MLB Player News

Winker will probably begin the 2016 season at Triple-A Louisville, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

This is the obvious strategy for the Reds - Winker spent all of 2015 at Double-A Pensacola, coming on strong after initially struggling. He's not yet on the 40-man roster, and the team won't contend, so there's no rush to start his options clock.

Turner (knee) has not dealt with any setbacks in his recovery from a microfracture procedure in November, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

Turner reportedly had a portion of the cartilage torn off the outside of his knee in the postseason, requiring him to undergo the surgery shortly after the season. Assuming the rest of his rehab process goes as planned, the 31-year-old third baseman should be ready for the beginning of spring training.

Blackmon and the Rockies agreed to a one-year, $3.5 million contract Monday, avoiding arbitration, Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports reports.

Blackmon got a nice deal to avoid arbitration, as the midpoint between the Rockies and him was $3.3 million. He'll likely slate in as the Rockies' centerfielder again in 2016 after posting a .797 OPS with 17 home runs and 43 stolen bases last season.

Cespedes agreed to a three-year contract with the Mets on Friday, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports.

Cespedes' deal includes an opt out after just one year, but he will spend at least another season with the team he spurred to a World Series berth in 2015. It remains to be seen exactly where he will hit in the order, but he knocked in runs in bunches for the Mets last season with 44 RBI in 57 games. He will be the team's every day left fielder in 2016.

Manager Pete Mackanin said Ryan Howard, who platooned with Ruf at first base toward the end of last season, will need to show improvement against left handed pitchers this spring to avoid entering the season with the same arrangement, CSN Philadelphia reports.

Howard hit just .130 with a .418 OPS and 40 strikeouts against lefties last season. It seems unlikely that Howard will finally overcome his difficulties with lefties this spring. A more likely scenario has Howard opening the season in a platoon with Darin Ruf, who hit .371 with 8 home runs and a 1.107 OPS against lefties last season. Ruf could also earn at-bats against right handed pitching if Howard struggles or if the team decides to bench him more as he heads toward free agency after the 2016 season.

Turner (knee) agreed to terms with the Dodgers on a one-year, $5.1 million deal Friday, avoiding arbitration, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports.

Turner followed up an impressive 2014 with a productive 2015 campaign, hitting .294 with a career-high 16 home runs to go with 60 RBI and five steals. The third baseman underwent microfracture surgery on his knee in November, and while it's expected to keep him from working out at full speed until next month, he said he expects to be 100 percent by the time spring training begins.

Ozuna has been the subject of trade talks between the Miami Marlins and the Texas Rangers for a month, Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reports, but those talks have "yet to significantly advance."

Ozuna was disappointing in 2015 (.259/.308/.383 in 494 plate appearances), but he is just 25 years old and all of one year removed from a 23-homer, 85-RBI season with the Marlins. If the Marlins are ready to give up on Ozuna, there will be a team ready to pounce. However, it doesn't appear the Rangers, seemingly set with an outfield of Josh Hamilton, Delino DeShields, and Shin-Soo Choo, are ready to pull the trigger just yet.

Belt (concussion) was fully cleared by doctors to resume his normal offseason program, Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area reports.

Belt was shut down at the tail end of the 2015 season due to lingering concussion symptoms. With a few months of recovery, he has been fully cleared to resume his offseason activities. Belt also underwent a procedure to repair a torn meniscus in his knee, but he has fully recovered from that as well. He should enter 2016 healthy, and the starting first baseman for the Giants.

Stanton (broken hamate bone) has begun swinging pain-free and is expected to be healthy heading into spring training, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports.

According to the report, Stanton has begun to "rev up" his hitting program, which is taking place in California. Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill seemed optimistic regarding Stanton's health saying, "He took 60 swings off the tee, which is just part of the first step in his offseason hitting program" adding, "he said he felt great." Amidst a tumultuous offseason, the Marlins are in desperate need of some good news and the slugger's health sure seems to qualify as such. However, considering Stanton has played in more than 123 games just twice in six major league seasons, fantasy players fixated on his first-round upside should proceed with caution.

McCutchen has had a "normal" offseason, saying he feels "100 percent healthy, has been working out regularly and has no (surgical) procedures planned," the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports.

McCutchen played through knee pain for much of 2015, even taking games off in spring training. The center fielder batted .185/.280/.293 in his first 107 plate appearances before turning in a typical campaign at the plate. He finished with just 11 steals, however, the lowest number in his career -- and it remains to be seen whether that drop off is permanent at age 29.