MLB Player News

While Brown saw some time in the rotation last season, he could be a full-time bullpen option for the Cubs in 2025, Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic report.

Brown made 15 appearances for the Cubs last year, including eight starts, and posted a 3.58 ERA and 64 strikeouts across 55.1 innings. It's a small sample, but the 25-year-old flashed some potential, and he displayed a fastball that clocked in at an average of 96.5 mph. There's some belief that Brown's velocity could tick up if he shifts to a full-time bullpen role, which could make him an interesting weapon for Chicago. The righty will have to compete for a job in spring training, though he does have some intriguing upside heading into the season.

Perez (elbow) threw a bullpen session Friday, working in his changeup along with fastballs, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

The young right-hander is aiming to rejoin the Marlins' rotation around the All-Star break after undergoing Tommy John surgery in April 2024. "I'll say I feel very good right now," Perez said after Friday's session. "I will say 75 percent, just to put it out there in a number. But we're doing very well, just getting better." Perez began playing catch last September, and so far his recovery is proceeding as planned. In his absence, Valente Bellozo, Max Meyer and Adam Mazur are the leading candidates to fill out the back of Miami's rotation.

Winans cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Friday.

Winans was let go by the Yankees on Wednesday, but he will remain with the organization after clearing waivers. He was claimed off waivers by the Yankees in late January after spending the last two seasons in Atlanta. Winans spent most of the 2024 regular season with Triple-A Gwinnett and posted a 7-5 record across 24 outings (16 starts) with a 3.30 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 100:37 K:BB over 114.2 innings.

The Orioles claimed Contreras off waivers from the Yankees on Friday.

Contreras' journey via waivers continues. He's been claimed five times this offseason, and this is the second time he's been scooped up by the Orioles. The right-hander is out of minor-league options, so he will have to make Baltimore's Opening Day roster or be exposed to waivers again.

Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said Friday that Rodriguez will compete for the fifth spot in the rotation during spring training, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.

It makes sense for the club to keep Rodriguez stretched out in case someone else gets hurt, but the right-hander is pretty clearly sixth in the rotation pecking order heading into spring training following the addition of Max Scherzer. He still figures to be needed to start some games at some point, but Rodriguez is likely to begin the season in the bullpen if the Blue Jays' top five starters are healthy.

The Giants have extended Eldridge an invitation to big-league camp during spring training, Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The Giants' top prospect, Eldridge stormed through four levels in the minors in 2024 in his first full professional season, slashing .292/.374/.516 with 23 home runs. Eldridge is only 20, but the first baseman could push to make his major-league debut at some point during the 2025 season.

Sproat might be a rotation option for the Mets in the second half, Will Sammon of The Athletic reports.

The 24-year-old right-hander roared through the system in his pro debut last year after being a second-round pick in 2023. Sproat dominated both High-A and Double-A with a fastball that can touch triple digits and a plus changeup, producing a combined 2.05 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 110:31 K:BB through 87.2 innings between the two levels, but he struggled late in the season after another promotion to Triple-A Syracuse. Fatigue may have been a factor in the downturn, so if Sproat can master Triple-A over the first couple months of 2025 the way he did the lower levels of the minors, he figures to emerge as the next man up for a Mets rotation that features plenty of uncertainty between Kodai Senga's health, Frankie Montas' inconsistency and Clay Holmes' conversion from the bullpen.

Smith-Shawver will get a chance in training camp to win a rotation spot, and figures to get opportunities early in the season even if he begins the year back at Triple-A Gwinnett, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.

With Spencer Strider (elbow) set to begin the season on the IL, Grant Holmes and Ian Anderson are penciled into the final two spots in the rotation headed into the spring. Smith-Shawver will get a look too however, and the 22-year-old right-hander has by far the best raw stuff of that trio if he can learn to harness it more consistently. He made only one regular-season appearance for Atlanta in 2024, tossing 4.1 scoreless innings against the Cubs on May 23 with a 4:2 K:BB, but he strained his oblique during that start, missed six weeks and was never able to regain his form afterward. While his 4.86 ERA in 87 innings at Gwinnett last year wasn't very impressive, it came with a 104:40 K:BB. If Smith-Shawver puts together an impressive camp, he could force his way into the back of Atlanta's Opening Day rotation.

Rea could pivot between the rotation and bullpen this season as a swingman for the Cubs, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

This basically confirms the assumption when Rea signed with Chicago back on Jan. 10, which was that there isn't a clear spot for him in the rotation. The veteran righty has mostly served as a starter the past few seasons, however, and he made 27 starts for the Brewers last year. Rea's experience gives the Cubs some depth in case another starter stumbles or goes down with injury. For now, Javier Assad figures to slot in as the team's fifth starter, though that could change during camp. If Rea doesn't snag a rotation spot right away, he figures to pitch in long relief or make some spot starts.

Gordon will serve as a rotational depth option for the Astros in 2025, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Gordon is a longshot to secure a rotation spot during spring training, but Houston added him to the 40-man roster this offseason. That makes him a name to monitor given the lack of healthy depth options the Astros are projected to have for their starting staff. Gordon has a decent skillset, as he maintained a 16.3 K-BB% across 123.1 innings with Triple-A Sugar Land in 2024. However, he has a poor fastball, which could lead to inconsistent results as he seeks to establish himself in the majors.