MLB Player News

Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said Wednesday that he expects Cruz (ankle) to be fully healthy by the start of spring training, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Cruz fractured his left ankle in the ninth game of the 2023 regular season and was unable to return before the end of the year after encountering multiple minor setbacks. He's in a good place now, though, and could even play some winter ball in the Dominican Republic to make up for lost time. "All of the updates we've gotten over the last couple weeks have been encouraging," Cherington said.

Atlanta general manager Alex Anthopoulos said Wednesday that the team is considering moving Grissom to left field, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.

Grissom has only played shortstop, second base and third base as a professional, but all of those positions are spoken for long term at the major-league level. Atlanta wants to find a clearer path for the 22-year-old, who slashed .330/.419/.501 across 468 plate appearances this past season with Triple-A Gwinnett.

The Marlins exercised Berti's $3.63 million team option for 2024 on Monday, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

Berti will stick around after slashing .294/.344/.405 with seven home runs and 16 steals over 133 games this season. The 33-year-old utility player offers the Marlins plenty of versatility, but they'll likely be hoping they won't need to use him as often in 2024 as they had to in 2023.

San Diego claimed Marcano (knee) off waivers from the Pirates on Thursday.

Marcano is expected to miss at least a portion of the 2024 season after undergoing surgery this past August to repair a torn ACL in his right knee. The infielder owns a career .217/.269/.320 batting line in 149 major-league games, but he showed a bit of improvement at the plate in 2023 and just turned 24 years old in September. Marcano began his professional career in the Padres' system before heading to Pittsburgh in July of 2021 as part of the Adam Frazier trade.

Atlanta outrighted Velazquez to Triple-A Gwinnett on Wednesday.

Velazquez was claimed off waivers from the Angels in early September but was immediately sent to Triple-A Gwinnett and finished out the season there. The 29-year-old journeyman shortstop is a career .189/.244/.293 hitter in 275 games (624 plate appearances) at the major-league level.

The Cardinals sent Querecuto outright to Triple-A Memphis on Thursday.

Querecuto appeared in just nine games for St. Louis during the final stages of the regular season, logging two hits and a walk over 21 plate appearances. The 31-year-old infielder will now return to Memphis without the benefit of a 40-man roster spot.

McLain (oblique) has begun rehab work at the Reds' spring training complex in Arizona, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

McLain wound up missing the final month-plus of the season with an oblique injury, which he aggravated in late September. He's on the mend now, though, and should be healed up well ahead of spring training. McLain is in line to hold down a starting spot in the Reds' infield in 2024, with the position yet to be determined.

Lindor underwent surgery Tuesday to remove a bone spur from his right elbow, Will Sammon of The Athletic reports.

Per Andy Martino of SNY.tv, Lindor first began feeling the effects of the injury during spring training and played through some discomfort all season. He is expected to be fully ready for the beginning of spring training. The veteran shortstop had his first-ever 30-30 season in 2023, hitting 31 home runs and stealing 31 bases while slashing .254/.336/.470.

Rojas is starting at shortstop and batting ninth Saturday against Arizona in Game 1 of the NLDS, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Rojas missed the Dodgers' final two regular-season games after getting hit in the hand by a pitch. He was given extra time to recover thanks to the team's first-round bye, and he'll return in time for the start of Los Angeles' playoff run. The 34-year-old is slashing .300/.338/.429 with two homers and seven RBI in 24 contests since Sept. 1.

Grissom will be part of Atlanta's roster for the NLDS against the Phillies, Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Grissom posted a weak .659 OPS over 80 major-league plate appearances during the regular season, but he had a .921 OPS in 468 plate appearances with Triple-A Gwinnett. The talented 22-year-old infielder can function as a useful pinch runner, bench bat and possible defensive replacement in Atlanta's best-of-five NLDS matchup versus Philadelphia.