Long-time big-league outfielder Michael Brantley has announced his retirement from baseball. The veteran spent 15 seasons in the majors, 10 with the then-Cleveland Indians followed by another five with the Houston Astros. Injuries plagued the 36-year-old throughout his career as he appeared in 120 games or more in just seven of his 15 campaigns. He was limited to just 15 games in the 2023 season and only 64 in the 2022 campaign. However, his bat was excellent when healthy as he hit .300 or better in seven seasons and retires with a career .298 average across 1,445 games played. He also slugged 129 home runs and stole 125 bases in that time.

Detroit Tigers catcher Donny Sands has cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A Toledo. The Tigers designated Sands for assignment on Dec. 22 to make room on the 40-man roster for relief pitcher Shelby Miller. Acquired in a trade with the Phillies last offseason, Sands wasn't able to reach the majors with the Tigers in 2023, hitting .225 with five home runs and a healthy 12.1% BB% across 371 trips to the plate with Toledo. The backstop's lone big-league experience came with four plate appearances with the Phillies in 2022, walking once and striking out once in that time. He will once again likely serve as Triple-A catching depth for the Tigers behind Jake Rogers and Carson Kelly at the MLB level.

The Chicago White Sox are weighing offers for right-hander Dylan Cease, and the New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles are among those to express "serious" interest, according to major-league sources briefed on the discussions. Other teams are serious, too, with the Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Red Sox possibly in the mix. The Yankees moved seven pitchers to the San Diego Padres for outfielder Juan Soto, and after losing out on Japanese right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto, they might be inclined to push for Cease, who will cost around $25 million in his final two years of arbitration, as opposed to expected deals of at least $150 million for free-agent left-handers Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery. The Orioles, who has one of the best farm systems, are seemingly better positioned than the Yankees to make a trade. The 28-year-old Cease was a Cy Young runner-up in 2022 but had a 4.58 ERA last year.

Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco was officially charged with commercial sexual exploitation and money laundering following allegations that he had a relationship with a minor whose mother also faces the same charges in the Dominican Republic on Thursday after initially being arrested on Monday for failing to appear at a summons late last week. Franco will be under house arrest and prohibited from leaving the country and will be presented before a judge on Friday. The 22-year-old had a serious lapse in judgment and will face the consequences with most likely a lengthy suspension in 2024. Before his off-the-field incident, the five-tool player was quickly becoming a first-round fantasy asset with the ability to contribute elite numbers in all categories.

The San Diego Padres signed free-agent outfielder Oscar Mercado to a minor-league deal. Mercado will report to spring training in 2024 hoping to impress the coaching staff and earn a reserve outfield role on the Opening Day roster. The 29-year-old Colombian played in only 20 games at the major-league level in 2023 with the St. Louis Cardinals, going 9-for-31 (.290) with no homers, five RBI and two stolen bases. He was solid on the farm with three different the Triple-A organizations of the Cardinals, Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers, too, and will have a legitimate shot at earning a bench role in San Diego given their lack of outfield depth at the moment. In his five seasons in the big leagues since debuting in 2019 with the Cleveland Guardians, Mercado has slashed .237/.289/.388 with 26 home runs, 100 RBI and 29 stolen bases in 298 career games.