MLB Player News

Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said Thursday that Ozuna (shoulder) should receive full clearance for baseball activities at some point in January, Fox Sports Midwest reports.

Ozuna was bothered by his right shoulder for a good portion of his inaugural campaign in St. Louis, but still finished the season on the field, delivering a .280 average, 23 home runs, 88 RBI and 69 RBI across 148 games. After undergoing surgery Oct. 30 to address the injury, Ozuna appears to be tracking well in his recovery and should be back to 100 percent health well before spring training. If the surgery provides a permanent fix for his shoulder woes, Ozuna shouldn't have much difficulty upping his power production in 2019.

Winker (shoulder) said Friday at Redsfest that he's thrilled with the progress that he's made this offseason at the Reds' spring training facility in Arizona, MLB.com's Mark Sheldon reports. "My rehab is pretty much over at this point," Winker said. "It's been over for a couple of weeks now. All I'm really doing is shoulder work to maintain. I've started my training, so everything has gone great. Everything has gone smooth. It's gone exactly how everybody involved has wanted it to go, so I'm very excited about that."

This is great news, but pump the brakes just a little bit -- Winker hasn't yet swung a bat and won't be cleared to do so until Jan. 7. The Reds have cleared the runway for Winker to play every day this season, though the news that they said good-bye to Billy Hamilton doesn't mean that Winker will play center field, as he doesn't really have the range for that. Eventually, the club plans on fielding an outfield that's starting both Winker and Nick Senzel.

Ramirez signed a minor-league contract with the Marlins on Monday, John Dreker of piratesprospects.com reports.

Ramirez has been stuck in neutral at the Double-A level for three seasons, but he should advance to Triple-A in the Marlins' organization this upcoming season after winning an Eastern League batting title (.320 average). Given the team's dearth of outfield options, it's not unreasonable to think Ramirez could even crack the big leagues at some point in 2019.

Reyes will undergo surgery Thursday to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee, Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports.

Reyes picked up the injury earlier in the month while playing in the Dominican Winter League, and surgery was ultimately deemed necessary after further evaluation. The procedure typically carries a four-to-eight week recovery timetable, so the expectation is that Reyes will be ready to go for spring training. Prior to suffering the injury, Reyes hit .444/.510/.689 with three homers and six RBI in 13 games for Escogido.

Reyes is scheduled to have his right knee evaluated in San Diego this week, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Reyes was playing in the Dominican Winter League when he first experienced right knee discomfort earlier in the month. The 23-year-old sat out for a week before it was determined that he should return to San Diego for further evaluation. Reyes, who was in the midst of an 11-game hitting streak prior to suffering the injury, compiled a .444/.510/.689 slash line with three homers and six RBI in 13 games for Escogido.

Ramirez signed a minor-league contract with the Pirates on Monday, John Dreker of piratesprospects.com reports.

Ramirez was originally a member of the Pirates' organization before he was dealt to Toronto in 2016 as part of the Francisco Liriano trade. The 24-year-old was outrighted off the Blue Jays' 40-man roster after a poor 2017 campaign but remained in the organization in 2018, hitting an impressive .320/.365/.471 for Double-A New Hampshire.

Ozuna is scheduled to undergo a procedure to clean up his shoulder Tuesday, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Ozuna dealt with shoulder injuries throughout the 2018 season, and it was determined after a meeting with Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles on Tuesday that the outfielder's best course of action would be a shoulder scope. Ozuna, who hit .280/.325/.433 with 23 homers and 88 RBI in his first season with the Cardinals in 2018, is expected to be fully healthy for spring training.

Pederson is not in the starting lineup for Game 5 of the World Series against Boston on Sunday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Pederson will begin the game on the bench with lefty David Price slated to toe the rubber for the opposition. Pederson will server as a valuable left-handed bat in the later innings.

Pederson is not in the lineup for Game 4 of the World Series against the Red Sox on Saturday.

As usual, Pederson will head to the bench to avoid a lefty-on-lefty matchup with Boston starter Eduardo Rodriguez. Chris Taylor will get the starting nod in left field to replace him.

Cespedes underwent a second surgery to remove the calcifications in his left heel Friday.

Cespedes is expected to resume baseball activities around late February/early March, though the Mets aren't anticipating him to return until the second half of the 2019 season, per Mike Puma of the New York Post. The main reason his return to the field is projected for a few months after he's initially slated to start activities is due to the fact that he won't be able to advance to a running program until late March. The outfielder is hopeful that he'll be able to return before the All-Star break. Cespedes previously underwent a similar procedure on his right heel in early August.