Orioles' Lewin Diaz: Claimed by O's

Duffy signed a minor-league contract with the Royals on Friday. The veteran infielder will be given an invitation to major-league spring training. It's a good landing spot for Duffy, as the Royals recently freed up the potential for more playing time in the infield when they traded Adalberto Mondesi. Duffy was solid for the Cubs in 2021 but struggled last season with the Angels, putting up a .619 OPS across 247 plate appearances.

Major League Baseball's offseason is in full swing, and that means everyone is thinking about the future. In most cities, that means next season; in some, though, it means the bigger picture, the next three to five years. You're either selling wins or you're selling hope, the old saying goes. We here at CBS Sports like to provide as much hope as we can around this time of the winter by evaluating each team's farm system.

Castano (shoulder) cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A Jacksonville by the Marlins on Thursday, per Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald. Miami designated Castano for assignment last week as the corresponding 40-man roster move for its completion of a free-agent agreement with veteran starter Johnny Cueto. The 28-year-old left-hander holds a 3.89 ERA, 1.43 WHIP and 45:28 K:BB ratio in 85.2 career innings at the MLB level.

Voth has avoided arbitration with the Orioles and signed a one-year contract Thursday, which includes a club option for 2024. Voth will be guaranteed $1.85 million with this new deal, and the 2024 option is worth $2.45 million with escalators that could add another $500,000. The 30-year-old right-hander struggled out of the gate last season with Washinton before moving on to Baltimore and registering a sharp 3.04 ERA with 72 strikeouts in 17 starts and five relief appearances covering 83 innings. He projects to operate in a swingman role again for the O's in 2023, shuffling between long relief and emergency starting/opening duties.

Sheffield cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Tacoma by the Mariners on Thursday. Sheffield got the boot off the 40-man roster last week to open up a 40-man roster spot for Tommy La Stella. A former top prospect, Sheffield holds a career 5.47 ERA in 186 innings (33 starts, 15 relief appearances) at the major-league level. It's certainly notable that he didn't draw much interest from other MLB teams on the waiver wire leading into what will be his age-27 campaign.

Former second baseman Jeff Kent has been up for Hall of Fame consideration for a decade, with this year marking his last crack at induction via the Baseball Writers Association of America. Kent received 46.5% of the vote during this cycle, well shy of the 75% needed for induction. He falls off the ballot and will no longer be considered by the BBWAA.

The New York Mets and reigning National League batting champion Jeff McNeil have agreed to a four-year extension worth $50 million, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan. The contract includes a club option that could increase the value to $63.75 million. McNeil, 30, was previously scheduled to qualify for free agency...

With Hall of Fame season now comfortably in the rearview and spring training right around the corner, we're in one of the longer dead spots on the calendar in terms of MLB news. Still, rosters continue to sort themselves out before pitchers and catchers report, so let's check in on the latest news and rumors.

Adams (forearm) signed a minor-league contract with the Diamondbacks on Jan. 20. Adams elected free agency after being outrighted to Triple-A El Paso by the Padres in November. The right-hander underwent surgery to repair a tear in his right flexor tendon, and it's unknown if he'll be able to participate in spring training. When healthy, Adams could provide help for the Arizona bullpen, but the Diamondbacks will have to add him to the 40-man roster for that to happen.

Antone's offseason throwing program has been slowed by a right forearm injury, per MLB.com's Mark Sheldon. The good news is that the issue is not thought to be related to Antone's elbow, which required Tommy John surgery more than two years ago and gave him a lot of trouble in the aftermath. The 29-year-old reliever will be eased into action at Reds camp this spring with the hope that he might be ready to be used in high-leverage situations at some point in the early part of the 2023 season. Antone posted a 2.48 ERA with 87 strikeouts over his first 69 major league innings between 2020-2021.

The Atlanta Braves and manager Brian Snitker have agreed to a contract extension through the 2025 season, the team announced Friday afternoon. No financial terms were revealed. Snitker, 67, took the helm in 2016 after Fredi Gonzalez was fired due to a 9-28 start. The Braves were 59-65 the rest...

Vosler signed a minor-league deal with the Mariners on Jan. 18. Vosler was designated for assignment by the Giants in November, and he elected free agency after refusing an outright assignment to Triple-A Sacramento. The infielder forged a slash line of .242/.311/.433 with 18 homers in 360 at-bats with the River Cats in 2022.

Sills signed a reserve/future contract with the Giants on Thursday. Sills opened the 2022 season as a member of the Giants' starting wide-receiver corps, playing at least 63 percent of offensive snaps in all but one of the first four games. However, the 26-year-old logged more than two receptions just once, and he saw a significant drop in playing time before being ruled a healthy scratch six times between Weeks 10 to 16. Sills was then waived Dec. 31 and finished the season on the practice squad. He'll now work to earn his way back onto the Giants' 53-man roster ahead of the 2023 campaign.

Perez re-signed with the Mets on a minor-league contract Thursday, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports. Perez was acquired from the Pirates last midseason and later elected free agency after being outrighted off the 40-man roster, but he's now back with the organization on a minor-league pact. The 30-year-old sports a career .545 OPS over parts of five big-league seasons.

There are just three games left in the 2023 NFL playoffs, and four teams still alive in the race to be the Super Bowl champion. Yet for the 28 teams eliminated, it's already the offseason. That means it's time to remake both rosters and coaching staffs. As we discussed on...