MLB Player News
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Nick Kurtz 1B | ATH
Athletics' Nick Kurtz: Wins AL ROY Honors
Kurtz was named the American League Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year on Monday.
Kurtz was the clear frontrunner for the award, which was only confirmed when the results showed he received all 30 first-place votes. He becomes the eighth player in Athletics history to bring home Rookie of the Year honors. Kurtz slashed .290/.383/.619 with 36 home runs, 86 RBI, two stolen bases and 90 runs scored in 117 games during his rookie campaign.
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Kyle Hendricks SP | LAA
Kyle Hendricks: Retires from professional baseball
Hendricks is retiring from professional baseball, Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
There had been speculation that the 2025 season was likely Hendricks' last, and it appears that is indeed the case. The veteran righty posted a 4.79 ERA over his final five seasons, but Hendricks -- who turns 37 next month -- will finish with a career 3.79 ERA, two top-10 Cy Young finishes and one ERA title in 2016.
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Kameron Misner CF | KC
Royals' Kameron Misner: Dealt to Royals for cash
The Royals acquired Misner from the Rays on Monday in exchange for cash considerations.
Misner had been designated for assignment by the Rays last week and is now on the move to a new organization. The Royals don't have much in terms of outfield depth, so it's possible Misner finds a decent amount of playing time in Kansas City. The 27-year-old is no sure bet himself, though, having put up a .585 OPS and 34.1 percent strikeout rate across 232 plate appearances at the big-league level.
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Enoli Paredes RP | ATL
Orioles' Enoli Paredes: Catches on with Baltimore
The Orioles signed Paredes to a minor-league contract with an invitation to spring training Monday, Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 Houston reports.
Paredes spent all of the 2025 season at Triple-A Gwinnett in the Atlanta organization, holding a 4.40 ERA and 72:30 K:BB over 57.1 frames. The 30-year-old has a career 3.00 ERA and 53:41 K:BB over 54 innings covering parts of four seasons at the big-league level. Paredes will compete for a spot in the Orioles' Opening Day bullpen but will likely begin the year at Triple-A Norfolk.
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Elly De La Cruz SS | CIN
Reds' Elly De La Cruz: Will remain at shortstop in 2026
The Reds plan to keep De La Cruz at shortstop next season, Charlie Goldsmith of Fox 19 Now Cincinnati reports.
De La Cruz has led baseball in errors in each of his two full seasons as the Reds' starting shortstop. After grading out at plus-14 in Outs Above Average in 2024, per Baseball Savant, he came in at minus-3 in 2025. The inconsistency on defense from De La Cruz has led to speculation that he could move to the outfield, but there are no plans for a position switch at this point. The Reds do plan to give De La Cruz more days off and more starts at designated hitter in 2026, per Goldsmith, with the idea that it will help keep him fresh after he struggled offensively and defensively in the second half in 2025.
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Justin Turner 1B | CHC
Justin Turner: Wants to continue playing career
Turner's agent, Greg Genske, said Monday that his client wants to continue his playing career in 2026, Jon Morosi of MLB Network reports.
Turner slashed just .219/.288/.314 with three homers across 80 regular-season contests in 2025 with the Cubs and will turn 41 later this month. The right-handed batter did have a decent .759 OPS versus left-handed pitching, so he could land a contract as a short-side platoon bat.
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Lucas Giolito SP | BOS
Red Sox's Lucas Giolito: Fully recovered from elbow injury
Giolito said Saturday in an appearance on Audacy's "Baseball Isn't Boring" podcast that he began his offseason throwing program in mid-October and is fully recovered from the right elbow injury that ended his season in late September.
The right-hander came down with right elbow soreness at the end of the regular season and was unavailable to pitch in the playoffs for the Red Sox. However, Giolito noted that "within three days, my elbow felt 100 percent fine again," and "whatever injury there was, it's gone." Giolito is entering free agency, and assuming his medicals check out fine, he should receive plenty of interest on the open market. The 31-year-old held a 3.41 ERA and 121:56 K:BB over 145 innings for Boston in 2025.
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Emmanuel Clase RP | CLE
Guardians' Emmanuel Clase: Indicted on federal charges
Clase was indicted Sunday on multiple federal charges related to rigging bets on pitches thrown in MLB games, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.
Cleveland's former closer missed the final two-plus months of the 2025 season while being investigated by MLB, and he and teammate Luis L. Ortiz are now formally being charged in federal court, with Ortiz already having been arrested earlier Sunday. The indictment alleges that the pitchers were paid to intentionally throw balls so bettors could wager on the pitches being a ball or a strike. Clase, who is a three-time All-Star and led the majors in saves in each of the 2022, 2023 and 2024 seasons, is facing a maximum of 65 years in prison if convicted on all charges, per Passan.
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Luis Ortiz SP | CLE
Guardians' Luis L. Ortiz: Arrested in gambling probe
Ortiz was arrested in Boston earlier Sunday after he was indicted on charges for his alleged role in a scheme to rig bets on pitches thrown in MLB games, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.
Fellow Guardians pitcher Emmanuel Clase has also been indicted, though he has yet to be taken into police custody. Citing a statement from the Department of Justice, Zack Meisel of The Athletic relays that Ortiz and Clase are facing charges of "wire fraud conspiracy, honest services wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery, and money laundering conspiracy" after the two pitchers were accused of intentionally throwing balls in games so that bettors could wager on the pitches. According to Passan, prosecutors allege that Clase's involvement in the betting scheme dated back to as early as May 2023, while Ortiz was included at a later date. Ortiz has remained on administrative leave since July 3 while MLB has conducted its own sports-betting investigation. If MLB concurs with the accusations levied against Ortiz in the indictment, the 26-year-old right-hander's time in affiliated ball would most likely be over.
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Christian Roa RP | MIA
Christian Roa: Hits open market
Roa elected free agency Friday.
The 26-year-old was outrighted to Triple-A Jacksonville by the Marlins on Thursday, and he was able to reject that assignment since he had been outrighted previously. Roa made two scoreless appearances for Miami during the 2025 season and had a 2.83 ERA over 60.1 innings at Triple-A.