MLB Player News

Mills will be shut down for several days after experiencing elbow inflammation coming out of his most recent Grapefruit League appearance March 13, Chad Jennings of The Athletic reports.

Though Mills' injury isn't believed to be a significant one, it'll more than likely take him out of contention for a spot in Boston's Opening Day bullpen. The Red Sox acquired the 27-year-old right-hander in December after he turned in a 4.60 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 26:13 K:BB over 29.1 innings in the majors with Seattle and Kansas City in 2022.

Leclerc's fastball ranged from 92 to 94 mph Wednesday, down from the 96.5 mph it averaged in 2022, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports.

Leclerc finished off Wednesday's spring game for the save, so reduced velocity doesn't necessarily mean he can't close games. That's something manager Bruce Bochy understands and about which he's not concerned, according to Grant. Leclerc cut down on fastball usage last season while increasing his slider and changeup. What he needs to do is fool batters with the change or have them chasing sliders outside the zone. If not, Leclerc will get behind in counts and may throw fastballs in hitters' counts. He's walked four batters in 6.2 Cactus League innings, so there are signs trouble, but he's managed to avoid damage with no earned runs allowed. In the event Leclerc doesn't pan out as the closer, Bochy could turn to Will Smith or non-roster invitee Ian Kennedy to save games.

Stewart was reassigned to minor-league camp by Minnesota on Wednesday, Brandon Warne of Access Twins reports.

Stewart got hit around quite a bit in spring training, allowing eight earned runs over 9.1 frames. The 31-year-old reliever is still on his way back from a Tommy John procedure he underwent in May 2021, so he will need to re-establish himself in Triple-A before he gets a chance to pitch again in the majors.

Duran (leg) is scheduled to pitch in Thursday's spring training game against Toronto, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.

Duran took a line drive to the leg Sunday but walked away with nothing more than a bruise. There never was much concern over his injury to begin with, and Duran himself said his leg is fine. The 25-year-old reliever was dominant last season while recording eight saves alongside a 1.86 ERA and 0.98 WHIP through 67.2 innings, and he appears in line to have a similar 2023 campaign.

Smith threw a scoreless relief inning in Wednesday's spring game against the White Sox.

Smith hurled the eighth inning ahead of closer Jose Leclerc in what looked like the bullpen's dress rehearsal for the regular season. After five shutout innings from starter Nathan Eovaldi, Taylor Hearn got four outs and Jonathan Hernandez retired two batters before the back end of the bullpen finished it off. Smith has appeared in two games since returning to camp Monday following the birth of his son.

Henriquez (elbow) threw a successful 20-pitch bullpen session Wednesday, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.

Henriquez was shut down in late February due to right posterior elbow soreness, but he has experienced no setbacks since he resumed throwing a few weeks ago. The 22-year-old should be ready to enter game action with Triple-A St. Paul sometime in April.

Winckowski is starting Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Pirates after Kutter Crawford (undisclosed) was scratched, Mac Cerullo of The North Andover Eagle-Tribune reports.

Winckowski was scheduled to pitch Thursday in a relief role, but with Crawford unavailable, the right-hander will instead pitch in a tradional starting role. A strong outing for the 24-year-old might make him the favorite to win a spot in the rotation for the Red Sox, but he also may have locked up that role if there's any sort of injury plaguing Crawford.

Burdi was reassigned Wednesday to the minor-league side of Rays camp.

Burdi had allowed three earned runs on eight hits and one walk through 4.2 innings of work this spring in the Grapefruit League. The oft-injured 28-year-old carries a career 7.79 ERA in 17.1 total major-league frames.

Bristo was reassigned Wednesday to the minor-league side of Rays camp.

Bristo joined the Rays on a minor-league contract this winter after posting a rather underwhelming 4.56 ERA, 1.56 WHIP and 64:31 K:BB over 53.1 innings last summer for Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre in the Yankees organization. He is 28 years old and has yet to appear in a game at the MLB level.

Winckowski will pitch in relief during Thursday's spring game against the Pirates, Mac Cerullo of The North Andover Eagle-Tribune reports.

Winckowski will pitch after Kutter Crawford during Thursday's Grapefruit League game against Pittsburgh. The right-hander is competing with Crawford for the final spot in the Boston rotation, and he has yet to allow a run this spring with a 10:4 K:BB in his 10 innings of work in Florida. Winckowski or Crawford could also be options out of the bullpen, and the odd man out also is a candidate to head to Triple-A Worcester to remain stretched out for a possible promotion back to the big leagues over the summer.