.1 million contract Thursday, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.

It's a nice bump in pay for Peterson, who had been eligible for arbitration for the final time. The lefty faded down the stretch for the Mets in 2025 but still finished with a solid 4.22 ERA and 150:65 K:BB over 168.2 innings covering 30 starts.

The Rockies and Feltner (shoulder) avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $2.45 million contract Thursday, Ari Alexander of 7 News Boston reports.

Feltner finished the 2025 season on the minor-league injured list with right shoulder inflammation, and he had also previously missed time with back trouble. It's unclear whether he will have any limitation when reporting to spring training next month. Feltner had been eligible for arbitration for the second time.

The Mets and Megill (elbow) avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $2.5 million contract Thursday, Ari Alexander of 7 News Boston reports.

Megill pitched well when healthy in 2025, posting a 3.95 ERA and 89:33 K:BB over 68.1 innings, but he was limited to only 14 starts before undergoing Tommy John surgery. The righty will miss the entire 2026 season but is under team control for 2027.

The Phillies and Luzardo avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $11 million contract Thursday, Ari Alexander of 7 News Boston reports.

Luzardo will nearly double his salary from 2025 after posting a 3.92 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 216:57 K:BB over 183.2 regular-season innings covering 32 starts in 2025 in his first season with the Phillies. The left-hander is slated to reach free agency next offseason.

Lorenzen signed a one-year, $8 million contract with the Rockies on Wednesday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

Lorenzen's new deal also includes a $9 million club option for the 2027 season. The 34-year-old right-hander took a step back in 2025, accumulating a 4.64 ERA and 1.33 WHIP alongside a 127:39 K:BB across 141.2 innings with the Royals. His chances of improving upon those numbers in 2026 have taken a hit now that he's slated to pitch his home games at Coors Field, but Colorado's weak pitching staff at least makes Lorenzen a safe bet to capture a rotation spot.

The Cubs acquired Cabrera from the Marlins on Wednesday in exchange for Owen Caissie, Cristian Hernandez and Edgardo De Leon, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

Cabrera experienced a breakthrough in 2025 after lowering his arm slot, finishing the season with a 3.53 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 150:48 K:BB across 137.2 innings. It was a career-high workload for the righty, and he will remain a major injury risk moving forward, but Cabrera injects some much-needed upside and bat-missing ability into the Cubs' rotation. He is under team control through 2028.

The Reds outrighted Richardson to Triple-A Louisville on Wednesday.

Richardson is no longer on the 40-man roster but will remain in the organization after passing through waivers unclaimed. The right-hander finished 2025 with a 4.54 ERA, 1.54 WHIP and 30:21 K:BB across 37.2 regular-season innings for Cincinnati.

The Cardinals designated Kent for assignment Tuesday.

The move clears a spot on the 40-man roster for the addition of Justin Bruihl, who was acquired via trade. Kent was a waiver claim by the Cardinals in December and will now go through the waivers process again. The righty reliever posted a 4.58 ERA and 16:8 K:BB over 17.2 innings for the Guardians in 2025.

The Giants signed Mahle to a one-year contract Wednesday, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports.

Shoulder issues limited Mahle to 16 starts and 86.2 innings in 2025 with the Rangers, but he was able to collect a 2.18 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 66:29 K:BB. The 31-year-old right-hander has not reached 20 starts in the majors since 2022 and his strikeout rate the last two seasons sits at just 18.9 percent, but he is a worthwhile roll of the dice on a one-year deal and will benefit from spacious Oracle Park as his new home.