St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Nolan Gorman (illness) is out of the team's Grapefruit League lineup on Friday due to an illness, according to manager Oliver Marmol. Hopefully, Gorman will be feeling good enough in a day or two to get his final spring at-bats in before starting the regular season next Thursday. Heading into Friday's games, the 24-year-old infielder is hitting just .196 (9-for-46) with a homer, three doubles, two RBI, and 12 strikeouts in 16 Grapefruit League contests. Still, Gorman is fully expected to be the Cardinals' primary second baseman in 2025, at least on the strong side of a platoon against right-handed pitching. It was a rough 2024 campaign for Gorman, as he hit just .203/.271/.400 with 19 home runs, 50 RBI, six stolen bases and a 37.6% strikeout rate in 107 games. He was optioned to the minors in August and never returned to the big leagues. He still has power, but he's merely a middle-infield option in deep-mixed fantasy leagues.

New York Yankees right-hander Clarke Schmidt (shoulder) could actually be healthy to start the 2025 regular season, but the New York Post's Greg Joyce writes that it still appears likely that Schmidt will begin the year on the injured list by Opening Day next Thursday. Schmidt threw two innings of live batting practice in camp on Thursday and didn't have any setbacks after he was scratched from his scheduled Grapefruit League start on Monday due to right-shoulder fatigue. The 29-year-old is just not built up enough in terms of pitch count -- he threw only 32 pitches on Thursday -- in order to be part of the Opening Day starting rotation. The Yankees haven't made anything official yet, but the best bet is that Schmidt stays back in Florida to start the year to properly build up his pitch count to somewhere around the 70-80-pitch mark. As a result, both Carlos Carrasco and prospect Will Warren could open the year in the rotation.

New York Yankees first baseman Paul Goldschmidt (back), who was previously expected to return to Grapefruit League action on Friday, said he now plans to return on Saturday. Goldschmidt's back is close to 100 percent, and he's not concerned about missing Opening Day next Thursday. As long as Goldy returns this weekend and doesn't have a setback with his back, fantasy managers with drafts early next week should feel comfortable taking him as a source of power as a corner infielder in mixed leagues. The 37-year-old former MVP is highly unlikely to return to the form he showed in St. Louis several seasons ago, but he could be in for a decent bounce-back campaign in the Bronx in 2025 if he can stay healthy. However, a back injury at the end of spring training and the fact that his strikeout and walk rates were both career-worst marks clearly show an aging slugger.

Seattle Mariners outfielder Julio Rodriguez (illness) is starting in center field and batting second in Friday's split-squad Cactus League game against the Cincinnati Reds. Rodriguez is back in spring training action after taking a couple days off this week due to an illness. After a down year by his standards in 2024, the 24-year-old outfielder is currently hitting just .229 with three home runs in 13 Cactus League games in Arizona. The two-time All-Star, former American League Rookie of the Year and two-time Silver Slugger winner had a career-low .734 OPS in 2024 but still managed 20 home runs and 24 stolen bases in 143 games played in his third year in the league. However, he posted only 68 RBI after driving in over 100 runs in 2023. A bounce-back year in 2025 is entirely possible for J-Rod, who is still a top-10 fantasy outfielder.

Per Rob Bradford of WEEI.com, Boston Red Sox second baseman Romy Gonzalez (oblique) took swings on Thursday and felt "fine" afterward. The 28-year-old left Monday's split-squad game against the Atlanta Braves with a tight oblique, but it's excellent news that he could swing a bat just a few days later. According to Gonzalez, he expects to play again in a few days. The former eighteenth-round pick is unlikely to be selected in fantasy drafts over the next week, though his underlying 2024 metrics point to some sleeper appeal. Gonzalez's average exit velocity of 92.3 MPH a season ago would rank in the top 20 batters if he qualified, and his hard-hit rate jumped nearly ten points from 2023 to a robust 51%. The utility bat was particularly effective against lefties last season, sporting a .302/.362/.517 triple-slash across 130 plate appearances.