Rodolfo Castro To Sign With NPB’s Nippon-Ham Fighters
The Blue Jays released infielder Rodolfo Castro from his minor league contract, as first reflected on the MLB.com transaction tracker. Ari Alexander of 7 News Boston reports that Castro is pursuing an opportunity with the Nippon-Ham Fighters in Japan.
Castro had just signed with Toronto a couple months ago. Rather than try to earn his way into a crowded infield picture as a non-roster invitee, he’ll collect a guaranteed salary and head to Asia for the first time in his career. Castro has played parts of four seasons in the big leagues. The majority of that has come with the Pirates, who traded him to Philadelphia at the 2023 deadline. He made just 14 appearances for the Phils down the stretch and has not played in the leagues within the past two years.
The righty-hitting infielder was in Triple-A when he suffered a season-ending thumb injury in 2024. Philadelphia dropped him from the 40-man roster that offseason. Castro played the entire ’25 season with their top affiliate in Lehigh Valley. He hit .235/.324/.421 with 19 homers and 18 stolen bases. Castro qualified for minor league free agency and would likely have been at Triple-A Buffalo had he not gotten the NPB opportunity.
Reds Sign Will Banfield, Hagen Danner To Minor League Deals
The Reds announced a number of non-roster invitees to spring training today. In addition to some names already covered by MLBTR, catcher Will Banfield and right-hander Hagen Danner are on the list. That indicates the Reds have signed those players to minor league deals.
Banfield, 26, just got to make his major league debut with the Reds last year. He got into seven games and made ten plate appearances. He struck out six times and grounded into a double play but also collected one hit, a single. The Reds non-tendered him in November, which sent him to waivers without him being exposed to waivers. They have now brought him back into the organization in a non-roster capacity.
He has never been a huge hitter, though he did launch 23 home runs at the Double-A level in 2023. He was once a notable prospect in the Marlins’ system thanks mostly to his strong defensive reputation.
The Reds have a catching group consisting of Tyler Stephenson, Jose Trevino and Ben Rortvedt. No one in that group can be optioned to the minors, so the Reds will need to have a three-catcher setup or bump someone off the roster, unless an injury changes the picture. However it plays out, Banfield gives the club a glove-first depth catcher. If he’s later added to the roster, he still has options.
Danner, 27, still has a limited track record. He was drafted by the Blue Jays as a catcher but stalled out and got moved to the mound. He got to make his major league debut with Toronto in 2023 but tossed just a third of an inning. In the minors, he has generally had decent strikeout and walks rates. From 2021 to 2024, he tossed 114 minor league innings with a flat earned run average of 3.00. He struck out 28.8% of batters faced with an 8.3% walk rate.
The Jays bumped him off the 40-man going into the 2025 season. The Mariners claimed him off waivers and then later outrighted him. He spent last year at Triple-A Tacoma, in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. He logged 56 1/3 innings for that club with a 5.59 ERA, 21.4% strikeout rate and 8.3% walk rate. He didn’t get his roster spot back by the end of the year and became a free agent. For the Reds, there’s no harm in a non-roster pact to add some more depth. If Danner gets a roster spot at some point, he is out of options.
Photo courtesy of Katie Stratman, Imagn Images
Cardinals Sign Ryne Stanek
January 13: Bloom announced to the media today that the Stanek deal is official. Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat was among those to pass it along. The Cards opened a 40-man spot by trading Nolan Arenado to the Diamondbacks earlier today.
January 10: Stanek will earn $3.5MM in 2026, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. The deal also includes a $6MM club option for 2027.
January 9: The Cardinals are in agreement with free agent reliever Ryne Stanek, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. Chris Cotillo of MassLive first reported that St. Louis was pursuing the hard-throwing righty. The Cardinals will need to open a 40-man roster spot once the MVP Sports Group client completes a physical.
Stanek gets a change of scenery after an inconsistent year and a half with the Mets. New York acquired him from the Mariners at the 2024 trade deadline. While he allowed 11 runs in 16 1/3 regular season innings down the stretch, Stanek’s plus strikeout rate and strong postseason work led the Mets to bring him back on a $4.5MM free agent deal.
That didn’t pan out, as the 34-year-old had an up-and-down season. Stanek had strong run prevention marks in May and July but was knocked around in the other four months. He finished with a 5.30 earned run average across 56 innings. ERA estimators were only slightly more bullish as Stanek’s strikeout and walk rates each went in the wrong direction.
A 22.7% strikeout rate was narrowly the lowest of his nine-year career. Stanek had fanned nearly 28% of opposing hitters one season earlier. It’s crucial that he miss bats because command has never been a strong suit. Stanek has walked at least 10% of batters faced in all but one year, including a 12.5% mark last season.
The Cardinals are taking what should be a low-cost bet that he’ll strike out more batters in 2026. Stanek still has the stuff to do that. He averaged 98.5 MPH on his heater, a top 15 mark in MLB. He backs that up with a plus slider and mixes in a splitter and sweeper as his third and fourth offerings. Stanek still missed bats at a slightly above-average rate on a per pitch basis.
St. Louis doesn’t have a ton of experienced arms in the late innings. Southpaw JoJo Romero had been their only reliever with even two years of MLB service. There’s a decent chance he’s traded before Opening Day. The Cardinals were looking for a veteran arm who can pitch in the back half of the bullpen. Stanek fits best in middle relief but could be in the high-leverage mix, perhaps even as a closer, on a rebuilding club. He’s a known commodity to president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom, who was in the Rays front office when Tampa Bay drafted him in the first round in 2013.
There’s also a geographic tie. Stanek was born in St. Louis and went to high school not far outside Missouri in Stilwell, Kansas. There’s a decent chance he’ll be traded midseason if he’s pitching well, but he’ll get a chance to play for his hometown club for at least a few months.
Image courtesy of Gregory Fisher, Imagn Images.
Cubs Claim Justin Dean
The Giants announced that outfielder Justin Dean has been claimed off waivers by the Cubs. San Francisco had designated him for assignment last week to open a roster spot for Tyler Mahle. Chicago had multiple 40-man vacancies and doesn’t need to make a corresponding move. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle was among those to relay the transaction.
Dean, 29, just made his major league debut with the Dodgers last year. He was mostly used as a pinch runner and late-game defensive replacement. He appeared in 18 games for the Dodgers but only made two plate appearances. He then appeared in 13 postseason games as part of the Dodgers’ World Series run, but without making a plate appearance in any of those.
His speed gives him a decent floor as a guy who can steal some bases and run the ball down on the grass. From 2021 to 2025, he swiped 176 bags in 213 attempts in the minors, an 82.6% success rate.
His offense is more questionable but his 2025 was encouraging. Throughout his minor league career, he has drawn free passes but also been punched out at hefty rates. From 2021 to 2024, he had a nice 12.2% walk rate but an ugly 29.6% strikeout rate. In 2025, he was only struck out 23.6% of the time while keeping his walk rate at a healthy 11.2%. The result was a .289/.378/.431 line and 110 wRC+ in Triple-A, though that was propped up by a .380 batting average on balls in play.
The Dodgers bumped him off their 40-man at the end of the season. The Giants grabbed him off waivers and held him for a couple of months but ended up putting him back on the wire. For the Cubs, he’s a fine depth add, especially since they had multiple roster spots open. Dean still has a full slate of options and doesn’t need to be on the big league roster.
Chicago’s outfield alignment projects to feature Ian Happ, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Seiya Suzuki in starting roles. Kevin Alcántara, James Triantos and Pedro Ramírez are on the 40-man roster and could be candidates for bench roles. Triantos and Ramírez have no big league experience and still have options, so the Cubs would likely prefer them to be getting regular reps in the minors as opposed to sitting in the big league dugout. Alcántara has been optioned for extended stretches in each of the past three years but could qualify for a fourth option.
Since Dean is himself optionable, he could either be getting regular playing time in the minors or he could be in the majors, providing speed and defense off the pine. He has just 52 days of service time, so he can be cheaply controlled for the foreseeable future, as he won’t qualify for arbitration for at least three years.
Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images
Diamondbacks To Sign Jonathan Loáisiga To Minor League Deal
The Diamondbacks and right-hander Jonathan Loáisiga have agreed to a minor league deal, reports Jorge Castillo of ESPN. The Ballengee Group client will be in big league camp with the Snakes in spring training.
Loáisiga, 31, has shown big potential in his career but has often struggled to stay healthy. His best season was in 2021, when he gave the Yankees 70 2/3 innings with a 2.17 earned run average. He averaged around 98 miles per hour with his four-seamer and sinker while also throwing a cutter, curveball, slider and changeup. He struck out 24.4% of batters faced, limited walks to a 5.7% clip and induced grounders on 60.9% of balls in play. He racked up five saves and ten holds for the Yanks that year.
The following season, he missed about six weeks due to inflammation in his throwing shoulder. He finished the year with a 4.13 ERA in 48 innings. His ground ball rate held fairly steady but he only punched out 18.2% of opponents and his walked rate climbed to 9.4%. Various elbow issues limited him to just 17 2/3 innings in 2023. He eventually underwent surgery on his ulnar collateral ligament in April of 2024. He began 2025 on the injured list while still recovering from that surgery but was activated in the middle of May.
He tossed 29 2/3 innings last year with a 4.25 ERA, 18.5% strikeout rate, 7.4% walk rate and 50.5% ground ball rate. His average fastball velo was down below 97 mph. He hit the IL in August due to back tightness. He was rehabbing from that minor issue when he suffered a lat strain, preventing him from returning late in the year. The Yanks turned down a $5MM club option on Loaisiga’s services for 2026.
Both the Diamondbacks and Loáisiga will be hoping for better health and a bounceback in 2026. Arizona definitely needs bullpen help. Their 2025 relief corps was supposed to be headlined by A.J. Puk and Justin Martínez but both of those two required UCL surgeries in the first half. The Snakes finished the year with a collective bullpen ERA of 4.82, better than just three other big league teams.
Upgrading for 2026 is going to be a challenge as the club is likely going to be operating with a lower payroll, especially when adding to the rotation and outfield could still be priorities for the remainder of the offseason. John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports reports that the club will likely be making more bullpen additions in the coming days. For now, Loáisiga adds a bit of upside without taking up a roster spot. If he does get added to the roster later, it’s unclear what his salary will be but it’s presumably not too onerous.
Photo courtesy of Jason Parkhurst, Imagn Images
Phillies Acquire Chase Shugart
The Phillies announced that they have acquired right-hander Chase Shugart from the Pirates. Pittsburgh receives minor league infielder Francisco Loreto in return. The Bucs had designated Shugart for assignment last week to open a 40-man spot for Ryan O’Hearn. Philly had a 40-man vacancy but their roster is now full.
Shugart, 29, has tossed 53 2/3 innings in his career. The majority of that was with the Pirates in 2025, plus a brief stint with the Red Sox in 2024. Combined, he has allowed 3.52 earned runs per nine with an 18% strikeout rate and 9.2% walk rate. He has averaged around 95 miles per hour with his four-seamer and sinker while also throwing a cutter, sweeper and changeup.
He has flashed a bit more upside in the minors. Last year, for instance, he tossed 20 2/3 Triple-A innings with a 1.74 ERA. He struck out 25.3% of opponents, limited walks to a 7.6% clip and induced grounders on 54.7% of balls in play. He still has an option remaining, so the Phils can shuttle him between Philly and Triple-A Lehigh Valley throughout the 2026 season. If he still has a roster spot at the end of the season, he can be retained into the future via arbitration.
In order to add that depth, Philly is parting with a prospect. Loreto, 18, was part of Philadelphia’s international signing class in 2024. Initially listed as a catcher when he signed out of Venezuela, he primarily played third base in 2025. He spent last year in the Florida Complex League and slashed .237/.332/.396. He doesn’t appear on top prospect lists but the Pirates are likely pleased just to get a lottery ticket as the return for a guy they had already bumped off the roster.
Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images
Guardians Sign Carter Kieboom To Minor League Deal
The Guardians announced Tuesday that they’ve signed former top prospect Carter Kieboom to a minor league contract. The ACES client will be in major league camp as a non-roster invitee this spring.
Now 28 years old, Kieboom was a first-round pick by the Nationals back in 2016 and has previously ranked among the game’s top 100 prospects. He never made good on that billing in parts of four seasons with Washington, however, slashing just .199/.297/.301 in 508 major league plate appearances. He spent the 2025 season with the Angels after signing as a minor league free agent. Kieboom batted .319/.368/.449 in an extremely hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League setting and went 2-for-8 with a pair of singles in three games with the major league club. The Angels outrighted him following the season.
Kieboom has played third base and shortstop extensively in pro ball, logging more than 2100 innings at each position. He’s also played nearly 600 innings at second base. At the height of his prospect status, Kieboom was regarded as a safe bet to hit thanks to good pitch recognition, strong plate discipline and a quality all-fields approach at the plate. That hasn’t played out in the majors, but he’s a career .288/.380/.439 hitter in 1597 plate appearances at the Triple-A level.
Cleveland is set at third base with Jose Ramirez and has one of the top prospects in baseball, 2024 No. 1 overall pick Travis Bazzana, likely to make his debut at second base this coming season. Kieboom is presumably viewed as a bench/depth option with a tinge of upside remaining who could compete for a role in which he backs up multiple positions. If he doesn’t make the club, he’ll head to Triple-A Columbus as a depth piece.
Dodgers Designate Ryan Fitzgerald For Assignment
The Dodgers announced that they have designated infielder/outfielder Ryan Fitzgerald for assignment. That’s the corresponding 40-man move to make their signing of infielder Andy Ibáñez official.
Fitzgerald, 32, has never played for the Dodgers. He was just claimed off waivers from the Twins last week. After years of grinding his way through indy ball and the minor leagues, Minnesota gave him a chance to make his major league debut last year. He stepped to the plate 53 times in 24 games, producing a .196/.302/.457 batting line. He played all four infield spots and flashed 79th percentile sprint speed. He also stepped to the plate 245 times in Triple-A and slashed .277/.367/.469 at that level.
That was enough for the Dodgers to grab him while they had an open roster spot but they have now bumped him off. It’s possible that this was by design. Fitzgerald has less than three years of big league service time and doesn’t have a previous career outright, meaning he wouldn’t have the right to elect free agency if he were passed through waivers unclaimed.
Now that he has been designated for assignment, the Dodgers will have to either trade him or put him back on the waiver wire in the next five days. Given his defensive versatility and solid year with the bat, it’s possible he draws interest from a club in need of some extra depth. If not, the Dodgers will keep him as non-roster depth.
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Dodgers Sign Andy Ibáñez
Jan. 13: The deal is now official. Ryan Fitzgerald has been designated for assignment as the corresponding move.
Jan. 10: Ibáñez’s deal is for $1.2MM, according to Romero. He can also earn up to $100k in performance bonuses.
Jan. 9: The Dodgers have signed infielder Andy Ibáñez to a major league deal, reports Francys Romero of BeisbolFR. The salary has not yet been reported. The Dodgers have a full 40-man roster and will need to make a corresponding move to make this deal official. Ibáñez is represented by The Movement Baseball.
Ibáñez, 33 in April, was just non-tendered by the Tigers in November. He had spent three years with Detroit in a utility role. He got into 304 games over that span, stepping to the plate 820 times. He produced a combined batting line of .251/.304/.392, which translated to a wRC+ of 93. While that offense was a bit below average, Ibáñez provided a lot of defensive versatility. He played all four infield spots as well as the outfield corners.
That wasn’t enough to keep him in Detroit for 2026. He exhausted his final option year in 2025, meaning he will be out of options going forward. He had qualified for arbitration a year ago as a Super Two player. The Tigers paid him $1.4MM in 2025. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected him for a raise to $1.8MM this year but Detroit didn’t tender him a contract, sending him to free agency instead.
The Dodgers have a relatively older infield group. Shortstop Mookie Betts is 33 years old and was a full-time outfielder not long ago. 36-year-old Freddie Freeman is at first base and 35-year-old Max Muncy is at the other corner. Getting a semi rest day in the designated hitter slot isn’t really an option thanks to the presence of Shohei Ohtani.
Second base is a bit more fluid. Tommy Edman, Hyeseong Kim, Miguel Rojas and Alex Freeland are options for that spot. Rojas will be turning 37 years old soon. Edman isn’t quite as old, turning 31 in May, but is coming off ankle surgery. Kim can play other positions around the diamond. Freeland is a notable prospect for the club and still optionable, so perhaps it makes sense for him to be getting regular playing time in Triple-A if he doesn’t have an everyday job in the majors.
Ibáñez will give the club another multi-positional guy on the bench who can bounce around as needed, depending on who else is healthy and producing. If he has a good season with the Dodgers, he can be retained beyond 2026 via arbitration. Rojas has already said that he will retire after this year, so that’ll be one less guy in the mix for 2027 and beyond. Muncy is also slated for free agency a season from now but the Dodgers will presumably come up with some plan for third base in the next year, whether that’s bringing back Muncy or some alternative.
Photo courtesy of Rick Osentoski, Imagn Images
Diamondbacks, Shawn Dubin Agree To Minor League Deal
The D-backs and free agent righty Shawn Dubin agreed to a minor league deal, per Baseball America’s Matt Eddy. The agreement was actually reached last month, based on Dubin’s transaction log at MLB.com, but apparently didn’t become finalized until more recently. He’s represented by Excel Sports Management.
Dubin, 30, has spent nearly his entire career in the Astros organization. Houston selected him in the 13th round of the 2018 draft, and he’s pitched in parts of each of the past three seasons with them. Dubin has posted decent results and strong strikeout rates in the upper minors, and he showed some promise with the ’24 Astros when he logged 45 1/3 innings with a 4.17 ERA and a 23.7% strikeout rate. Command has long been an issue for the righty, however, and that was the case in ’24 as well, when he issued a walk to 12.6% of his opponents.
In 2025, Dubin turned in strong Triple-A results in a small sample (one run, four hits, one walk, 14 strikeouts in 8 2/3 innings) before being summoned to the majors. He was tagged for a 5.61 ERA with a surprisingly sharp 7.2% walk rate but also a diminished 18.9% strikeout rate in 25 2/3 innings. Houston designated him for assignment in late August.
The Orioles claimed Dubin, and he pitched eight innings for them in the final few weeks of the season. He allowed only three runs in that time, but he missed time with an elbow injury. Dubin has typically sat 94-96 mph with his fastball, but his average velocity with the Orioles checked in at 93.6 mph, which stood as a clear red flag. Imaging on did not reveal any major damage, however, and Dubin told the Orioles beat in September that he expected to avoid surgery and have a normal offseason after a few weeks of downtime (via the Baltimore Banner’s Andy Kostka). Baltimore outrighted him off the roster following the season. He elected to become a minor league free agent.
Dubin has extensive experience working as both a starter and a reliever. Assuming he’s healthy and invited to major league camp this spring, he can compete for a swingman role on a D-backs staff that is generally short on innings. Re-signing Merrill Kelly gave the Snakes a veteran anchor, and he’ll join Ryne Nelson, Brandon Pfaadt, Eduardo Rodriguez and Michael Soroka in the rotation as things currently stand. Rodriguez and especially Soroka have both missed time with injuries in recent seasons, however, and the depth options beyond that top quintet are mostly lacking in major league experience.