Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

A former Blue Jays top prospect is staying put in Minnesota, or at least, in the farm system. Kendry Rojas, who was traded alongside outfielder Alan Roden in exchange for reliever Louie Varland and infielder Ty France at the trade deadline last summer, was protected alongside five other prospects earlier today. With today being the deadline for 40-man roster additions to protect internal players from the Rule 5 Draft, there was a flurry of transactions across the league.

Fans love a good comeback story, and baseball arguably produces the most of any sport. Each season, there are at least a handful of players who once built strong reputations, only to fall on hard times -- through underperformance or, more often, injury -- and are forced to start fresh with a new club. Then, somehow, they manage to rediscover what made them great in the first place.

Signed out of Venezuela as part of the 2023 international signing class, Reyes received a bonus of $250,000 to join the Braves organization. What were the 2025 expectations? Coming into the 2025 season, Jeremy Reyes received plenty of hype - and rightfully so. All the 19-year-old has done since he came stateside in 2024 has put up stellar numbers on the mound.

Peguero was once a touted young infielder whom the Pirates acquired from the D-backs in exchange for Starling Marte. He's a former top-100 prospect who was once viewed as a possible shortstop of the future in Pittsburgh. Peguero's bat has never come around, however. He's seen action in four big league seasons but has mustered only a .227/.278/.368 slash line in 315 turns at the plate.

The Halos were known to be seeking at least two starting pitchers this winter, and while Rodriguez technically counts toward that end, he's coming off a season lost to injury and hasn't pitched in a big league game since July 2024. He's said to be healthy now, but even if that's the case, the Angels can't simply pencil him in for 30 starts next year.

Patrick finished the week with a 2-for-10 performance across a pair of games. He went 2-for-5 with a triple in his first game, and went 0-for-5 in the Division Series games. On the season, Patrick showed up with a .772 OPS and went 22-for-24 in the stolen base department. He showed a good approach with 13 walks and just 12 strikeouts, continuing a trend from the season. For the full year Patrick had 101 stolen bases on 120 attempts (84%)

O'Hearn was an eighth-round draft choice of the Kansas City Royals in 2014, and he made his MLB debut on July 31st, 2018. He fared well in his first taste of major league action and finished the year batting .262 with 10 doubles, 12 homers, 30 RBI, and a .950 OPS. He was seen as a potential core piece for the rebuilding Royals.

Cruz gets a 40-man spot for the first time going into his age-27 season. The Tigers had left the former third-round pick unprotected in the past two offseasons. The switch-hitting infielder, the son of former big league outfielder José Cruz, earned his way onto the roster with a breakout year in the upper minors. Cruz hit .279/.411/.456 while leading all minor league hitters with 102 walks between the top two levels.

The Reds announced that they have added three players to the 40-man roster. Infielders Edwin Arroyo and Leo Balcazar had their contracts selected from Double-A Chattanooga, while outfielder Hector Rodriguez was selected from Triple-A Louisville. All three are now protected from the Rule 5 Draft. In addition, right-hander Carson Spiers was designated for assignment. The club's 40-man roster now stands at an even 40.

Shota Imanaga will be returning to the Cubs, as The Athletic's Patrick Mooney reports that the left-hander has accepted the team's one-year, $22.025MM qualifying offer. The surprising decision means that Imanaga stays put after his time in Wrigleyville seemed to be over, following a series of declined contract options on the part of the Cubs and Imanaga himself. The four-year, $53MM deal that Imanaga signed with Chicago in January 2024 guaranteed Imanaga $23MM over the first two seasons,

Trade speculation on Lowe is an annual offseason tradition. His salaries have escalated over the course of the extension he signed in Spring Training 2019. They've remained below market value for one of the better offensive middle infielders in the sport. That surely has led to a lot of trade interest over the years, but the Rays have valued Lowe highly enough to not bite on anything they've been offered thus far.

It's at least a modest surprise, as Grisham is coming off a breakout year at the plate which saw him club a career-high 34 home runs. He slashed .235/.348/.464, thanks in no small part to a career-best 14.1% walk rate and a 23.6% strikeout rate that stood as the second-lowest in his career. Between that production, the fact that Grisham only just turned 29 earlier this month,

The Guardians announced Tuesday that they've designated righty Nic Enright for assignment.

The lefty Ortiz is headed for his age-26 season, coming off a 2025 in which he posted a 2.73 ERA/3.90 FIP over 59.1 innings with a 28.3 K% and a 13.0 BB%, making it as far as AAA last year. Ortiz has struggled with injuries, pitching only 22.2 innings from 2020-2024, but his health finally cooperated and he seems like a solid lefty relief addition for a team lacking a ton of lefty relief options - compared to the Dodgers, who seem to have nothing but lefties now.

Myles Straw may be suited for a role as a Major League Baseball General Manager when his playing days are over. The Toronto Blue Jays outfielder is putting in the work this offseason by trying to make the team better and he's doing it in ways that's catching the attention of many Blue Jays fans online. Over the weekend Straw was playing the role of "active recruiter" as he was trying to entice one of the biggest names on the market to join the Blue Jays.

General manager Mike Hazen recently pushed back on the idea that he might have to subtract some salary via trade, telling Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic: "I don't really feel that way, honestly. That's not the impression I have. Are we going to be doing what we did last offseason? Probably not. But I don't think I have zero wiggle room or avenues to pursue players."

2025 there were not many expectations for E.J. He has been a player that has shown flashes of brilliance, but over the course of a season pretty average numbers. E.J. possesses solid tools like his bat speed, overall in game speed, solid power, and the ability to play multiple positions in the infield - so he was a valuable prospect, but there weren't many MLB grades given to his tools so he was considered more of a depth player.