MLB Player News
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Brusdar Graterol RP | LAD
Dodgers' Brusdar Graterol: Ruled out for Opening Day
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Wednesday that Graterol (shoulder) will not be ready in time for Opening Day, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.
Graterol has been built up slowly this spring after missing all of the 2025 season following November 2024 right shoulder surgery. His velocity crept up during his last bullpen session, but it's still not where it needs to be in order for Graterol to be effective. The 27-year-old is entering his walk year, so Graterol has financial incentive to stay healthy and have a bounce-back season, but he's a wild card in terms of what the Dodgers can expect out of him in 2026.
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Nationals' Drew Smith: Fully healed from TJ surgery
Smith (elbow) completed a bullpen session Wednesday and said that he's under no restrictions during spring training, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com reports.
Smith didn't pitch at any point in 2025 after undergoing the second Tommy John surgery of his career in July 2024, but he said that he made a complete recovery by the end of last season. After the Mets declined his team option for 2026 back in November, Smith sat on the open market for more than three months before landing a minor-league deal with Washington earlier this week. Though Smith isn't currently on the 40-man roster, a solid spring should put him in good position to break camp with the Nationals, given their lack of experienced relief arms. The 32-year-old owns a 3.06 ERA over 192 career big-league appearances, all of which came with the Mets.
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Dansby Swanson SS | CHC
Cubs' Dansby Swanson: Aims to swap power for more contact
Swanson is willing to swap some power for more contact in 2026, Bruce Levine of Marquee Sports Network reports.
Swanson has clubbed at least 22 home runs in four of the past five seasons, but he also has a strikeout rate over 25 percent during that span and would like to cut that down. The 32-year-old's chase rate has been consistently above league average, but his in-zone contact rate has been well below average, as he ranked 129th out of 144 qualifiers in that metric in 2025. Swanson went 20-20 last season but still finished outside the top-12 in fantasy at a loaded shortstop position.
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Teoscar Hernandez RF | LAD
Dodgers' Teoscar Hernandez: Played through nagging groin issue
Hernandez admitted Tuesday that he played through a left groin injury for much of the 2025 season, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.
Hernandez missed just two weeks of action after straining his groin in early May, but he acknowledged he "wasn't moving the way I know I can move" for the remainder of the season. The veteran outfielder was slashing .306/.329/.582 with a 149 wRC+ when he was hurt and then hit only .225/.271/.408 with an 86 wRC+ the rest of the way, so it's fair to suggest the injury affected his performance. The 33-year-old Hernandez is fully healthy now in Dodgers camp and looking for a bounce-back 2026 campaign.
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Jorge Polanco 2B | NYM
Mets' Jorge Polanco: Won't see game action right away
Polanco isn't expected to play in any spring games until the second week of the Grapefruit League schedule, Will Sammon and Tim Britton of The Athletic report.
The Mets are bringing a number of key position players along slowly this spring, including Luis Robert, Francisco Alvarez and Brett Baty (hamstring). Unlike those three, Polanco doesn't have any serious injury concerns -- he played 138 games in 2025 for the Mariners, his highest total since 2021 -- but the 32-year-old is getting a crash course on defense at first base, so an extra week of drills at the position before he works his way into game situations can only help.
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Francisco Alvarez C | NYM
Mets' Francisco Alvarez: Will get eased into spring action
Alvarez isn't expected to see game action this spring until the second week of the Grapefruit League schedule, Will Sammon and Tim Britton of The Athletic report.
The Mets are bringing a number of key position players along slowly this spring, including Luis Robert, Jorge Polanco and Brett Baty (hamstring). Alvarez underwent thumb surgery right after the end of last season, which explains the team's caution with its starting catcher, but the 24-year-old appeared to be fully healthy when he reported to camp. The Mets are hoping that good health extends into the regular season -- Alvarez played only 76 games in 2025, his lowest total in three years since becoming a big-league regular.
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Hunter Dobbins SP | STL
Cardinals' Hunter Dobbins: Hopes for full clearance Wednesday
Dobbins (knee) will travel Wednesday to visit a doctor in Wisconsin, where he hopes to be fully cleared for spring-training activities, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Recovering from last July's right ACL surgery, Dobbins has thrown bullpen sessions and live batting practice sessions with the rest of the Cardinals' pitchers, but his fielding and running has been limited. As long as he gains clearance Wednesday, Dobbins should make some Grapefruit League appearances for St. Louis. However, the late start likely takes him out of the Opening Day rotation competition.
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Garrett Mitchell CF | MIL
Brewers' Garrett Mitchell: Full-go after shoulder surgery
Mitchell (shoulder) said Wednesday that he received full clearance for baseball activities in early February, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.
Mitchell was limited to only 25 games in 2025 before requiring a second surgery on his left shoulder, but he will not have any restrictions this spring. The 27-year-old has been plagued by injuries throughout his career, having never played more than 69 contests in any big-league season. Mitchell will compete for the starting job in center field this spring.
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Mauricio Dubon 2B | ATL
Braves' Mauricio Dubon: Beginning 2025 at shortstop
Dubon will start at shortstop for Atlanta while Ha-Seong Kim recovers from finger surgery, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.
Acquired from Houston in the offseason to be the team's primary utility player, Dubon will instead see a near-everyday role out of the gate with Kim potentially sidelined into May. Dubon averaged 439.3 plate appearances for the Astros over the prior three seasons, slashing a modest .264/.299/.378 with little power or speed but seeing action at every spot on the diamond except pitcher and catcher.
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Andrew Nardi RP | MIA
Marlins' Andrew Nardi: Dealing with blister
Nardi is a few days behind schedule due to a blister on his pitching hand, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.
Nardi was able to throw Tuesday, so it doesn't seem to be a significant setback. The lefty reliever will be held out of the first few Grapefruit League contests, but his prep for the regular season shouldn't be affected. Nardi missed the entire 2025 campaign with back issues, but if he's healthy in 2026, he'll likely fill a high-leverage relief role in Miami.