Volpe (shoulder) agreed to a one-year, $3.5 million contract with the Yankees to avoid arbitration Thursday, Jack Curry of YES Network reports.

Volpe is recovering from shoulder surgery and won't be ready to begin the 2026 season. This was the shortstop's first year of arbitration eligibility, and he'll see a raise of about $2.6 million from 2025 after posting a .212/.272/.391 slash line with 19 homers and 18 steals in 153 regular-season games.

Duran agreed to a one-year contract with the Rangers on Thursday to avoid arbitration, Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Duran played 90 games for the Rangers last season and had a career-worst .559 OPS, failing to hit a home run in 219 plate appearances. The 26-year-old has a contract for 2026 but likely won't have much roster security given that he has a .237/.278/.309 slash line across the past two seasons.

Smith agreed to a one-year, $3.225 million contract with the Rangers on Thursday to avoid arbitration, Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Smith will end up earning a little more than the $2.5 million that he was projected for in his first year of arbitration eligibility, per Spotrac.com. He's primarily worked as a super-utility player for the Rangers but could find a regular role at second base in 2026 following the offseason departure of Marcus Semien.

Allen agreed to a one-year, $1.4 million contract with the Astros on Thursday to avoid arbitration, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

The 27-year-old was traded from Atlanta to Houston earlier in the offseason and is now officially under contract for 2026. Allen played 135 games last season but with Jeremy Pena entrenched at shortstop, he'll work in a reserve role for the Astros after posting a .221/.284/.251 slash line in 2025.

The White Sox designated Cowles for assignment Thursday.

Cowles struggled to perform consistently at the Triple-A level in 2025, turning in a .679 OPS across 527 plate appearances between the Cubs' and White Sox's affiliates. He'll now lose his place on the Sox's 40-man roster to make room for Drew Romo, who was claimed off waivers.

Pena agreed to a one-year, $9.475 million contract with the Astros on Thursday, avoiding arbitration, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Pena was a reliable shortstop across his first three MLB campaigns, but his breakout in 2025 will more than double his salary in his second year of arbitration eligibility. The 28-year-old posted a career-best .304/.363/.477 slash line with 17 home runs, 20 stolen bases, 62 RBI and 68 runs in 125 games. He missed the final week of the season due to an oblique injury and was also sidelined by a rib issue earlier in the year, but he should be healthy to begin 2026.

Neto (hand) agreed to a one-year, $4.15 million contract with the Angels on Thursday to avoid arbitration, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports.

It's a significant raise for the 24-year-old shortstop, who is entering his first year of arbitration eligibility. Neto had a late start to 2025 due to a shoulder injury and missed the final two weeks of the season with a hand issue, but he was productive when available with 26 home runs, 26 steals and a .793 OPS in 128 contests.

Clement signed a one-year, $4.6 million contract with the Blue Jays on Thursday to avoid arbitration, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Clement slashed .277/.313/.398 with 50 RBI and 83 runs scored over 588 plate appearances in the 2025 regular season before batting an absurd .411 with nine RBI and scoring 13 runs during Toronto's postseason run, which fell just one game short of a World Series title. The 29-year-old will receive a $2.63 million raise as a reward for his efforts and will likely spend most of his time at second base in 2026 following the Jays' acquisition of third baseman Kazuma Okamoto during the offseason.

The Rays claimed Cheng off waivers from the Pirates on Wednesday.

Cheng went 0-for-7 with three strikeouts in his first taste of the majors in 2025 and also slashed only .209/.307/.271 during his time at Triple-A Indianapolis. The 24-year-old can play both middle-infield spots and is likely destined for Triple-A Durham to begin the 2026 campaign.

The Orioles claimed Luciano off waivers from the Pirates on Wednesday, Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com reports.

Luciano has managed just a .217/.286/.304 batting line over 41 games in the majors and hasn't been great at the Triple-A level, either, slashing .227/.351/.401. The former top prospect is still just 24, so the Orioles felt he was worth a flier. Luciano -- who does not have minor-league options remaining -- was moved to left field at Triple-A Sacramento in the Giants organization in 2025 after previously playing shortstop.