Nationals, veteran reliever Luis Avilan agree to minors deal

The New York Yankees have a few big position battles preparing to unfold during spring training, notably at shortstop and even third base. The team is keen on letting Isiah Kiner-Falefa battle it out with Oswald Peraza and Anthony Volpe, but the hot corner is a bit more intriguing given Josh Donaldson remains on the roster, and DJ LeMahieu is headed toward a full recovery from his toe injury.

It’s sad that something like this had to occur. Acuña clearly enjoys playing in front of his home country. They look at him like a king, but situations like this oftentimes cannot be avoided. There will always be people jealous of the heights Acuña has been able to reach, and with that can come some unfortunate violent situations.

The New York Yankees have taken a conservative and patient approach filling the vacant left field position. While Aaron Hicks and Oswaldo Cabrera will have a crack at the starting job during spring training, that hasn’t stopped general manager Brian Cashman from connecting with several free-agent options and trade targets.

The Red Sox are discussing a deal with free-agent catcher Roberto Perez, reports Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com (Twitter link). Boston already added Jorge Alfaro on a minor league deal this winter and also picked up Caleb Hamilton off waivers from the Twins in October (later passing him through outright waivers as well), but the front office is still exploring other potential options behind the dish.

The Astros remain without a general manager less than a month from the start of Spring Training. Owner Jim Crane dismissed former GM James Click at the start of the offseason once Click declined a one-year extension offer on the heels of a World Series win. That came after months of reported friction between owner and GM, leaving Houston’s front office in a state of uncertainty.

The Royals signed veteran infielder Matt Duffy to a minor league contract Friday, per a team announcement. The TWC Sports client will be invited to Major League Spring Training and compete for a roster spot. Duffy, 32, spent the 2022 season with the Angels, where he played three different spots...

The Mets are bringing back catcher Michael Perez, reports Mike Puma of The New York Post. Presumably, it’s a minor league deal for Perez, who was outrighted off the club’s roster in October. Perez, 30, has spent some time in the majors in each of the past five...

A longtime fan favorite, McNeil had a breakout campaign in 2022. He won the National League batting title with a .326 average and made his second career All-Star appearance. He would not typically qualify as one of the team’s stars, but he is a good hitter with some excellent celebrations as well.

The Nationals have signed veteran reliever Alex Colome to a minor league contract and invited him to major league spring training. Colome is represented by Wasserman. According to Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post, Colome has long been on the Nationals’ radar. Colome, 34, pitched for the Rockies last...

The Tigers and veteran infielder Cesar Hernandez are in agreement on a minor league contract, tweets Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The Octagon client will be invited to major league camp this spring. If Hernandez makes the roster, he’ll earn a $1.5MM base salary with the potential to unlock more via incentives, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press adds.

A former World Series MVP is trying to make a comeback in 2023, and his attempt supposedly is off to a good start. The agent for Cole Hamels said in December that the former pitcher wanted to try to pitch again in 2023. On Friday, the New York Post’s Jon Heyman reported that Hamels threw for interested teams and that things went well.

The Mariners have signed infielder/outfielder Jason Vosler to a minor league contract, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. Volser will presumably receive an invitation to major league Spring Training. Vosler, 29, has been an up-and-down player with the Giants for the past two years. In 2021, he got into...

New York Mets' outfielder Starling Marte 's status going into Spring Training remains up in the air. According to Andy Martino of SNY, the Mets are unsure whether Marte will still be rehabbing or a full participant when Spring Training begins next month. Additionally, Martino adds that Marte will miss...

The Mets and second baseman Jeff McNeil are in agreement on a four-year, $50M contract extension, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports. The contract contains a club option for a fifth season, which could allow the extension to max out at $63.75M over five years. The deal buys out the final two arbitration seasons for the Paragon Sports International client, and the Mets will gain control over what would’ve been McNeil’s first three free-agent seasons.

The Marlins announced that reliever Enrique Burgos has signed a minor league contract with a non-roster Spring Training invitation. The 32-year-old makes it back to the affiliated ranks for the first time since he was released by the Tigers in March 2018. Burgos, a Panama native, has some previous MLB...

The Cubs have signed catcher Luis Torrens to a minor league deal, per Ángel Daniel Conde T of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League’s Navegantes del Magallanes. Torrens will receive an invitation to major league Spring Training. Torrens, 27 in May, has seen scattered playing time in the big...

The Mariners announced that left-hander Justus Sheffield has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Tacoma. Sheffield, 27 in May, was a first round draft pick and was previously considered one of the top prospects in baseball. Selected 31st overall by Cleveland in 2014, went to the Yankees in 2016 as part of the Andrew Miller trade and then went to Seattle in the 2018 James Paxton deal. Baseball America placed him on their top 100 list for four straight years beginning in 2016, including placing Sheffield in the top 50 for the latter two years of that stretch.

The Orioles have acquired left-handed pitcher Cole Irvin in a trade with the Athletics, per announcements from both clubs. Right-handed pitching prospect Kyle Virbitsky will also head to Baltimore while infield prospect Darell Hernaiz is heading to the A’s. On one hand, this move comes as a surprise, since...

The Cardinals announced Friday that they’ve signed lefty Andrew Suarez to a minor league contract and invited him to Spring Training. He’ll provide some left-handed depth and a potential bullpen option after spending the past two seasons pitching in the Korea Baseball Organization (2021) and Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball (2022).

The Rangers are re-signing Ian Kennedy, the veteran reliever announced on Instagram this afternoon. Presumably, it’ll be a minor league deal for the Boras Corporation client. Kennedy spent the first half of the 2021 season in Arlington. Those months were among the best of his past four seasons as...