The Pirates are "strongly considering" giving Griffin the opportunity to win their starting shortstop job, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

The No. 9 overall pick in the 2024 First-Year Player Draft, Griffin slashed .333/.415/.527 with 21 home runs and 65 stolen bases across three levels in 2025 in his first professional season, finishing the year at Double-A Altoona. Griffin will not turn 20 until late April, and the last teenage position player to debut in the big leagues was Juan Soto in 2018. The Pirates have a clear opening at shortstop, though, and the organization is sending signals that it wants to surround ace Paul Skenes with more talent. Griffin's stock in redraft leagues will soar if it looks like the Pirates will indeed give him a real chance to crack the Opening Day roster.

The Diamondbacks outrighted Montes De Oca (back) to Triple-A Reno on Monday.

The transaction frees up a spot on the Diamondbacks' 40-man roster. Montes De Oca is recovering from surgery to repair a stress fracture in his back and it's not clear when he will be ready to pitch again. The reliever tossed 2.2 scoreless frames in his lone appearance for Arizona in 2025 and held a 4.07 ERA and 26:6 K:BB over 24.1 innings at Triple-A Reno.

Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes said during last week's GM Meetings that Ward is expected to "get a bunch of opportunities at some point this year," Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Ward was never called up by the Dodgers in 2025 despite slashing a robust .292/.382/.558 with 36 homers and 16 steals at Triple-A Oklahoma City, but he was added to the 40-man roster earlier this month. The 27-year-old can play the corner outfield spots and first base and is worthy of an opportunity at the big-league level. While the Dodgers appear to have a starting job in the outfield available and Gomes has talked Ward up, it still seems unlikely the club would head into 2026 counting on Ward to be a regular presence in its lineup.

Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes indicated during last week's GM Meetings that the team hasn't ruled out giving Rushing some reps in the outfield, Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Rushing has made a total of 32 starts in left field in the minors, but 37 of his 38 starts with the Dodgers in 2025 were at catcher and the other came at first base. Catcher and first base remain blocked with the big club, but the left-field job with the Dodgers is open. While it seems unlikely the Dodgers would commit to Rushing as their primary left fielder, the position offers the 24-year-old a potential path to playing time. Rushing struggled in a reserve role with the Dodgers this season, slashing just .204/.258/.324 with a 37.4 percent strikeout rate over 53 regular-season tilts.

The Padres re-signed Hart to a one-year, $1 million contract with a $2.5 million club option for 2027 on Monday, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.

The Padres declined Hart's $5 million club option for 2026 earlier this month, but they've now brought him back at a lesser rate. Hart split his time between the majors and minors in 2025, finishing with a 5.86 ERA and 37:13 K:BB over 43 regular-season innings covering six starts and 14 relief outings with the big club. The southpaw will compete for an Opening Day roster spot -- perhaps in a swingman role -- but does have minor-league options remaining.

Gough (elbow) was traded from the Mariners to the Dodgers in exchange for minor-league pitcher Robinson Ortiz on Sunday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Gough missed the entirety of the 2025 campaign while recovering from Tommy John surgery that he underwent in September of 2024. The right-hander is still working his way back, and he'll look to be ready to go for spring training in February. Gough posted a 4.04 ERA and 1.34 WHIP with 92 strikeouts over 23 appearances, including 22 starts, with Single-A Modesto in 2024 before suffering the elbow injury.

Yean signed a minor-league contract with the Nationals on Saturday, Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com reports.

Yean was traded from Washington to Pittsburgh back in 2020 as part of the return for Josh Bell, and the former will now return to the organization with which he began his professional career. The 24-year-old righty turned in a 2.86 ERA and 1.55 WHIP across 69.1 innings at Triple-A Indianapolis in 2025 and will likely report to Triple-A Rochester to begin 2026.

The Mets signed Cluff to a minor-league contract Friday with an invitation to spring training.

Cluff spent the 2025 season at Triple-A Rochester in the Nationals organization, collecting a .242/.349/.422 batting line with 12 home runs and 23 stolen bases. He'll turn 29 next month and is likely to open the 2026 season in a utility role at Triple-A Syracuse.

Acuna has received permission from Atlanta to play in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League this winter, Daniel Alvarez-Montes of ElExtraBase.com reports.

Acuna was limited to 412 plate appearances in 2025 while recovering from a torn ACL while also dealing with a calf issue later in the campaign. Coming off the shortened campaign, he'll play for Tiburones de La Guaira this winter to get in some extra reps. Reports suggest he aims to report to the team in the last week of November or early December.

Ohtani was named the National League Most Valuable Player on Thursday.

Ohtani won the award unanimously for the third straight season and for the fourth time overall, with two wins in both the NL and AL. Though he wasn't as active on the basepaths with 20 stolen bases after stealing 59 bags in 2024, Ohtani still hit an exceptional 55 home runs with a 1.014 OPS across 725 plate appearances. He also returned to the mound after recovering from Tommy John surgery and recorded a 2.87 ERA across 47 innings.