MLB Player News

The Yankees outrighted Luciano to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday.

After bouncing around via waivers for the past two months, Luciano cleared this time and will remain in the Yankees organization. The 24-year-old has managed just a .217/.286/.304 batting line over 41 games in the majors.

Bradish will be paid $3.55 million in 2026 after winning his arbitration hearing with the Orioles, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.

The arbitration panel chose Bradish's $3.55 million figure rather than the $2.875 million submitted by the Orioles. Bradish returned from Tommy John surgery late last season and looked sharp, producing a 2.53 ERA and 47:10 K:BB over 32 innings covering six starts. The righty should be able to handle a relatively normal workload for Baltimore in 2026.

The Twins claimed Kowar off waivers from the Mariners on Tuesday.

The right-hander was designated for assignment by the Mariners last week after they acquired Jhonny Pereda from the Twins, so this ended up being somewhat of a trade. Before landing on the injured list with a shoulder impingement in August, Kowar posted a 4.24 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 15:7 K:BB across 17 innings out of the bullpen for Seattle.

Astros manager Joe Espada said Tuesday that Smith will play some center field during spring training, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Smith learned right field on the fly last season and took surprisingly well to it, so the Astros will push him further to see if he can learn a more demanding position. Right field still represents Smith's best path to a starting job, but more opportunities could be afforded if he shows he can adequately handle center field. Smith slashed .236/.312/.358 with nine home runs and a 27.8 percent strikeout rate across 134 games during his rookie season.

The Astros and Paredes avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $9.35 million contract Tuesday, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports. The deal includes a club option for 2027.

The deal is the midpoint of the figures that were exchanged last month. Paredes will have one more year of arbitration eligibility next offseason before reaching free agency the following winter. There's currently not a clear opening in Houston's everyday lineup for Paredes, who hit .254/.352/.458 with 20 home runs in 2025, but he remains a candidate to be traded.

Salazar signed a minor-league contract with the Twins on Tuesday, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.

The 27-year-old hit free agency after being removed from the Nationals' 40-man roster in October. Salazar made 30 relief appearances for Washington last season and struggled to an 8.38 ERA, 2.17 WHIP and 23:16 K:BB over 29 innings. His deal with the Twins includes a foreign-team inquiry clause.

Arnold expanded his repertoire at Driveline this winter, adding a cutter and a kick changeup, Jesus Cano of Baseball America reports.

The No. 11 pick in the 2025 First-Year Player Draft, Arnold slipped to the Athletics and they swooped in and added the 6-foot-1 southpaw. Arnold already had an excellent track record and pitch mix, and now he boasts a pair of changeups, as he already had a strong splitter. His mid-90s fastball and monster mid-80s slider are Arnold's go-to offerings, but now he has even more weapons at his disposal. Arnold said "this is the best I've ever felt," which is hyperbole, but at least it's good to know he's heading to spring training at the peak of his powers. He will likely be assigned to High-A or Double-A, and Arnold could join the big-league rotation sometime this summer if he pitches to expectations.

Cantillo will compete for a spot in the rotation this spring, Tim Stebbins of MLB.com reports.

Cantillo spent the second half of the 2025 season in the Guardians' rotation but apparently will have to win a spot this spring. The left-hander had a 2.96 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 72:28 K:BB over 13 starts (67.0 innings). He and prospect Parker Messick are the frontrunners for a spot on the back end of the rotation. If Cantillo loses out, he could break camp with a bullpen role. In 21 appearances as a reliever in 2025, the 26-year-old posted a 3.81 ERA and 1.38 WHIP while limiting batters to a .229 batting average.

The Angels signed Candelario to a minor-league contract Tuesday that includes an invitation to spring training, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.

Candelario was released by the Reds last season after slashing just .113/.198/.213 over his first 22 games. He signed a minor-league deal with the Yankees after that but never got back to the majors. The Angels are lacking in third-base depth, giving Candelario a chance to see action with the big club at some point.

Melton is likely to enter spring training in a strong position to earn Detroit's final rotation spot, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.

This echoes what Detroit's front office said at the end of last season, and an Opening Day rotation spot would certainly be warranted after Melton posted a 2.76 ERA and 1.01 WHIP across 45.2 innings as a rookie in 2025. The 25-year-old only made four starts last year, with his other 12 appearances coming in relief, so he'll likely need to stretch out some in spring training and show that he's capable of a larger workload. If Melton does slot into the rotation, he'll likely be behind Tarik Skubal, Casey Mize, Jack Flaherty and Reese Olson, but any chance to start would give the former a boost in fantasy value.