MLB Player News

Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said Thursday that Ozuna (shoulder) should receive full clearance for baseball activities at some point in January, Fox Sports Midwest reports.

Ozuna was bothered by his right shoulder for a good portion of his inaugural campaign in St. Louis, but still finished the season on the field, delivering a .280 average, 23 home runs, 88 RBI and 69 RBI across 148 games. After undergoing surgery Oct. 30 to address the injury, Ozuna appears to be tracking well in his recovery and should be back to 100 percent health well before spring training. If the surgery provides a permanent fix for his shoulder woes, Ozuna shouldn't have much difficulty upping his power production in 2019.

Winker (shoulder) said Friday at Redsfest that he's thrilled with the progress that he's made this offseason at the Reds' spring training facility in Arizona, MLB.com's Mark Sheldon reports. "My rehab is pretty much over at this point," Winker said. "It's been over for a couple of weeks now. All I'm really doing is shoulder work to maintain. I've started my training, so everything has gone great. Everything has gone smooth. It's gone exactly how everybody involved has wanted it to go, so I'm very excited about that."

This is great news, but pump the brakes just a little bit -- Winker hasn't yet swung a bat and won't be cleared to do so until Jan. 7. The Reds have cleared the runway for Winker to play every day this season, though the news that they said good-bye to Billy Hamilton doesn't mean that Winker will play center field, as he doesn't really have the range for that. Eventually, the club plans on fielding an outfield that's starting both Winker and Nick Senzel.

Ramirez signed a minor-league contract with the Marlins on Monday, John Dreker of piratesprospects.com reports.

Ramirez has been stuck in neutral at the Double-A level for three seasons, but he should advance to Triple-A in the Marlins' organization this upcoming season after winning an Eastern League batting title (.320 average). Given the team's dearth of outfield options, it's not unreasonable to think Ramirez could even crack the big leagues at some point in 2019.

Reyes will undergo surgery Thursday to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee, Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports.

Reyes picked up the injury earlier in the month while playing in the Dominican Winter League, and surgery was ultimately deemed necessary after further evaluation. The procedure typically carries a four-to-eight week recovery timetable, so the expectation is that Reyes will be ready to go for spring training. Prior to suffering the injury, Reyes hit .444/.510/.689 with three homers and six RBI in 13 games for Escogido.

Reyes is scheduled to have his right knee evaluated in San Diego this week, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Reyes was playing in the Dominican Winter League when he first experienced right knee discomfort earlier in the month. The 23-year-old sat out for a week before it was determined that he should return to San Diego for further evaluation. Reyes, who was in the midst of an 11-game hitting streak prior to suffering the injury, compiled a .444/.510/.689 slash line with three homers and six RBI in 13 games for Escogido.

Ramirez signed a minor-league contract with the Pirates on Monday, John Dreker of piratesprospects.com reports.

Ramirez was originally a member of the Pirates' organization before he was dealt to Toronto in 2016 as part of the Francisco Liriano trade. The 24-year-old was outrighted off the Blue Jays' 40-man roster after a poor 2017 campaign but remained in the organization in 2018, hitting an impressive .320/.365/.471 for Double-A New Hampshire.

Ohtani (elbow) said his recovery from Tommy John surgery is going well, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports. "I feel like so far it's going really well, no setbacks," Ohtani said. "I think I'm right on schedule and maybe a little bit ahead."

Ohtani underwent surgery at the beginning of October, which will keep him from pitching until 2020 -- though he's still expected to be able to hit in 2019. The two-way star is making encouraging progress, as he recently regained full range of motion in his elbow, according to Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. That said, a concrete timetable for Ohtani isn't expected to come into focus into at least January.

Harper declined the Nationals' one-year, $17.9 million qualifying offer and became a free agent Monday, Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports reports.

Nobody expected Harper to accept this offer, as the 26-year-old superstar is looking to sign what is likely to be the largest free-agent contract of the offseason. While he got off to a slow start in 2018, Harper still finished the season with an .889 OPS, 34 homers and 100 RBI while leading the majors with 130 walks.

Vargas agreed to a contract Tuesday with the Chiba Lotte Marines of the Japanese Pacific League, Seth Stohs of TwinsDaily.com reports.

After being outrighted off the Twins' 40-man roster coming out of spring training, Vargas spent the entire 2018 campaign at Triple-A Rochester, delivering a .240/.326/.425 slash line across 644 plate appearances. With that production unlikely to earn Vargas much more than a minor-league deal this winter, the 28-year-old elected to take his talents overseas for the 2019 season. Contact issues have limited the impact of Vargas' considerable pop in the majors and high minors, but he could emerge as a top slugger in Japan while teeing off against lower-caliber pitching.

Ohtani (elbow) is progressing on schedule in his recovery from Tommy John surgery, Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Ohtani went under the knife at the beginning of October, and he's inching closer to regaining full extension of his elbow. While the two-way superstar is making encouraging progress, general manager Billy Eppler said a concrete timetable for Ohtani won't emerge until at least January. Though he won't be able to pitch until 2020, Ohtani is expected to be able to hit in 2019.