MLB Player News

Gore will start Saturday's Grapefruit League opener against the Astros, Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports reports.

Manager Dave Martinez hasn't yet tipped his hand regarding his Opening Day starter, but Gore remains the most likely candidate, with Jake Irvin also an option. Gore will look to take another step forward in 2025 after the 25-year-old southpaw posted a career-best 3.90 ERA last season, along with a 1.42 WHIP and 181:65 K:BB over 166.1 innings.

Frazier (thumb) took live batting practice against Pirates right-hander Mitch Keller during Wednesday's full-squad workout, Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Frazier will begin his second stint in Pittsburgh in 2025 after he signed a one-year, $1.525 million contract with the Pirates in January. He's projected to serve as a utility man for the Pirates, with his playing time likely to be contingent on the health of Pittsburgh's everyday players. During his time with the Royals last season, Frazier produced a career-low .576 OPS and struck out at a career-high 20.1 percent clip over 294 plate appearances.

The Rockies designated Schunk for assignment Wednesday, Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post reports.

The transaction frees up a spot on the 40-man roster for Scott Alexander, who was signed Wednesday. Schunk managed just a .595 OPS in 39 games with the Rockies in 2024, but he can play all over the infield and has minor-league options, so he could draw interest via trade or waivers.

The Rockies signed Alexander to a one-year, $2 million contract Wednesday, Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post reports.

Alexander, 35, collected a 2.56 ERA and 31:15 K:BB over 38.2 innings while inducing groundballs at a 58.9 percent clip with the Athletics in 2024. The sinkerballer will give manager Bud Black another left-handed option in the bullpen.

Murphy believes the oblique injury he suffered Opening Day last season prevented him from ever getting comfortable with his swing, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports. "It was a combination of a bunch of things," Murphy said this week. "Missing that much time at the beginning, that's not how I wanted to begin the season. I'm not sure my swing ever felt correct coming off the oblique, not that I was in any pain or hurt. Some things just fell off, and I never caught up and found a way to adjust."

The 30-year-old backstop roared out to an .843 OPS with 21 homers and 68 RBI -- all career highs -- over 108 games in his first season for Atlanta in 2023, but Murphy's production cratered in 2024 through 72 contests after he returned from the oblique strain. The team seems confident that the poor performance was an aberration, however, as Travis d'Arnaud was allowed to leave in free agency, leaving only Chadwick Tromp, Curt Casali and prospect Drake Baldwin competing for the backup job in camp. Murphy still has four more seasons left on the six-year, $73 million contract he signed in 2022, with Atlanta holding a $15 million club option for 2029, so he will be given every chance to regain his previous offensive form.

Manager Dave Martinez said earlier this week that Ferrer remains a candidate to save games for the Nationals along with Jorge Lopez, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports. "As I said earlier, Ferrer will get an opportunity to close as well," Martinez said. "Right now, we're going to play matchups. But if Lopez is available, he can do it."

The back end of the Washington bullpen is in flux heading into Opening Day, after the Nationals elected to non-tender Kyle Finnegan in November coming off a 38-save season. Washington brought in Lopez over the winter on a one-year, $3 million deal, and based on Martinez's comments, Lopez -- who saved 23 games in 2022 between stops with the Orioles and Twins -- looks to be the preferred option in what could be a two-pronged approach at closer. Ferrer, meanwhile, has just one career save to his name, but he was one of Washington's top relievers in 2024 with a 3.38 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 25:6 K:BB in 32 innings. As the southpaw option of the two relievers, Ferrer could be the choice over Lopez for save situations that arise when the Nationals face lefty-heavy lineups in the ninth inning.

Taylor (elbow/hernia) took part in Wednesday's full-squad workout, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Taylor appears to be back to full health for spring training after he underwent an umbilical hernia repair Oct. 30 as well as surgery to remove a loose body from his right elbow Nov. 7. Both procedures carried recovery timelines of roughly two months, so Taylor was presumably able to resume working out without restrictions in January before he reported to camp. Taylor is a candidate to open the season as the Mets' starting center fielder, though Jose Siri and Starling Marte will likely push him for playing time in what could end up being a timeshare at the position.

Sale will get the start Saturday for Atlanta's Grapefruit League opener against the Twins, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.

The reigning NL Cy Young Award winner is almost certain to get the Opening Day start as well, but Atlanta has yet to make that official. Sale's 29 starts and 177.2 innings in 2024 represent his biggest workload since 2017, and the 35-year-old southpaw believes he'll be able to stay mostly healthy again this season. "I kind of found a routine that really worked well for me last year, and when I needed to adjust, I could," Sale said this week. "So again, I'm basically just trying to replicate what last offseason looked like, and then kind of do the same thing through spring training and hopefully it translates to the season." Manager Brian Snitker indicated that Sale's routine would once again include an extra day or two of rest between his starts, as Sale rarely worked on only four days' rest in 2024.

Waldrep is working on his curveball this spring after previously shelving the pitch, Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Atlanta wanted the right-hander to refine his slider after selecting him in the first round in 2023, as it would make a better complement to his plus-plus splitter. Now that he's comfortable with the slider, however, he can turn his attention back to the curve. "So, the focus, when we got rid of it, was to work on the slider -- to work on making the slider kind of the forefront of the arsenal and let it make the splitter better, really," Waldrep said Tuesday. "So, adding the curveball back just kind of gives me a little better tool to lefties. It fits my fastball really well out of my arm slot, and it just kind of made sense to bring it back." The 22-year-old also took time this winter to study how pitchers like Gerrit Cole, Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander incorporated their curveballs into their pitch mix. Waldrep is likely to begin the season back at Triple-A Gwinnett, and while adding another reliable pitch can only help, control and command remain the biggest obstacles between him and a regular spot in the Atlanta rotation.

Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said Wednesday that Sullivan is battling right elbow soreness, Andrew Destin of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Sullivan is considered further along in his rehab program than Yerry Rodriguez, who also has a sore elbow, although it's uncertain how much time either pitcher might miss. The 24-year-old Sullivan spent the 2024 season at Double-A Altoona, holding a 3.84 ERA and 57:22 K:BB over 72.2 innings. If healthy, he's likely to begin the 2025 season at Triple-A Indianapolis.