Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said Monday that Wheeler (shoulder) began playing catch last week, Lochlahn March of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Wheeler underwent surgery in late September to address venous thoracic outlet syndrome, which had been preceded by an operation in mid-August to remove a blood clot near his right shoulder. Venous thoracic outlet syndrome is considered the less severe of the two TOS diagnoses, but Wheeler remains questionable to be ready for Opening Day. A clearer picture of his timetable should be available during spring training.

Padres manager Craig Stammen said Monday that Morgan will remain in a relief role in 2026, Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com reports.

Consideration was given to stretching Morgan out to be an option for the Padres' rotation, but the club has ultimately decided to keep him in the bullpen. Morgan held a 2.66 ERA and 50:23 K:BB over 47.1 regular-season innings for the Padres in 2025 and is pegged for a middle relief role in 2026.

Padres manager Craig Stammen said Monday that Morejon will remain in the bullpen next season, Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com reports.

Morejon has past starting experience and the Padres had considered moving him into their rotation in 2026. However, it's been decided to keep the lefty in a relief role instead. Morejon has posted a 2.42 ERA and 141:38 K:BB over 137.1 regular-season innings as a full-time reliever since the start of the 2024 campaign. The Padres are also keeping Mason Miller in a relief role, so Morejon likely won't see many, if any, save chances unless Miller gets injured.

Padres manager Craig Stammen said Monday that Miller will remain in the bullpen next season, Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com reports.

The Padres mulled the idea of shifting Miller to their rotation, but Stammen noted Monday that that move would have been "a risky proposition health-wise and performance-wise." With confirmation that he'll stay in the bullpen, Miller should open 2026 as the Padres' closer and has a strong case to be the first reliever to be taken in fantasy drafts. The 27-year-old boasts a 2.56 ERA and 43.1 percent strikeout rate over the last two regular seasons, notching 50 saves over that time.

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said Monday that Herrera (elbow) will begin throwing in a matter of weeks, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

Herrera underwent surgery in November to remove bone spurs from his right elbow and remains in the rehab phase of his recovery. The Cardinals anticipate him being ready to go for the beginning of spring training. Herrera will receive another opportunity to catch in 2026 after injuries limited him to designated hitter in the second half, though he is not expected to be a full-time catcher.

The Padres signed Acosta to a one-year contract Monday.

Acosta has never pitched in the big leagues but received a major-league deal from the Padres after holding a 2.42 ERA and 72:27 K:BB over 52 innings across three minor-league levels in the Nationals organization in 2025. The 27-year-old has minor-league options remaining and will likely begin the 2026 season at Triple-A El Paso.

The Mets signed Edwards to a minor-league contract with an invitation to spring training Monday, Will Sammon of The Athletic reports.

The Mets plan to stretch Edwards out to use him as rotation depth at Triple-A Syracuse, per Sammon and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Edwards made four appearances between the Angels and Rangers in 2025, allowing three runs over six innings. The 34-year-old hasn't spent a significant amount of time in the majors since 2023, when he posted a 3.69 ERA over 32 outings with the Nationals.

The Diamondbacks signed Soroka to a one-year contract Monday, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com report.

The deal is worth $7.5 million, with $2 million more possible in incentives, per Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic. Soroka -- who will slot into the Arizona rotation -- flashed some encouraging signs in 2025, ultimately finishing with a 4.52 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 95:29 K:BB over 89.2 regular-season innings covering 17 starts and five relief appearances between the Nationals and Cubs. He missed much of the second half with a shoulder injury but returned late in the season in a relief role. Soroka is a poor bet to hold up health-wise given that he hasn't reached 100 innings at the big-league level since 2019, but he has some upside and will only cost Arizona a one-year commitment.

Condon could get the chance to compete for the Rockies' everyday first base job during spring training, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports.

After moving both Warming Bernabel and Michael Toglia off the 40-man roster during the offseason, the Rockies are now without both of their primary options at first base from 2025. Blaine Crim and waiver pickup Troy Johnston reached the majors for the first time in 2025 and could operate in a platoon at first base, but both players are on their second organizations and are entering their age-29 campaigns, making it unlikely that they're viewed as anything more than stopgaps at the position. Barring any outside additions, Condon -- one of the organization's top prospects -- thus appears likely to get his first look in the big leagues at some point in 2026, and it's not out of the question for him to force his way onto the Opening Day roster with a strong showing in spring training. The 22-year-old slashed .266/.379/.447 with 14 home runs and a 12.6 percent walk rate in 90 games last season between High-A Spokane and Double-A Hartford and continued to thrive in the Arizona Fall League, where he posted an .873 OPS in 22 games.

The Mariners traded Ford to the Nationals on Saturday alongside minor-league pitcher Isaac Lyon in exchange for reliever Jose Ferrer, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.

Ford spent most of the 2025 campaign at Triple-A Tacoma, where he slashed .283/.408/.460 with 16 homers, 74 RBI and 68 runs scored across 458 plate appearances. He managed to reach the big leagues toward the end of the regular season but only appeared in eight games for the Mariners, going 1-for-6 at the plate. The 22-year-old Ford will now join Keibert Ruiz (concussion), Riley Adams and Drew Millas (finger) in the battle for Washington's starting catcher job -- a race that figures to be wide open considering none of the four candidates posted an OPS above .600 over at least 100 plate appearances in 2025.