MLB Player News
-
Donovan Walton 2B | SF
Giants' Donovan Walton: Outrighted to Sacramento
Walton cleared waivers Friday and was sent outright to Triple-A Sacramento, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.
Walton appeared in nine games for the Giants in 2024, during which he went 3-for-22 with a home run and two RBI. Most of his time was spent in Sacramento, however, where he slashed .305/.377/.438 with 51 RBI across 387 plate appearances. The 30-year-old infielder appears likely to remain in the minors to start the 2025 campaign and continue serving as organizational depth.
-
Clayton Kershaw SP | LAD
Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw: Scheduled for surgery
Kershaw said Friday that he will undergo surgery on his toe and left knee Wednesday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.
Kershaw's season came to an early end in late August due to bone spurs in his left big toe, and his toe surgery Wednesday will address the issue as well as a ruptured plantar plate. He has also been diagnosed with a torn meniscus in his left knee, which will require an additional procedure. A timeline for his return likely won't be available until after the operations, though the veteran lefty confidently said Friday that he will pitch for the Dodgers in 2025. Kershaw is 32 strikeouts away from reaching 3,000 for his career.
-
Brandon Lowe 2B | TB
Rays' Brandon Lowe: Club option picked up
The Rays exercised Lowe's $10 million club option for 2025 on Friday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
It's possible the Rays will look to trade Lowe as his salary escalates, but picking up the option was a fairly easy call. They also have an $11.5 million club option for 2026. Lowe slashed .244/.311/.473 with 21 home runs over 425 plate appearances for Tampa Bay this season.
-
Blake Snell SP | SF
Blake Snell: Free agent after declining option
Snell declined his $30 million player option for 2025 on Friday, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.
Snell probably would have stuck around had he been forced to make his decision following a slow start to his 2024 campaign. However, after collecting a microscopic 1.23 ERA and 114:30 K:BB in 80.1 innings over his final 14 starts, hitting the free-agent market again was a no-brainer. Presumably, Snell will stand a better chance this time around at landing the lucrative, multi-year deal he looked for last winter.
-
Austin Wynns C | CIN
Reds' Austin Wynns: Outrighted to Triple-A
The Reds outrighted Wynns to Triple-A Louisville on Friday.
Wynns is not on the 40-man roster but will remain in the organization for now. The veteran catcher suffered a teres major tear in his right shoulder in late July and it's not clear whether he will be healthy for the start of spring training.
-
Nick Martini DH | CIN
Nick Martini: Reaches free agency
Martini elected free agency Friday.
He was removed from the Reds' 40-man roster and will test out free agency rather than accepting an outright assignment to the minors. Martini slashed .212/.272/.370 over 52 games with Cincinnati this season.