The Spring Signal, February 14-16
New faces in new places, more injuries. Quick hit news reaction from Hunter Marvel
I hope everyone had a lovely Valentine’s Day weekend. In the world of baseball, we had some players sign with teams, trades go down, and more injury news crop up.
Zac Gallen
The Diamondbacks and Gallen are going to run it back on a 1 year 22 million deal. The qualifying offer, which Gallen turned down earlier in the offseason. Zac is currently SP66. In the last 7 drafts, he has fallen 19 spots later from his normal ADP. Something to keep an eye on now that he has signed with a team.
Jesus Sanchez
Traded from Houston to Toronto for Joey Loperfido. With the news of Santander going down for an extended period of time, the Jays added a power bat in the form of Sanchez. This is going to be a platoon situation in LF in combination with Myles Straw on days where they face a lefty starter. Someone we can target in roto leagues since he will only face right-handed pitching now.
Hurston Waldrep & Braves Rotation
Unfortunate news out of Braves camp yesterday. Waldrep is dealing with elbow discomfort, MRI showed “loose bodies” but the ligament seems fine. Dr. Google says the following about what it means.
Brave’s GM Alex Anthopoulos confirms Reynaldo Lopez and Grant Holmes will be in rotation. Right now, it seems like Bryce Elder will occupy the SP5 role. Unless a prospect like JR Ritchie or Didier Fuentes can have a breakout spring and break camp with the team.
Padres Shopping Spree
Nick Castellanos, Griffin Canning, and German Marquez all joined the Padres bargain shopping trip over the weekend.
Castellanos is going to see time at first base, outfield, and DH. All while being paid the league minimum by San Diego, while the Phillies cover the remaining $20 million. If you had Gavin Sheets shares like I did, this news was frustrating. There is a good chance that between Andujar, Sheets, and Castellanos, there will be a rotating lineup spot.
Canning and Marquez signed 1 year deals as rotation depth. Griffin Canning ruptured his left Achilles tendon on June 26, 2025, and is unsure when he will be able to join the rotation. German Marquez is slated to fill in the rotation.
Jurickson Profar
Reported healthy after undergoing sports hernia surgery and has no restrictions. He had a great month of August last season after returning from PED suspension.
If you are worried about drafting Profar since undergoing this surgery, do not fret. Corey Seager underwent the procedure before the 2024 season, just after their World Series championship.
As we can see, it was still a productive season while managing a left wrist bruise, hip discomfort, and bum hamstring. Those injuries are unrelated to the hernia. An interesting read here on the procedure. With this news coming out, you may be able to find Profar at a discount in drafts.
Profar is projected to bat cleanup and DH, which will help keep him healthy.
Gleyber Torres also had sports hernia surgery in October of 2025.
Cam Schlittler
The 25-year-old woke up with a sore back and has been limited to flat-ground work for the past few days. He is expected to resume mound work on Tuesday.
Gerrit Cole
Per @garyhphillips Cole is targeting a June return to the mound.
Edwin Uceta
Out for WBC due to a “cranky shoulder”. The Rays expect him to be ready for opening day, and they are not concerned at all.
Sal Stewart
Yesterday, @charlieg_ reported that Terry Francona said Sal will mostly play first and second this spring, rather than third, since they have signed Suarez. Stewart is a candidate to play second on days when McLain needs a day off or is at shortstop. First base remains the focus, but it sounds like Sal will gain second base eligibility in-season for fantasy owners.
Tommy Edman
Dave Roberts announced that Edman will begin the season on the IL. Tommy underwent surgery during the offseason to repair an ankle that had bothering him since the end of 2024.
Due to his absence, Hyeseong Kim will get a good look at making the lineup coming out of camp. Kim can provide steals at an extremely cheap price.
IF Kim can prove his worth while Edman is out, Tommy could shift back to a very crowded outfield.
Pablo Lopez
During the lunch hour, Dan Hayes broke the news that Pablo was dealing with elbow soreness and will undergo a precautionary MRI.
Jon called it in his AL Central Busts article about a month ago. Read that here! Make sure you subscribe today and don’t miss out on all this good info.
Lopez also missed the end of the 2025 season due to a right forearm strain in September. MRI at the time revealed no UCL damage.
But with these two injuries, I fear Pablo will require some sort of surgery to resolve the problem. Do not draft Lopez in any drafts coming up, at least until more news comes out.