Cardinals pitching prospect out for the season

One of the best pitching prospects in all of baseball and an early favorite for a Rookie of the Year award will have to wait a year to prove it.

of the St. Louis Cardinals has a complete rupture of a ligament in his right elbow and will require Tommy John surgery. General manager met with Reyes early Wednesday, and the player and team expect a second opinion to confirm the diagnosis.

Reyes will require 12 to 18 months to recover. Most starting pitchers miss about a year. Reyes, 22, experienced a sharp discomfort in his right elbow Friday while throwing to prepare for spring training.

“The thoughts going through my head, ‘It sucks,’ ” Reyes said.

The Cardinals had Reyes positioned as a candidate for the fifth spot in their rotation.

Napoli close to deal with Rangers

flew to Arizona on Wednesday and was at the Texas Rangers spring camp to undergo a physical exam he would later pass. The Rangers are expected to announce his one-year deal Thursday. The slugger will be making his third stint with the Rangers, who acquired him before the 2011 season and again during the 2015 campaign.

Napoli fills the void at first base left by who left in December for Boston. Napoli posted careerhighs last season in home runs (34) and RBIs (101) for Cleveland and helped guide the Indians to the World

Series.

Braves infielder Rodriguez has surgery

Atlanta Braves infielder

has had surgery to repair the rotator cuff in his left shoulder. General manager

said Rodriguez will miss an “indeterminate period of time.” Coppolella said the team “won’t rule him out for the year.”

Rodriguez, who agreed to an $11.5 million, two-year contract with Atlanta in November, hurt his shoulder when a vehicle he was driving was rammed by a stolen police car in Miami on Jan. 28.

The Braves acquired second baseman

from Cincinnati on Sunday.

Royals sign Wood to two-year contract

the newest member of the Kansas City Royals pitching staff, arrived at spring training in Surprise, Ariz., on Wednesday, officially signing a two-year, $12 million contract.

To make room for Wood on the Royals’ 40-man roster, the team placed pitcher on the 60-day disabled list because of what was described as a stable lumbar vertebral fracture.

Royals manager said Flynn fell through the roof of his barn in Oklahoma, causing a broken rib and three non-displaced fractures in his vertebrae.

FROM WIRE REPORTS