DALLAS, TX — The Athletics announced today that they have selected right-handed pitcher Noah Murdock from the Kansas City Royals organization in the first round of the Major League portion of the Rule 5 Draft. Additionally, the A’s selected right-handed pitcher Henry Gomez from the St. Louis Cardinals organization in the minor league portion.

Noah Murdock

Murdock, 26, was chosen from the Triple-A Omaha Storm Chasers roster with the fifth overall pick in the Major League phase. This year, he went 1-0 with a 3.76 ERA in 30 relief appearances for the Storm Chasers, striking out 72 batters and walking 41 in 62.2 innings. Originally selected by the Royals in the seventh round of the 2019 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Virginia, Murdock has posted a 9-10 record with a 4.74 ERA in 262 innings across 117 minor league games, including 30 starts over five seasons.

Henry Gomez

Gomez, 24, recorded a 6-3 record with a 3.03 ERA in 39 relief appearances for Single-A Palm Beach in the 2024 season, striking out 44 and walking 26 in 62.1 innings. Over five minor league seasons, Gomez has a cumulative record of 16-18 with a 4.11 ERA.

Other Selections

• Cooper Bowman was selected by the Cincinnati Reds from the A’s organization in the first round of the Major League phase. Bowman, acquired by the A’s in 2022 from the Yankees, batted .262 with 12 home runs and 70 RBI in 118 games for Double-A Midland and Triple-A Las Vegas in 2024.
• In the minor league portion:
  • Gustavo Rodriguez was selected by the Los Angeles Angels (first round). Rodriguez posted a 0-2 record with a 4.32 ERA in 22 total relief appearances in 2024 with Single-A Palm Beach and High-A Peoria as a member of the Cardinals organization.
  • Franck De La Rosa was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates (first round). De La Rosa has a record of 4-5 with a 5.93 ERA in 36 games, with 86 strikeouts and 46 walks over 68.1 career innings.
  • Jack Winkler was selected by the Miami Marlins (second round). Winkler, originally selected by the A’s in the 10th round of the 2021 First-Year Player Draft, batted .223 with eight home runs and 57 RBI in 127 games for Double-A Midland in 2024. Over four minor league seasons, he has hit .236 with 19 home runs and 145 RBI in 328 games.

Houston selects four pitchers and an infielder in the Triple A phase of today’s draft

DALLAS, TX – The Houston Astros announced today that they have made five selections in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 Draft. The team selected right-handed pitchers Julio Rodriguez, Jean Pinto, and Anderson Bido, shortstop Jack Blomgren, and left-handed pitcher Nick Swiney. The Astros did not lose any players in the Major League or minor league portions of the Rule 5 Draft.

Julio Rodriguez

Rodriguez, 24, was selected from the Giants system, where he combined to go 5-0 with a 3.48 ERA (21 ER/54.1 IP) in 38 relief appearances across three levels in 2024. He spent most of his year at Class A Eugene, making 24 appearances, and also saw action at the Double-A (12 games) and Triple-A (2 games) levels. A Cuban native, Rodriguez has spent his first seven professional years (2018-24) in the Giants organization.

Jean Pinto

Pinto, 23, made 22 appearances, including 17 starts, in the Orioles minor league system in 2024, combining for a 3-2 record with a 3.10 ERA (28 ER/81.1 IP). He held opponents to a .229 average while striking out 101 batters in 81.1 innings. Pinto pitched at the Class A (13 games) and Double-A (9 games) levels, finishing his year with Double-A Bowie. He was originally signed out of Venezuela by the Angels in 2019 and has spent the last three seasons in the Orioles minor league system.

Anderson Bido

Bido, 25, was selected from the Rockies organization, where he split his season between the Class A and Double-A levels, posting a 3.29 ERA (14 ER/38.1 IP) in 25 appearances. He finished his season at Double-A Hartford with a 2.82 ERA (7 ER/22.1 IP) in 13 appearances. A native of the Dominican Republic, Bido was originally signed by the Rockies as an international free agent in 2017.

Jack Blomgren

Blomgren, 26, hit .279 with 10 extra-base hits and an .829 OPS in 34 games in the Rockies minor league system in 2024. He spent the majority of his season at Class A Spokane, appearing in 31 games. A middle infielder, Blomgren was originally a fifth-round pick by the Rockies in the 2020 MLB Draft.

Nick Swiney

Swiney, 25, spent the entire 2024 season at Double-A Richmond in the Giants organization, going 4-2 with a 5.25 ERA (42 ER/72 IP) in 41 appearances, including two starts. He was originally selected by the Giants in the second round (67th overall) of the 2020 MLB Draft out of NC State.

DALLAS – The Chicago White Sox have acquired catcher Kyle Teel, outfielder Braden Montgomery, infielder Chase Meidroth, and right-handed pitcher Wikelman González from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for left-hander Garrett Crochet. All four players are ranked among the Top 15 prospects in the Red Sox organization by MLB.com.

Kyle Teel

Teel, 22, is ranked as the No. 4 prospect in the Red Sox organization, No. 25 in baseball, and the No. 3 catcher overall by MLB.com. In 2024, he batted .288/.386/.433 with 23 doubles, 13 home runs, 78 RBI, 88 runs scored, 68 walks, and 12 stolen bases in 112 games with Double-A Portland and Triple-A Worcester. A left-handed batter, Teel played in the All-Star Futures Game and was named a Double-A All-Star by Baseball America.

The 6-foot-1, 190-pound Teel has a career batting average of .301/.404/.444 with 29 doubles, 15 home runs, 100 RBI, 103 runs scored, 89 walks, and 15 stolen bases in parts of two minor-league seasons. He was selected by the Red Sox in the first round (No. 14 overall) of the 2023 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Virginia, where he earned First-Team All-America honors as a junior in 2023.

Braden Montgomery

Montgomery, 21, is ranked as the No. 5 prospect in the Red Sox organization and No. 54 in baseball by MLB.com. The switch-hitter was selected by Boston in the first round (No. 12 overall) of the 2024 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of Texas A&M University. In his junior year with the Aggies in 2024, Montgomery hit .322/.454/.733 with 14 doubles, 27 home runs, 85 RBI, 53 walks, and a 1.187 OPS in 61 games. He was among the NCAA leaders in RBI (T5th), home runs (T11th), and total bases (T21st).

Montgomery helped lead Texas A&M to the No. 3 overall seed and a national runner-up finish in the 2024 College World Series. Unfortunately, he did not make his professional debut in 2024 due to a broken ankle suffered in the Super Regional against Oregon.

Chase Meidroth

Meidroth, 23, is ranked as the No. 11 prospect in the Red Sox organization by MLB.com. In 2024, he was named a Triple-A All-Star by Baseball America after batting .293/.437/.401 with 20 doubles, three triples, seven home runs, 57 RBI, 105 walks, and 13 stolen bases in 122 games with Worcester. His 105 walks led all MiLB players, and his .437 on-base percentage ranked third. Meidroth played 51 games at shortstop, 35 at third base, and 19 at second base.

The 5-foot-10, 180-pound Meidroth has a career batting average of .285/.425/.408 with 44 doubles, 20 home runs, 129 RBI, 184 runs scored, and 199 walks in 255 minor-league games. He was named Double-A Portland’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2023 and was selected by the Red Sox in the fourth round of the 2022 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of San Diego.

Wikelman González

González, 22, is ranked as the No. 14 prospect in the Red Sox organization by MLB.com. In 2024, he went 4-3 with a 4.73 ERA, 92 strikeouts, and a .198 opponent batting average over 24 games (19 starts) with Double-A Portland.

The 6-foot, 205-pound right-hander has a career record of 21-15 with a 4.54 ERA and 491 strikeouts (11.3 per 9.0 IP) over five minor-league seasons. He was signed by the Red Sox as an international free agent on July 2, 2018, out of Maracay, Venezuela. González was named the Red Sox organization’s Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year in 2023, which included a no-hitter on July 23, 2023, against New Hampshire.

Garrett Crochet

Crochet, 25, was named the American League Comeback Player of the Year in 2024 after going 6-12 with a 3.58 ERA and 209 strikeouts over 32 starts for the White Sox, marking his first season as a starting pitcher after missing most of 2023 due to Tommy John surgery.

Among pitchers with at least 140.0 innings pitched, Crochet led the AL in strikeouts per 9.0 IP (12.88) and ranked among the leaders in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2nd, 6.33), strikeouts (4th), starts (T5th), WHIP (6th, 1.07), walks per 9.0 IP (8th, 2.03), opponent average (9th, .222), and opponent OPS (10th, .642). He was named to his first AL All-Star Team in 2024.

Crochet was originally selected by the White Sox in the first round (No. 11 overall) of the 2020 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Tennessee.

Current 40-Man Roster

With these moves, the White Sox’s 40-man roster remains at 39 players.

DALLAS, TX – The Minnesota Twins announced today that they have selected right-handed pitcher Eiberson Castellano from Philadelphia in the major league phase of the Rule 5 Draft.

Castellano, 23, split the 2024 minor league season between High-A Jersey Shore and Double-A Reading, going a combined 6-5 with a 3.99 ERA (103.2 IP, 46 ER), 29 walks, 136 strikeouts, a .229 opponent batting average and a 1.14 WHIP in 22 games (20 starts), while averaging 11.8 strikeouts-per-9.0 innings. He was named Philadelphia’s minor league Pitcher of the Year after leading all Phillies farmhands in strikeouts and ranking tied for fourth in starts. The Maracaibo, Venezuela native was originally signed by Philadelphia in July 2018 and has gone 12-11 with a 3.71 ERA (238.0 IP, 98 ER), 91 walks, 291 strikeouts, a .224 opponent batting average and a 1.21 WHIP in 77 career minor league games (36 starts).

Castellano is the 10th player taken by the Twins in the major league phase of the Rule 5 draft dating back to 2005:

2024 Eiberson Castellano, RHP

2017 Tyler Kinley, RHP

2016 Justin Haley, RHP

2014 J.R. Graham, RHP

2012 Ryan Pressly, RHP

2011 Terry Doyle, RHP

2010 Scott Diamond, LHP

2008 Jason Jones, RHP

2006 Alejandro Machado, IF

2005 Jason Pridie, OF

The Twins now have 38 players on their 40-man roster: 22 pitchers, three catchers, five infielders, five outfielders and three utility players.

Additionally, the Twins selected the following players in the minor league phase: right-handed pitcher Trent Baker (Round 1, STL Double-A), infielder Miguel Briceno (Round 2, MIL Double-A) and catcher Jefferson Valladares (Round 3, LAD Rookie).

The Twins lost the following player in the minor league phase: right-handed pitcher Taylor Floyd (Round 2, SEA).

In the Triple-A phase of the 2024 Rule 5 Draft, the New York Yankees selected outfielder Luis Durango from the Cleveland Guardians in the first round.

Durango, 21, has posted a .253 average (145-for-574) with 118 runs, 18 doubles, 4 triples, 3 home runs, 47 RBI, 68 walks, and 87 stolen bases in 181 games over four minor league seasons with the Guardians (2021-24). In 2024, he batted .250 (33-for-132) with 25 runs, 6 doubles, 1 triple, 14 RBI, 9 walks, and 21 stolen bases in 41 games with Single-A Lynchburg. The left-handed hitter, originally from Panamá City, Panamá, was signed by Cleveland as a non-drafted free agent on July 2, 2019.

Additionally, in the Triple-A phase, the Cincinnati Reds selected left-handed pitcher Joel Valdez (first round), the St. Louis Cardinals selected left-handed pitcher Oddanier Mosqueda (first round), the Atlanta Braves selected right-handed pitcher Blane Abeyta (first round), the Pittsburgh Pirates selected outfielder Joel Méndez (fifth round), and the Philadelphia Phillies selected right-handed pitcher Gabriel Barbosa (fifth round) from the Yankees.

Today’s transactions:

Signed LHP Grant Wolfram to a 1-year contract.

Rule 5 Draft additions:

• LHP Connor Thomas (Major League phase – St. Louis)
• OF Garrett Spain (Triple-A phase – Toronto)
• RHP Zachary Peek (Triple-A phase – Baltimore)

Rule 5 Draft subtractions:

• RHP Shane Smith (Major League phase – Chicago-AL)
• SS Miguel Briceño (Triple-A phase – Minnesota)

Cy Young Winner & Two-Time AL All-Star Returns to the Guardians Organization

CLEVELAND, OH – The Cleveland Guardians announced today that they have re-signed free agent RHP Shane Bieber to a 2025 Major League contract with a player option for the 2026 season.

Bieber, 29, rejoins the Guardians after an impactful seven-year tenure with the Major League club, where he amassed a record of 62-32 with a 3.22 ERA over 136 games (134 starts). During this time, he pitched 843.0 innings, allowing 752 hits, 302 earned runs, and recording 958 strikeouts with a .236 opponent batting average. The two-time American League All-Star and 2019 All-Star Game MVP won the 2020 AL Cy Young Award, achieving the Major League Triple Crown by leading the league in wins (8), ERA (1.63), and strikeouts (122). He holds the highest strikeout per 9.0 innings ratio (10.2) and the third-highest winning percentage (.660) in the franchise’s 124-year history. Bieber is also one of only three pitchers in club history to start five consecutive season openers, alongside Stan Coveleski (1917-21) and Corey Kluber (2015-19).

The Laguna Hills, CA native started his fifth straight season opener, striking out 11 Athletics over 6.0 shutout innings on March 28 at Oakland. He continued his dominant performance with nine strikeouts over 6.0 scoreless innings on April 2 at Seattle, becoming one of only five pitchers in Cleveland history to throw at least 6.0 shutout innings in their first two starts of the season—and the only one to achieve this twice (also in 2020). After this strong start, Bieber was sidelined with right elbow soreness and underwent right elbow reconstruction on April 12, ending his season.

Bieber is the second Major League free agent signing for the Guardians this offseason, following the re-signing of catcher Austin Hedges on November 6. The Guardians’ 40-man roster now stands at 39 players.

BOSTON, MA – The Boston Red Sox have announced the acquisition of left-handed pitcher Garrett Crochet from the Chicago White Sox in exchange for four minor leaguers: right-handed pitcher Wikelman Gonzalez, catcher Kyle Teel, outfielder Braden Montgomery, and infielder Chase Meidroth.

Garrett Crochet

The Red Sox’ 40-man roster now includes 40 players with the addition of Crochet, 25. Crochet was named a 2024 All-Star after making 32 starts and posting a 3.58 ERA (58 ER/146.0 IP) with 209 strikeouts, 33 walks, a 1.07 WHIP, and a .222 opponent batting average for the White Sox. Among pitchers with at least 30 starts, he ranked first in strikeout rate (35.1%) and strikeouts per 9.0 innings (12.88), second in FIP (2.69), and third in strikeout-to-walk ratio (6.33). His strikeouts per 9.0 innings averaged the fifth-highest single-season rate in Major League history (minimum 30 starts), trailing only Gerrit Cole (13.82 in 2019), Spencer Strider (13.55 in 2023), Randy Johnson (13.41 in 2001), and Chris Sale (12.93 in 2017).

Crochet was named the American League’s 2024 Comeback Player of the Year and served as Chicago’s Opening Day starter after previously pitching exclusively in relief from 2020-23. The left-hander recorded six 10-strikeout games in 2024, the most in the AL and tied for the most in the Majors. He allowed three runs or fewer in 15 consecutive starts from April 29 to July 23, posting a 1.87 ERA (17 ER/81.2 IP) during that span. Crochet earned AL Pitcher of the Month honors for June and threw a scoreless fourth inning in the All-Star Game at Globe Life Field. On September 1 against the New York Mets, he struck out each of his first seven batters, tying the AL record to start a game. In his final nine starts, he struck out 47 batters and walked only three in 27.2 innings.

Selected by the White Sox in the first round of the 2020 First-Year Player Draft (No. 11 overall), Crochet made his Major League debut in September 2020, becoming the first pitcher since Brandon Finnegan in 2014 to debut in their draft year. Crochet made his first Opening Day roster in 2021 but missed the entire 2022 season recovering from Tommy John surgery. He appeared in only 13 games in 2023 due to stints on the Injured List. In four career postseason outings (2020-21), he has allowed zero runs over 3.0 innings, giving up five hits with six strikeouts and one walk.

Born in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, Crochet graduated from Ocean Springs High School in 2017 before pitching at the University of Tennessee from 2018-20.

Wikelman Gonzalez

Gonzalez, 22, pitched in 24 games (19 starts) for Double-A Portland in 2024, recording a 4.73 ERA (44 ER/83.1 IP) with 92 strikeouts. Signed by the Red Sox as an international free agent on July 2, 2018, the Venezuela native has a 3.87 ERA (173 ER/392.1 IP) in 100 career minor league games (94 starts).

Kyle Teel

Teel, 22, was the Red Sox’ top selection in the 2023 First-Year Player Draft (No. 14 overall). The left-handed hitter has batted .301 (156-for-518) with 29 doubles, 15 home runs, and 100 RBI in 138 career minor league games while making 95 starts as a catcher and 42 as a designated hitter.

Braden Montgomery

Montgomery, 21, was the Red Sox’ top selection in the 2024 First-Year Player Draft (No. 12 overall). The switch-hitter played baseball at Stanford University (2022-23) and Texas A&M University (2024) after graduating from Madison Central High School in Mississippi.

Chase Meidroth

Meidroth, 23, was selected by the Red Sox in the fourth round of the 2022 First-Year Player Draft. In 255 career minor league games, he has hit .285 (260-for-912) with 20 home runs and an .833 OPS while making 94 starts at third base, 65 at shortstop, 59 at second base, and 32 as a designated hitter.

BOSTON RED SOX 40-MAN ROSTER (40)

Pitchers (24): Brayan Bello, Brennan Bernardino, Cam Booser, Aroldis Chapman, Kutter Crawford, Cooper Criswell, Garrett Crochet, Hunter Dobbins, Richard Fitts, Lucas Giolito, Luis Guerrero, Liam Hendriks, Tanner Houck, Zack Kelly, Chris Murphy, Zach Penrod, Luis Perales, Quinn Priester, Chase Shugart, Justin Slaten, Greg Weissert, Garrett Whitlock, Justin Wilson, Josh Winckowski.

Catchers (1): Connor Wong.

Infielders (5): Triston Casas, Rafael Devers, Vaughn Grissom, David Hamilton, Trevor Story.

Outfielders (5): Wilyer Abreu, Jarren Duran, Jhostynxon Garcia, Rob Refsnyder, Masataka Yoshida.

Infielder/Outfielders (5): Mickey Gasper, Romy Gonzalez, Ceddanne Rafaela, Nick Sogard, Enmanuel Valdez.