Outfielder Mitch Haniger is headed back to the Seattle Mariners in a trade with the San Francisco Giants that sends former Cy Young winner Robbie Ray to San Francisco while right-hander Anthony DeSclafani joins Haniger in heading to the Mariners. The veteran spent five seasons in Seattle before joining the Giants in free agency prior to the 2023 season. He once again had trouble staying on the field in his lone season in the Bay Area as he hit just .209 with six home runs across just 229 trips to the plate. A myriad of ailments have plagued the 33-year-old in his career as he's played in more than 96 games just twice in seven seasons. He will presumably take the spot of free agent outfielder Teoscar Hernandez in Seattle while the club also traded outfielder Jarred Kelenic to the Braves this winter.

The Seattle Mariners and San Francisco Giants connected for a blockbuster trade on Friday as Seattle will send former Cy Young winner Robbie Ray to the Giants in exchange for former Mariners outfielder Mitch Haniger and right-hander Anthony DeSclafani. Ray, the 2021 AL Cy Young winner with the Toronto Blue Jays, went on to sign a five-year, $115 million deal with the Mariners in free agency prior to the 2022 season. While he regressed some, Ray still posted a 3.71 ERA and excellent 19.4% K-BB% across 32 starts that season. However, he was limited to just a single start in 2023 due to an elbow injury. Subsequent Tommy John surgery will sideline him until after the All-Star break. A big-time strikeout pitcher, the 32-year-old has reined in the free passes that plagued him earlier in his career as he looks to bounce back with the Giants in the 2024 campaign.

The Detroit Tigers have signed relief pitcher Andrew Vasquez to a minor-league contract. The club claimed the southpaw from the Phillies after he was designated for assignment mid-season in 2023. Vasquez had worked to a 2.27 ERA with the Phillies but his underlying metrics suggested regression was on the horizon. That was indeed the case as the 30-year-old struggled to an 8.31 ERA across 12 outings with the Tigers. He did fare much better with a dynamite 1.35 ERA at Triple-A Toledo but that figure came in a small seven-appearance sample size. Nonetheless, he should get a decent shot as a left-handed option in the Tigers bullpen at some point in the 2024 campaign.

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.