Seattle Mariners pitching prospect Cole Phillips (elbow) has undergone a second Tommy John surgery and will miss the entire 2024 season and a chunk of the 2025 campaign as well. The Mariners acquired the 20-year-old from the Atlanta Braves as part of the trade that sent outfielder Jarred Kelenic to the Braves, but it will be some time until the 2022 second-round pick will make his professional debut. The Texas high-school draftee has a bright future but now has considerable injury risk and will not be an impact fantasy asset for some time.

San Diego Padres second baseman Ha-Seong Kim will return to shortstop in 2024 with Xander Bogaerts being moved full time to second base, according to manager Mike Shildt. While Bogaerts was solid defensively at shortstop in 2023 in his first year with the team, Kim has been the better defender overall, so the two will flip-flop positions. Offensively, Kim broke out last year, setting career-highs in batting average (.260), on-base percentage (.351), slugging percentage (.398), OPS (.749), home runs (17), RBI (60), stolen bases (38) and runs (84) in 152 games. The 28-year-old Korean infielder was one of SD's better all-around players, which has in turn increased his price in fantasy drafts in 2024. Adding shortstop eligibility will only increase his value to fantasy managers as he looks for an encore.

Cleveland Guardians pitcher James Karinchak is dealing with right shoulder fatigue in camp and will be on a slower schedule than the rest of the pitchers who reported to camp on Feb. 13. He will not throw for the first few days of workouts but the team is hopeful he can resume his throwing program shortly thereafter. The right-hander worked to a 3.23 ERA across 44 appearances with the Guardians in the 2023 season but was also surprisingly sent to the minors in June. He posted a 4.24 ERA in 23 minor-league appearances but also a 2.20 FIOP and a massive 43.8% K% in that time. His control was the reason behind the demotion as he posted a 16.4% BB% in the big leagues, lowering his K-BB% to just 14%, easily the worst mark of his big-league career.

The Toronto Blue Jays will be deliberate with outfielder George Springer in the 2024 season, per manager John Schneider. Schneider said the team plans to cycle Springer in more at designated hitter in the 2024 season but will also give him his fair share of days off to maintain his health. Although the 34-year-old appeared in 154 games in the 2023 season, he does have a lengthy injury history and endured a down season at the plate in 2023, hitting .258 with 21 home runs, 20 stolen bases, and a .732 OPS across a career-high 683 trips to the plate. His 104 wRC+ graded out just 4% superior to the league average and is the worst figure of his 10-year big-league career. He also walked a career-worst 8.8% clip and saw his isolated power dip to .147, well below his .214 career mark.

The New York Yankees have claimed right-hander McKinley Moore off waivers from the Philadelphia Phillies. The 25-year-old was designated for assignment by the Phils on Wednesday but found a new home in short order in the Bronx. Moore made his big-league debut with the Phillies in 2023, appearing in three games while allowing seven earned runs on five hits, including a homer, with five walks and two hit-by-pitches. He also spent time between three minor-league levels a season ago, working to a 1.33 ERA across 20 appearances between Single-A, Double-A, and Triple-A. A 14th-round pick of the White Sox in 2019, Moore sports a live arm as he averaged 97.8 mph on his four-seam fastball in his brief big-league time with the Phillies.