MLB Player News

Strider (elbow) has completed four bullpen sessions and is on track to have a mostly normal spring training, Lindsay Crosby of AthlonSports.com reports.

Strider's progress is notable and a strong sign of his potential to contribute significant innings in 2025. However, general manager Alex Anthopoulos reiterated that the current plan is that Strider will not open the season on the active roster. More details about his timeline should emerge as spring training begins and progresses.

The Yankees claimed Contreras off waivers from Baltimore on Thursday.

Contreras began the offseason as a member of the Angels but has since bounced around between Texas, Cincinnati, Baltimore and now New York. Because the 25-year-old righty has no more options remaining, he will need to make the Yankees' Opening Day roster to avoid landing on waivers yet again.

The Yankees claimed Winans off waivers from Atlanta on Thursday, Chase Ford of MiLB Central reports.

Winans had been designated for assignment last week and will now join a new organization. The 29-year-old has collected a 7.20 ERA and 38:12 K:BB across 40 innings since the start of the 2023 season. Winans has minor-league options remaining and will likely begin the 2025 campaign as rotation depth at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes downplayed Kopech's right forearm injury Wednesday and said, "I don't think there's anything of concern at this point," Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

A report from Bob Nightengale of USA Today on Monday indicated that Kopech could miss the first month of the season due to right forearm inflammation he began experiencing during the playoffs. While Gomes conceded that Kopech was "grinding" through the postseason, the GM doesn't seem to believe it will be a long-term issue. Whether Kopech will indeed get a late start to the 2025 season is not clear. When healthy, Kopech will be part of the late-inning mix in the Dodgers' bullpen.

Giolito (elbow) has thrown four bullpen sessions this winter and expects to be a "full-go" when spring training begins next month, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports. "The progression of my rehab at this point pretty much has me right in line with where I would be as a healthy player," he said.

An elbow injury during 2024 spring training wiped out the first season of Giolito's two-year contract with Boston. Prior to the injury, the right-hander altered the grip on his slider, worked on his changeup and tweaked pitch usages, designed to avoid the results of 2023, when he ceded 41 home runs (2.0 HR/9). Whether the tweaks led to the injury is unknown, but Giolito continued to hone those offerings during the current ramp-up to 2025. The 30-year-old enters camp as one of six viable starters, and the Red Sox haven't ruled out using a six-man rotation.

President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said Wednesday that the Dodgers plan to use Sasaki in their major-league rotation from the beginning of the season, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Sasaki officially signed a minor-league contract with Los Angeles on Wednesday, but there are seemingly no plans to ease him into his first year with the Dodgers. However, the 23-year-old righty never pitched more than 129.1 innings in a year over his four seasons in Japan, so the Dodgers may look for other ways -- such as a six-man rotation -- to limit his rookie-season workload.

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli named Lopez the team's Opening Day starter Wednesday, Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

It's pretty early to be naming an Opening Day starter, but Baldelli chose to let the cat out of the bag during an interview on the Inside Twins podcast. Lopez had a relatively disappointing 2024, going 15-10 while posting a 4.08 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 198:41 K:BB over 185.1 innings. His xERA was 3.67, however, and he posted a 2.77 mark in 13 second-half starts.

The Reds have extended Burns an invitation to big-league camp during spring training.

Burns has yet to make his professional debut after being taken with the second pick of the 2024 First-Year Player Draft, but the Reds will give the young right-hander a look-see in spring training. Cam Collier, Sal Stewart and Edwin Arroyo are among the team's other top prospects that will be in big-league camp.

Kopech could miss the first month of the season due to right forearm inflammation, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.

Kopech battled a forearm issue during the playoffs, although it never got to the point where he was unavailable to pitch. There's no indication the injury has gotten worse since then, with Nightengale noting that Kopech does not have any structural damage. However, the Dodgers are opting to take things slowly with the hard-throwing reliever. Once healthy, Kopech figures to be in the mix for saves, along with Tanner Scott, Kirby Yates, Blake Treinen and perhaps others.

Horton (shoulder) has been throwing light "touch-and-feel" sessions off the mound, Ryan Herrera of Just Baseball reports.

Horton didn't pitch after late May last season following a Grade 2 right subscapularis strain. However, he's been able to go through a normal throwing progression this offseason and said he's "feeling good and ready to go for spring training." Horton likely would have debuted in 2024 if not for the injury, and while he's slated to begin 2025 back at Triple-A Iowa, the 23-year-old could play an important role with the Cubs this season, if healthy.