The Atlanta Braves signed free-agent outfielder Jordan Luplow to a minor-league deal on Wednesday. Luplow played in 39 games at the major-league level in 2023 with the Toronto Blue Jays and Minnesota Twins, going 16-for-77 (.208) with two home runs and five RBI in 90 plate appearances. The 30-year-old right-handed hitter has played in seven seasons in the majors and has a career .212/.314/.423 slash line with 47 home runs, 125 RBI, 13 stolen bases and 132 runs scored in 361 games with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Cleveland Guardians, Tampa Bay Rays, Arizona Diamondbacks, Blue Jays and Twins. Luplow will hope to win a major-league roster spot out of spring training for the Braves, but at best, he'll be an outfield bench bat.

Boston Red Sox shortstop prospect Marcelo Mayer (shoulder), who is listed as the No. 11 overall prospect heading into the 2024 season, is fully healthy and expected to be a full-go for spring training after injuring his left shoulder in May of last year. The 21-year-old said he's been hitting off a tee and will soon face live pitching. Mayer initially tried to play through his shoulder pain and was eventually shut down for the final month of the minor-league season. He finished by hitting .236/.306/.433 with 13 home runs, 54 RBI and nine stolen bases in 78 games with High-A Greenville and Double-A Portland. Mayer is going to be a regular starter for Boston in a few years time, mainly because of his solid defense at the 6, but he could definitely use another full season on the farm to develop offensively with his plate approach.

Texas Rangers outfield prospect Wyatt Langford was among 10 players invited to major-league spring training on Wednesday. The nine others were first baseman Blaine Crim, right-hander Daniel Robert, catcher Liam Hicks, right-hander Emiliano Teodo, infielder Davis Wendzel, right-hander Jack Leiter, left-hander Grant Wolfram, first baseman Abimelec Ortiz and outfielder Aaron Zavala. Langford is the team's No. 2 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, while Leiter (No. 5), Zavala (11), Ortiz (14) and Teodo (22) were among the team's top-25 prospects. Langford, last year's fourth overall pick out of Florida, made his way quickly to Triple-A by the end of 2023 by hitting 11 home runs in 44 total games. The 22-year-old has a real shot to contribute at the major-league level in 2024, making him one of the top prospects in the game (MLB.com has him at No. 13).

Based on Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Dustin May's (elbow) Instagram page, he has started a throwing program this offseason after having flexor-tendon surgery and a Tommy John revision on his right elbow in July. Because of the fact that the 26-year-old will be sidelined until at least the second half of the 2024 season, he'll be left to the waiver wire to start the year in a lot of single-year fantasy leagues. May was ready to break out before getting hurt again in 2023, ultimately finishing with a 2.63 ERA (3.23 FIP) and 0.94 WHIP while walking 16 and fanning 34 in 48 innings over nine starts. If he can ever get past the injury bug, there's a lot to like about May's long-term profile. The Dodgers will most likely ease May in for the second half of 2024, so perhaps his true breakout campaign will now come in 2025.

Minnesota Twins manager Rocco Baldelli announced on the radio on Wednesday that right-hander Pablo Lopez will be the team's Opening Day starter in 2024. It's a pretty early announcement, but it speaks to the confidence the Twins have in Lopez, who made his first All-Star team in 2023 and went 11-8 with a 3.66 ERA (3.33 FIP) and 1.15 WHIP while walking 48 and striking out a career-high 234 batters in 32 starts covering a career-high 194 innings in his first year in Minnesota. The 32-year-old has now made 64 starts in the last two seasons, but he's still never gone over 200 innings in his six years in the big leagues and is still somewhat of an injury concern. Adding a sweeper to his repertoire led to a career-high 29.2% strikeout rate. Assuming he can stay healthy all year again, Lopez is a fine target as a high-end No. 2 fantasy starter.