MLB Player News

Canning may be the favorite to win the Mets' sixth starter job, Will Sammon and Tim Britton of The Athletic report.

His primary competition, Tylor Megill, still has minor-league options remaining, while Canning would need to clear waivers to be sent to Triple-A Syracuse. Whoever wins the job could begin the season working out of the bullpen, potentially in a piggyback role to take some of the load off Clay Holmes or Kodai Senga -- the Mets have three early off days, and may not need to use a sixth starter until Apr. 16. Paul Blackburn (back) might also put himself in the mix for the No. 6 starter job if he looks healthy and effective this spring.

Strider (elbow) could see action in at least one spring training game, Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

The right-hander is recovering from an internal brace procedure performed on his elbow last April, and after he threw another bullpen session Friday, general manager Alex Anthopoulos seemed optimistic that Strider could make his regular-season debut a little earlier than anticipated. "He's throwing bullpens, he looks good. Live [batting practice] will definitely happen in spring training, assuming no setbacks or things like that," Anthopoulos said Friday. The GM indicated that while Atlanta has an internal timeline for Strider, he wouldn't make it public just yet other than to say the 26-year-old ace would begin the campaign on the IL. "We have a calendar for him, but I think if we start saying, 'Hey, on this date he's doing this' and for whatever reason we decide to move it back a day or two, then it's a story and it's viewed as a setback or [that] we weren't forthcoming," Anthopoulos said. "So, what I can tell you is he will not be on the Opening Day roster, that has been decided."

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Friday that May is a possibility to open the season in the bullpen, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

May is among the competitors for the final spot in the Dodgers' rotation. However, he cannot be optioned to the minor leagues, so he should be part of the Opening Day roster in some capacity. The 27-year-old missed all of 2024 and made a total of just 20 starts from 2021-23 due to injuries. May's absence in 2024 was due to his continued recovery from UCL and flexor surgery and later an esophageal tear, but he is healthy at the start of camp.

Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said Friday that the team plans to use a five-man rotation until Shohei Ohtani (shoulder/elbow) is ready to pitch, which would seemingly leave Gonsolin in a competition for one remaining spot, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Manager Dave Roberts recently suggested that Ohtani could be ready to make his season debut on the mound sometime in May, though there's no concrete timeline yet. The Dodgers will shift to a six-man rotation at that point, but until then they will use a traditional five-man setup. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Roki Sasaki are locked into four of the spots, which leaves Gonsolin, Dustin May, Bobby Miller, Landon Knack, Justin Wrobleski, Ben Casparius and perhaps others competing for the final slot. Roberts said Friday that Gonsolin and May will be considered for the bullpen if they don't make the rotation.

McGreevy added 15 pounds of muscle this offseason, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

McGreevy has a shot at winning one of the last spots in the Cardinals rotation in camp and he's taking the opportunity very seriously, saying he tried to trim as much body fat as he could while putting on the 15 pounds of muscle. "He looks good [this spring training]," said manager Oliver Marmol. "He put on some weight and had a really good offseason, and I'm excited to see what's coming out of that arm." The 24-year-old righty logged 150 innings at Triple-A and 23 innings in the majors last season. He registered an elite 62.5 percent groundball rate and 2.3 percent walk rate in the majors, leading to a 0.78 WHIP. McGreevy sits in the low-90s with his fastball, but he has a plus slider and his command might be double-plus. Andre Pallante and Steven Matz may have a leg up on him for the final two spots in the rotation, but McGreevy is arguably the most appealing of the three from a fantasy perspective.

Meyer (shoulder) threw live batting practice Friday, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

Meyer's 2024 season ended in early September due to right shoulder bursitis, but it appears he is entering camp this spring without any restrictions. The young right-hander, who was the third overall pick in the 2020 Draft, could have a leg up for one of the spots in the Marlins' rotation given the significant upside he offers. Meyer posted a 5.68 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 46:19 K:BB through 57 big-league innings in 2024, but he has a career 151:45 K:BB over 126 Triple-A innings.

Though veteran newcomer Ryan Pressly figures to be Chicago's nominal closer, Hodge should still see save opportunities this season, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

This aligns with previous rumblings that Hodge would still be in the mix for saves even with Pressly joining the Cubs via trade. It remains to be seen how exactly duties will be split up, and Pressly is probably the top Chicago reliever to target at the moment, but Hodge should remain on the fantasy radar heading into the season. The 24-year-old impressed as a rookie last year, posting a 1.88 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and 52 strikeouts across 43 innings to go along with nine saves.

General manager Mike Rizzo said Thursday that Sykora likely won't be ready to pitch in games until May due to a hip injury, Spencer Nusbaum of The Washington Post reports.

Per Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports, the right-hander underwent "minor labrum surgery" this offseason. Sykora enjoyed a great season at Single-A Fredericksburg last year, finishing with a 2.33 ERA and 0.91 WHIP alongside a 129:27 K:BB across 85 innings. However, his hip will force him to miss the first portion of the 2025 minor-league season. Once the 20-year-old is healthy, the Nationals may elect to bump him up to High-A Wilmington given the success he had in his first year as a pro.

Kershaw (toe/knee) said Thursday that he expects to be placed on the 60-day injured list but is hopeful of being ready once those 60 days are up, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Kershaw underwent surgery on both his left knee and left toe during the offseason, but he has passed a physical and his one-year, $7.5 million contract with the Dodgers became official Thursday. The future Hall of Famer has been throwing on flat ground, but it's not clear when he might be ready for mound work. Kershaw will be brought along slowly, which is a luxury the Dodgers can afford given their rotation depth.

The Dodgers placed Ryan (elbow) on the 60-day injured list Thursday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Ryan isn't expected to pitch in 2025 after undergoing Tommy John surgery in August. He'll concede his spot on the 40-man roster for Clayton Kershaw (toe), who officially re-signed with Los Angeles on Thursday.