MLB Player News

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 Red Sox and Crawford (wrist) avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $2.75 million contract Tuesday, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.

Crawford will receive the same salary in 2026 after he missed the entire 2025 season due to a knee injury and then right wrist surgery. The hurler is expected to be ready in time for Opening Day, though it's possible he's slow-played at the beginning of spring training. Assuming health, Crawford is set to compete for a spot in Boston's rotation.

The Tigers signed File to a minor-league contract Monday, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

File spent most of the 2025 season at Double-A Arkansas in the Mariners organization, posting a 4.74 ERA and 98:35 K:BB over 125.1 frames. The 29-year-old has previously been on the Brewers' 40-man roster but has yet to make his major-league debut.

The Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball signed Howard to a contract Tuesday, Yakyu Cosmopolitan reports.

It will be the second straight year in Japan for Howard, who pitched for the Rakuten Eagles in 2025, posting a 2.22 ERA and 36:11 K:BB over 48.2 frames during an injury-shortened campaign. The 29-year-old holds a career 7.00 ERA over 47 appearances (32 starts) across parts of five major-league seasons.

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.

Eflin (back) is scheduled to throw a bullpen session Jan. 6, Matt Weyrich of The Baltimore Sun reports.

It will be his first time throwing off a mound since he underwent a lumbar microdiscectomy surgery in August. Eflin -- who re-signed with the Orioles on Sunday -- has dealt with back issues off-and-on throughout his career and said he felt immediate relief after the operation. His goal is to be ready for Opening Day, but more will be known about his timetable once he's ramped up his throwing. Eflin posted a 5.93 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 50:13 K:BB across 71.1 innings for Baltimore during an injury-shortened 2025 season.

Eflin (back) and the Orioles agreed on a one-year, $10 million contract with a mutual option for 2027 on Sunday, Matt Weyrich of The Baltimore Sun reports.

Eflin will stick around Baltimore after spending the 2025 campaign with the team. The right-hander produced an inflated 5.93 ERA and 1.42 WHIP with 50 strikeouts over 14 starts with the Orioles before undergoing season-ending back surgery in August. Eflin will look to be back to full health in time for spring training and hit the ground running in 2026.

The Reds designated Richardson for assignment Saturday, Gordon Wittenmyer of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Following the Reds' acquisition of outfielder Dane Myers (knee) from Miami on Saturday, Richardson will end up as the roster casualty necessary to create space on the 40-man. The 25-year-old reliever finished 2025 with a 4.54 ERA, 1.54 WHIP and 30:21 K:BB across 37.2 regular-season innings. However, his 4.06 FIP indicates that he performed slightly better than what his base stats suggest, and there's a chance another team in need of bullpen depth claims the right-hander off waivers.

Tiedemann (elbow) is expected to be fully healthy in time for camp, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.

Tiedemann missed the entire 2025 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in July of 2024, and he has totaled just 140 innings in the minors since being drafted by Toronto in 2021. Despite that, it was still an easy call for the Blue Jays to add Tiedemann to the 40-man roster in November for Rule 5 protection. While the hard-throwing lefty has flashed high upside and is close to full health, Tiedemann is highly unlikely to handle a big workload in 2026 given all the missed time. "Hopefully he's a factor for us in our rotation," GM Ross Atkins said. "That's the plan, but we would be open to him impacting the team in a bulk role or some creative way, depending on how things are going."