General manager Dana Brown said Saturday that McCullers (forearm) will not be ready for the start of the regular season, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

McCullers recently returned to throwing off a mound and still hopes to return early in the year, but it now appears that he will begin the season on the injured list for the third time in a row. The 31-year-old righty hasn't appeared in an MLB game since the 2022 World Series after undergoing surgery in June 2023 to repair his right flexor tendon and remove a bone spur.

General manager Dana Brown said Saturday that Garcia (elbow) will not be ready for Opening Day, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Garcia missed all of last year after undergoing Tommy John surgery in May 2023, and he was pulled off a rehab assignment twice due to multiple instances of elbow soreness. He managed to resume throwing live batting practice by the end of the season and hasn't experienced any problems since then, but it seems the Astros are going to be extremely cautious in getting him ready for the 2025 campaign. It's unclear exactly how far the 28-year-old's absence will extend into the regular season.

Thorpe said Friday that he received a cortisone shot in his right elbow and could miss the beginning of spring training, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.

Thorpe successfully underwent a procedure in early September to remove a bone spur in his right elbow. Merkin reported in mid-December that the 24-year-old right-hander was fully recovered from the surgery, and while an MRI from early January didn't reveal any structural damage, Thorpe has been dealing with soreness since then. as a result, the expectation is that he will miss the early portion of spring training. Thorpe finished the 2024 regular season with a 3-3 record across nine big-league starts with a 5.48 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 25:21 K:BB in 44.1 innings.

The White Sox have extended Schultz an invitation to big-league camp during spring training.

Hagen Smith will also be in big-league camp, as the White Sox are giving their top two prospects and two of the better pitching prospects in baseball a look in spring training. The 21-year-old Schultz is coming off a dominant 2024 campaign split between High-A Winston-Salem and Double-A Birmingham, collecting a 2.24 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 115:24 K:BB over 88.1 innings. He's still being built up to handle a full workload, but it's not out of the question Schultz pushes to debut before the end of the 2025 season.

Gray would be open to serving as the Rangers' closer, Jeff Wilson of AllDLLS.com reports.

The club has a clear opening at closer, but there's been no indication that Gray might be under consideration for the role. However, a shift to the back end of the bullpen could make some sense for the veteran righty, who has had durability issues. Gray has made seven relief appearances for Texas between the 2023 postseason and 2024 regular season, and in those outings he posted a 1.42 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and 18:3 K:BB over 12.2 innings. Of course, the Rangers could also continue deploying him as a starting pitcher, as Nathan Eovaldi might qualify as the only safe bet in the rotation. Gray had surgery in September to address a nerve issue in his right foot but is expected to be ready for spring training.

The Yankees claimed Contreras off waivers from Baltimore on Thursday.

Contreras began the offseason as a member of the Angels but has since bounced around between Texas, Cincinnati, Baltimore and now New York. Because the 25-year-old righty has no more options remaining, he will need to make the Yankees' Opening Day roster to avoid landing on waivers yet again.

The Yankees claimed Winans off waivers from Atlanta on Thursday, Chase Ford of MiLB Central reports.

Winans had been designated for assignment last week and will now join a new organization. The 29-year-old has collected a 7.20 ERA and 38:12 K:BB across 40 innings since the start of the 2023 season. Winans has minor-league options remaining and will likely begin the 2025 campaign as rotation depth at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Giolito (elbow) has thrown four bullpen sessions this winter and expects to be a "full-go" when spring training begins next month, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports. "The progression of my rehab at this point pretty much has me right in line with where I would be as a healthy player," he said.

An elbow injury during 2024 spring training wiped out the first season of Giolito's two-year contract with Boston. Prior to the injury, the right-hander altered the grip on his slider, worked on his changeup and tweaked pitch usages, designed to avoid the results of 2023, when he ceded 41 home runs (2.0 HR/9). Whether the tweaks led to the injury is unknown, but Giolito continued to hone those offerings during the current ramp-up to 2025. The 30-year-old enters camp as one of six viable starters, and the Red Sox haven't ruled out using a six-man rotation.

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli named Lopez the team's Opening Day starter Wednesday, Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

It's pretty early to be naming an Opening Day starter, but Baldelli chose to let the cat out of the bag during an interview on the Inside Twins podcast. Lopez had a relatively disappointing 2024, going 15-10 while posting a 4.08 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 198:41 K:BB over 185.1 innings. His xERA was 3.67, however, and he posted a 2.77 mark in 13 second-half starts.

The Orioles designated Contreras for assignment Thursday.

The transaction frees up a 40-man roster spot for Jacob Amaya, who was claimed off waivers. Contreras was a waiver claim himself just last week and could be on the move again. The righty has bounced around to four different organizations since October.