MLB Player News

Smith (elbow) agreed Wednesday with the Mets on a one-year deal that includes a club option for 2026, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports.

According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, Smith will earn $1 million in 2025, and the 2026 club option is for $2 million, with the potential to climb if he achieves performance-based incentives. Smith is expected to miss most, if not all, of the 2025 season after he underwent a Tommy John and internal brace hybrid procedure on his right elbow this past July, but he'll be able to conduct his rehab within a team setting after re-signing with the Mets. Before getting the second Tommy John surgery of his career during the summer and then becoming a free agent in November, Smith turned in a 3.06 ERA, 1.53 WHIP and 23:9 K:BB across 17.2 innings over 19 appearances out of the Mets bullpen in 2024.

Brewers manager Pat Murphy said Wednesday that Hall is recovering from a lat strain and won't throw for two weeks before being re-evaluated, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Hall had been expected to compete for a rotation spot in spring training after he worked out of the bullpen toward the end of his first season in Milwaukee, but the lat injury looks as though it could foil those plans. Even if the southpaw is cleared to resume throwing by the end of February, he would likely need at least a few weeks to get stretched out for starting duty before the season gets underway March 27. With that in mind, a relief role may represent Hall's clearest path to making the Opening Day roster, if he doesn't instead require a stint on the injured list.

Hicks said Wednesday that he added 14 pounds this offseason and is ready to "take the training wheels off" in 2025, Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Hicks got off to a nice start last season in his move from the bullpen to the rotation, but he hit a wall and finished with a 4.10 ERA, 1.45 WHIP and 96:47 K:BB over 109.2 frames covering 20 starts and nine relief appearances. The 28-year-old should be better prepared to handle a starter's workload in 2025, but Hicks is a bit of a wild card in terms of his expected performance.

Manager Bob Melvin said Wednesday that Walker will open the season as the Giants' closer, Justice delos Santos of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

After Camilo Doval endured a string of poor performances following the All-Star break and was removed from the closer's role in early August, Walker took over as the Giants' primary closer to finish out the 2024 campaign. In addition to providing sterling ratios (1.91 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, 99:18 K:BB over 80 innings) in his high-leverage relief role, Walker collected 10 wins, 10 saves and 21 holds. With the Giants opting not to make any major additions to the bullpen over the offseason, Walker looks like he'll get the chance to close on a full-time basis for the first time in his career. He'll be in position for fewer wins in the ninth-inning role, but if health prevails and he continues to perform at the level he did in 2024, Walker could finish among the league leaders in saves.

Trivino (elbow) will throw a live batting practice session Wednesday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Trivino -- who is attending Giants camp as a non-roster invitee -- confirmed that he's back to full health after he was limited to a handful of rehab appearances in the minors in 2024 while he completed his recovery from May 2023 Tommy John surgery and then battled a shoulder issue in September. During his last healthy MLB season in 2022, Trivino made 64 relief appearances between the Athletics and Yankees, submitting a 4.53 ERA, 1.64 WHIP and 67:24 K:BB while collecting 11 saves and four holds across 53.2 innings. He'll likely be vying for a low-leverage relief role in the Giants' Opening Day bullpen.

Jameson (elbow) said that he will throw a bullpen session Wednesday, Alex Weiner of ArizonaSports.com reports.

Jameson missed the entire 2024 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery, which he underwent in September 2023. Though he had been able to throw off a mound by July of last season, Jameson is presumably doing so with more velocity and better command this spring now that he's further removed from the elbow procedure. The Diamondbacks could still ease Jameson along more slowly in spring training than their other healthy pitchers, but the 27-year-old right-hander said that there's "no question" he'll ready for Opening Day. If Jameson clinches a spot on the season-opening roster, he'll likely be used in lower-leverage situations initially, but he could quickly move up the pecking order in an Arizona bullpen that looks relatively unsettled.

Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said Wednesday that Nardi is dealing with lower-back inflammation, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

McCullough revealed last week that Nardi would be behind schedule at the start of camp, but he didn't disclose the nature of the injury at the time. The good news is the injury is not related to the elbow issue that caused the lefty to miss the final five-plus weeks of the 2024 season. If healthy, Nardi will be in the mix for high-leverage innings in the Marlins' bullpen.

The Cubs outrighted Zastryzny to Triple-A Iowa on Tuesday.

Though he's no longer a member of the Cubs' 40-man roster, Zastryzny will stick around in the organization and should still join the big-league group for spring training. The 32-year-old lefty made nine appearances in the majors with the Brewers in 2024, giving up one earned run on four hits and one walk while striking out five in 7.2 innings.

La Sorsa was not present at spring training Tuesday due to an illness, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

La Sorsa, who is in camp as a non-roster invitee, is due back in a few days. The left-hander appeared in 16 games for the Nationals in 2024, posting a 4.58 ERA and 1.25 WHIP while giving up four home runs in 17.2 innings.

Phillips is unlikely to be ready for Opening Day due to the shoulder injury that kept him out of the 2024 World Series, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

Phillips was originally held out of the World Series due to "arm fatigue," but it was revealed Tuesday that he suffered a tear in his rotator cuff during the NLCS. The 30-year-old reliever received a platelet-rich plasma injection in his shoulder in November and wasn't able to start a throwing program until January. It's unclear how far behind schedule Phillips is, but there's a growing chance he will begin the regular season on the injured list.