The Padres are addingWalker Buehler on a minor league contract, reportsKevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune. The Excel Sports Management client will aim to win a rotation job during Spring Training.

San Diego continues to stockpile potential back-end starters. The Padres agreed to big league deals with Griffin Canning and Germán Márquez over the weekend. Buehler settles for a non-roster invitation, which seemingly puts him a little behind the other two veteran righties as camp gets underway. (Canning is coming back from an Achilles tear and is questionable for Opening Day). Buehler has been the most accomplished of that trio over the course of his career, though, so it’d hardly be a surprise if he pitches his way onto the roster.

The Friars have three locks for the Opening Day rotation: Nick Pivetta, Michael King and Joe Musgrove. First-year skipper Craig Stammen implied last week that righty Randy Vásquez has a leg up on the fourth starter role after a solid finish last year. Márquez, Canning (if healthy) and JP Sears are the top options on the 40-man roster for the fifth starter job.Matt Waldron also remains on the 40-man but is out of options and coming off a rough season in Triple-A. Buehler joinsTriston McKenzie and Marco Gonzales among the non-roster invitees.

More to come.

It appears Mike Trout is set to return to his old position. The future Hall of Famer told reporters this morning that he hopes to be primarily a center fielder this season (links viaRhett Bollinger of MLB.com andJeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register). General manager Perry Minasian and skipper Kurt Suzuki are evidently aligned with that plan.

“I talked to (Suzuki). I definitely want to play center,” the three-time MVP said. “I told him I’ll play anywhere but obviously prefer center. It was good communication with him and Perry and they’re on board with it.” Suzuki said that Trout will also continue to see work in the corners during Spring Training but sounded broadly open to giving him significant playing time up the middle. “We’ll keep our options open, but he does prefer center, so we’ll take a look,” the manager told reporters.

It’s not completely out of nowhere, as Minasian said as far back as December that the teamwasn’t closing the door on Trout getting some center field action. It seems that’ll be more than just part-time work, though it’s not clear how much of a defensive workload he’ll be able to log in his age-34 season.

That was the impetus for moving Trout off center field a year ago. The Angels felt the position was putting too much physical stress and contributing to his unfortunate series of injuries. Trout didn’t play a single inning up the middle last season. He moved to right field and started 22 games before sustaining a bone bruise in his left knee. He missed most of May and was a full-time designated hitter for the remainder of the season.

Trout disagreed with the premise that right field was any less of a physical burden. “Honestly, I felt like when I was in center, it was less on my body,” he said today. “Right field felt like I was running a lot. It’s just a preference thing. Talking to some other outfielders, they feel the same way sometimes, that center is less on your legs. I just feel more confident in center.” Although Trout didn’t have a huge sample of right field work off which to base that assessment, it’s hardly surprising he feels more comfortable with his reads at a position where he has more than 11,000 innings of experience.

At his age and with a history of lower body injuries, Trout is unlikely to be a plus defensive center fielder. He remains a slightly above-average runner at full speed, so he could probably play close to average defense. That’d be a marked improvement over Jo Adell, who was one of the worst defensive center fielders in MLB and should be a right fielder. Whether Trout can stay healthy is the much bigger question, though it’s perhaps notable that many of his recent injuries have come either as a hitter or while running the bases.

Playing Trout in center would allow the Halos to use Adell and Josh Lowe primarily in the corners. They’d have Jorge Soler mostly in the DH role. Trout will surely still see a fair bit of DH action as semi-rest days. Soler would draw into a corner on those occasions with either Adell or Lowe moving to center in what would be a lackluster defensive group. Bryce Teodosio is the best defensive outfielder on the roster but has hit like a fifth outfielder. Jose Siri is in camp on a minor league deal as an alternative to Teodosio for an all-glove depth role. ProspectNelson Rada is likely ticketed for Triple-A to begin the season but might be the team’s best all-around center field option by midseason.

Trout has five seasons remaining on his $360MM extension. He’ll make $35.45MM per season between 2026-30.

The Twins are sending starter Pablo López for an MRI after he experienced elbow soreness during a live batting practice session this morning (links viaDan Hayes of The Athletic andMatthew Leach of MLB.com). The righty had thrown two innings in a workout before experiencing the discomfort in what would have been his third frame.

To this point, the Twins are framing the situation as precautionary. There’s certainly no reason for López to pitch through any kind of discomfort in the middle of February. It nevertheless comes as a concern any time a pitcher experiences elbow discomfort. That’s particularly true in López’s case, as he’s coming off a season that was cut short by a pair of arm injuries.

López suffered a Grade 2 teres major strain in his shoulder last June. He missed three months. The veteran was able to get back on the mound in early September, hoping to build positive momentum going into the offseason. That was not to be, as he experienced forearm soreness that shut him down for the year after three September starts. His velocity in those appearances was back to where it had been before the shoulder injury. The forearm soreness could have been a residual effect of the layoff. The Twins didn’t seem especially concerned, announcing in early November that he would not have any restrictions over the offseason.

Minnesota also took López (and essentially all their other veteran players) off the trade market. They’d been very aggressive deadline sellers but are going into the season with expectations to compete for a playoff spot. It remains to be seen if that’s wishful thinking, but new ownership control person Tom Pohlad has said repeatedly over the past few weeks that he believes this roster capable of contending. Any optimism is built largely around the rotation, which could have an excellent one-two punch with López and Joe Ryan. If the former misses any time, an already uphill path to a playoff spot becomes more difficult.

The Twins have a decent amount of upside in the starting staff. Simeon Woods Richardson,Bailey Ober, Taj Bradley, Mick Abel, Zebby Matthews andDavid Festa are all in the mix for rotation spots. Prospects Kendry Rojas,Connor Prielipp andAndrew Morris probably need more time at Triple-A but are on the 40-man roster. Any of them could factor in at some point this year. There’s reason for optimism with everyone in that group, but all of those pitchers who have logged MLB time have had their share of ups and downs. They’ll also probably need some of these pitchers to factor into a patchwork bullpen if they’re to put together a contending pitching staff.

López has a Tommy John surgery in his history, undergoing the procedure when he was an 18-year-old prospect back in 2014. He’d been very durable for most of his MLB career. A rotator cuff injury cost him a couple months in 2021, but he didn’t miss a start in any of the next three seasons. He was limited to 14 outings last year but was as effective as ever on a rate basis. López turned in a 2.74 ERA with a 23.4% strikeout rate over 75 2/3 innings.

The Mets are in agreement with veteran outfielder Mike Tauchman on a minor league contract, reportKen Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic. The Meister Sports Management client will be in camp as a non-roster invitee once he completes a physical.

It’s a good landing spot for Tauchman, who has a path to breaking camp. The Mets aremoving Juan Soto to left field and have Luis Robert Jr. in center. That leaves right field as the biggest question going into the season. New York signed former Royals outfielder MJ Melendez last week. He’s on the 40-man roster but has a minor league option remaining. Melendez signed a split contract that’d pay him at a lower rate for time spent in Triple-A. He’s hardly a lock to make the team.

Tauchman’s biggest competition probably comes from top prospect Carson Benge. The door is open for the 23-year-old, whom most scouts consider the top position player in the system. Benge, a first-round pick in 2024, raked at both the High-A and Double-A levels last year. He didn’t have good numbers in his first 24 Triple-A contests, slashing .188/.272/.311 there to close the year. That’d point toward him beginning this season in the minors. However, Benge’s 18% strikeout rate and 92 mph average exit velocity against Triple-A pitching suggest the results may have simply been bad luck rather than any kind of speed bump.

Benge’s play in Spring Training might be a bigger factor in whether Tauchman makes the team than how well the veteran outfielder performs. The Mets don’t have many bench spots available.Tyrone Taylor is locked into the fourth outfield role, while Mark Vientos will be on the MLB roster barring a surprise trade. Backup catcherLuis Torrens has a third bench spot secure, and they’ll likely want a depth infielder who can play shortstop regardless of whetherFrancisco Lindor returns from a hamate injury by Opening Day.Vidal Bruján and Ronny Mauricio are the top competitors for that job.

The Mets have a good idea of what to expect from Tauchman if he breaks camp. He’s a high-OBP corner outfielder who has been a little better than average at the plate in three consecutive seasons. The lefty hitter is coming off a .263/.356/.400 showing with nine home runs across 385 plate appearances for the White Sox. Teams have viewed him more as a quality depth piece than a roster fixture, and he has been non-tendered by the Cubs and White Sox over the past two offseasons.

The Yankees are outrightingYanquiel Fernandez to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the team announced. The outfielder was designated for assignment last week, shortly after the team claimed him off waivers from the Rockies. Fernandez will be in MLB Spring Training with New York.

New York was able to get the former top prospect through waivers, allowing the club to retain him as depth. WithTrent Grisham andCody Bellinger back, it’s a crowded position for the Yankees. The plethora of veteran outfielders could leaveJasson Dominguezwithout a roster spot. Triple-A standoutSpencer Jones is also on the verge of contributing in the majors. It’s a lengthy list for Fernandez to leapfrog, but he has the pedigree to make an impact if everything breaks his way.

The 23-year-old Fernandez was one of the organization’s brightest stars heading into last season. He ranked third onMLB.com’s list of Colorado’s top prospects.Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs had the outfielder at fifth coming into the year. Fernandez has seemed to hit a roadblock at the upper levels, though. He’s slashed a mediocre .259/.320/.437 in 97 games at Triple-A the past two years. A .757 OPS is far from a failure, but the stat line did come at the extremely hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.

Fernandez got his first look in the big leagues this past year, and it went poorly. He delivered a 55 wRC+ across 147 plate appearances. Fernandez’s strikeout rate pushed 30% with the Rockies. The one positive for the outfielder was getting to show off his absolute cannon of an arm. Fernandez averaged an absurd 97.2 mph on his throws from right field, which ranked in the 100th percentile. He was a slightly negative defender by Outs Above Average, but the arm strength was apparent.

Photo courtesy of Isaiah J. Downing, Imagn Images

The Cardinals have claimed right-handerZak Kent off waivers from the Rangers, reportsDerrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Texas had designated Kent for assignment last week to clear space for left-hander Jordan Montgomery. Both teams have confirmed the move.

St. Louis designated infielderBryan Ramos for assignment to add Kent. Ramos was claimed off waivers from the Orioles in early February.

It’s Kent’s second stint this offseason with the Cardinals. His transaction carousel began in December, when St. Louis grabbed him off waivers from the Guardians. He lasted about a month, then was bumped off the roster when the Cardinals acquired left-hander Justin Bruihl. The Rangers claimed him shortly thereafter.

Kent was drafted by Texas in 2019. The 28-year-old had spent his entire career with the organization until a cash deal sent him to Cleveland. Kent made it up for his big-league debut in April of this past season. He notched a 4.58 ERA across 12 appearances with the Guardians. Kent posted a 21.1% strikeout rate to go with a double-digit walk rate.

While his numbers were somewhat underwhelming with the Guardians, Kent put up a strong campaign at Triple-A in 2025. He cruised to a 2.84 ERA with a strong 31.4% strikeout rate. Kent picked up his first two professional saves with the Clippers.

The Cardinals now send Ramos back to DFA limbo just 10 days after claiming him. The 23-year-old infielder had spent his entire career in the White Sox organization before being dealt for cash to the Orioles a couple of weeks back. He’ll provide depth in the minors if St. Louis can get him through waivers.

Ramos has appeared in each of the past two seasons with the White Sox. He’s totaled 120 plate appearances as a big leaguer, slashing .198/.244/.333 in the brief sample. Ramos has only appeared at third base with Chicago, but he has minor league experience at first base, second base, and left field.

Photo courtesy of Ken Blaze, Imagn Images