New York Mets rookie infielder Ronny Mauricio (knee) underwent surgery to fix a torn ACL in his right knee on Wednesday and is expected to be out anywhere from eight to 12 months. Mauricio suffered the serious injury while playing winter ball in the Dominican Republic. The promising 22-year-old will now be forced to miss most of the 2024 season. He was slated to open spring training competing with Brett Baty and Mark Vientos for the starting role at the hot corner, but that job will now likely go to Baty to start the season. Fantasy managers in single-year leagues can ignore Mauricio in spring drafts, but he should be stashed in dynasty/keeper formats. The Dominican switch-hitter batted .248 (25-for-101) with two home runs, nine RBI and seven stolen bases in his major-league debut in 26 games.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have traded reliever Bryan Hudson to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for prospect Justin Chambers and a player to be named later or cash. The 26-year-old has been designated for assignment by the Dodgers to clear a 40-man roster spot for Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Hudson, a third-round pick by the Cubs in 2015, made his pro debut that same season and reached the big leagues in the 2023 campaign. He worked to a 7.27 ERA across six relief outings in the majors but also posted an excellent 2.43 ERA alongside a massive 35.7% K% in 46 appearances (eight starts) at the Triple-A level a season ago. The 2023 season marked the first time Hudson made a start since making seven of them in High-A ball in 2019 while in the Cubs organization.

The Arizona Diamondbacks have signed catcher Ronaldo Hernandez to a minor-league deal. The 26-year-old was originally signed by the Tampa Bay Rays and made his professional debut in the 2015 season. More recently, he spent the 2023 season at the Triple-A level in the Red Sox organization, swatting 17 home runs alongside a .242 batting average across 99 games played. Overall, the righty-swinging backstop owns a career .279 average with 91 HR across 636 games played in the minor leagues. He will presumably serve as Triple-A catching depth for the reigning NL champs in the 2024 campaign.

The Boston Red Sox designated right-hander Mauricio Llovera for assignment on Wednesday to clear a 40-man roster spot once the signing of fellow right-hander Lucas Giolito became official. The 27-year-old appeared in the big leagues with both the Red Sox and San Francisco Giants in the 2023 season, working to a 4.89 ERA across 30 appearances. He has also spent time with the Phillies in the majors, tossing a 9.45 ERA with the club across just six outings in the 2021 season. All told, Llovera owns a career 5.80 ERA across 54 outings in the big leagues while walks and home runs have been an issue with a 10.1% career BB% alongside a 1.53 HR/9 clip.

Free-agent shortstop Kevin Newman agreed to a minor-league deal with an invitation to spring training with the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday. Newman will give Arizona some veteran infield depth heading into the 2024 season. The 30-year-old veteran spent last season playing for the Cincinnati Reds, slashing .253/.311/.364 with three home runs, 16 doubles, 28 RBI, eight stolen bases and 28 runs scored in 253 trips to the plate over 74 games. In his six years in the big leagues (five with the Pittsburgh Pirates), Newman has hit .259 (459-for-1,770) with 23 home runs, 171 RBI, 38 stolen bases and 189 runs scored in 505 total games played. He isn't really going to have any fantasy appeal as long as he's in a utility role in Arizona.