Free-agent infielder Whit Merrifield agreed to a one-year, $8 million deal with the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday, according to a source. The deal includes a club option for the 2025 season that will also be worth $8 million. Merrifield is now 35 and has been in decline since leaving the Kansas City Royals midway through the 2022 season, but he still managed to hit .272/.318/.382 with 11 home runs, 67 RBI, 26 stolen bases and 66 runs scored in 145 games for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2023. He's probably not going to have an everyday role in Philadelphia, but Merrifield should bounce around between second base and the outfield and can still provide some modest speed for fantasy managers in deeper leagues. Merrifield has always made consistent contact despite being aggressive at the dish.

Colorado Rockies right-hander German Marquez (elbow), who hasn't pitched in a big-league game since April 26, 2023, due to Tommy John surgery, threw a bullpen session in spring training on Friday. Marquez still has a ways to go in his recovery from elbow reconstruction and isn't expected to return to the team's starting rotation until after the All-Star break, so he should go undrafted in all single-year mixed leagues in 2024. The 28-year-old Venezuelan had a career-worst 4.95 ERA (4.71 FIP) and 1.36 WHIP with 63 walks and 150 strikeouts in 181 2/3 innings over 31 starts for the Rockies in his last full season in 2022. Marquez has had an ERA under 4.00 just twice in his eight major-league seasons, and not since the shortened 2020 season, when he made only 13 starts.

Toronto Blue Jays pitching prospect Ricky Tiedemann said that he put on around 19 pounds of muscle in the offseason. He entered last season at around 225 pounds and now is around 240 pounds. Ranked as the No. 29 overall prospect in baseball, the 21-year-old left-hander is generating considerable buzz in camp as a non-roster invite. He only threw 44 innings last year due to a biceps injury, but in that time he struck out 82 hitters and was a top-five pitching prospect entering 2023. Tiedemann is going to start 2024 in the minor leagues to gain more experience, but it would be an upset if he didn't make his major-league debut at some point later in the year. He's worth stashing in deep-mixed fantasy leagues for his upside. Tiedemann had a 2.50 ERA and 1.11 WHIP with 23 walks over four starts in the Arizona Fall League last year.

Cincinnati Reds right-hander Nick Martinez can fill pretty much any pitching role, but he signed a two-year, $26 million deal with the Reds in December with the aim to be a starter. Right now, the team has 10 pitchers competing for five rotation spots, so there's no guarantee Martinez will open the year in the rotation. If he's not starting, he'll be expected to protect leads in a late-inning, high-leverage role out of the bullpen. The 33-year-old served as a swingman for the Padres the last two years, going 6-4 with a 3.43 ERA in a team-high 63 outings (110 1/3 innings) in 2023. Martinez had a 2.32 ERA over 42 2/3 innings in nine starts, and he was excellent at inducing weak contact. Because his role is unclear, it makes him difficult to recommend in fantasy drafts, but we can't argue against how effective he's been in recent seasons.

Oakland Athletics right-hander Mason Miller will be a starter in the long-term for the team, but he's ticketed for a bullpen role in 2024. He spent four months on the injured list in 2023 due to a UCL sprain in his right elbow. Miller finished his rookie year with a 3.78 ERA in 10 games (six starts) with 38 strikeouts and 16 walks in 33 1/3 innings, and that type of late-inning workload is likely to continue. So far in camp, the 25-year-old, who averaged 98.3 mph with his fastball last year, has been lighting up the radar gun. The team's No. 2 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, also has a wipeout slider, cutter and changeup, which makes him a natural fit for the closer's role. Miller should see some save chances, but Dany Jimenez and Trevor Gott could also factor into the ninth-inning picture in Oakland. For now, Miller is a speculative closer option with plenty of strikeout upside in deeper leagues.