MLB Player News

The Orioles outrighted Soto to Triple-A Norfolk on Friday, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.

Soto is no longer on Baltimore's 40-man roster but will remain in its organization. The utility infielder went 3-for-13 at the plate in 2024 between brief stints with the Reds and Orioles.

The Red Sox and Duran avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $3.75 million contract with an $8 million club option for 2026 on Friday, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.

The club option could escalate up to $12 million based on where Duran finishes in the 2025 American League MVP voting. This was the first of four arbitration years for Duran, as he earned an extra year as a Super 2 qualifier. The 28-year-old slashed .285/.342/.492 with 21 home runs and 34 stolen bases for the Red Sox in 2024.

The Blue Jays acquired Straw, cash considerations and international bonus pool space from the Guardians on Friday in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations.

The Guardians will be covering $3.75 million of the $15.5 million Straw is still owed on his contract and will send $2 million in bonus pool money to Toronto, according to Ben Nicholson-Smith and Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca. While the club hopes to put the pool money toward a contract for Roki Sasaki, Davidi says Sasaki has not given the Blue Jays any indication that he's made a decision. Straw spent nearly all of the 2024 season in the minors and was removed from Cleveland's 40-man roster earlier this offseason.

The Astros have extended Smith an invitation to big-league camp during spring training, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Acquired from the Cubs in the Kyle Tucker trade, Smith slashed .313/.396/.609 with seven home runs over 32 games across three levels in his pro debut in 2024 after being taken in the first round of last year's First-Year Player Draft. He's likely to begin the 2025 season at Double-A Corpus Christi, but the Astros will let him get his feet wet in major-league spring training.

Wantz (elbow) signed a minor-league deal with the Rays on Jan. 2.

Per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, it's a two-year contract, as Wantz is recovering from right elbow surgery and the earliest could be ready to pitch for the Rays is late in the 2025 season. Wantz has a career 3.88 ERA and 126:48 K:BB over 118.1 frames covering parts of four major-league seasons.

The Orioles designated Contreras for assignment Thursday.

The transaction frees up a 40-man roster spot for Jacob Amaya, who was claimed off waivers. Contreras was a waiver claim himself just last week and could be on the move again. The righty has bounced around to four different organizations since October.

The Orioles claimed Amaya off waivers from the White Sox on Thursday.

Amaya had been designated for assignment after slashing only .179/.225/.194 over 23 games for the White Sox down the stretch of the 2024 season. He is out of minor-league options, so Amaya will have to make the Orioles' Opening Day roster or go through waivers again.

Kitchen cleared waivers Thursday and was sent outright to Triple-A Tacoma.

Kitchen never made an appearance for the M's after being claimed off waivers in September, though he did make four appearances for the Marlins, surrendering 11 earned runs in just seven frames. He'll now serve as organizational depth in the Rainiers' bullpen.

The Yankees acquired Arias from the Cubs on Wednesday in exchange for cash considerations.

Arias was designated for assignment earlier this week and is now on the move to a new organization. The 23-year-old held a 4.77 ERA and walked 48 over 60.1 innings between Double-A Tennessee and Triple-A Iowa in 2024, but he also struck out 72 and offers good stuff from a sidearm delivery. The Yankees will be tasked with getting him to throw more strikes, and if they're able to, he might be a sneaky addition.

The Red Sox designated Shugart for assignment Wednesday, Hunter Noll of Beyond the Monster reports.

The transaction clears a spot on the 40-man roster for the addition of Blake Sabol, who was acquired from San Francisco via trade. Shugart, 28, made his major-league debut in 2024, allowing four runs over 8.2 frames out of Boston's bullpen. He should stand a good chance of passing through waivers unclaimed.