MLB Player News

Neto was invited to the major-league side of Angels camp this spring.

Neto went 13th overall in the 2022 first-year player draft and quickly made the jump to Double-A Rocket City while posting an overall .299/.371/.473 batting line with five home runs and five stolen bases across his first 37 professional games. The 22-year-old top shortstop prospect probably won't be a factor at the MLB level in 2023, but he's on a sharp upward trajectory.

The three-year deal Bichette signed with the Blue Jays on Tuesday has $33.6 million guaranteed, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

The contract extension came together on Tuesday evening, just two days out from Bichette's scheduled arbitration hearing with the Jays. It covers all of his arbitration-eligible seasons and carries performance-based escalators that could raise the total sum to $40.65 million. The 24-year-old shortstop is currently scheduled to reach free agency after the 2025 campaign.

Grissom might begin the season at Triple-A Gwinnett if Atlanta decides to start Orlando Arcia at shortstop, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

In fact, Bowman predicts that Arcia will be the team's Opening Day shortstop and Grissom "possibly gains the job at some point during the year." Grissom's defense at shortstop has been questioned, although he's been working with third base coach and infield instructor Ron Washington this winter with reportedly positive results. Arcia would probably offer the more stable glove, though, and Atlanta might prefer the better defensive option at the position given the strength of the rest of their lineup. It will be one of the more interesting position battles to track during spring training.

Bichette and the Blue Jays have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a three-year contract extension, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.

The financial terms haven't been announced, but Bichette is assuredly looking at a massive raise from the $723,000 he made last season. He was set for an arbitration hearing Thursday, but instead the star shortstop will receive a multi-year deal for his strong previous efforts. It buys out his remaining arbitration years, and he'll still hit free agency after the 2026 season. In 2022, Bichette 's red-hot September pushed him to an .802 OPS, 24 homers, 93 RBI and 13 stolen bases over his 159 total games.

Bichette's arbitration hearing with the Blue Jays is scheduled for Thursday, per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca.

Bichette filed at $7.5 million, with the Blue Jays countering at $5 million, when arbitration figures were exchanged earlier this offseason. Now it's up to an arbitration panel to decide which of the two possible salaries the 24-year-old shortstop will earn in 2023. Bichette made just $723,500 last year while delivering an .802 OPS with 24 home runs, 93 RBI, 13 stolen bases and 91 runs scored across 159 regular-season games.

Volpe received an invitation Tuesday to the major-league side of the Yankees' camp.

Volpe is not currently on the Yankees' 40-man roster, but he'll be pushing to carve out a spot and make his MLB debut at some point in 2023. The 21-year-old top shortstop prospect put up an .802 OPS with 21 home runs and 50 stolen bases in 132 games last summer between Double-A Somerset and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Berti signed a one-year contract with the Marlins on Monday, avoiding arbitration, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

Berti can now set his sights on the diamond after settling his contract for the upcoming season. He'll earn $2.125 million in 2023, per the Associated Press, and there's a $3.5 million club option for 2024, Craig Mish of the Miami Herald reports. The 33-year-old showed that he still has plenty of gas in the tank during the 2022 campaign by slashing .240/.324/.338 with four home runs, 28 RBI, 41 stolen bases and 47 runs scored across 102 contests.

Correa will not play for Team Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.

Correa's wife is due with the couple's second child at the same time the WBC will take place, and Hayes reports the Twins don't want the shortstop to be juggling both family and the tournament. Correa re-signed with the Twins after a tumultuous offseason that saw proposed contracts with the Giants and Mets rescinded because of concerns during his physical, and he'll spend spring training in the Grapefruit League.

Rojas (hand/wrist) agreed to a two-year, $10 million extension on Saturday with a $5 million club option for 2025, Daniel Alvarez-Montes of ElExtraBase.com reports.

If the Dodgers decline the option, Rojas gets a $1 million buyout. The infielder was set to hit free agency after the 2023 campaign, but he'll potentially be a member of the Dodgers now through at least the 2024 season. The 33-year-old should be a major asset for Los Angeles on defense, but his lack of offensive upside keeps him off of the fantasy radar to begin the year.

Rojas underwent surgery to remove a piece of bone from between his thumb and index finger in mid-January, Eric Stephen of SBNation.com reports.

The procedure appears to have taken place shortly after Rojas was traded from Miami to Los Angeles. The veteran infielder also underwent wrist surgery back in October, so there are some question marks about his health heading into spring training, though he was recently cleared to resume hitting. His recovery may prevent him from playing for Venezuela in the upcoming World Baseball Classic, though he's yet to rule himself out.