MLB Player News

The Blue Jays claimed Cowles off waivers from the Cubs on Wednesday.

Cowles slashed just .235/.300/.371 with nine home runs and 18 steals over 462 plate appearances at hitter-friendly Triple-A Iowa in 2025. The 26-year-old has some defensive versatility with the ability to handle shortstop, second base and third base. He's likely ticketed for Triple-A Buffalo to kick off the 2026 season.

Holliday will have the stitches removed from his surgically repaired right hand Monday, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

Coming back from hamate bone surgery, Holliday will be cleared to gradually begin activities after the stitches are out. The 22-year-old infielder will begin the season on the 10-day injured list, but it could be a minimum-length stint or close to it. Jordan Westburg (oblique) and Blaze Alexander are candidates to play second base in Holliday's stead.

Nimmala has added 15 pounds from his playing weight at the end of last season, Mitch Bannon of The Athletic reports.

While it's good to see the 20-year-old bulk up, that weight mostly just replaces the mass Nimmala lost over the course of the 2025 campaign. That weight loss may have contributed to a summer slump that saw his offensive numbers crater -- he held an .842 OPS with 11 homers through his first 61 games for High-A Vancouver, but Nimmala managed just a .522 OPS with two homers over his final 59 contests. "I need to keep prepared and keep doing things the right way," the shortstop prospect said Tuesday. "That's something I look forward to taking into this year. Forget about what's going on on the field, but it's more like putting yourself in a good situation to play well." Encouragingly, Nimmala did maintain an improved strikeout rate all season, and if his more frequent contact turns into more frequent hard contact, he could be headed for a breakout in 2026.

Mayer has taken infield practice exclusively at second base during the first few days of camp, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.

One storyline during camp is how manager Alex Cora deploys Mayer and Caleb Durbin, who has been used exclusively at third base thus far. Both infielders have experience at second and third base, and it's likely each will get reps at the two positions. "Everybody will benefit from reps, but we'll make a decision, probably sooner rather than later," Cora said. "We're not going to be waiting." A better indicator of the manager's plans should emerge when the Red Sox begin spring games this weekend.

Volpe (shoulder) said Tuesday that a return sometime in April is "definitely" possible, Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News reports.

Volpe is working his way back from last October's labrum surgery on his left shoulder and is being eased into things in Yankees camp. The shortstop began his hitting progression with dry swings Monday and will move on to tee work and soft-toss next. Volpe will also need to show he's able to dive on his surgically repaired shoulder without issue, which he hopes to accomplish in a couple weeks. Randy Miller of NJ.com reported earlier this month that Volpe wouldn't be ready to make his season debut "at least until May," but the 24-year-old believes he can make it back quicker than that. Any timetable at this point is approximate, as Volpe still has several rehab hoops to jump through. Jose Caballero will handle shortstop for the Yankees until Volpe is ready.

Brito (hamstring) is expected to see opportunities at first base, second base, third base and in right field during spring training, Mason Horodyski of News 5 Cleveland reports.

Brito underwent hamstring surgery at the end of last season, so it's unclear whether he's entering camp at full strength. However, once he's cleared to play, he's expected to get chances in a variety of different roles, and it sounds as though he'll have a legitimate chance to win an Opening Day roster spot. Brito spent 24 games at Triple-A Columbus a season ago, slashing .256/.357/.463 with three home runs, 15 RBI, four stolen bases and 15 runs scored.

Seager (appendix) took live batting practice Monday and appears to be 100 percent healthy for the start of spring training, Matthew Postins of SI.com reports.

Seager closed this past season on the injured list after requiring an appendectomy in late August, but he was cleared to resume baseball activities a little under three weeks after the procedure and appears to have had a normal offseason. While good health has often been elusive for Seager since he played 151 games in his first campaign with Texas in 2022, he's remained excellent when available over the subsequent three seasons, producing a collective 152 wRC+ during that stretch. First-year manager Skip Schumaker has yet to make any firm decisions on the makeup of the Rangers lineup for 2026 beyond noting that Brandon Nimmo will likely bat leadoff, but Seager seems like a good bet to slot second or third in the batting order more often than not.

Volpe (shoulder) began a hitting program with some dry swings and took part in fielding drills Monday, Greg Joyce of the New York Post reports.

Volpe is being eased along during Yankees camp after undergoing left labrum surgery last October. The expectation is that he will miss at least the first month or so of the season, but it's an approximate timetable that won't become clearer until he advances further along in the rehab process. Jose Caballero is slated to open the season as the Yankees' primary shortstop while Volpe recuperates.

McGonigle is getting reps across the infield in camp but wants to show that he can stick at shortstop long term, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

McGonigle is an advanced hitter at the age of 21, as he slashed .305/.408/.583 with 19 home runs and 10 stolen bases in 88 games across three minor-league levels in 2025. His clearest path to MLB playing time in the near term appears to be shortstop, where Javier Baez and Zach McKinstry are the incumbents, as Baez and McKinstry would fit nicely in utility roles. McGonigle is getting the chance to show he can be a versatile player as well, but shortstop is the cleanest fit if he's up to the challenge defensively. The young infielder is one of the top prospects in baseball and should be firmly on the fantasy radar this season.

Holliday will have the cast on his surgically repaired right hand removed Monday, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.

Holliday underwent surgery last week to have the fractured right hamate bone removed from his hand. He's able to field grounders (but not throw) and run in Orioles camp and is aiming to take live at-bats in three weeks. Holliday will begin the season on the injured list, but the goal is for it to be a brief stint.