>>Cardinals Sign RP Middleton
Right-handed reliever Keynan Middleton has agreed to a $6 million, one-year contract with the St. Louis Cardinals.
The team announced Saturday that the 30-year-old Middleton is joining the organization as its 10th pitching addition this offseason.
Middleton will earn $5 million in 2024 and the Cardinals have a $6 million option for 2025 with a $1 million buyout.
He has played seven seasons in the majors with the Angels (2017-20), Mariners (2021), Diamondbacks (2022), White Sox (2023) and Yankees (2023).
Middleton has a 10-8 career record with a 3.84 ERA, 15 saves and 199 strikeouts over his 194 1/3 innings pitched.
Middleton combined for career bests last season with the White Sox and Yankees. He had 11.4 strikeouts per 9 innings pitched, a .667 opponents’ OPS and 57.4 groundball percentage.
>>White Sox Trade RP Santos to Mariners
he Seattle Mariners acquired Gregory Santos in a trade with the Chicago White Sox on Saturday, adding another hard-throwing reliever to their pitching staff.
The 24-year-old Santos went 2-2 with a 3.39 ERA and five saves in a career-high 60 appearances for Chicago last year. The right-hander joins Matt Brash and Andrés Muñoz at the back end of the Mariners’ bullpen.
Seattle has been active since it finished third in the AL West last year with an 88-74 record. It reacquired outfielder Mitch Haniger in a trade with San Francisco last month, and it got infielder Jorge Polanco in a deal with Minnesota on Monday.
The Mariners parted with reliever Justin Topa in the trade with the Twins, and Santos fills that opening in their bullpen.
The White Sox acquired right-hander Prelander Berroa, outfielder Zach DeLoach and the No. 69 pick in the 2024 draft in exchange for Santos. To make room on Chicago’s 40-man roster, right-hander Lane Ramsey was designated for assignment.
The White Sox also acquired outfielder Dominic Fletcher in a trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks for right-hander Cristian Mena.
The 25-year-old DeLoach, a second-round pick in the 2020 amateur draft, batted .286 with 23 homers and 88 RBIs in 138 games for Triple-A Tacoma last year. Fletcher, 26, a second-rounder in the 2019 draft, made his major league debut in 2023, hitting .301 in 28 games with Arizona.
Chicago has Andrew Benintendi in left and All-Star Luis Robert Jr. in center, but right field is wide open.
The White Sox are coming off a disastrous 2023 season. They finished fourth in the AL Central with a 61-101 record. Getz was promoted to GM in August.
