Shortstop Brandon Crawford officially announced his retirement from professional baseball on Wednesday on his Instagram account. It ends a successful 14-year major-league career that saw Crawford win two World Series with the San Francisco Giants while also being named to three All-Star teams. The 37-year-old spent the first 13 years of his career with the Giants before ending it in 2024 with the St. Louis Cardinals after he hit .169 in 28 games. Crawford was originally a fourth-round pick by the Gigantes in 2008 out of UCLA. Perhaps his best season came in 2021, when he had a career-highs in batting average (.298), home runs (24), RBI (90) and stolen bases (11). He won his first World Series ring in 2012 in his second year in the league. In addition to being steady with the bat, Crawford won four Gold Gloves in his career and finishes with a .249/.318/.395 career slash line and .713 OPS in 1,682 games.

The New York Yankees have raised their offer to try and re-sign superstar outfielder Juan Soto in the last couple of days, according to people familiar with the situation. The news could come as a response to a report on Tuesday that said the division-rival Boston Red Sox are making an early push to try and pry Soto away from the Bronx. In addition to the Yankees and Red Sox, the Mets, Dodgers and Blue Jays are in on the Soto sweepstakes. New York has also reached out to free-agent pitchers Corbin Burnes and Max Fried, but they remain solely focused on trying to bring Soto back after he hit a career-high 41 home runs in 2024 and led the team to a World Series appearance. The 26-year-old generational talent is expected to set an MLB record for contract value, with word coming that teams are willing to go beyond $600 million to land him. Soto is believed to be interested in a 15-year deal.

Seattle Mariners right-hander Matt Brash (elbow) had an internal-brace procedure in early May, but he has been working out at the team's spring training facility in Arizona this fall and is ahead of schedule in his rehab from elbow surgery. As a result, the Mariners are optimistic that Brash could return to their bullpen by the end of April. Seattle's bullpen was hampered by injuries all year in 2024, so the return of Brash to a key late-inning role as a setup man would be excellent news for the M's. The 26-year-old Canadian hurler was excellent in his second major-league season in Seattle in 2023, going 9-4 with a 3.06 ERA (2.26 FIP), a 1.33 WHIP, his first four career saves, 107 strikeouts and 29 walks in 70 2/3 innings over a league-high 78 appearance out of the bullpen.

Chicago Cubs right-hander Ben Brown (neck) has been cleared for a normal offseason throwing program, according to a team source. Brown is one of the team's promising young pitchers, but unfortunately he didn't appear in a game after June 8 in his rookie season in 2024 due to an unusual neck injury. The 25-year-old had a 3.58 ERA in 55 1/3 innings for the Cubbies in a swing role and showed dominant tendencies at times as both a starter and reliever. It remains to be seen how the Cubs will choose to use him moving forward, but when healthy, Brown has the stuff to be fantasy relevant in all leagues. The most likely scenario is that the former 33rd-round pick by the Philadelphia Phillies in 2017 will be given a chance to win an Opening Day rotation spot. If health issues resurface, though, a long-term relief role could be in the cards for Brown.

Seattle Mariners left-hander Brandyn Garcia has emerged as a realistic candidate to make the team's Opening Day roster in 2025. Garcia was the team's 11th-round pick out of Texas A&M in 2023 and pitched exclusively out of the bullpen in college. The 24-year-old southpaw won the team's minor-league co-pitch of the year in 2024 and has emerged as one of Seattle's best pitching prospects. He held a 2.25 ERA with 134 strikeouts, 47 walks and only four home runs allowed over 116 innings in 27 appearances (25 starts) with High-A Everett and Double-A Arkansas this past season. Garcia could be a starter in the big leagues in the long term, but the Mariners view him as a potentially valuable left-handed arm out of their bullpen next year. His transition to the bullpen during spring training will be something to watch next spring.