The Atlanta Braves signed free-agent infielder Leury Garcia to a minor-league deal on Tuesday. Garcia joins the Braves after getting their attention with a strong showing in the Dominican Winter League. The 32-year-old switch-hitter was cut by the Chicago White Sox last spring and didn't play at all the rest of the season. In 2022, he hit .210/.233/.267 with three home runs and 20 RBI in 97 games played for the White Sox. Garcia has served as a super-utility man in his 10-year big-league career in which he's hit a combined .253 with only 34 home runs, 201 RBI, 64 stolen bases and 290 runs scored in 701 total games for the White Sox and Texas Rangers. He will give Atlanta depth all over the diamond heading into the 2024 campaign.

The Tampa Bay Rays re-signed right-hander Erasmo Ramirez to a minor-league deal earlier this week. Ramirez will return to Tampa after he was outrighted off the 40-man roster following the conclusion of the 2023 season. The 33-year-old veteran swing man from Nicaragua appeared in 38 games (two starts) for the Rays and Washington Nationals last season, going 3-3 with a bloated 6.41 ERA (5.05 FIP) and 1.57 WHIP with 13 walks and 43 strikeouts in 60 1/3 innings pitched. The 12-year veteran hurler will give the Rays some extra pitching depth entering spring training and the regular season next year, but he won't be anywhere near the fantasy radar.

Free-agent right-hander Michael Tonkin agreed to a one-year, $1 million major-league deal with the New York Mets on Tuesday, according to a source. Tonkin was nothing spectacular in 2023, but it was his return to the majors for the first time in six seasons. The 34-year-old veteran pitched for the Atlanta Braves and had a 4.28 ERA (4.43 FIP) and 1.09 WHIP with 23 walks and 75 strikeouts in 80 innings pitched over 45 relief appearances. Tonkin isn't going to be on the fantasy radar whatsoever and will most likely start the 2024 season providing long relief for the Mets' bullpen. In six major-league seasons (five with the Minnesota Twins), Tonkin has a 4.37 ERA (4.52 FIP) and 1.31 WHIP in 226 1/3 relief innings.

Free-agent infielder Jose Iglesias signed a minor-league deal with the New York Mets on Tuesday. The deal includes an invitation to major-league spring training. Iglesias will provide infield depth, mainly at shortstop, for the Mets heading into next spring. The 33-year-old Cuban didn't surface in the big leagues at all in 2023 but did impress in 28 games for Triple-A El Paso in the San Diego Padres system with a .317/.356/.537 slash line, .892 OPS, four home runs and 27 RBI in 135 plate appearances. Iglesias was an All-Star for the Detroit Tigers in 2015, when he hit .300 with only two homers, 23 RBI and 11 stolen bases in 120 games. He's always been a glove-first player and has only 47 home runs in 11 major-league seasons.

Free-agent relief pitcher Kirby Yates agreed with the Texas Rangers on an undisclosed one-year deal on Tuesday, pending a physical, according to a source. The Rangers had a clear plan to upgrade their bullpen this offseason after winning the first World Series title in franchise history this past season. Yates became a free agent this winter when the Atlanta Braves declined his $5.75 million option for 2024. The 36-year-old veteran right-hander was strong for Atlanta and had a 3.28 ERA with 80 strikeouts in 60 1/3 relief innings in 2023. Texas is an excellent landing spot for Yates now that he's completely back from Tommy John surgery, and he could be a late-round target for saves and potentially even holds in his new home in the back end of Texas' bullpen.

Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout will not be traded this offseason, according to general manager Perry Minasian. It's something that was likely never going to happen, but Minasian said it definitively on Tuesday at the winter meetings in Nashville, Tennessee. The Angels are expected to lose out on re-signing two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani this winter, which makes all the more reason to hang onto Trout, even if he's showing signs of age and coming off a hand/wrist injury that basically kept him sidelined for the entire second half of the 2023 season. The 32-year-old played in only 82 games for the Halos this past season and slashed .263/.367/.490 with an .858 OPS, 18 home runs, 44 RBI and 54 runs scored. With better health, the 32-year-old future Hall of Famer should be able to bounce back for fantasy managers.

Los Angeles Dodgers infielder/outfielder Mookie Betts will serve as the everyday second baseman in the 2024 season, according to manager Dave Roberts. A natural second baseman, Betts saw time at the position again in the 2023 season and even logged 98 innings at shortstop. While he is a highly-regarded defender in right field, Betts playing second base opens up a spot in the Dodgers' outfield while Gavin Lux (knee) is expected to play shortstop on an everyday basis in the 2024 season. Coming off his sixth Silver Slugger Award, Betts finished as the NL MVP runner-up to Ronald Acuna Jr. after hitting .307 with 39 home runs, 14 stolen bases, and a .987 OPS across 152 games last season.

Free-agent reliever Joe Kelly is close to signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers, according to The Athletic's Fabian Ardaya and FanSided's Robert Murray. The hard-throwing veteran posted a 4.12 ERA, 1.195 WHIP, and 60:18 K/BB ratio over 39 1/3 innings between the White Sox and the Dodgers last season. Kelly was traded to Los Angeles at last season's deadline but had his $9.5 million team option declined at the end of the year. The Dodgers will likely bring him back for less money now.

Free-agent right-hander Nick Martinez and the Cincinnati Reds are in agreement on a two-year, $26 million deal on Thursday that includes an opt-out clause after the first year, according to sources. The 33-year-old opted out of the last two years and $16 million of his deal with the San Diego Padres this offseason to reach the open market. Martinez went 10-8 over the last two years with the Friars while posting a 3.45 ERA (4.17 FIP), 1.27 WHIP, nine saves, 81 walks and 201 strikeouts over 110 outings (19 starts) and 216 2/3 innings. He wasn't all that effective as a closer in San Diego, but he did have 23 holds and should work as a useful swing man in Cincinnati with the back end of the bullpen already locked down with Alexis Diaz and recent signing Emilio Pagan.

Free-agent relief pitcher Liam Hendriks (elbow) was named the 2023 American League Comeback Player of the Year Tuesday. The recognition was very fitting for the 34-year-old, who was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma last December but went into remission and made five appearances during the 2023 season in May and June with the White Sox. Unfortunately, Hendriks was shortly shut down with right elbow inflammation and underwent Tommy John surgery. While Hendriks has stated that he is determined to return to pitching in 2024, he will likely miss at least a good portion of the season, severely limiting his fantasy outlook.

Free-agent right-hander Sonny Gray and the St. Louis Cardinals are finalizing a three-year, $75 million deal on Monday, according to sources. Because Gray was given a qualifying offer from the Minnesota Twins, the Cardinals will have to give up a draft pick and international bonus pool money to land Gray on the open market. Still, for a team in desperate need of starters going into next season, landing the 34-year-old Cy Young runner-up in the American League in 2023 is worth it. Gray posted a strong 2.79 ERA and 1.15 WHIP with 183 strikeouts and 55 walks in 184 innings for the Twins this past season and should have a good chance to put up similar numbers in the National League Central in 2024. He joins Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn as recent additions to St. Louis' starting staff this offseason.

Left-handed reliever Edwin Escobar will return to MLB with the Chicago Cubs. Details of the contract are not yet released, but Escobar has confirmed the transaction on his social media, and local reporting in Venezuela has also confirmed the signing. Escobar, a 6'2", 225-pound lefty, was once an elite prospect, ranked among the top 100 prospects in the game before the 2014 season. He had two brief cups of coffee in the major leagues with Boston in 2014 and Arizona in 2016, totaling 25 2/3 innings with a 7.01 ERA. Escobar has spent the past seven seasons in Japan in the NPB, putting together a strong 3.17 ERA and 1.19 WHIP pitching out of the bullpen, with 383 strikeouts over 392 1/3 innings. He will add depth to a Cubs bullpen currently headed by closer Adbert Alzolay. The newest Cub has deep family roots in MLB with father Jose Escobar a former Cleveland infielder and cousins Vicente Campos, Alcides Escobar, Kelvim Escobar, and Ronald Acuna, Jr. all having major league time.

Free-agent outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr., who was one of the better defensive center fielders of his era, is expected to retire this offseason. Bradley played in 43 games for the Kansas City Royals in 2023 before being waived in June. In his 113 plate appearances, he went just 14-for-105 (.133) with a home run, five doubles, six RBI and 10 runs scored. The 33-year-old was an All-Star back in 2016 with the Boston Red Sox, when he slashed .267/.349/.486 with an .835 OPS, a career-high 26 home runs, 87 RBI and nine stolen bases in 156 games. Bradley won a Gold Glove in 2018 and will finish his 11 year big-league career with a .225 career batting average, 109 home runs, 449 RBI, 69 stolen bases and 514 runs scored in 1,181 career games with Boston, Kansas City, Toronto and Milwaukee if he indeed hangs up his cleats.

The Seattle Mariners have traded third baseman Eugenio Suarez to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for right-handed pitcher Carlos Vargas and catcher Seby Zavala. The 32-year-old Suarez will be in the final season of a seven-year, $66 million contract in 2024, although the D-backs will hold a club option on the veteran for the 2025 campaign. Suarez took a step back at the plate in 2023 but still had a solid season that included a .232 average with 22 home runs, 96 RBI, and a .714 OPS while appearing in all 162 games, production that graded out 2% above the league average, as per his 102 wRC+. Zavala limped to a .171 average with seven homers across 193 plate appearances between the White Sox and D-backs in 2023 but is a highly-regarded defender behind the plate and should serve as Cal Raleigh's backup next season. Vargas, 24, made five appearances in his MLB debut with the D-backs last season, allowing three earned on two homers in that time but he also struck out seven of the 22 batters he faced. He also scuffled to a 7.02 ERA in 38 outings at Triple-A Reno but is a live arm who averaged 99.5 mph on his four-seam baseball in his brief MLB time last season.

The St. Louis Cardinals announced on Tuesday that they re-signed right-handed reliever Wilking Rodriguez (shoulder) to a minor-league deal that includes a non-roster invitation to spring training next year. Rodriguez, 33, will return to the organization in 2024 to give them more relief depth. He has not appeared in the major leagues since pitching two innings out of the bullpen for the Kansas City Royals in 2014. The Venezuelan hurler only went 5 2/3 relief innings over seven appearances out of the bullpen for Triple-A Memphis in 2023 before undergoing arthroscopic right-shoulder surgery in May. Rodriguez should be fully recovered for the start of spring training.

Free-agent right-hander Kyle Gibson has agreed to a one-year, $12 million deal with the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday that also includes a team option for 2025, according to sources. It's no secret that the Cardinals are desperate for starting arms this offseason, and they've now added a starting pitcher for the second straight day after reuniting with veteran Lance Lynn on Monday. The 36-year-old Gibson went 15-9 for the Baltimore Orioles in 2023 on a one-year deal with a 4.73 ERA (4.13 FIP) and 1.32 WHIP while walking 55 and striking out 157 in 192 innings over 33 starts. Gibson will get away from the difficult American League East and will now join the National League Central after allowing a league-high 198 hits in 2023.

Free-agent third baseman Josh Donaldson said in an interview with the Score's Josh Wegman Monday that he would like to play one more season. The 38-year-old dealt with a number of injuries in 2023 and was released by the Yankees, although he did sign with the Brewers and made their playoff roster. Donaldson finished the regular season with a .152/.249/.418 slash line, 13 home runs, and 26 RBI in 189 plate appearances. Whether he ends up playing this season or not, Donaldson has put together a solid career and was always a power threat for fantasy with a .261/.358/.489 career slash line, 279 HR, and 816 RBI while playing for seven different teams.

Los Angeles Angels general manager Perry Minasian reiterated that outfielder Mike Trout will be playing with the team in 2024 after several large-market teams privately inquired about his availability in a trade. The Angels will likely lose two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani this offseason, but they plan on keeping Trout around. Now 32, Trout, an 11-time All-Star and three-time MVP, had a down year in 2023 and finished with a .263 batting average (81-for-308) with 18 home runs, 14 doubles, a triple, 44 RBI, two stolen bases and 54 runs scored in 82 games played. He suffered a fractured hamate bone on July 3 and ended up playing in just one game in the second half of the season before ultimately being shut down. Trout should be able to rebound with better health in 2024, but he's no longer in contention as the top overall pick in fantasy drafts.

The St. Louis Cardinals are considered the favorites to sign free-agent right-hander Sonny Gray. The Cardinals badly need experienced starting pitchers to fill innings coming off an extremely disappointing season in which they missed the postseason. They are without five pitchers who made 82 of their 162 starts in 2023. Gray is one of the most sought-after starting pitchers available on the open market this winter, especially after finishing second in the American League Cy Young voting behind unanimous-winner Gerrit Cole. The Cardinals and Atlanta Braves could end up battling it out for Gray's services. The Philadelphia Phillies have also been interested in Gray, but re-signing Aaron Nola likely takes them out of the market.

The Atlanta Braves are one of the top suitors for free-agent right-hander Sonny Gray, according to sources. The Braves had also spoken to Aaron Nola's camp before he re-signed with the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday. The Minnesota Twins, Gray's former team, and the St. Louis Cardinals and Phillies have all been linked to Gray so far this offseason, although the Phillies probably are now out of the running after bringing back Nola. The Braves are planning to increase payroll in 2024 and made a series of moves last weekend to open 10 spots on their 40-man roster while also shaving almost $14 million from their budget. Gray had his best season in 2023 with Minnesota, posting a 2.79 ERA in 184 innings to finish second in AL Cy Young voting. The three-time All-Star could be the successor to Charlie Morton.