MLB Player News

Gurriel (knee) exercised his $13 million player option for 2026 on Monday, Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com reports.

Gurriel had right ACL surgery in September and will miss at least the first couple months of the 2026 season, which made picking up his option a fairly easy decision. The 32-year-old outfielder slashed .248/.295/.418 with 19 home runs over 129 games for the Diamondbacks before getting injured.

Pages isn't in the lineup Saturday for Game 7 of the World Series versus Toronto.

Pages will retreat to the bench for the deciding game in the 2025 World Series after going just 4-for-50 (.080) during the Dodgers' postseason run. Tommy Edman will move to center field in Pages' stead, opening up second base for Miguel Rojas.

Pages is absent from the lineup for Friday's Game 6 of the World Series against the Blue Jays.

After starting each of the first 14 games this postseason, Pages has now been held out of the lineup for both of the last two contests. He's just 4-for-50 at the dish during the playoffs. Tommy Edman will man center field and Miguel Rojas will play second base for the Dodgers.

Call will start in left field and bat ninth Wednesday in Game 5 of the World Series versus the Blue Jays, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is shaking up his batting order a bit in hopes of jumpstarting the team's offense. It's the first start of the World Series for Call, who has gone 4-for-9 with a 2:1 BB:K across six games this postseason.

Pages is not in the lineup Wednesday for Game 5 of the World Series against the Blue Jays, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Pages is just 4-for-50 with a 0:11 BB:K in 14 games this postseason, and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has finally elected to remove the struggling 24-year-old from the batting order. Enrique Hernandez will slide over to center field for Game 5, while Alex Call is entering the lineup in left field.

Nootbaar -- who is recovering from Oct. 7 surgery to address deformities on both of his heels -- has dealt with discomfort in both feet off and on over the past two-and-a-half years, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Nootbaar has had ongoing treatment during the season to address recurring soreness in his heels, but he elected to have surgery earlier this month with the goal of alleviating the condition. It's difficult to gauge how much the foot issues have affected Nootbaar's play, but it's notable that his sprint speed has fallen each year, from the 83rd percentile in 2021 to just the 39th percentile in 2025. The outfielder admits that the discomfort "was holding me back." Nootbaar -- who played a career-high 135 games this season but produced a career-low .686 OPS -- has not been ruled out for Opening Day next season, but because the surgery he had is uncommon, there's uncertainty regarding how long his rehab will take.

Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom said Sunday that Nootbaar (heels) isn't guaranteed to be available for the start of the 2026 season, Matt Pauley of 1120 AM KMOX St. Louis reports.

Nootbaar is on the mend from Oct. 7 surgery to address deformities on both of his heels. At the time the procedure was performed, the Cardinals didn't put a timeline on Nootbaar's return to full baseball activities, but Bloom's comments suggest that the outfielder could need around six months to get back to 100 percent health. Bloom noted that Nootbaar won't be hurried along in the rehab process, and even if the 28-year-old winds up on the injured list to begin the 2026 campaign, he would be shelved for only a limited amount of time. Nootbaar played in a career-high 135 games in 2025, slashing .234/.325/.361 with 13 home runs, four stolen bases, 48 RBI and 68 runs over 583 plate appearances.

Frelick is expected to have a normal offseason after imaging on his left knee came back negative, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

Frelick initially tweaked his knee in early May and battled through soreness off and on for the rest of the season, though he never went on the injured list because of the knee issue. He's expected to arrive for spring training at 100 percent after getting some extended rest over the offseason. Frelick had his best season at the plate in 2025, slashing .288/.351/.405 with 12 homers and 19 stolen bases.

Chourio (hamstring) will start in left field and bat second in Game 4 of the NLCS against the Dodgers on Friday.

Chourio aggravated his injured hamstring during the seventh inning of Game 3 on Thursday, but he is seemingly feeling well enough to remain in the starting nine Friday. The 21-year-old outfielder has been one of the few Brewers hitters to contribute consistently during the postseason, slashing .276/.290/.552 with two homers and eight RBI through 31 plate appearances.

Nootbaar underwent surgery Oct. 7 on both heels to shave down Haglund's deformities, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

It's unclear how long Nootbaar's heels have bothered him, and it's also uncertain how long his rehab is expected to take. Nootbaar finished with career highs in games played (135) and plate appearances (583) this season but posted a disappointing .234/.325/.361 batting line with 13 home runs.