MLB Player News

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said Wednesday that Myers will be on the team's Opening Day roster, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Myers has a minor-league option remaining, but the Mets will retain him on the big-league roster in some capacity rather than keeping him stretched out at Triple-A Syracuse. It would likely take multiple injuries to other starters for Myers to be part of the Mets' rotation, so he should be expected to fill a long-relief role.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts confirmed Wednesday that Ohtani will remain the team's leadoff hitter during the 2026 season, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.

For the first time since his final season with the Angels in 2023, Ohtani is preparing for a full season of pitching, but that won't affect the Dodgers' approach with him as their everyday designated hitter. After slugging a career-high 55 home runs while making 148 of his 158 starts out of the leadoff spot during the 2025 regular season, the four-time MVP will continue to set the table for Los Angeles once again in 2026. Per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic, Ohtani is expected to start at DH in the Dodgers' first two Cactus League games this weekend to get some competitive at-bats under his belt before he joins Team Japan in advance of the World Baseball Classic. Roberts has already said that Ohtani won't pitch for Japan in the WBC, but the two-way phenom will likely continue to build up through bullpen and live batting practice sessions throughout the spring to ensure that he'll be part of the Dodgers' Opening Day rotation.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Wednesday that he's leaning towards using Betts as the team's No. 3 hitter against both right- and left-handed pitching in 2026, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.

Meanwhile, Shohei Ohtani will continue to serve as the club's leadoff hitter during the upcoming season, but Roberts has yet to decide who will bat second and fourth in the Dodgers' star-studded lineup. The 33-year-old Betts primarily served as the Dodgers' No. 2 hitter in 2025, so the move down one spot in the order shouldn't dramatically affect his fantasy value. Instead, the bigger question is whether he can halt or potentially reverse the decline at the plate and as a baserunner he displayed in 2025; Betts' .258 average and .148 ISO were the lowest marks of his career, and his eight stolen bases were his fewest since his 2014 rookie campaign, when he played just 52 games.

Waldrep will undergo surgery Monday to remove loose bodies from his right elbow, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

Bowman reported previously that if surgery was recommended for Waldrep, the pitcher would likely be sidelined for approximately three months. The right-hander will be placed on the 60-day injured list, though that transaction hasn't officially been made yet. Waldrep showed signs of a breakout in 2025 with a 2.88 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 55:22 K:BB over 56.1 innings, but it will be a while before he's seen in a big-league uniform again. With Spencer Schwellenbach also undergoing an elbow procedure, Joey Wentz and Bryce Elder have moved up in Atlanta's rotation pecking order.

Atlanta announced that Schwellenbach underwent a procedure Wednesday to remove bone spurs from his right elbow, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

The team hasn't issued a timeline for Schwellenbach's return, but manager Walt Weiss said that he's hopeful that the 25-year-old right-hander will be able to pitch at some point in 2026. At the very least, Schwellenbach will miss the first two months of the season after Atlanta placed him on its 60-day injured list last week. Atlanta's rotation is already being tested in the early stages of the season; Hurston Waldrep (elbow) is slated to undergo a similar procedure as Schwellenbach on Monday, and AJ Smith-Shawver (elbow) is unlikely to be available until late in the second half after undergoing Tommy John surgery last June.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.