Report: Astros eyeing left-handed hitting corner outfielders

A couple of weeks ago, it showed up in the transaction logs that the Giants had signed first baseman Ronald Guzmán to a minor league deal. The club Monday announced to reporters, including Grant Brisbee of The Athletic, a batch of players that would be in camp as non-roster invitees.

The Marlins have signed reliever Johan Quezada to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. The right-hander will presumably receive an invitation to major league Spring Training. Quezada, 28, began his professional career in the Twins organization in 2013 after signing as an international amateur. By...

The Mets announced that they have claimed right-hander Sam Coonrod off waivers from the Phillies. The righty had been designated for assignment by the Phils last week to create room on their roster for infielder Josh Harrison. To create space on the roster for Coonrod, outfielder Khalil Lee has been designated for assignment.

Matt Allan’s wretched run of injuries has continued, with the Mets announcing their pitching prospect underwent UCL revision surgery last month. The recovery typically has a similar timeframe to Tommy John surgery, which Allan was just recovering from, meaning he’ll likely miss the entire 2023 campaign and possibly some of the 2024 season as well.

The Twins have signed reliever Parker Bugg to a minor league contract, according to his transactions log at MLB.com. He’d reached minor league free agency at the end of last season following seven years in the Marlins’ system. Bugg, an LSU product, entered the professional ranks as a...

The Twins have signed left-hander Locke St. John to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He’ll presumably receive an invitation to major league Spring Training. St. John, 30, has eight major league games on his track record thus far, with seven of those coming...

The Mets have hired Carlos Beltran for an unspecified position in their front office, according to Jon Heyman, Joel Sherman, and Andrew Marchand of the New York Post. The news comes a little over three years after Beltran stepped down as the club’s manager in the aftermath of the Astros sign-stealing scandal, as Beltran ended up resigning without ever actually managing the Mets in a regular-season game.

The Giants announced their invitees to Major League Spring Training on Monday, revealing within that they’ve inked left-hander Sean Newcomb to a minor league pact. It’ll be the third organization in the past calendar year for Newcomb, a former top prospect who was the centerpiece of the Braves’ return for Andrelton Simmons back in Nov. 2015. Newcomb spent the 2016-22 seasons in the Braves organization, getting several looks at the MLB level but never replicating the promise he showed early in his career, when he logged a 3.87 ERA through his first 332 1/3 big league innings (2017-19). Command was an issue even then, and the Braves moved Newcomb to the bullpen in 2019, but it was nonetheless a promising start to Newcomb’s time in the Majors.

Atlanta Braves lefty Max Fried lost his arbitration hearing against the team, according to Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The CAA Sports client will be paid $13.5M for the upcoming season, rather than the $15M he’d filed for. Fried’s been a quality starter for a number of years...

The Nationals announced that they avoided arbitration with Victor Robles by agreeing to a one-year contract for 2023 plus a club option for 2024. The financial terms were not disclosed, but this will give the club cost certainty for the second of his three arbitration years and an option for his third. This deal won’t alter the club’s length of control over his services. Even if the Nats were to turn down the option for 2024, they could still retain Robles by going through the arbitration process again next offseason.

The Giants are in agreement on a minor league contract with free-agent outfielder Stephen Piscotty, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. The CAA client will be in big league camp this spring and would earn a $1MM base salary upon making the roster. It’s a return to the Bay Area for...

The Dodgers announced a number of non-roster invitees to Spring Training this afternoon. While the bulk of the group had been previously reported, Los Angeles has brought back a trio of players who have prior experience with the organization: utilityman Luke Williams, outfielder Yusniel Díaz and left-hander Robbie Erlin.

Brandon Crawford has been a staple of the Giants’ roster for years. Having grown up in the Bay Area a fan of the club, he was drafted by them in 2008 and then made his major league debut in 2011. He has been the regular shortstop in San Francisco...

The Yankees have signed right-hander Ian Hamilton to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. Hamilton will presumably be invited to participate in major league Spring Training. Hamilton, 28 in June, has 15 scattered major league appearances, with 10 of those coming in 2018, four in...

The Rangers announced Monday that they’ve hired four-time All-Star Ian Kinsler as a special assistant to general manager Chris Young. Kinsler is slated to serve as the manager for Team Israel in the upcoming World Baseball Classic but will begin his duties in this new role with the Rangers following the WBC.

The Rays and right-hander Jason Adam have had some talks about a multi-year deal, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports, in advance of Adam’s upcoming arbitration hearing. Adam is one of seven Rays players who couldn’t reach an agreement with the team before the filing deadline, though...

Despite the busy Angels offseason, Shohei Ohtani’s future remains the team’s biggest question in 2023, and Arte Moreno’s decision not to sell the Angels adds another layer of intrigue to Ohtani’s situation. Speaking with reporters (including the Associated Press), Halos GM Perry Minasian reiterated that the...

At the Royals’ fanfest event Saturday, general manager J.J. Picollo told reporters (including MLB.com’s Anne Rogers) that the team is considering extensions for its core of young players. Any deals may not be particularly close and it isn’t known how far any talks have progressed, but Picollo didn’t...

The Reds have signed Nick Plummer and Nick Martini to minor league deals, according to the team’s MLB.com transactions page. Neither player was on the Reds’ initial list of non-roster players at Spring Training, though it is possible either player has received an invite to Cincinnati’s big league spring camp.

The Giants have had some talks with ace right-hander Logan Webb about a long-term contract, president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Neither Zaidi or Webb gave any specifics about the nature of the talks, or whether or not a deal could be...