The Angels could turn to Joyce (elbow) as their closer during the 2026 season, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports.

General manager Perry Minasian indicated Monday that he's undecided whether the team needs to add an established closer from outside the organization. If it doesn't, Joyce and Robert Stephenson (elbow) appear to be the top in-house candidates for the role. Both pitchers, however, are coming off injuries, with Joyce missing most of 2025 following surgery to repair the labrum in his right shoulder. It's unclear where Joyce is currently at in his throwing program, and it's also not a given that his stuff will return to what it was pre-surgery, making him an iffy guy to count on for 2026.

Stephenson (elbow) could get an opportunity to serve as the Angels' closer next season, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports.

General manager Perry Minasian said Monday that the team is undecided whether it will add an established closer to replace free agent Kenley Jansen. As things stand right now, Stephenson and Ben Joyce (shoulder) appear to be the top in-house candidates for the role. Stephenson missed the entire 2024 season following UCL reconstruction with an internal brace, and he was limited to just 12 appearances for the Angels and eight rehab outings in 2025 because of more arm issues. The righty finished this past season on the injured list with right elbow inflammation, and it's unclear whether he's been able to have a normal offseason throwing program. Stephenson is owed $11 million in 2026 and the Angels have a $2.5 million option on him for 2027 that vested after he needed UCL surgery.

The Mets signed Edwards to a minor-league contract with an invitation to spring training Monday, Will Sammon of The Athletic reports.

The Mets plan to stretch Edwards out to use him as rotation depth at Triple-A Syracuse, per Sammon and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Edwards made four appearances between the Angels and Rangers in 2025, allowing three runs over six innings. The 34-year-old hasn't spent a significant amount of time in the majors since 2023, when he posted a 3.69 ERA over 32 outings with the Nationals.

The Yankees do not expect Volpe (shoulder) to be ready for his season debut before the end of April, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

Volpe underwent surgery in mid-October to repair a partially torn labrum in his left shoulder. He is expected to be cleared to hit by February but will not be allowed to dive on the shoulder until around April. It's possible Volpe will be ready to go by early May, but a clearer picture of his timetable should be available at a later date. Jose Caballero is in line to serve as the Yankees' primary shortstop until Volpe is ready.

The Yankees expect Cole (elbow) to rejoin their rotation in late May or early June, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

The team has said previously only that they did not expect Cole to be ready for Opening Day, and now it appears he could be held out for as much as the first two months of the season. Cole -- who had had Tommy John surgery with internal bracing in March -- has been throwing on flat ground but has yet to progress to mound work.

The Yankees expect Rodon (elbow) to be ready for his season debut in late April or early May, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

Rodon underwent surgery in mid-October to remove loose bodies and shave down a bone spur in his left elbow. The left-hander is expected to be cleared to begin a throwing program later this month, but he will need time to get built up and will begin the 2026 campaign on the 15-day injured list.

The Diamondbacks signed Soroka to a one-year contract Monday, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com report.

The deal is worth $7.5 million, with $2 million more possible in incentives, per Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic. Soroka -- who will slot into the Arizona rotation -- flashed some encouraging signs in 2025, ultimately finishing with a 4.52 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 95:29 K:BB over 89.2 regular-season innings covering 17 starts and five relief appearances between the Nationals and Cubs. He missed much of the second half with a shoulder injury but returned late in the season in a relief role. Soroka is a poor bet to hold up health-wise given that he hasn't reached 100 innings at the big-league level since 2019, but he has some upside and will only cost Arizona a one-year commitment.

Condon could get the chance to compete for the Rockies' everyday first base job during spring training, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports.

After moving both Warming Bernabel and Michael Toglia off the 40-man roster during the offseason, the Rockies are now without both of their primary options at first base from 2025. Blaine Crim and waiver pickup Troy Johnston reached the majors for the first time in 2025 and could operate in a platoon at first base, but both players are on their second organizations and are entering their age-29 campaigns, making it unlikely that they're viewed as anything more than stopgaps at the position. Barring any outside additions, Condon -- one of the organization's top prospects -- thus appears likely to get his first look in the big leagues at some point in 2026, and it's not out of the question for him to force his way onto the Opening Day roster with a strong showing in spring training. The 22-year-old slashed .266/.379/.447 with 14 home runs and a 12.6 percent walk rate in 90 games last season between High-A Spokane and Double-A Hartford and continued to thrive in the Arizona Fall League, where he posted an .873 OPS in 22 games.

The Rays designated Curet for assignment Saturday.

The 23-year-old righty will depart the Rays' 40-man roster in order to make room for Cedric Mullins, whose signing was made official Saturday. Curet turned in a 1.45 ERA over 18.2 innings in Double-A this past season but struggled upon being promoted to Triple-A, where he accumulated a 6.03 ERA and 1.93 WHIP over 31.1 frames.

The Mariners traded Ford to the Nationals on Saturday alongside minor-league pitcher Isaac Lyon in exchange for reliever Jose Ferrer, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.

Ford spent most of the 2025 campaign at Triple-A Tacoma, where he slashed .283/.408/.460 with 16 homers, 74 RBI and 68 runs scored across 458 plate appearances. He managed to reach the big leagues toward the end of the regular season but only appeared in eight games for the Mariners, going 1-for-6 at the plate. The 22-year-old Ford will now join Keibert Ruiz (concussion), Riley Adams and Drew Millas (finger) in the battle for Washington's starting catcher job -- a race that figures to be wide open considering none of the four candidates posted an OPS above .600 over at least 100 plate appearances in 2025.