MLB Player News

Mateo was added to the Yankees' 40-man roster Friday.

This was a no-brainer for the Yankees as Mateo is a top prospect in the system and needed to be protected from the Rule 5 draft. He did endure some growing pains at High-A Tampa in 2016, but Mateo has elite speed and there's optimism about his hit tool developing in time. There's been talk about him potentially moving to center field long term.

Navarro was outrighted to Triple-A Salt Lake on Friday.

His chances of holding onto his 40-man spot throughout the winter were slim, to put it nicely. Navarro put up just a .227/.253/.325 line at the Triple-A level in 2016 -- in the hitter-friendly PCL. He will provide organizational infield depth in 2017.

Urena was added to the Blue Jays' 40-man roster on Friday, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet reports.

Urena splitting time between High-A Dunedin and Double-A New Hampshire, combined to hit .295/.335/.434 with eight home runs and 59 RBI. He figures to stay with New Hampshire to begin 2017 since he only spent 30 games there, but he has progressed enough that protecting him from the Rule 5 draft became necessary.

Adames was added to the Rays' 40-man roster Friday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Adames hit .274/.372/.430 with 11 homers and 13 steals in 132 games with Double-A Montgomery in 2016, solidifying his status as the top prospect in the organization. He will presumably advance to Triple-A early on in 2017 with a chance to break through to the majors before the end of the year.

Camargo was added to the Braves' 40-man roster Friday.

2016 marked Camargo's first taste of Double-A, and he adjusted to the new level well by smashing 26 doubles and striking out just 16.7 percent of the time. The 22-year-old doesn't possess huge power, but his strong contact abilities paired with his defensive versatility across the infield bode well for his chances to move up the organizational ranks now that he's safe from the Rule 5 draft.

Herrera signed a minor league contract with the Rockies on Friday.

He spent the entire season at Double-A Hartford, batting .292/.374/.379 with 36 steals while playing exclusively in the outfield corners. Herrera broke into professional baseball as a shortstop but his days of playing the infield seem to be over. While he's displayed a good approach at the plate, his bat does not profile especially well in the corners at the major league level.

Castro was outrighted to Triple-A Gwinnett on Tuesday, Matt Eddy of Baseball America reports.

Castro has seen a sizable amount of major league playing time over the past couple years, but he hasn't taken advantage of it, as displayed by his .217 batting average in the big leagues. The 23-year-old will head back to the minors to find his stroke and act as organizational infield depth.

Baez went 2-for-3 with a home run in a victory over the Giants in Game 1 of the NLDS on Friday.

Only one run was scored in the game, and it came on Baez's home run in the bottom of the eighth. He slashed a modest .273/.314/.423 in 421 at-bats this year, but for one day at least he's the most famous man in Chicago.

Joe Jordan, the Phillies' director of player development, said Crawford has had a smooth recovery from knee surgery and will have a normal offseason, Jim Salisbury of CSN Philadelphia reports.

Crawford underwent arthroscopic knee surgery in September to remove a loose body from his left knee. He will be ready for spring training, where he is expected to get a chance to compete for a starting job.

Mondesi is among the candidates vying for the Royals' starting job at second base in 2017, the Kansas City Star reports.

Despite a PED suspension early in 2016 while he was in the minors, Mondesi debuted with the Royals in late July as a 20-year-old and struggled to find regular playing time down the stretch as he hit .185/.231/.281 in 47 games. Prior to his suspension, Mondesi displayed a combination of power and speed that was previously unseen in his profile, and a significant part of his long-term value comes from his defensive ability shortstop, where he's currently blocked by Alcides Escobar. He'll get an opportunity to compete for the job at the keystone in spring training with the likes of Whit Merrifield, Cheslor Cuthbert, and Christian Colon.