MLB Player News

The Rockies have extended Dollander an invitation to big-league camp during spring training, Kyle Newman of the Denver Post reports.

Dollander had an excellent first professional season in 2024, posting a 2.59 ERA and 169:47 K:BB over 118 innings covering 23 starts between High-A Spokane and Double-A Hartford. The 23-year-old has a good chance to be part of the Rockies' rotation at some point in 2025.

The Nationals signed Ogasawara to a two-year contract Friday, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reports.

The financial details of the deal are not yet known. Ogasawara, 27, posted a 3.12 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 82:22 K:BB over 144.1 innings in his most recent of nine seasons with the Chunichi Dragons in Japan. The left-hander figures to be given an opportunity to compete for a spot in the Nationals' rotation but could ultimately settle into a relief role.

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.

Strider (elbow) has completed four bullpen sessions and is on track to have a mostly normal spring training, Lindsay Crosby of AthlonSports.com reports.

Strider's progress is notable and a strong sign of his potential to contribute significant innings in 2025. However, general manager Alex Anthopoulos reiterated that the current plan is that Strider will not open the season on the active roster. More details about his timeline should emerge as spring training begins and progresses.

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.

Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes downplayed Kopech's right forearm injury Wednesday and said, "I don't think there's anything of concern at this point," Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

A report from Bob Nightengale of USA Today on Monday indicated that Kopech could miss the first month of the season due to right forearm inflammation he began experiencing during the playoffs. While Gomes conceded that Kopech was "grinding" through the postseason, the GM doesn't seem to believe it will be a long-term issue. Whether Kopech will indeed get a late start to the 2025 season is not clear. When healthy, Kopech will be part of the late-inning mix in the Dodgers' bullpen.

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.

President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said Wednesday that the Dodgers plan to use Sasaki in their major-league rotation from the beginning of the season, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Sasaki officially signed a minor-league contract with Los Angeles on Wednesday, but there are seemingly no plans to ease him into his first year with the Dodgers. However, the 23-year-old righty never pitched more than 129.1 innings in a year over his four seasons in Japan, so the Dodgers may look for other ways -- such as a six-man rotation -- to limit his rookie-season workload.