MLB Player News

Wright (shoulder) could be ready to throw a live batting practice session next week, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

Recovering from surgery to repair a torn capsule in his right shoulder, Wright will throw at least one more bullpen session before progressing to facing hitters. The righty hopes to be ready for Opening Day, but it will depend on how he looks and feels as he ramps things up. Wright could potentially compete for a spot in the Royals' Opening Day rotation, but he might be a long shot given how much time he's missed -- he didn't pitch at all in 2024, and he struggled over 31 innings for Atlanta in 2023 -- and the fact that he's behind other arms in camp.

Bello was shut down for a few days due to shoulder soreness but has resumed throwing, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.

It's encouraging that the right-hander is already back to throwing, but any arm issues early in camp are a cause for at least mild concern. There's no indication that Bello's availability for the start of the regular season has been affected however, and Boston is counting on him to take a regular turn in a rotation that already features question marks in Walker Buehler and Lucas Giolito (elbow).

Kloffenstein is dealing with right shoulder fatigue but recently underwent an MRI that came back negative, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.

Kloffenstein missed the final two months of the 2024 season with a right shoulder injury, so it's certainly not ideal that he's still battling shoulder issues. However, the expectation is that he'll be ready to resume throwing in a few days. Kloffenstein projects to open the 2025 season in the rotation at Triple-A Buffalo, and while his 2024 numbers were impacted by his health, he produced a 3.16 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 140:55 K:BB over 128 innings in 2023 between Double-A and Triple-A.

McCullers (forearm) hopes to pitch in Grapefruit League games toward the end of spring training, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

He would then be assigned to Triple-A Sugar Land after that to begin a rehab assignment. McCullers had surgery in June of 2023 to repair his right flexor tendon and remove a bone spur, and he had to be shut down last July due to arm soreness. However, his recovery has been going well recently, and he began throwing bullpen sessions in January. McCullers could conceivably be ready to pitch for the Astros around May 1, but any timeline for the oft-injured righty is still guesswork.

Valera (knee) will begin on-field running this week.

Valera is 19 weeks removed from surgery to repair his right patellar tendon. He's been throwing and hitting and will add running and batting practice to his routine soon. The hope is that Valera will begin defensive drills in March, but it's not clear when he might be ready to play in games. Once healthy, he's projected to be assigned to Triple-A Columbus.

Stephan (elbow) is expected to begin throwing off a mound in late February.

Stephan had right UCL reconstruction surgery last March and has progressed to throwing five days per week from 120 feet. There's no projected timeline yet for the reliever's return, but he seems likely to miss at least the first couple months of the season.

Bieber (elbow) is scheduled to begin throwing off a mound in mid-February.

Bieber has progressed to playing catch five times per week and has expanded the distance out to 120 feet. The veteran right-hander had Tommy John surgery last April and is not expected back until midseason.

Enright is dealing with a low-grade right lat strain and is not expected to be game-ready until April.

It's not clear when Enright was diagnosed with the injury, but he is expected to resume a throwing program next week. Added to the 40-man roster over the offseason, Enright missed much of last season due to injury but was excellent when healthy, posting a 1.06 ERA, 0.82 WHIP and 31:5 K:BB over 17 innings with Triple-A Columbus.

Espino (shoulder) is not expected to be game-ready until at least July.

Espino had another right shoulder surgery last March to repair his right shoulder capsule and rotator cuff. He's 11 months into a 16-to-18 month timeline, so while he could make it back for the second half, it's also possible he'll miss a third straight full season.

Crawford is behind schedule due to patellar tendon soreness, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.

The knee soreness for Crawford cropped up at some point during the offseason. It's not clear at this point how long he might be set back, but the Red Sox believe there's a good chance Crawford will be ready in time for Opening Day. If healthy, the right-hander is one of six starter candidates for the Red Sox' rotation.