MLB Player News

Harper (illness) will bat third and start at first base in Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Blue Jays.

Harper missed some time at the beginning of last week while recovering from an illness, but he appears to be fully healthy now and will make his spring debut Wednesday. The 32-year-old is heading into his second season as the Phillies' full-time first baseman after he slashed .285/.373/.525 with 30 home runs, 87 RBI, 85 runs and seven steals across 145 games in 2024.

Lopez said this week that his goal is to make 30-to-35 starts and pitch 200 innings in 2025, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

Lopez, who threw two scoreless innings with two strikeouts in his spring debut Tuesday against the Red Sox, made 26 appearances (25 starts) and threw 135.2 frames in 2024 in his move from the bullpen to the rotation, which he said through an interpreter "was a good opportunity to establish a base." That was more innings than he threw combined between the 2022 and 2023 campaigns, but Lopez has topped 180 innings twice in his career, doing so in back-to-back seasons with the White Sox in 2018 and 2019. The righty dealt with forearm and shoulder trouble in the second half last season but reported to camp healthy and is aiming to take a big step forward with his workload in 2025. Per David O'Brien of The Athletic, Lopez also got better results last season on a normal schedule, posting a 1.52 ERA and 0.97 WHIP during his five starts on four days' rest.

Horwitz (wrist) will begin taking two-handed dry swings later this week, Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Horwitz has been taking one-handed dry swings and is nearly ready to take the next step in his hitting progression as he works his way back from right wrist surgery. He's expected to miss roughly the first month of the season.

Blackburn (back) is scheduled to start Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Marlins, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.

Blackburn will most likely be limited to one or two innings in his spring debut as he attempts to make his case for a spot in the Mets' Opening Day rotation. With Sean Manaea (oblique) and Frankie Montas (lat) both expected to begin the season on the injured list, the Mets should have at least two spots available at the back of the rotation for Blackburn, Tylor Megill and Griffin Canning. All three could end up breaking camp in starting roles if the Mets opt to go with a six-man rotation, something that president of baseball operations David Stearns said over the winter that he was expecting the team to implement in 2025.

Carroll has tweaked his bat positioning when setting up in the batters box, Alex Weiner of 's Arizona Sports reports. He previously kept the bat flat over his left shoulder before changing to a more upright position.

Carroll deployed the refined bat position Monday, when he turned on a high breaking ball for his first spring home run. This was a tweak Carroll started during the second half of 2024, and he continued to work on it over the offseason. "We talked about, I guess, shortening the path to the ball," manager Torey Lovullo said. "Creating better angles to certain pitches. It's not hindering his ability to hit the pitch as well as he's normally hitting, so he feels like that's a good starting spot for him." The new positioning worked for Carroll in the second half of 2024. After slumping in the first half (.635 OPS, five home runs), Carroll popped after the All-Star break (.919 OPS, 17 home runs),

Ginkel struck out two over a scoreless second inning in Tuesday's Cactus League game against the Cubs.

Ginkel was the first of Arizona's potential closers to throw in Tuesday's game. He was followed by A.J. Puk in the third inning then Justin Martinez in the fourth. Ginkel has experience closing for the Diamondbacks but appears to be behind the other two.

Puk struck out two over a scoreless third inning in Tuesday's Cactus League game against the Cubs.

Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo trotted out his three potential closers Tuesday, with Puk's inning sandwiched by Kevin Ginkel (second inning) and Justin Martinez (fourth). All three pitched scoreless frames. Martinez was the primary closer over the final two months last season but had a shaky September and walked more than four batters per nine innings. Meanwhile, Puk was electric after being acquired at the trade deadline, posting a 1.32 ERA and 0.73 WHIP with two saves over 30 outings with Arizona.

Martinez walked one and struck out one over a scoreless fourth inning in Tuesday's Cactus League game against the Cubs.

It was a bullpen day for the Diamondbacks, which gave manager Torey Lovullo a chance to see his three potential closers pitch early enough in the game to see the other team's regulars. Martinez followed Kevin Ginkel (second inning) and A.J. Puk (third inning). Martinez had the toughest task of the three, facing the second, third and four batters in Chicago's order. All three relievers threw scoreless innings, compounding the difficulty of the decision for the manager. Martinez and Puk appear to be the leading candidates, but all three are expected to work high-leverage innings at the back end of the bullpen.

Brujan went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Tuesday's Cactus League game against the Diamondbacks.

Brujan connected for his first home run of the spring in the fifth inning and also split time in the field at second base and shortstop. The 27-year-old was shipped to Chicago from Miami in December, and he figures to serve in a bench role with the Cubs, giving him a limited fantasy ceiling for the time being.

Atlanta reassigned Salinas (shoulder) to minor-league camp Tuesday.

Salinas is in the midst of his recovery from shoulder surgery and not expected to make his season debut until August. The 23-year-old played the bulk of his 2024 campaign for Double-A Midland in the Athletics organization, where he recorded a 3.68 ERA across 36.2 innings in eight starts. He was only able to makes two appearances at Triple-A Las Vegas before hitting the injured list in June. In November, Atlanta acquired the right-hander off waivers from the Athletics. Salinas will likely need to pitch well across a robust amount of Triple-A starts when he returns to health in order to be considered for a promotion.