The St. Louis Cardinals have signed right-hander Josh James to a minor-league deal. The deal presumably comes with an invite to big-league spring training, although not yet confirmed. Once a highly-touted young arm with the Astros, the now-30-year-old's career has been decimated by injury, most recently flexor tendon surgery that cost him all of last season. In fact, James hasn't appeared on a big-league mound since Sept. 22, 2021. He saw diminished velocity after early-career injuries as he averaged 94.1 mph on his four-seam fastball in 2021 versus a 97.3 mph average in both the 2018 and 2019 seasons. James owns a career 4.64 ERA in 73 big-league outings (six starts) while posting an eye-popping 34.3% K% in that time. He is a low-risk flyer for a Cardinals team that has been busy in addressing pitching needs this winter.

The Texas Rangers have traded outfielder J.P. Martinez to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for right-hander Tyler Owens. The move was made by the Rangers to clear a 40-man roster spot to make room for reliever David Robertson who the club signed on Thursday night. Owens is not on the 40-man roster. Martinez, 27, appeared in 17 games as part of his big-league debut last season and hit .225 while slugging his first career homer in his 44 trips to the plate. He spent the bulk of the season at Triple-A where he hit an impressive .298 with 14 home runs alongside a whopping 38 stolen bases across just 77 games and 353 plate appearances. He will serve as quality outfield depth for the Braves in the 2024 season.

The Texas Rangers and outfielder Travis Jankowski are reportedly nearing a deal that will see the speedy veteran return to the Rangers for the 2024 season. The 32-year-old ended up becoming an important piece for the World Champs in 2023 as he appeared in 107 games, the most he's played in since 2018. He hit .263 with one homer, 19 stolen bases, and a quality 12.2% BB% in that time, scoring 34 runs and striking out in just 14.6% of his plate appearances, the best mark of his nine-year big-league career. The 32-year-old is a career .241 hitter with just 10 home runs in 577 big-league appearances but he also has 91 stolen bases, a 10.7% BB%, and solid glove work that make him a quality utility player.

The Arizona Diamondbacks have signed outfielder Joc Pederson to a one-year contract with a mutual option for the 2025 season. Financial terms of the pact have not yet been disclosed. An outfielder by trade, the D-backs reportedly view Pederson as mostly a designated hitter as he has consistently graded out poorly with his glove throughout his big-league career. The 31-year-old spent the 2023 season with the Giants, hitting .235 with 15 home runs alongside an impressive 13.4% BB% across 425 plate appearances, largely in a corner outfield platoon role with some DH reps mixed in. He will almost strictly face right-handed pitching in 2024 as the lefty-swinger owns a career .248 isolated power and .834 OPS against opposite-handed pitching. His platoon splits put a hard cap on his fantasy value.

Free-agent reliever David Robertson has signed a one-year deal in the $11-12 million range with the reigning World Series champion Texas Rangers. The veteran signed a one-year deal with the Mets prior to the 2023 season and wound up tossing a tidy 2.05 ERA across 40 appearances with the club. However, Robertson was part of the Mets' trade-deadline binge as he was dealt to the Miami Marlins where he regressed to a 5.06 ERA across 22 outings spanning 21 1/3 innings of work. All told, the 38-year-old owns a 2.90 career ERA across 793 big-league outings, locking down 175 saves in the process. He should compete with Jose Leclerc for save opportunities at the back end of the Rangers' bullpen while Josh Sborz will also remain in the mix.