The Athletics have extended Kurtz an invitation to big-league camp during spring training.

The No. 4 overall pick in the 2024 First-Year Player Draft, Kurtz hit the ground running in his pro debut, slashing .368/.520/.763 with four homers in 12 games between Single-A Stockton and Double-A Midland. He then went on to mash in the Arizona Fall League, as well, with a 1.058 OPS and a couple homers in 13 contests. Kurtz, who will turn 22 in March, will likely go back to Midland to begin 2025 and could push to debut late in the season if things go well.

The Athletics designated Klein for assignment Friday.

The transaction clears a spot on the 40-man roster for Jose Leclerc, who was signed Friday. Klein, who was acquired from the Royals at the trade deadline as part of the return for Lucas Erceg, allowed nine runs with a 7:6 K:BB over 7.1 innings in his first go-round in the majors in 2024. However, the big righty throws hard and has 30.4 percent strikeout rate at the minor-league level, so he figures to draw some interest via trade or waivers.

The Athletics signed Leclerc to a one-year, $10 million contract Friday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

Although he finished with a 4.32 ERA, Leclerc also posted a 30.9 percent strikeout rate in 2024, his highest mark since 2019. The 31-year-old has never had a single-season walk rate in the single digits, so the A's are likely just hoping he can miss enough bats to overcome the inevitable lapses of control. Leclerc will be a setup man ahead of star closer Mason Miller.

The Mariners signed Fujinami to a minor-league contract Friday that includes an invitation to spring training, Jon Morosi of MLB Network reports.

Fujinami dealt with a shoulder injury this past season and posted a 6.68 ERA and 38:33 K:BB over 32.1 innings during a stint with Triple-A Syracuse in the Mets organization. The 30-year-old struck out 83 in 79 frames between the Athletics and Orioles in 2023 but also walked 45 and held a 7.18 ERA.

The Mariners outrighted Raposo to Triple-A Tacoma.

He's no longer on the 40-man roster but will remain in the organization as catching depth. Raposo, 26, has a career .241/.321/.387 slash line in the minors and has yet to see any action at the big-league level.

The Orioles outrighted Soto to Triple-A Norfolk on Friday, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.

Soto is no longer on Baltimore's 40-man roster but will remain in its organization. The utility infielder went 3-for-13 at the plate in 2024 between brief stints with the Reds and Orioles.

The Red Sox and Duran avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $3.75 million contract with an $8 million club option for 2026 on Friday, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.

The club option could escalate up to $12 million based on where Duran finishes in the 2025 American League MVP voting. This was the first of four arbitration years for Duran, as he earned an extra year as a Super 2 qualifier. The 28-year-old slashed .285/.342/.492 with 21 home runs and 34 stolen bases for the Red Sox in 2024.

The Blue Jays acquired Straw, cash considerations and international bonus pool space from the Guardians on Friday in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations.

The Guardians will be covering $3.75 million of the $15.5 million Straw is still owed on his contract and will send $2 million in bonus pool money to Toronto, according to Ben Nicholson-Smith and Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca. While the club hopes to put the pool money toward a contract for Roki Sasaki, Davidi says Sasaki has not given the Blue Jays any indication that he's made a decision. Straw spent nearly all of the 2024 season in the minors and was removed from Cleveland's 40-man roster earlier this offseason.

The Astros have extended Smith an invitation to big-league camp during spring training, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Acquired from the Cubs in the Kyle Tucker trade, Smith slashed .313/.396/.609 with seven home runs over 32 games across three levels in his pro debut in 2024 after being taken in the first round of last year's First-Year Player Draft. He's likely to begin the 2025 season at Double-A Corpus Christi, but the Astros will let him get his feet wet in major-league spring training.

Wantz (elbow) signed a minor-league deal with the Rays on Jan. 2.

Per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, it's a two-year contract, as Wantz is recovering from right elbow surgery and the earliest could be ready to pitch for the Rays is late in the 2025 season. Wantz has a career 3.88 ERA and 126:48 K:BB over 118.1 frames covering parts of four major-league seasons.