MLB Player News

Crawford will join the Phillies in spring training this year, CSN Philly's Jim Salisbury reports.

The Phillies top prospect could get a taste of the big leagues in late 2016, so it makes sense that the big league coaches get a look at him, and allow him to establish relationships with some of the players who will make the 25-man roster. Crawford turns 21 in January and already has played 86 games at Double-A, so he is incredibly advanced for his age. His floor is extremely high, as he has one of the best hit tools in the minors, but his ceiling is debatable. He has speed and should develop a bit more power, but it may top out at 12-15 home runs and 20-25 steals, which is excellent, but not enough to challenge Carlos Correa, Xander Bogaerts, or even Corey Seager for the top spot at the position.

Herrera has re-signed with the Rockies on a minor league deal, Matt Eddy of Baseball America reports.

The former highly touted prospect did not play above the High-A level in 2015 and was ultimately non-tendered by the Rockies after the season. He'll rejoin the club on a minor league deal, though there is no word yet on whether he'll receive an invite to spring training.

Swanson was traded to the Braves on Tuesday along with Ender Inciarte and Aaron Blair for Shelby Miller, the Arizona Republic's Nick Piecoro reports.

This is a bizarre move by Arizona, to say the least, as Swanson was the No. 1 overall pick in this year's draft and was seen by many as the type of player an organization could build around. However, they are in complete win-now mode, and Miller is a potential No. 2 starter who is under control for three more years. Swanson is the type of college bat who could move fast, but this trade may push back his ETA as the Braves are rebuilding and have no incentive to rush him to The Show. Last year he slashed .289/.394/.482 with one home run and a 14:14 K:BB in 22 games in short season ball.

Baez will play some center field in winter ball in Puerto Rico.

The Cubs have a glut of middle infielders and potentially could lose Dexter Fowler via free agency. If this experiment takes, this cures two problems in one.

Ciriaco was non-tendered by the Braves on Thursday.

The Braves cleared a spot on the 40-man roster and avoid having to negotiate an arbitration deal with the utility infielder. Ciriaco is a career .268/.294/.368 hitter, and he played every infield position other than catcher last season, so his versatility is his main selling point as he now becomes a free agent.

The Mets tendered contracts to all eight of their arbitration-eligible players, including Tejada (fractured right fibula), before Thursday's deadline, ESPN New York reports.

This is a reversal from what looked like what happened, as the Mets had appeared to be set to cut Tejada loose. Tejada made $1.88 million in 2015 and could earn between $2.5-3 million if he goes to arbitration. As of now, he likely will fill a back up infield role, seeing time at shortstop and second base.

d'Arnaud signed a minor league contract with the Braves that includes an invitation to attend spring training.

d'Arnaud spent last year in the Phillies organization, playing with Triple-A Lehigh Valley prior to a September call-up. He was a decent hitter, batting .268 with five home runs and 35 RBI, but was outrighted off the Phillies' 40-man roster after the season was over. The 28-year-old will look to find a spot as a utility infielder during spring training.

Story was added to the Rockies' 40-man roster Friday, Jenny Cavnar of Root Sports reports.

He split 2015 between Double-A and Triple-A, and the surface numbers look almost identical between levels. Story hit 20 doubles, 10 homers and drove in 40 runs at both stops, with his average falling just four points (from .281 to .277) following the jump to Albuquerque. The most notable decline was to his walk rate, as Story only managed to walk at only a 5.8 percent clip at Triple-A after managing an 11.7 percent mark at Double-A. Regardless, Story is viewed by many as the future at shortstop for Colorado, and he figures to debut in 2016 no matter what happens with Jose Reyes.

Arcia was added to the Brewers' 40-man roster Friday.

This is strictly to protect Arcia from the Rule-5 draft. He is the top prospect in a suddenly lush Brewers farm system, but the team won't burn a year of control by bringing him up early in 2016. There is no doubt that he is the shortstop of the future in Milwaukee, but he probably won't debut until late-2016 or early-2017.

Diaz was added to the 40-man roster Thursday.

Diaz was promoted to Triple-A Memphis late in the season after recording a .264/.324/.421 line in 375 at-bats for Double-A Springfield. The Cardinals likely made this move in order to protect Diaz from the upcoming Rule 5 Draft, but he could be a candidate to make the 25-man roster in the coming years considering St. Louis invested heavily in the 25-year-old when they signed him out of Cuba prior to the 2014 season.