The Cleveland Guardians re-signed outfielder George Valera (knee) to a minor-league deal on Monday that includes an invitation to major-league spring training next year. Valera was non-tendered by the team last Friday but quickly has rejoined the organization. The 24-year-old underwent surgery on his right knee in September and therefore will probably be unavailable for the start of spring training and the start of next season. In all likelihood, he will be assigned to Triple-A Columbus in 2025 when he's fully recovered from his knee surgery. Valera spent the entire 2024 season at Columbus, slashing .248/.337/.452 with a .789 OPS, 17 home runs, 50 RBI, six stolen bases and 51 runs scored in 90 games and 374 trips to the plate. He sports a .243/.358/.452 career slash line with 80 homers and 273 RBI in his six minor-league seasons.

The Kiwoom Heroes of the Korean Baseball Organization announced on Monday that they officially signed former Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig to a $1 million deal. The club also added Ruben Cardenas for $450,000 ($150,000 in incentives) and pitcher Kenny Rosenberg ($700,000 with $100,000 in incentives). The 33-year-old Puig will leave his winter league team in Venezuela as a result. He has not played in the big leagues since 2019, when he hit .267 with 24 home runs and 84 RBI in 149 games with the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Guardians. The Cuban star hit .279 with 108 homers and 331 RBI in six seasons with the Dodgers, finishing second in National League Rookie of the Year voting in 2013. Puig played in 126 games with Kiwoom in 2022 and hit .277 with 21 homers and 73 RBI. Multiple sexual-assault allegations and illegal sports-betting allegations effectively ended his tenure in MLB.

According to sources, the Boston Red Sox are stepping up their efforts to land free-agent superstar outfielder Juan Soto and are trying to sell him on his fit in Beantown. Boston's best hitters in franchise history have mostly been left-handers, and Soto is coming off his best full season in his first year with the division-rival New York Yankees. However, his road OPS was 57 points higher than in the Bronx. Defensively, if Boston were to pry him away from their bitter rivals, Soto would likely shift from right field to left field at Fenway Park. The 26-year-old Dominican is expected to sign a deal worth more than 10 years and possibly more than $600 million. Spending that kind of money would be a major shift from the Red Sox's strategy in recent seasons, but perhaps they're fed up with just one playoff appearance in the last six seasons, including three last-place finishes in the AL East.

Free-agent left-hander Blake Snell will stay in the National League West after agreeing to a five-year, $182 million deal on Tuesday night with the Los Angeles Dodgers, according to sources. The deal is pending a physical. It's the first nine-figure deal of the MLB offseason, with the World Series-champion Dodgers locking down the two-time Cy Young winner. The 31-year-old southpaw signed with the San Francisco Giants at the end of spring training and had a rough start to the 2024 campaign while not being 100% healthy, but he eventually bounced back when he was fully healthy and went 5-3 with a 3.12 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 145 strikeouts and 44 walks in 104 innings over his 20 starts. Snell can be wild -- career 10.9% walk rate -- but his career 30.2% strikeout rate pretty much offsets it to make him a fantasy ace who will be in another good situation in LA while joining a strong starting rotation that will include Shohei Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto in 2025.

With the Los Angeles Dodgers signing left-hander Blake Snell to a five-year, $182 million deal on Tuesday night, USA TODAY's Bob Nightengale reports that the Boston Red Sox are now focusing on free-agent lefty Max Fried to upgrade their starting rotation this offseason. In addition to Fried, the BoSox are reportedly upping their efforts to land free-agent superstar outfielder Juan Soto, so Boston appears to be quite serious about opening up their wallet this winter. Fried, who has been an All-Star for the Atlanta Braves in two of the last three seasons, bounced back health-wise in 2024 to go 11-10 with a 3.25 ERA (3.33 FIP), a 1.16 WHIP and 166:57 K:BB in 174 1/3 innings over 29 regular-season starts. Fried isn't a huge strikeout guy and relies more on inducing ground balls, so a move to a bad defensive team in the Red Sox in the tough AL East might not be the best landing spot for fantasy purposes.