MLB Player News

The Mets placed Scott (elbow) on the 60-day injured list Feb. 12 make room for the signings of Pete Alonso and Drew Smith (elbow), Joe DeMayo of SNY reports.

The 25-year-old right-hander underwent a hybrid Tommy John and internal brace procedure on his elbow last September and is set to miss the entire 2025 campaign. Scott could be a factor in the Mets' rotation plans in 2026 if he makes a full recovery.

Garcia was scratched from the lineup ahead of Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Marlins, Bobby Blanco of MASNSports.com reports.

It's unknown why Garcia was taken out of the starting nine, but the Nationals should offer some clarity in the near future. Darren Baker will step in to cover second base and bat sixth.

Smith has been dealing with a bone bruise in his ankle since last June, but he doesn't think the issue has affected his swing, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Smith rolled his ankle against the Yankees in a game last summer while trying to break up a double play, but the issue didn't lead to him missing any time. However, Smith's offensive numbers took a nosedive after the incident, as he batted just .215 with five home runs over 74 games across the remainder of the regular season. Manager Dave Roberts suggested Saturday that the ankle issue may have been at least partly to blame for the All-Star catcher's dropoff, stating, "I do believe the foot was kind of impeding the swing." Due to the lingering effects of the bone bruise -- which he has stated mainly affects him when he runs -- Smith didn't make his Cactus League debut this season until Friday, when he went 0-for-3 with a pair of strikeouts while starting behind the plate. There doesn't seem to be any concern that Smith is in danger of missing any regular-season time due to the injury, though it's worth noting that general manager Brandon Gomes implied that the Dodgers' depth could lead to more off days for Smith in 2025, stating, "Having a really deep lineup assuming we're healthy allows you to potentially give him a day here and there where maybe we wouldn't have in the past."

Manager Carlos Mendoza said that Acuna is fine after getting hit in the arm by a pitch in the second inning of Saturday's game, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.

The Mets will take another look at him Sunday, but it seems Acuna escaped the incident with nothing more than a bruise. In five games this spring, the 22-year-old infielder has gone 2-for-10 with an RBI, two runs scored and two stolen bases -- one of which came after he was plunked Saturday.

Assad (oblique) will begin the season on the injured list, Bruce Levine of 670TheScore.com reports.

Assad is aiming to resume throwing off a mound sometime next week, but the Cubs have determined that he won't have enough time to work his way back before the beginning of the season. With Assad now out of the running, Colin Rea, Jordan Wicks and Ben Brown will spend the rest of camp competing for the fifth spot in Chicago's Opening Day rotation.

Atlanta reassigned Shreve to minor-league camp Saturday.

Shreve fired three scoreless innings during Grapefruit League play, but Atlanta will opt to keep him in their minor-league system to begin the new season. The 34-year-old southpaw posted a 2.65 ERA and 0.85 WHIP across 34 frames in Triple-A last year, and he could earn a call to the majors with similar production.

Workman went 1-for-2 with a two-run home run in Friday's Cactus League game against the Rangers.

Workman is off to a strong start this spring, as he now has two home runs and six RBI in only 17 at-bats. The 25-year-old was selected in the Rule 5 draft from Detroit back in December and has a shot to make the Cubs' Opening Day roster, particularly if he continues to impress during the Cactus League slate. Workman has yet to appear above the Double-A level, however, so he may get returned to his original team if Chicago feels he's unready for the jump.

Fortes was scratched from the lineup for Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Nationals due to back spasms, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

The Marlins are calling Fortes day-to-day, so there doesn't seem to be too much concern regarding his injury. He'll take a day off to recover Saturday, which will allow Agustin Ramirez to start behind the dish and bat seventh.

Steele could incorporate his changeup more often in 2025 after throwing it 3.3 percent of the time last season, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports.

While 3.3 percent isn't a particularly high rate, it did mark a new career high in usage rate for Steele. The lefty mostly utilizes a fastball-slider mix, but working in his offspeed stuff more frequently could help him keep hitters off balance. Expect Steele to continue to work on the pitch in spring training, and if he develops confidence in it, he could increase his usage during the regular season. The 29-year-old missed some time due to injury in 2024 but was effective when healthy, posting a 3.07 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 135 strikeouts across 134.2 innings.

Alcantara threw two pitches that reached 100 mph during Friday's Grapefruit League start against Atlanta, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

The 2022 NL Cy Young Award winner tossed 30 pitches in total over two scoreless innings, giving up two singles and striking out three without walking a batter. "Everything feels good with my arm, [it] was good out there. I just want to show people that I'm healthy and I can throw hard," Alcantara said after the outing. The 29-year-old righty hasn't pitched in an MLB game since September 2023, missing all of 2024 due to Tommy John surgery, but he appears fully recovered and on track to take the bump for the Marlins on Opening Day. The Tigers' Tarik Skubal, who won the AL Cy Young in 2024, is the only other starting pitcher to light up a radar gun for triple digits so far this spring.