MLB Player News

Weems has posted a 10:3 K:BB without allowing a home run over 9.2 Grapefruit League innings this spring.

The 31-year-old converted catcher established himself as a reliable bullpen option with the Nationals in 2023, recording five wins and seven holds over 51 appearances with a 3.62 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 60:28 K:BB. Weems is on the fringes of high-leverage usage but will begin the season behind Kyle Finnegan, Hunter Harvey and Tanner Rainey in the pecking order from the right side, making him unlikely to see any save chances.

Jones was informed Monday that he's made the Pirates' Opening Day roster, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.

While the team has yet to confirm that Jones will be part of its rotation, that's the expectation. The hard-throwing right-hander earned a spot by allowing just three unearned runs during spring training, compiling a 15:8 K:BB over 16.1 innings of work. Jones has not yet pitched in the big leagues and doesn't have great control, but the 22-year-old certainly possesses some bat-missing ability.

Bader has hit .241 (7-for-29) this spring with two homers, two steals and a 3:4 BB:K.

The 29-year-old is locked in as the Mets' starting center fielder after signing a one-year, $10.5 million contract with the club in January. Bader stole a career-high 20 bases in 2023 in only 98 games split between the Yankees and Reds, but he slashed only .232/.274/.348. He's expected to hit in the bottom half of the order for the Mets, muting his fantasy appeal further.

The Pirates are expected to select Stratton's contract and add him to the roster ahead of Thursday's season opener versus the Marlins, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.

Stratton earned his spot in the Opening Day bullpen after striking out seven while allowing six hits and two walks over seven scoreless innings during Grapefruit League play. Given his limited MLB experience -- he made eight appearances out of the Pittsburgh bullpen as a 26-year-old rookie in 2023 -- Stratton will presumably begin the season in a low-leverage role.

Narvaez will open the season as the Mets' No. 2 catcher behind Francisco Alvarez.

This was the expected role for Narvaez after he played 49 games in 2023 during his first season with New York, slashing a weak .211/.283/.297 with only two homers and seven RBI. The 32-year-old's days as a fantasy asset are behind him, and even if Alvarez were to get hurt, Narvaez would likely split work behind the plate with Tomas Nido, who will begin the season with Triple-A Syracuse.

Short will begin the season on the Mets' 26-man roster, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

The 28-year-old infielder has a strong spring at the plate, batting .308 (12-for-39) with a homer, three steals and more walks (seven) than strikeouts (six). Short offers defensive versatility to the Mets' bench, seeing action in more than 30 games at second base, third base and shortstop for the Tigers in 2023, but his most significant role to begin the current campaign is likely to come at the hot corner as a platoon partner for Brett Baty. Short's career .575 OPS over 450 plate appearances in the majors doesn't suggest he'll have much fantasy value, but he has flashed some modest power and speed in the minors.

Reid-Foley (arm) failed to record an out and was charged with two earned runs on two hits and one walk during his relief appearance Sunday in the Mets' 5-1 Grapefruit League loss to the Marlins.

Though Reid-Foley spotted just 13 of his 23 pitches for strikes and was unable to retire any of the three batters he faced, the Mets were likely just happy to have him back in action after he had battled arm fatigue earlier this month. The two hits and two runs were the first of either that Reid-Foley had given up in his four innings this spring, and he's also held batters to a .143 average overall while striking out seven. Reid-Foley still appears in good shape to win a spot in the Mets' Opening Day bullpen.

Reds manager David Bells said Sunday that Friedl (wrist) could be cleared for game action in around six weeks, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

Bell noted that Friedl, who sustained a small fracture to the distal radius of his right wrist March 16, has been informed by doctors that he can begin moving his wrist around. Friedl will next be evaluated in two weeks, at which point he could be able to resume light baseball activities. At the time he fractured his wrist, Friedl was projected to miss 6-to-8 weeks, and he looks like he could be tracking toward the short end of that recovery timeline.

Quantrill will start the second game of the regular season against the Diamondbacks, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post reports.

Quantrill was hit hard in his final outing of spring training, but he's still set to follow Kyle Freeland in the rotation as the Rockies' second starter. Positively, he's worked 4.2 innings in each of his last two starts, so he should be able to handle a full workload to begin the campaign.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Sunday that Miller will start the second game of Los Angeles' home-opening set against the Cardinals that starts Thursday, David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports reports.

In the Dodgers' season-opening two-game series against San Diego in South Korea, Tyler Glasnow started Game 1 and was followed by Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Game 2. However, with the team now back on U.S. soil and approaching the traditional opening series, Miller will follow Glasnow in the rotation while Yamamoto will get the ball third. Miller has had a decent spring, posting a 2.77 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 9:3 K:BB over 13 innings and finishing his exhibition slate with four shutout frames against the Angels on Sunday.