MLB Player News

Wicks (oblique) threw a live batting practice session Wednesday.

Wicks finished last season on the injured list after straining his right oblique for the second time in just over three months back in September, but he looks to be back to full health in the early stages of spring training. The 25-year-old southpaw started in 10 of his 11 appearances with the Cubs in 2024, but after struggling to stay healthy and performing poorly when available (5.48 ERA, 1.63 WHIP in 46 innings), he'll have to compete for a spot in the Opening Day rotation this spring. If healthy, Shota Imanaga, Justin Steele, Jameson Taillon and Matthew Boyd should all be locked in as starters, leaving Wicks to battle Javier Assad (oblique), Colin Rea, Ben Brown and Cody Poteet for the final rotation spot.

Manager Craig Counsell said Wednesday that Steele is lined up to start March 19 against the Dodgers in the second of two games in Tokyo, Andy Martinez of Marquee Sports Network reports.

Steele is expected to oppose Roki Sasaki, although the Dodgers have not yet made that official. Steele, 29, was limited to 24 starts last season due to hamstring and forearm injuries, but he pitched well when on the bump, collecting a 3.07 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 135:37 K:BB across 134.2 innings.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Wednesday that Hampton is dealing with a right flexor strain and "something going on with his UCL," Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News reports.

Hampton is back in New York to be examined, and elbow surgery appears to be a distinct possibility. The 23-year-old was limited to just seven starts in 2024 due to elbow, shoulder and groin injuries. Hampton is one of the Yankees' better pitching prospects, and he likely would have began the season at Double-A Somerset if he hadn't suffered the elbow injury.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Stroman will start Friday's Grapefruit League opener versus the Rays, Pete Caldera of The Bergen Record reports.

Just under a week after he made a delayed arrival to spring training and told reporters that he had no intention of pitching out of the bullpen in 2025, Stroman will end up getting the starting nod for the Yankees' exhibition opener. Stroman looks like he'll remain on a starter's throwing schedule throughout the spring, but unless he's traded, he likely won't have a path to a rotation spot unless at least one of Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, Luis Gil, Carlos Rodon and Clarke Schmidt isn't available to begin the season. Per Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, Boone said Wednesday that Schmidt is dealing with a "cranky back," but the injury doesn't yet appear to be anything that will jeopardize Schmidt's availability for Opening Day.

Manager Aaron Boone said Wednesday that Schmidt is dealing with a "cranky" back, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

The skipper is not concerned, noting that Schmidt threw an "aggressive" flat-ground session Wednesday and is expected to throw off the mound Friday. It remains to be seen when Schmidt might be ready to play in a Grapefruit League contest, but at this juncture it does not appear to be an injury fantasy managers should be worried about.

Frasso (shoulder) threw a bullpen session Wednesday, Noah Camras of DodgersNation.com reports.

For the second spring training in a row, Frasso is part of the Dodgers' 40-man roster, but he's participating in big-league camp this time around after he was held out of action for all of 2024 while recovering from November 2023 surgery to repair the labrum in his right shoulder as well as the cleanup procedure he required a few months later on his hip labrum. The 26-year-old righty wasn't cleared to play in the Arizona Fall League as hoped, but he doesn't appear to be operating with any restrictions during spring training. Frasso has two minor-league options remaining and will likely be part of the Triple-A Oklahoma City rotation to begin the 2025 season.

Gore will start Saturday's Grapefruit League opener against the Astros, Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports reports.

Manager Dave Martinez hasn't yet tipped his hand regarding his Opening Day starter, but Gore remains the most likely candidate, with Jake Irvin also an option. Gore will look to take another step forward in 2025 after the 25-year-old southpaw posted a career-best 3.90 ERA last season, along with a 1.42 WHIP and 181:65 K:BB over 166.1 innings.

Sale will get the start Saturday for Atlanta's Grapefruit League opener against the Twins, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.

The reigning NL Cy Young Award winner is almost certain to get the Opening Day start as well, but Atlanta has yet to make that official. Sale's 29 starts and 177.2 innings in 2024 represent his biggest workload since 2017, and the 35-year-old southpaw believes he'll be able to stay mostly healthy again this season. "I kind of found a routine that really worked well for me last year, and when I needed to adjust, I could," Sale said this week. "So again, I'm basically just trying to replicate what last offseason looked like, and then kind of do the same thing through spring training and hopefully it translates to the season." Manager Brian Snitker indicated that Sale's routine would once again include an extra day or two of rest between his starts, as Sale rarely worked on only four days' rest in 2024.

Waldrep is working on his curveball this spring after previously shelving the pitch, Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Atlanta wanted the right-hander to refine his slider after selecting him in the first round in 2023, as it would make a better complement to his plus-plus splitter. Now that he's comfortable with the slider, however, he can turn his attention back to the curve. "So, the focus, when we got rid of it, was to work on the slider -- to work on making the slider kind of the forefront of the arsenal and let it make the splitter better, really," Waldrep said Tuesday. "So, adding the curveball back just kind of gives me a little better tool to lefties. It fits my fastball really well out of my arm slot, and it just kind of made sense to bring it back." The 22-year-old also took time this winter to study how pitchers like Gerrit Cole, Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander incorporated their curveballs into their pitch mix. Waldrep is likely to begin the season back at Triple-A Gwinnett, and while adding another reliable pitch can only help, control and command remain the biggest obstacles between him and a regular spot in the Atlanta rotation.

Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said Wednesday that Sullivan is battling right elbow soreness, Andrew Destin of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Sullivan is considered further along in his rehab program than Yerry Rodriguez, who also has a sore elbow, although it's uncertain how much time either pitcher might miss. The 24-year-old Sullivan spent the 2024 season at Double-A Altoona, holding a 3.84 ERA and 57:22 K:BB over 72.2 innings. If healthy, he's likely to begin the 2025 season at Triple-A Indianapolis.