Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

It has been over three years since Fernandez last pitched in a Major League game. He had a brief stint with the Chiba Lotte Marines in 2024 but his time in Japan was mostly spent recovering from injury. Beyond that cup of coffee in NPB, Fernandez pitched at the Triple-A level with the Blue Jays and Nationals in 2023, and with the Royals' and Mets' top affiliates last season. Over 43 combined Triple-A innings in 2025, Fernandez posted a 4.40 ERA and a very impressive 29.5% strikeout rate, but also an inflated 14% walk rate.

Before the 2022 season, Heineman signed a minor league deal with the Jays. After a handful of games with the team, he was designated for assignment and claimed by the Pittsburgh Pirates. The following season, the Jays traded for Heineman, before he was claimed off waivers by the Boston Red Sox at the end of the 2023 season. In September of 2024, Heineman was claimed off waivers by the Jays.

The Angels agreed to re-sign third baseman Yoan Moncada to a one-year deal last week, but that deal still has yet to be made official. It's unclear what's caused the delay, as other clubs with agreements signed at a similar time have officially announced those deals. Regardless, an announcement figures to happen in the near future given that spring training is just around the corner.

The rumours have been swirling for over a week now, but the official word has come down from the Toronto Blue Jays: right-hander Yariel Rodriguez will be pitching for Team Cuba at the World Baseball Classic later this spring. Rodriguez is no stranger to the WBC stage, making two starts for the national squad at the 2023 tournament. Across 7 1/3 innings, Rodriguez allowed just five hits and two earned runs with 10 strikeouts.

All-Star shortstop Jacob Wilson and the Athletics reached agreement on a seven-year contract that includes a club option for an eighth season, the team announced Friday, adding another premium young player to an impressive core as the franchise prepares to move to Las Vegas. The contract is worth $70 million, sources told ESPN. Wilson, 23, finished second in American League Rookie of the Year voting last year after hitting .311/.355/.444 with 13 home runs and 63 RBIs in 125 games.

It wasn't until the 10th round that the Ohioan team selected the 6'4", 218 lbs righty. Unfortunately, Zibin's professional career got off to a rocky start, needing Tommy John surgery in May 2023, keeping him from pitching that season. The 2024 season was much of the same, as Zibin underwent ulnar nerve transposition surgery, keeping him from making his professional debut until 2025.

MLB The Show 26, the 21st iteration of the series, features New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge reprising his role as the cover athlete. It marks the first time in the franchise's history that an athlete has appeared on the cover multiple times. The three-time American League MVP first appeared on the cover of MLB The Show 18 following a breakout rookie season in which he won AL Rookie of the Year and finished second in MVP voting.

REV Entertainment, the sports and entertainment arm of the Texas Rangers, has purchased the Long Island Ducks, the team announced Wednesday. The Ducks, who began play in 2000, compete in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and play at Fairfield Properties Ballpark in Central Islip. The franchise is the league's all-time leader in both wins and attendance and has won four championships, most recently in 2019.

Barnes, 36, has spent his entire big league career with the Dodgers thus far. Over parts of 11 seasons, he consistently graded out as a strong defender behind the plate. His offense was never his carrying tool but was generally passable for a long time. From 2015 to 2022, in 1,357 plate appearances, he hit 32 home runs and drew walks at a strong 12.1% clip. His .225/.333/.358 slash in that span led to a 93 wRC+.

The Diamondbacks and righty are in agreement on a minor league contract with an invitation to major league spring training, as first reported by MLB Transactions Daily ( on Instagram). Robert Murray of Fansided reports that the CAA client would earn $1.5MM if he makes the roster and has another $500K available to him via incentives. He can earn $50K for reaching each of 20, 25, 30, 35, 40 and 45 appearances. He'd then earn $100K bonuses at 50 and 55 games pitched.

Both the PLL and WLL teams will compete from Feb. 27 through March 8 at the St. James in Springfield, Va., in the Sixes format. This is the same format that will be used when lacrosse returns to the Olympics at the Los Angeles Games in 2028. All games will be available on the ESPN App and in the streaming hubs for the PLL and WLL.

Their 2024 first-round selection, Trey Yesavage, started the year off in Single-A Dunedin. By the time he was finished, he had just shattered multiple postseason records by a rookie starting pitcher. Arjun Nimmala took another step towards becoming a true upper-echelon prospect. Johnny King emerged as a teenage phenom with gaudy swing-and-miss ability. Juan Sanchez appears to be their first IFA signee with true star potential since Vladimir Guerrero Jr. The list goes on.

Rogers is atypical of a modern reliever in many ways. He doesn't throw hard, averaging 83.5 m.p.h. with his sinker and 74.1 m.p.h. with his slider last season. Both were the slowest of their kind in MLB. Because he doesn't have electric stuff by way of velocity or movement, he doesn't strike batters out. Rogers' 16.1% strikeout rate ranked in the eighth percentile. And of course, the strangest aspect of all is his minus-61-degree arm angle, the lowest in baseball by far. (Hoby Milner's minus-4-degree slot is the second lowest, and the only other to come in at a negative angle.)

Getting to the big leagues just over a year after being drafted doesn't happen very often. It's even rarer for a player to make their MLB debut in September and find their way on to a World Series roster just weeks later. But that's what Trey Yesavage did in 2025 and the story book start to his career came up just inches short of the ultimate dream ending.

With their final pick in the 2024 draft, the Atlanta Braves selected high school infielder/outfielder Eric Hartman with their 20th overall pick out of Holy Trinity Academy, in Otokoks, Alberta. It makes sense, given general manager Alex Anthopoulos' ties to the great country. Hometown: St. Albert, Alberta Organization: Atlanta Braves Draft: 20th round, 2024 (ATL) Position: Second base/outfield

LP Langevin has one of the most underrated fastballs in the country. A former JUCO bandit, the @RaginCajunsBSB RHP threw five perfect innings in relief, dominating with his heater. 92-95 with explosive life, racking up 14 (!) whiffs. Flashed a CT, SL, and CH. Very fun metrics.

The Rockies are designating former top outfield prospect Yanquiel Fernandez for assignment, reports Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com. Between the Fernandez DFA and this morning's trade of right-handed reliever Angel Chivilli to the Yankees (in exchange for non-roster first baseman T.J. Rumfield), Colorado has cleared two spots on its previously full 40-man roster. Fernandez just turned 23 on New Year's Day but has exhausted two of his three minor league option years. He made his major league debut with the Rox this past season but hit just .225/.265/.348 with a 30% strikeout rate in 147 trips to the batter's box.

The Twins have traded infielder Edouard Julien and right-hander Pierson Ohl to the Rockies, according to announcements from both clubs. Minor league right-hander Jace Kaminska and cash considerations are going to the Twins. The Rockies freed up two 40-man spots earlier today by trading Angel Chivilli to the Yankees and designating Yanquiel Fernandez for assignment.

The 25-year-old was an All-Star in 2024 when he hit 20 home runs and stole 31 bases, and would be a more appropriate offensive replacement for Bichette than incumbent Andrés Giménez. Many believe the Blue Jays could be done with their offseason additions after inking pitchers Dylan Cease, Cody Ponce, and Tyler Rogers, plus Japanese infielder Kazuma Okamoto. Fans would be fine with that if they signed either Tucker or Bichette.

That shot came in early August, 2023. In his first plate appearance, he went deep over the Green Monster, kick-starting one of the most spectacular MLB debuts in history. In that series alone, Schneider hit a home run in each of the three games, totalling nine hits in 15 plate appearances. Over his first month, Schneider was slashing .397/.514/.845 with six home runs in 72 plate appearances, before cooling off.

The Cardinals have more firmly committed to a retool than they did last offseason. They treated last season primarily as an evaluation year but weren't as aggressive in selling off veteran pieces as they've been this winter. Unfortunately, they didn't see any development from former first-round picks and top prospects Jordan Walker and Nolan Gorman. They're in a similar position now as they were 12 months ago, though the pressure is probably ramping up on both players.