#tommy-john-surgery

#tommy-john-surgery

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) In the backfields of Camelback Ranch, the Dodgers' River Ryan and Blake Snell stayed behind to field grounders and practice throws to second. After a few dropped balls by Ryan during his transition, the two-time Cy Young winner talked it over at the mound with the young pitcher. It was a typical scene you'd see in the early days of spring training, the extra work to dial in fundamentals. But for the 27-year-old Ryan, it's part of the journey in his return from Tommy John surgery.

A third-round pick by the Padres in 2016, Thompson has pitched in parts of four big league seasons between the Friars and the Nationals. The 6'6″, 240-pound righty been tagged for a 5.21 ERA in 114 innings, with a gruesome 11.81 ERA (16 runs in 10 2/3 innings) this past season skewing that mark a bit. Though Thompson's 2025 performance was rocky to say the least - he also posted an ERA over 6.00 in 16 minor league frames -

The Rays announced they've designated left-hander Ken Waldichuk for assignment. That's the corresponding 40-man roster move for infielder Ben Williamson, acquired from Seattle in tonight's three-team trade that sent All-Star utility player Brendan Donovan to the Mariners. Tampa Bay picked up Waldichuk in a DFA trade with Atlanta a few weeks ago. They're his third organization of the offseason. The Braves had claimed him off waivers from the A's, who had themselves designated him for assignment after trading for Jeff McNeil.

It wasn't until the 10th round that the Ohioan team selected the 6'4", 218 lbs righty. Unfortunately, Zibin's professional career got off to a rocky start, needing Tommy John surgery in May 2023, keeping him from pitching that season. The 2024 season was much of the same, as Zibin underwent ulnar nerve transposition surgery, keeping him from making his professional debut until 2025.

Gott returns to the District for the second time in his career, as he posted a 7.39 ERA over 28 innings with the Nats from 2016-18. This disappointing performance came on the heels of Gott's strong 2015 rookie season with the Angels, but after the Nationals acquired the righty in a trade for Yunel Escobar during the 2015-16 offseason, Gott battled injuries and ineffectiveness while being shuttled up and down from the majors and Triple-A.

"First and foremost, I want to express my gratitude to the entire @dodgers organization for everything over the past year. The memories and relationships I built there will stay with me forever," Carlson wrote on Instagram. "That said, I'm thrilled to announce that I've signed with the @astros! Thank you to everyone who has supported me and helped make this opportunity possible."

"I'm not going to reveal the pitch," Ryan told Dodgers Nation's Doug McKain. "I want to kind of surprise people next year. The way I figured out how to throw it, I was just kind of in the middle of an outing and uh, I was looking at some film and some Trackman on what my pitch shapes were and I was... I was kind of surprised on one of them and I was like, I didn't know I could make the ball do that. "So unfortunately after I kind of figured it out, I got hurt and then I had to stop throwing. So I had to pick it back up when I was able to start spinning the ball again in rehab. Um, and I kind of just figured out what I did to make the ball do that and um, yeah, we just kind of honed it in from there. It's still... it's still in the works. I mean, it's... I don't think it's going to be a highly used pitch, but it's definitely another strikeout option if needed. So."

The Reds have designated right-hander Lyon Richardson for assignment. Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer was among the first to report the move, which will make room for on the 40-man roster. Myers was acquired from Miami via trade earlier today. It's the second DFA of the day for Cincinnati, after Keegan Thompson met the same fate to free up a spot for free agent addition.

Heuer resurfaced in the majors this year for the first time since 2021. The righty was on a minor league deal with Texas that got selected onto the MLB roster in June. He pitched once before being optioned back to Triple-A. That was his only appearance with the Rangers, but they managed to find a taker for him at the trade deadline. They flipped him to the Tigers for cash. Heuer made two appearances with Detroit before being released in September.

Free agent left-hander suffered an Achilles rupture while working out this week, he announced on social media. He underwent successful surgery yesterday. Means didn't specify a recovery timeline but seems likely to miss the entire 2026 season. It's another devastating injury for a former All-Star whose career has been sidetracked by health issues. Means has made a total of 10 MLB appearances since the end of the 2021 season.

Perez is already under team control through the 2029 season and doesn't even become arbitration-eligible until next winter, so there is zero urgency on Miami's part to move a pitcher who looks like a cornerstone. Of course, the Marlins' stance could change if a team approached them with a truly huge trade proposal for Perez, but barring that type of Godfather offer, Perez will surely be staying put.

Right-handed pitcher Johan Oviedo, along with left-handed pitcher Tyler Samanieg and minor league catcher Adonys Guzman, were acquired from the Pirates by the Red Sox in a trade for one of Boston's top hitting prospects (outfielder Jhostynxon Garcia) and minor league right-handed pitcher Jesus Travieso. Oviedo, who turns 28 in March, was a part of the Pirates' starting rotation last season and appears to be in line to get a similar role with the Red Sox this year.