MLB Player News

The Cardinals are not mulling a move to the rotation for Helsley, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

All 239 appearances for Helsley at the major-league level have come in relief, but he came up through the minors as a starting pitcher. While there has been some speculation the Cardinals might consider giving the 30-year-old another chance to start, it does not appear that is in the plans following Helsley's major-league-leading 49 saves in 2024. They will, however, reportedly entertain trade offers for Helsley, who is entering his final year of arbitration eligibility.

Paredes agreed to a minor-league contract with Atlanta on Monday, which includes an invitation to spring training, Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 Houston reports.

Paredes returned to the big leagues in 2024 after spending the entire 2023 campaign at Triple-A. He made stops with the Cubs and Brewers, posting a 1.66 ERA and 1.06 WHIP with a 16:10 K:BB over 18 regular-season relief appearances (21.2 innings). Paredes will get the opportunity to make the Opening Day roster with his new club, who is looking for bullpen help following the news that Joe Jimenez is out for the next 8-to-12 months while recovering from knee surgery.

Atlanta acquired Allen from the Athletics on Monday in exchange for Jared Johnson.

Allen, 26, has managed just a .209/.254/.283 batting line over parts of three seasons at the major-league level. He does have a reputation as a solid glove at shortstop, although he came in at negative-2 Outs Above Average during his 41 games with the Athletics in 2024. Allen offers an alternative at shortstop to Orlando Arcia, who is coming off a disappointing season, but ultimately Allen should be more of a depth option.

Jackson signed a minor-league contract with the Reds on Friday.

Although Jackson managed to record a career-high 155 plate appearances with the Rays in 2024, he continued to struggle at the plate, slashing just .122/.201/.237 with 12 RBI. However, his OPS jumped up to .855 at Triple-A Durham, so the Reds will take a flier on him and likely send him to Triple-A Louisville to begin the 2025 campaign.

The Rockies claimed Herget off waivers from the Cubs on Friday.

Herget has now gone from Atlanta to Chicago to Colorado since September. The righty was one of the better relievers in the American League in 2022 with the Angels when he posted a 2.48 ERA and 0.91 WHIP while notching nine saves, but he has a 4.57 ERA and 1.38 WHIP over the last two seasons and has spent substantial time in the minors.

Taylor will be sidelined two months following hernia surgery on Oct. 30 and surgery Thursday to remove a loose body from his right elbow.

It's unclear when Taylor suffered the injuries. While the rehab will interrupt his offseason workout routine, Taylor should be ready to go for the start of spring training. The 30-year-old tentatively appears in line to start in center field for the Mets next season, although that could certainly change based on the team's offseason additions.

Glasnow said in an interview on Foul Territory TV in late October that he had imaging on his right elbow recently and "it looks like it's fully healed."

Glasnow also mentioned that he planned to throw twice per week throughout the offseason rather than taking an extended break as he has done in the past, with the goal being to "try to get my tissue used to that workload." The righty's final appearance for the Dodgers this season came on Aug. 11, and imaging after a setback in September showed a sprain. While the early offseason prognosis appears positive, Glasnow still has a long ways to go to prove he can handle a regular workload -- last season's 134 innings were a career high.

Lux might be out of a starting job next season with the Dodgers planning to move Mookie Betts back to the infield, Noah Camras of DodgersNation.com reports.

The Dodgers have not said whether Betts would play shortstop or second base, but with Miguel Rojas and Tommy Edman available as shortstop options, Betts' likelier destination is probably the keystone. Seemingly, that would push Lux to the bench or perhaps the trade block. Lux had a .562 OPS in the first half of the 2024 season but finished strong in the second half with an .899 OPS. He then struggled in the postseason (.580 OPS) while battling a hip issue. Lux will turn 27 later this month and is under team control through 2026.

Ohtani's left shoulder surgery is likely to delay his pitching debut for the Dodgers, Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Ohtani underwent surgery Tuesday to repair a labrum tear in his left (non-throwing) shoulder, an injury he suffered during Game 2 of the World Series. While the expectation is that he will be ready to serve as a designated hitter during spring training and Opening Day, the timetable for Ohtani's first start on the mound for the Dodgers looks cloudy. The team elected to pause Ohtani's throwing program during the playoffs as he comes back from Tommy John surgery so as to not overtax him, and now the shoulder surgery will further delay his throwing program indefinitely. The Dodgers have a two-game series versus the Cubs in Japan from March 18-19 and then have their domestic opener against the Tigers on March 27. GM Brandon Gomes this week didn't rule out Ohtani being ready to pitch by the domestic opener, but Gomes "did not cast an optimistic picture of that possibility," per Harris. Ohtani was going to have workload restrictions in place on the mound in his first year back from Tommy John surgery anyway, so in that respect the delay isn't a huge deal. However, the situation creates an air of uncertainty with the two-way superstar's status. More clarity on Ohtani's situation should be available later in the offseason and into spring training.

The Cardinals are expected to gauge trade interest in Arenado this month, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

President of baseball operations John Mozeliak said Wednesday that at least one of the team's four players with no-trade clauses is open to the club exploring trade interest from other teams. It seems that player is Arenado, who is owed $74 million over the next three seasons (with $10 million of that being covered by the Rockies). Arenado will turn 34 in April and fell off to a .272/.325/.394 batting line with 16 home runs in 2024, although he was a Gold Glove finalist at third base. There would figure to be plenty of interest in the eight-time All-Star even as he's coming off a down season, although trade talks will be complicated since Arenado can essentially dictate his landing spot.