MLB Player News

Liberatore will be St. Louis' fifth starter to begin the campaign, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.

This news comes as a mild surprise after Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said in mid-March that Liberatore would likely open the season in the bullpen. Instead, the left-hander will work as St. Louis' fifth starter while Steven Matz will begin the campaign in the bullpen and Michael McGreevy will start the season in the minors. The Cardinals plan to move to a six-man rotation beginning April 16, giving Liberatore more leeway as a starter as long as his performance is up to par early in the campaign.

Workman could stay on the MLB roster once Nico Hoerner (forearm) returns, with Vidal Brujan losing his spot instead, Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic reports.

Workman made Chicago's roster for its two-game set in Tokyo last week, and the Rule 5 draft may be the favorite to stick around once Hoerner is back, which could be in time for the domestic opener later this week or soon after. In that scenario, Brujan would be designated for assignment, as he is out of minor-league options. If the Cubs prefer to keep Brujan and dump Workman, the latter would have to be returned to Detroit.

Victor Scott will be St. Louis' Opening Day center fielder, pushing Siani to a bench role, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Siani and Scott competed for the starting role in center field this spring, and Scott pulled away with outstanding numbers during the exhibition slate while Siani has posted an ugly .334 OPS over 47 plate appearances. Siani will still make the Opening Day roster, but he's slated to work as the Cardinals' fourth outfielder. Both Scott and Siani are left-handed batters, so if Scott performs well, he could be in the lineup nearly every day against both righties and lefties.

Brown remains in the mix for the Cubs' No. 5 rotation spot along with Colin Rea, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

Brown took the loss in relief in Chicago's season opener in Tokyo on Tuesday, but he could slot into the rotation once the Cubs begin the domestic portion of their season later this week. The veteran Rea seems like the favorite for the role, with Brown shifting to long relief, but manager Craig Counsell said he is still considering both pitchers. Javier Assad (oblique) could ultimately reclaim the spot once he returns, but either Brown or Rea should see a short-term boost in fantasy value, depending on whichever player is starting.

Scott will be the Cardinals' Opening Day center fielder, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Scott had a difficult time during his first taste of the majors last year, posting a .179/.219/.283 slash line with two homers, 10 RBI, 14 runs and five stolen bases over 155 plate appearances. He did look better during his second call-up last summer and shined in spring training this year, registering a .366/.469/.756 slash line with four home runs, seven RBI, 11 runs and five thefts in 15 Grapefruit League contests. The big numbers in exhibition play pushed Scott ahead of Michael Siani for the starting role in center field, and Scott should now be a hot commodity in fantasy, especially given his potential to steal loads of bases -- he posted a 99th percentile sprint speed last season and swiped 95 bags in the minors in 2023.

Norby is experiencing soreness in his left oblique and will undergo medical imaging Sunday, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

The 24-year-old exited Saturday's Grapefruit League game with the injury, putting his availability for Opening Day in jeopardy. Even if Norby has avoided a serious injury, the proximity to the start of the season could mean he's not ready for Thursday's series opener versus Pittsburgh.

The Phillies optioned Mercado to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Sunday.

Mercado had a rough spring, posting a 7.04 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 8:5 K:BB over 7.2 innings. The 25-year-old also struggled during his first look at the majors last year, posting an 11.08 ERA, 1.92 WHIP and 10:9 K:BB across 13 regular-season frames. Mercado put up solid numbers with Lehigh Valley last year, and he could get another call-up at some point in 2025 if he continues to show development in the minors.

Megill has been awarded a spot in the Mets' rotation, and he'll start the team's second game of the season March 28 against Houston, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Megill's spot in the rotation was a foregone conclusion with Sean Manaea (oblique) and Frankie Montas (lat) out for the beginning of the campaign. Megill solidified the decision with a strong spring during which he posted a 4.24 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 18:4 K:BB over 17 innings. Clay Holmes has been named New York's Opening Day starter, and he'll be followed in the rotation by Megill, Griffin Canning, David Peterson and Kodai Senga.

Nunez has been optioned to Triple-A Syracuse.

Nunez emerged as a key part of New York's bullpen as a rookie last year, posting a 2.31 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and 48:8 K:BB while racking up nine holds and a save over 25 regular-season appearances spanning 35 innings. He allowed two runs over two innings with a 3:0 K:B this spring, but the Mets have decided to have Nunez begin the campaign in the minors. The right-hander didn't pitch in a spring game until March 17 as he continued to recover from a flexor strain that ended his season in July of last year. It's likely that Nunez will be back up with the big club after having more time to ramp up in the minors.

Ashcraft could be used as the closer if Alexis Diaz does not win the role coming out of spring training, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. "I think we still have some work to do," Reds manager Terry Francona said. "We want to make sure [Diaz's] got his legs under him, with his delivery and everything. We know what he can do. We just want to make sure he's ready to do it."

Diaz hasn't pitched a clean inning during Cactus League play, which included a disastrous outing March 15 that prompted him to work on delivery issues with pitching coach Derek Johnson. The pitcher then had a command-challenged outing against minor leaguers Friday, which set off speculation that Diaz may not be the closer and could open the regular season in the minors. Going back to 2024, there's been chatter about Ashcraft having the makeup of a high-leverage reliever. After he competed for the rotation during spring training, Ashcraft was shifted to the bullpen last week and pitched three scoreless relief innings Thursday. "We've all kind of teetered on that idea and what it would look like," Johnson, the pitching coach, said about Ashcraft as a reliever. "Obviously, we haven't seen it so we don't know. But he could be kind of that really nice piece in the bullpen that we didn't have to go out and acquire." Diaz is expected to throw an inning in the Reds' Cactus League finale Sunday, which could provide an indication about who will work as the team's closer when the season kicks off Thursday against the Giants.