MLB Player News

The Orioles claimed Contreras off waivers from the Yankees on Friday.

Contreras' journey via waivers continues. He's been claimed five times this offseason, and this is the second time he's been scooped up by the Orioles. The right-hander is out of minor-league options, so he will have to make Baltimore's Opening Day roster or be exposed to waivers again.

Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said Friday that Rodriguez will compete for the fifth spot in the rotation during spring training, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.

It makes sense for the club to keep Rodriguez stretched out in case someone else gets hurt, but the right-hander is pretty clearly sixth in the rotation pecking order heading into spring training following the addition of Max Scherzer. He still figures to be needed to start some games at some point, but Rodriguez is likely to begin the season in the bullpen if the Blue Jays' top five starters are healthy.

The Giants have extended Eldridge an invitation to big-league camp during spring training, Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The Giants' top prospect, Eldridge stormed through four levels in the minors in 2024 in his first full professional season, slashing .292/.374/.516 with 23 home runs. Eldridge is only 20, but the first baseman could push to make his major-league debut at some point during the 2025 season.

Sproat might be a rotation option for the Mets in the second half, Will Sammon of The Athletic reports.

The 24-year-old right-hander roared through the system in his pro debut last year after being a second-round pick in 2023. Sproat dominated both High-A and Double-A with a fastball that can touch triple digits and a plus changeup, producing a combined 2.05 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 110:31 K:BB through 87.2 innings between the two levels, but he struggled late in the season after another promotion to Triple-A Syracuse. Fatigue may have been a factor in the downturn, so if Sproat can master Triple-A over the first couple months of 2025 the way he did the lower levels of the minors, he figures to emerge as the next man up for a Mets rotation that features plenty of uncertainty between Kodai Senga's health, Frankie Montas' inconsistency and Clay Holmes' conversion from the bullpen.

Smith-Shawver will get a chance in training camp to win a rotation spot, and figures to get opportunities early in the season even if he begins the year back at Triple-A Gwinnett, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.

With Spencer Strider (elbow) set to begin the season on the IL, Grant Holmes and Ian Anderson are penciled into the final two spots in the rotation headed into the spring. Smith-Shawver will get a look too however, and the 22-year-old right-hander has by far the best raw stuff of that trio if he can learn to harness it more consistently. He made only one regular-season appearance for Atlanta in 2024, tossing 4.1 scoreless innings against the Cubs on May 23 with a 4:2 K:BB, but he strained his oblique during that start, missed six weeks and was never able to regain his form afterward. While his 4.86 ERA in 87 innings at Gwinnett last year wasn't very impressive, it came with a 104:40 K:BB. If Smith-Shawver puts together an impressive camp, he could force his way into the back of Atlanta's Opening Day rotation.

Rea could pivot between the rotation and bullpen this season as a swingman for the Cubs, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

This basically confirms the assumption when Rea signed with Chicago back on Jan. 10, which was that there isn't a clear spot for him in the rotation. The veteran righty has mostly served as a starter the past few seasons, however, and he made 27 starts for the Brewers last year. Rea's experience gives the Cubs some depth in case another starter stumbles or goes down with injury. For now, Javier Assad figures to slot in as the team's fifth starter, though that could change during camp. If Rea doesn't snag a rotation spot right away, he figures to pitch in long relief or make some spot starts.

Gordon will serve as a rotational depth option for the Astros in 2025, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Gordon is a longshot to secure a rotation spot during spring training, but Houston added him to the 40-man roster this offseason. That makes him a name to monitor given the lack of healthy depth options the Astros are projected to have for their starting staff. Gordon has a decent skillset, as he maintained a 16.3 K-BB% across 123.1 innings with Triple-A Sugar Land in 2024. However, he has a poor fastball, which could lead to inconsistent results as he seeks to establish himself in the majors.

Gusto will have the chance to compete for the fifth rotation spot for Houston, but he is more likely to establish himself as a depth option, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

The Astros have four clear members of the rotation to begin the season, though they are depleted by injuries thereafter. Hayden Wesneski is the likeliest occupant of the final rotation spot, but Gusto is on the radar after a solid 2024 season at Triple-A Sugar Land, where he posted a 141:53 K:BB across across 148.1 innings while maintaining a 3.70 ERA and 1.26 WHIP. Gusto was also set to make his big-league debut on the final day of the 2024 regular season before the game was rained out.

Hampton has received an invitation from the Yankees to participate in big-league spring training.

Hampton is one of the organization's top pitching prospects but is coming off an injury-plagued 2024 campaign during which he made just seven starts. The right-hander fared well when healthy, posting a 2.41 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 16:9 K:BB over 18.2 innings. Hampton has just 5.2 frames of experience above Single-A ball, so he's not likely to break camp with the major-league Yankees, though a big-league debut sometime in 2025 isn't out of the question.

The Yankees designated Winans for assignment Wednesday.

The move clears a spot on the 40-man roster for Owen White, who was claimed off waivers. Winans was a waiver claim himself in late January and will now go through the process again.