MLB Player News

Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said Thursday that Liberatore is likely to open the season in the bullpen, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Liberatore has been stretched out this spring and has pitched well, allowing just two runs with a 5:2 K:BB over 9.2 innings. However, while the Cardinals are not ruling out the left-hander making starts for them in the future, Liberatore has a much clearer path to opportunities in relief. The southpaw has a career 3.89 ERA as a reliever versus a 5.86 ERA as a starter.

Pages adopted a new batting stance earlier this week in which he stands taller in the box and holds his hand higher, Daniel Guerrero of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Pages began to see the changes pay dividends in Wednesday's Grapefruit League game versus the Mets, as he contributed an opposite-field double while also hitting two hard lineouts. The 26-year-old Pages is competing with Ivan Herrera for playing time at catcher and is likely to enter the season as 1B to Herrera's 1A behind the dish.

Manaea was cleared to play catch earlier this week after an MRI on his right oblique was negative, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

With his oblique strain healed, the left-hander has begun his throwing progression. Manaea will need several weeks to get fully stretched out, but he could be ready to make his season debut sometime in April.

Manager Carlos Mendoza announced Thursday that McNeil is recovering from a low-grade right oblique strain and will be out for 3-to-4 weeks, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

After missing time late last season with a wrist injury, McNeil reported to camp at full health and was poised to begin the 2025 season as the Mets' everyday second baseman until he presumably suffered the oblique strain earlier this week. Mendoza said that McNeil will be shut down from baseball activities for the next 7-to-10 days, and the 32-year-old will then need about two or three weeks to complete a hitting progression before being ready to make his season debut. With McNeil potentially headed for a stint on the 15-day injured list, Luisangel Acuna could be in line to open the season as the Mets' primary option at the keystone.

Pirates senior director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said Thursday that Hayes (side) has resumed full baseball activities, Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Tomczyk added that Hayes should be able to return to games within the next few days. Hayes hasn't participated in Grapefruit League play in more than a week due to left side tightness, but it sounds like he's getting over the hump with the injury.

Nimmo (knee) will start at designated hitter and bat second in Thursday's Grapefruit League contest versus the Red Sox, Manny Gomez of NJ.com reports.

Nimmo will be making just his second start of the spring after he was initially held back early in camp because of a lingering plantar fasciitis issue in his left foot and more recently dealt with right knee soreness. He'll need to show he can play the outfield without the knee flaring up on him, but all signs point to Nimmo being ready to go for Opening Day.

Horn was designated for assignment by the Cardinals on Thursday.

The 27-year-old southpaw endured a rough spring, allowing four runs on three hits and five walks while striking out one batter over 2.1 innings in the Grapefruit League. Horn will now be subjected to waivers and could attract interest from teams in need of lefty relief help. While he has mostly struggled against big-league competition, Horn put up a 2.15 ERA and 1.06 WHIP in 21 appearances with Boston's Triple-A affiliate last season.

Falter did not recover well from his catch session Wednesday and is no longer scheduled to pitch in Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Twins, Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Pirates senior director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said the move to scratch Falter was made out of an "abundance of precaution," adding that Falter is dealing with "general body soreness" and will instead play catch again Thursday before the team determines the next steps. Falter is expected to have a spot in the Pittsburgh rotation to begin the season, but this issue could throw a wrench into those plans if it delays the lefty longer than expected, with Opening Day just two weeks away.

Atlanta reassigned Leblanc to minor-league camp Thursday.

Leblanc faced an uphill battle to make the roster out of spring training. He fared reasonably well in the Grapefruit League, going 5-for-16 with a home run and a steal, but it wasn't enough to break camp with the big club. The 28-year-old will likely open the season at Triple-A Gwinnett after spending most of last season with Triple-A Salt Lake in the Angels organization.

Stephenson was scratched from Wednesday's lineup because of lower-to-mid back pain, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

Stephenson was scheduled to be the designated hitter and was replaced by Blake Dunn. Cincinnati manager Terry Francona downplayed the injury, indicating Stephenson will be fine and that there was no need to push him.