MLB Player News

Bautista (shoulder/knee) will throw another bullpen session Saturday and will up his effort level to around 80-85 percent, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

Bautista threw a less intense bullpen session Tuesday and will now ramp things up a bit more this weekend. The Orioles have elected to proceed cautiously with their closer this spring after he dealt with shoulder and knee soreness late last season. It's not clear when Bautista might be cleared for Grapefruit League action.

Rodriguez will be competing for a full-time spot in the Rangers' bullpen this season, MLB Pipeline reports.

Once a starting pitching prospect, Rodriguez's fastball can touch triple digits and averaged 98.1 mph in 2022, and he will focus solely on relief work going forward. He has a sweeping low-80s slider to pair with his plus fastball. Rodriguez logged a 4.27 ERA, 1.56 WHIP, 73 strikeouts and four saves in 49 games while navigating hitter-friendly conditions in the Pacific Coast League last season.

Cisnero has received treatment this week for a muscle spasm in the left side of his neck, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.

It seems likely to be a day-to-day situation, but the Tigers are only saying that Ciseno will resume workouts once symptoms subside. The 33-year-old right-hander is in the mix to compete for the closer job this season, so any missed time during camp isn't ideal.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone indicated over the weekend that Holmes may sometimes be used outside of save situations during the regular season, Andy Martino of SNY.tv reports. "There are going to be days where if it's [George] Springer, [Bo] Bichette and Vladdy [Vladimir Guerrero Jr.] coming up in the eighth inning in a big spot, that might be Clay," Boone explained.

Boone suggested that he plans to deploy Holmes in the highest leverage situations, which could come earlier than the ninth inning at times and may not always qualify the right-handed hurler for a save. Still, the manager hinted that he would continue to see plenty of chances to close, stating, "I would expect [Holmes] to close a lot of games for us. Probably most games, and hopefully a lot of games. But I do see a number of guys getting saves." Holmes didn't earn any saves in his first four big-league seasons, but he racked up 20 last year after taking over the ninth-inning role in the first half of the campaign. The reliever's stock is boosted by playing for a team projected to be among the best in the league, but Boone's comments and Holmes' late-season fade last year may provide enough risk to keep him outside of the top 10 closers in fantasy drafts.

Alexander is expected to primarily work in relief this season, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.

Alexander made 17 starts and 10 relief appearances in 2022, but he's likely to be much more of a bullpen option this year with Matthew Boyd and Spencer Turnbull back in the starting mix coming off injuries. Newcomer Michael Lorenzen also figures to slot into the rotation, along with Eduardo Rodriguez and Matt Manning. Alexander is a valuable lefty swingman for the Tigers, though his fantasy value will be limited in a relief role. He's always an option to start if a need arises, however.

Silseth could win a spot in the Angels' rotation this spring, but he is more likely to start the season in the minors, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

The Angels seemingly have five of six rotation spots accounted for, with Jaime Barria, Tucker Davidson, Griffin Canning, Chris Rodriguez and Silseth competing for the sixth spot. Silseth has a higher long-term ceiling than most of his competitors, but is also the least experienced of the bunch, so it would make sense for him to open the year in the minors. The 22-year-old righty logged a 2.28 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and a 34.4 percent strikeout rate in 15 starts at Double-A last year. He has never pitched at the Triple-A level, but he gave up 21 earned runs with 24 strikeouts in 28.2 frames in the majors last year.

Mariners manager Scott Servais noted Thursday that Munoz is ahead of schedule in his recovery from October bone-fusion surgery in his right foot, Shannon Drayer of MyNorthwest.com reports.

"I am very happy with what I've seen there, and he feels good about where he's at," said Servais. Munoz is not yet on the pitching schedule for Cactus League games, but he's already thrown a number of bullpen sessions without issue since he reported to Mariners camp. The expectation is that the high-leverage reliever will be 100 percent in time for Opening Day.

Pearson "looks really comfortable in his own skin right now" and "his stuff is outstanding," Blue Jays pitching coach Pete Walker told Keegan Matheson of MLB.com on Thursday.

Pearson's career has been sidetracked by injury, most recently with his 2022 season being wiped out by mononucleosis and a lat strain. He's healthy now, though, and while his days of starting might be over, he has the potential to be a lockdown reliever for the Jays.

Kelly's stuff has ticked up in recent seasons and is a contender to win a full-time role in Boston's bullpen this season, MLB Pipeline reports.

Kelly was a journeyman reliever earlier in his minor-league career. He gained fastball velocity during the off year in 2020 and came back racking up the strikeouts the past two years, culminating with him fanning 72 batters (34.4 percent) in 49.2 innings at Triple-A Worcester before earning his MLB debut last season. In addition to his mid-90s fastball, Kelly sports a plus changeup that has similar movement characteristics to Devin Williams' famous "airbender" changeup. Kelly probably won't get saves as a rookie, but he could offer value in leagues where relievers who post good ratios and strikeouts are useful.

Mushinski was shut down from throwing Thursday due to lower-back spasms, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

The Astros are calling the reliever day-to-day, so it would appear the hope is he won't be shut down long. Mushinski made seven appearances for Houston last season and is competing for a spot in the Opening Day bullpen.