MLB Player News

The White Sox have extended Schultz an invitation to big-league camp during spring training.

Hagen Smith will also be in big-league camp, as the White Sox are giving their top two prospects and two of the better pitching prospects in baseball a look in spring training. The 21-year-old Schultz is coming off a dominant 2024 campaign split between High-A Winston-Salem and Double-A Birmingham, collecting a 2.24 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 115:24 K:BB over 88.1 innings. He's still being built up to handle a full workload, but it's not out of the question Schultz pushes to debut before the end of the 2025 season.

Gray would be open to serving as the Rangers' closer, Jeff Wilson of AllDLLS.com reports.

The club has a clear opening at closer, but there's been no indication that Gray might be under consideration for the role. However, a shift to the back end of the bullpen could make some sense for the veteran righty, who has had durability issues. Gray has made seven relief appearances for Texas between the 2023 postseason and 2024 regular season, and in those outings he posted a 1.42 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and 18:3 K:BB over 12.2 innings. Of course, the Rangers could also continue deploying him as a starting pitcher, as Nathan Eovaldi might qualify as the only safe bet in the rotation. Gray had surgery in September to address a nerve issue in his right foot but is expected to be ready for spring training.

The Yankees claimed Contreras off waivers from Baltimore on Thursday.

Contreras began the offseason as a member of the Angels but has since bounced around between Texas, Cincinnati, Baltimore and now New York. Because the 25-year-old righty has no more options remaining, he will need to make the Yankees' Opening Day roster to avoid landing on waivers yet again.

The Yankees claimed Winans off waivers from Atlanta on Thursday, Chase Ford of MiLB Central reports.

Winans had been designated for assignment last week and will now join a new organization. The 29-year-old has collected a 7.20 ERA and 38:12 K:BB across 40 innings since the start of the 2023 season. Winans has minor-league options remaining and will likely begin the 2025 campaign as rotation depth at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Giolito (elbow) has thrown four bullpen sessions this winter and expects to be a "full-go" when spring training begins next month, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports. "The progression of my rehab at this point pretty much has me right in line with where I would be as a healthy player," he said.

An elbow injury during 2024 spring training wiped out the first season of Giolito's two-year contract with Boston. Prior to the injury, the right-hander altered the grip on his slider, worked on his changeup and tweaked pitch usages, designed to avoid the results of 2023, when he ceded 41 home runs (2.0 HR/9). Whether the tweaks led to the injury is unknown, but Giolito continued to hone those offerings during the current ramp-up to 2025. The 30-year-old enters camp as one of six viable starters, and the Red Sox haven't ruled out using a six-man rotation.

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli named Lopez the team's Opening Day starter Wednesday, Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

It's pretty early to be naming an Opening Day starter, but Baldelli chose to let the cat out of the bag during an interview on the Inside Twins podcast. Lopez had a relatively disappointing 2024, going 15-10 while posting a 4.08 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 198:41 K:BB over 185.1 innings. His xERA was 3.67, however, and he posted a 2.77 mark in 13 second-half starts.

The Orioles designated Contreras for assignment Thursday.

The transaction frees up a 40-man roster spot for Jacob Amaya, who was claimed off waivers. Contreras was a waiver claim himself just last week and could be on the move again. The righty has bounced around to four different organizations since October.

France (shoulder) will expand his flat-ground throwing program to 90 feet Wednesday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Working his way back from surgery in July to repair a torn right shoulder capsule, France was clocked at 72-74 mph while throwing from 75 feet, which is on target for where he's supposed to be at this stage of his rehab. The right-hander is not expected back until at least the second half of the 2025 season and might not be ready to be a real contributor for the Astros again until 2026.

The Orioles claimed Contreras off waivers from the Reds on Friday.

Contreras has bounced around from the Angels to the Rangers to the Reds to the Orioles via the waivers process since late October. He is out of minor-league options, so the right-hander will have to be on Baltimore's Opening Day roster -- likely as a long reliever -- to avoid going through the waivers process again.

McCullers (forearm/elbow) has resumed throwing off a mound and is hoping to return early in the 2025 season, MLB.com reports.

McCullers had surgery in June of 2023 to repair his right flexor tendon and remove a bone spur. After progressing to mound work in May last year, he had his throwing program halted and was ultimately shut down due to soreness in his pitching arm. Testing didn't reveal any structural damage and he's back to throwing off the bump again, although it sounds like it's no given he'll be ready for Opening Day. McCullers last pitched in a major-league game during the 2022 World Series.