MLB Player News

Lindor and the Mets reached a one-year, $22.3 million deal Friday, avoiding arbitration, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports.

Lindor was acquired by the Mets on Jan. 7, and he won't require an arbiter with his new club after agreeing to terms on a one-year deal Friday. With a deal in place for his final year of arbitration, the two sides will now presumably begin working on a long-term deal for the star shortstop. Lindor's marks were down during the abbreviated 2020 season, and he posted a career-worst .750 OPS with eight home runs and 27 RBI while appearing in all 60 games.

Turner and the Nationals agreed to a one-year, $13 million deal Friday, avoiding arbitration, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.

The star shortstop gets a big raise compared to the $7.45 million deal he signed last offseason. It's hard to say that's undeserved, as he's coming off a year in which he hit an excellent .335/.394/.588 with 12 homers and 12 steals over 59 games. Prorated to a standard 162-game season, that translates to 32.4 homers and steals, which would be a full-season low in the latter category for Turner but which would smash his previous career best of 19 homers.

Wendle and the Rays avoided arbitration with a one-year, $2.25 million deal Friday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Wendle bounced back from a poor 2019 campaign with a strong season for the 2020 AL pennant winners, hitting .286/.342/.435 in 50 games. His four homers and eight steals would have translated to 10.8 homers and 21.6 steals over a full, 162-game season, both of which would have been career highs.

Baez and the Cubs agreed to a one-year, $11.65 million contract on Friday, avoiding arbitration, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports.

Arbitration raises are as much about experience as performance, a situation Baez will be quite happy with following his awful 2020 season. His performance at the plate completely collapsed, as he hit just .203/.238/.360 after posting a .286/.321/.544 line over the previous two seasons. He struck out 31.9 percent of the time while posting an anemic 3.0 percent walk rate. His defense at shortstop remained strong, but it will be hard for the Cubs to justify giving him an everyday role if he continues to reach base in less than a quarter of his plate appearances going forward.

Mondesi agreed to a one-year, $2.52 million contract with the Royals on Friday, avoiding arbitration.

Perhaps the most divisive player in fantasy baseball heading into 2021 drafts, Mondesi could lead the majors in steals by a wide margin. However, it's easy to point out that his plate skills are quite poor relative to the players who typically get drafted in the first couple rounds of drafts. He should be able to stay in the lineup even amid long slumps, as his defense at shortstop is extremely valuable and he is still just 25 years old.

Diaz signed a one-year, $3 million contract with the Astros on Friday to avoid arbitration, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.

The two sides were able to settle on a figure for 2021 after the they were unable to reach an agreement last season, which led to an arbitration case that was won by Diaz. The 30-year-old missed most of the 2020 campaign due to injury and had a .241/.254/.483 slash line in 59 plate appearances. He's mostly been a bench piece or injury replacement during his two seasons in Houston, but he could have a larger role in 2021 following the departures of George Springer and Michael Brantley.

Crawford and the Mariners agreed to a one-year, $2,050,000 deal Friday, avoiding arbitration, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.

Crawford hasn't developed into the star he was projected to be several years ago, when he was in the running to be considered the best prospect in baseball, but he's still a useful enough player. His .255/.336/.338 slash line last season was good for a nearly average 94 wRC+, a fine mark when paired with above-average defense at shortstop and a decent amount of speed (six steals).

Lindor was traded from Cleveland to the Mets on Thursday along with Carlos Carrasco in exchange for Amed Rosario, Andres Gimenez, Isaiah Greene and Josh Wolf, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

Lindor has just one year remaining on his contract, but the Mets will be acquiring one of the best shortstops in baseball for at least that one year, though he is coming off a season in which he posted career worsts across his mediocre .258/.335/.415 slash line.

Reyes (suspension) signed a minor-league deal with the Brewers on Thursday that includes an invitation to spring training, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

Reyes missed all of the 2020 campaign after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance. He was originally suspended for 80 games, but that suspension is now considered complete despite last season's schedule being shortened to 60 games. He won't necessarily be a favorite for a major-league roster spot in Milwaukee, even in a bench role, as he's a career .229/.295/.368 hitter through 89 games at the highest level.

Preciado was traded to the Cubs on Monday as part of the trade that sent Yu Darvish and Victor Caratini to San Diego, Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic reports.

A 6-foot-4 shortstop from Panama, Preciado has a very high ceiling but has not yet played in an affiliated league, having signed in 2019 at the age of 16 for $1.3 million. He could grow into impact power while sticking at a premium position. Zach Davies, Owen Caissie, Yeison Santana and Ismael Mena were also shipped to Chicago in the deal.