MLB Player News

Harris said Sunday that he feels healthy heading into spring training after a productive offseason, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports. "I feel like I prepared perfectly this offseason," Harris said. "Now, I just have to do whatever I can to make sure I stay healthy."

When asked by Bowman about whether a 30-steal, 30-homer season would be attainable in 2025, Harris wouldn't go as far to make any predictions about his statistical production, but the 23-year-old possesses the skill set to achieve the feat if his health cooperates. Harris has been slowed a bit by injuries in both of the past two seasons, with a lower back strain forcing a stint on the injured list in 2023 and a left hamstring strain sending him to the 60-day IL last summer. Over a 162-game pace in 2024, Harris produced 24 home runs and 14 steals, but his passivity on the basepaths in August and September may have been in part due to him avoiding a potential aggravation of the hamstring injury. With a clean bill of health entering the spring, Harris could be poised to increase his involvement as a base stealer in 2025 and make a serious challenge for a 30-30 campaign, and at the very least, his first 20-20 season. He finished one home run shy of the benchmark in 2022 and two home runs shy in 2023.

Henry said Sunday that he's been working on adding a cutter to his repertoire during the offseason, Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports reports. The left-hander is adding a sixth pitch to his mix, which also includes a four-seamer, curveball, sinker, changeup and slider.

Henry said the cutter is still a work-in-progress, and the end goal is for it to speed up right-handed batters and make lefties pause when delivered. Change is needed, after both righties and lefties teed off on Henry, who opened the 2024 season in Arizona's rotation before eventually being optioned to Triple-A Reno. The 27-year-old finished with a 7.04 ERA over nine outings (seven starts) for the Diamondbacks. Arizona now has a surplus of starting pitching ahead of Henry, who is likely to begin 2025 at Reno, for whom he has a respectable 4.20 ERA over three seasons in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.

Arizona manager Torey Lovullo acknowledged Sunday that he may need to give Gurriel more time off this season, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports. "I get monster-locked on not giving position players off because they get hot or whatever, but I've got to pick some good days for him to keep him strong and healthy this year," the manager said.

Gurriel, who played 145 games in 2023, was on pace for a similar number last season before a September calf injury limited his availability as Arizona made a push for the postseason. The 31-year-old outfielder experienced a drop in slugging (.435, 61st in MLB) and ranked 114th with 42 extra-base hits in 2024, which might be a factor in the manager's desire to give Gurriel more time off. Lovullo's goal of keeping him healthy through the course of the season is a prudent one, but fantasy manager can still expect Gurriel to receive the bulk of the playing time in left field.

Lawrence changed the grip on his sweeper this offseason, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports.

Lawrence entered 2024 as one of Colorado's better relievers, but he struggled to a 6.49 ERA and 1.78 WHIP across 59.2 innings and quickly lost his role as closer. He consulted with pitching experts at Rapsodo Baseball this offseason, who determined that Lawrence was releasing the ball off of his index finger rather than his middle finger when throwing a sweeper. With the adjustment, Lawrence is hoping to regain his 2023 form that resulted in 11 saves and 11 holds.

Skenes has worked on a cutter and sinker this offseason, Noah Hiles of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Skenes noted that his cutter is a variation of his slider, while his sinker is a completely new addition. He didn't commit to throwing the latter in game action, though it sounds as if the tweaks were an attempt to help Skenes pitch more efficiently and work deeper into games. Across his 23 big-league starts in 2024, Skenes completed seven innings only four times, and he was purposefully limited by the Pirates across the final month of the season. General manager Ben Cherington stated that he expects all limitations to be taken off his star pitcher this season, so Skenes' efficiency will ultimately determine his workload.

Moreta (elbow) was placed on the 60-day injured list Sunday, Andrew Destin of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Moreta is still recovering from Tommy John surgery, which he underwent in March of 2024. The right-hander will now be forced to miss the first two months of the 2025 season while on the 60-day IL. The transaction opened a spot on the 40-man roster for newly-signed outfielder Tommy Pham.

Farmer has joined Atlanta's spring training camp as a non-roster invitee, Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Farmer appeared in 61 games, including one start, with the Reds in 2024, posting a 3.04 ERA and 1.20 WHIP with 70 strikeouts over 71.0 innings. He'll now get a chance to prove himself with Atlanta ahead of the 2025 season.

Rushing fielded grounders at first base following the conclusion of Sunday's workout during spring camp, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Per Ardaya, the Dodgers want Rushing to prioritize his development behind the plate, but that won't prevent the top prospect from getting reps elsewhere in the field. Though he appears near ready to make his big-league debut after posting a .907 OPS over 169 plate appearances in Triple-A last season, the soon-to-be 24-year-old has a tricky path to the big-league roster as Los Angeles signed Will Smith to a 10-year contract last March and exercised the one-year club option on veteran backup backstop Austin Barnes last November. Rushing's likelihood of making the Opening Day roster or being called up within the first few months of the campaign will likely be strengthened if he shows an acumen for first base, and he also spent some time last year in the minors playing left field, though Roberts mentioned that it's "TBD" how much time Rushing will spend in the outfield moving forward.

Montgomery (finger) is scheduled to have a throwing session Tuesday or Wednesday, Jack Sommers of SI.com reports.

The left-hander was diagnosed with a strain of his left index finger Thursday and has been shut down for a few days, but he's expected to be back throwing soon. Montgomery should have enough time to be fully built up for the start of the regular season if he can avoid setbacks.

Ohtani (shoulder/elbow) threw 14 pitches in a bullpen session consisting of two-seam and four-seam fastballs Saturday, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

Per manager Dave Roberts, Ohtani's velocity sat in the 92-to-94 mph range during the throwing session, which pitching coach Mark Prior described as the two-way star "dipping his toe back in the water." The bullpen was Ohtani's first this spring, though he's been using his full arsenal while throwing from flat ground. Ohtani isn't expected to pitch in any Cactus League games and is unlikely to take the mound in a regular-season contest until around early May, but he should be in the Dodgers' lineup as a hitter when the team plays its opening series against the Cubs in Tokyo, Japan on March 18-19.