MLB Player News

Montgomery said Thursday that he lost 20 to 25 pounds over the offseason, Alex Weiner of ArizonaSports.com reports.

Montgomery appears motivated following a disastrous 2024 campaign which saw him collect a 6.23 ERA, 1.65 WHIP and 83:44 K:BB across 117 innings. It's been no secret that the Diamondbacks have attempted to trade the lefty this offseason, but his $22.5 million salary has made that difficult. Arizona plans to operate with a traditional five-man rotation again in 2025, which could mean Montgomery being used in long relief if he's still with the club on Opening Day.

Hart signed Thursday with the Padres on a one-year, $1 million contract that includes a $5 million club option for 2026, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.

After reaching a four-year deal with Nick Pivetta on Wednesday, the Padres have further bolstered their rotation depth with the addition of Hart, a 32-year-old lefty whose lone MLB action came back in 2020, when he tossed 11 innings for the Red Sox. Hart was able to secure an MLB deal on the back of his standout performance this past season in the Korea Baseball Organization with the NC Dinos, as he took home the league's equivalent of the Cy Young Award while turning in a 2.69 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 182:38 K:BB in 157 innings. The lower caliber of competition in the KBO certainly helped Hart achieve his lofty results, but it's been increasingly common in recent years for American pitchers to find MLB success upon returning stateside following impressive stints in Korea, with Erick Fedde and Merrill Kelly both standing out as notable examples. Hart will likely still have to impress in spring training to secure his spot in the San Diego rotation, with knuckleballer Matt Waldron representing Hart's top challenger for the No. 5 spot.

The Reds placed Aguiar (elbow) on the 60-day injured list Thursday.

The transaction clears a spot on the 40-man roster for Scott Barlow, whose signing was officially announced Thursday. Aguiar underwent Tommy John surgery last October and will miss the entire 2025 season.

Sugano has yet to report to Orioles camp due to visa issues but is expected to arrive this weekend, Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com reports.

Assuming he does indeed report this weekend, Sugano's brief tardiness shouldn't affect his spring training prep much. The Japanese right-hander inked a one-year, $13 million contract with Baltimore in December and is expected to open the 2025 season in its rotation.

Rogers is unlikely to be ready for Opening Day after suffering a right knee subluxation in January, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.

Per general manager Mike Elias, Rogers is weeks behind schedule and it's not clear when he might be ready to ramp things up again. The left-hander was looking like a long shot to make the Opening Day rotation, anyway, and now he's facing an additional hurdle. Rogers held a 4.92 ERA, 1.58 WHIP and 97:56 K:BB across 124.1 innings in 2024 between the Marlins and Orioles before spending the final month of the regular season in the minors.

Alcantara will be the Marlins' Opening Day starter on March 27 versus the Pirates, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

He'll likely be opposed by Paul Skenes, although the Pirates have not officially announced their Opening Day starter yet. The Marlins are sure to limit Alcantara's workload to some degree in his first season back from Tommy John surgery, but he's more than 16 months removed from the operation and was the only real option to take the ball Opening Day.

Buehler threw a side session Wednesday, the first day of spring training, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.

Buehler got off to a fast start with his new team, as the right-hander attempts to shed a reputation as a late starter. The 30-year-old is coming off a three-year stretch limited by injury. After a second Tommy John elbow surgery wiped out 2023, he battled hip inflammation in 2024 and finished with a 5.38 ERA and 16 home runs allowed over 75.1 regular-season innings. Buehler redeemed himself in the postseason with two strong starts and the save in the clincher. The Red Sox are kicking around the idea of a six-man rotation and could roll with that early, when they play 19 games in the first 20 days of the season.

Pivetta signed a four-year, $55 million contract with the Padres on Wednesday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

Pivetta declined a $21.05 million qualifying offer from the Red Sox earlier in the offseason, opting to pursue a multi-year deal with a lower AAV instead. That is exactly what he'll get from the Padres, who gain a much-needed boost to their rotation depth. The 31-year-old righty turned in a 4.14 ERA and 1.13 WHIP over 145.2 innings last season alongside a 172:36 K:BB. He's developed a reputation for living in the strike zone and thus racking up high strikeout totals, but he has yet to finish a season with a sub-4.00 ERA over his eight-year career.

Waldron said Wednesday that he is planning to throw his knuckleball more frequently during the upcoming season, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

The knuckler was Waldron's most-used pitch last year, as he threw it 38.2 percent of the time, per Statcast. The right-hander registered a 27.5 percent whiff rate on the offering, and opponents had a .227 xBA against it, rendering it a relatively effective pitch, especially in comparison to his four-seamer (19.1 percent usage rate, 22.4 percent whiff rate, .247 xBA) and his sinker (14.3 percent usage rate, 6.7 percent whiff rate, .316 xBA). Waldron is battling for a spot at the back of San Diego's rotation, and how he -- and his knuckleball -- perform during Cactus League play could go a long way toward determining what his role will be at the start of the season.

Manager Dave Martinez said Wednesday that Cavalli (elbow) is healthy, but the Nationals plan to manage the right-hander's workload this season, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reports. "He had a good winter," Martinez said of Cavalli. "He looks great. We know he's going to be limited in how many innings he pitches this year, so we want to make sure when he does get out there, we do have him the whole season."

After undergoing Tommy John surgery in March 2023, Cavalli missed that entire season and was limited to just three minor-league rehab appearances in 2024, with none coming after June. He came down with a bout of the flu and then dealt with a dead-arm phase for a large chunk of the second half of last season, but he was at least able to ramp his throwing back up in September. Cavalli seems to have emerged from his offseason throwing program free of setbacks, so he should be facing relatively few restrictions this spring, aside from the Nationals managing how many live innings he throws. Martinez left the door open for Cavalli to compete for a roster spot with the big club, but given the extended time he missed in addition to his limited MLB experience (he made one start for the Nationals in 2022), the 26-year-old is likely to begin the season at Triple-A Rochester.