The Houston Astros have claimed relief pitcher Declan Cronin off of waivers from the Chicago White Sox. The 26-year-old was designated for assignment by Chicago when their signing of Erick Fedde became official on Dec. 28. A 36th-round pick of the White Sox in 2019, Cronin made his pro debut that same season and reached the big leagues in the 2023 campaign, tossing a 9.00 ERA with seven walks and eight strikeouts across just 11 innings of work. He fared much better at Triple-A where he posted a 3.83 ERA across 47 outings, locking down a pair of saves in the process. With the Astros' 40-man roster full, a corresponding move will need to be made by the club.

The Chicago White Sox have signed outfielder Brett Phillips to a minor-league deal. The deal will pay the veteran $1.2 million if he makes the big-league team. The 29-year-old had his best season at the plate in the 2021 season with the Rays but is coming off a pair of dismal campaigns with the Orioles and Angels. Most recently, he hit just .175 with three homers and three steals across just 71 plate appearances with the Halos in 2023 and also hit .230 with six HR and seven SB across 66 games at the Triple-A level. Phillips offers some defensive versatility as he's capable of playing all three outfield spots but his lifetime .187 average and 38.7% K% put a hard cap on his offensive upside.

St. Louis Cardinals utility player Tommy Edman (wrist) is hopeful that he will be ready to go for the start of spring training following October surgery on his wrist. Edman's wrist issues cost him some time in the 2023 season as he was limited to 137 games after appearing in at least 153 contests in each of his two previous campaigns. The versatile Edman is coming off a little bit of a down season at the plate as he hit .248 with 13 home runs and 27 stolen bases across 528 trips to the plate, production that led to a 92 wRC+ that ranked 8% below the league average. Projected to be the club's everyday center fielder in 2024, Edman's multi-position eligibility along with a nice combination of pop and elite speed makes him a nice fantasy asset again, hopefully with his wrist issues behind him.

The New York Mets signed free-agent outfielder Harrison Bader to a one-year deal for approximately $10 million, according to a source. The Mets have been looking for help in the outfield this offseason, and Bader should immediately slot in as their primary center fielder in 2024, which will allow Brandon Nimmo to slide over to a corner-outfield spot. The 29-year-old Bader, a former third-round pick by the St. Louis Cardinals in 2015 out of the University of Florida, has become more of a defense-first player. Bader has been known to be a streak hitter at the plate and finished this past season with a .232/.274/.348 slash line, seven home runs, 40 RBI, 20 stolen bases and 44 runs score in 98 games for the New York Yankees and Cincinnati Reds. He can be a decent source of runs scored and stolen bases for fantasy managers, but he's dealt with his fair share of injuries as well, playing in over 100 games just three times in his seven MLB seasons.

The Atlanta Braves signed veteran left-hander Chris Sale to a two-year, $38 million deal on Thursday that includes an $18 million club option for 2026. The move comes five days after they acquired Sale from the Boston Red Sox. The 34-year-old southpaw had one year plus a 2025 option left on his previous contract. He will make $16 million this year and $22 million in 2025. Under the old contract, Sale would have made $27.5 million this year, with the Braves paying only $500,000 now plus $10 million deferred to 2039, and the Red Sox covering $17 million as part of the trade that sent infielder Vaughn Grissom to Boston. The seven-time All-Star is a health question mark, throwing only 151 innings over 31 starts since 2019, but he still has plenty of strikeout upside when he's on the mound and the Braves will be hoping he can avoid the injury bug after going over 100 innings in 2023 for the first time since 2019.