The Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball signed Howard to a contract Tuesday, Yakyu Cosmopolitan reports.

It will be the second straight year in Japan for Howard, who pitched for the Rakuten Eagles in 2025, posting a 2.22 ERA and 36:11 K:BB over 48.2 frames during an injury-shortened campaign. The 29-year-old holds a career 7.00 ERA over 47 appearances (32 starts) across parts of five major-league seasons.

The Giants signed Mahle to a one-year contract Wednesday, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports.

Shoulder issues limited Mahle to 16 starts and 86.2 innings in 2025 with the Rangers, but he was able to collect a 2.18 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 66:29 K:BB. The 31-year-old right-hander has not reached 20 starts in the majors since 2022 and his strikeout rate the last two seasons sits at just 18.9 percent, but he is a worthwhile roll of the dice on a one-year deal and will benefit from spacious Oracle Park as his new home.

Eflin (back) is scheduled to throw a bullpen session Jan. 6, Matt Weyrich of The Baltimore Sun reports.

It will be his first time throwing off a mound since he underwent a lumbar microdiscectomy surgery in August. Eflin -- who re-signed with the Orioles on Sunday -- has dealt with back issues off-and-on throughout his career and said he felt immediate relief after the operation. His goal is to be ready for Opening Day, but more will be known about his timetable once he's ramped up his throwing. Eflin posted a 5.93 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 50:13 K:BB across 71.1 innings for Baltimore during an injury-shortened 2025 season.

Eflin (back) and the Orioles agreed on a one-year, $10 million contract with a mutual option for 2027 on Sunday, Matt Weyrich of The Baltimore Sun reports.

Eflin will stick around Baltimore after spending the 2025 campaign with the team. The right-hander produced an inflated 5.93 ERA and 1.42 WHIP with 50 strikeouts over 14 starts with the Orioles before undergoing season-ending back surgery in August. Eflin will look to be back to full health in time for spring training and hit the ground running in 2026.

The Reds designated Richardson for assignment Saturday, Gordon Wittenmyer of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Following the Reds' acquisition of outfielder Dane Myers (knee) from Miami on Saturday, Richardson will end up as the roster casualty necessary to create space on the 40-man. The 25-year-old reliever finished 2025 with a 4.54 ERA, 1.54 WHIP and 30:21 K:BB across 37.2 regular-season innings. However, his 4.06 FIP indicates that he performed slightly better than what his base stats suggest, and there's a chance another team in need of bullpen depth claims the right-hander off waivers.

Tiedemann (elbow) is expected to be fully healthy in time for camp, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.

Tiedemann missed the entire 2025 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in July of 2024, and he has totaled just 140 innings in the minors since being drafted by Toronto in 2021. Despite that, it was still an easy call for the Blue Jays to add Tiedemann to the 40-man roster in November for Rule 5 protection. While the hard-throwing lefty has flashed high upside and is close to full health, Tiedemann is highly unlikely to handle a big workload in 2026 given all the missed time. "Hopefully he's a factor for us in our rotation," GM Ross Atkins said. "That's the plan, but we would be open to him impacting the team in a bulk role or some creative way, depending on how things are going."

The Athletics designated Waldichuk for assignment Monday.

The move frees up a spot on the 40-man roster for the addition of Jeff McNeil (shoulder), who was acquired via trade. Waldichuk missed all of 2024 and the first half of 2025 while recovering from Tommy John surgery, and he posted an 8.65 ERA, 2.06 WHIP and 64:42 K:BB across 51 innings this past season at Triple-A Las Vegas. The lefty will turn 28 in January and hasn't pitched in the majors since 2023, but with a career 33.9 percent strikeout rate in the minors and team control through 2029, he could draw interest via trade or waivers.

The Rays claimed Bido off waivers from Atlanta on Friday.

Bido has now bounced around via waivers from the Athletics to Atlanta and now to Tampa Bay this month. The right-hander had an unsightly 5.87 ERA and 18.7 percent strikeout rate in 2025, but he was much better in 2024 with a 3.41 ERA and 24.3 percent strikeout rate. Bido does not have minor-league options left, but he offers the flexibility to be used either in a starting or relief role.

Atlanta outrighted Molina to Triple-A Gwinnett on Friday.

Molina was claimed off waivers from the Rockies earlier this month. The 23-year-old right-hander sports an ugly 6.96 ERA, 1.61 WHIP and 65:28 K:BB across 94.1 innings spanning 52 appearances (two starts) over the previous two seasons with Colorado.

The Pirates acquired Montgomery from the Rays on Friday in a three-team trade, Chandler Rome and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic report.

Montgomery logged a 5.67 ERA and walked 27 over 46 innings with the Rays in 2025, but he also struck out 63 batters and, at 98.7 mph, has one of the hardest average four-seamer velocities in the game. The lefty has past starting experience, but the Pirates are likely to keep Montgomery in the bullpen, and he could work his way into high-leverage appearances.