MLB Player News

Fairbanks has a 50 percent tear of his lat muscle and will likely be forced to miss at least three months, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The Rays announced Monday that Fairbanks would face a shutdown of at least six weeks due to his lat injury, and he'll require at least six additional weeks to build up once he's cleared to resume throwing. As a result, the right-hander will likely be out until at least July. It wouldn't be surprising to see Fairbanks land on the 60-day injured list to begin the regular season.

The Tigers scratched Chafin from his scheduled relief appearance in Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Blue Jays due to groin tightness, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.

Detroit is hopeful that after a couple days of rest, Chafin will be ready to take the mound when his next planned pitching appearance comes over the weekend. After inking a two-year, $13 million deal with Detroit earlier this month, Chafin is expected to serve as the team's top lefty setup man behind closer Gregory Soto.

Winder appears to be out of the running for a spot in the Twins' Opening Day rotation after Minnesota signed Chris Archer to a one-year deal Monday, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reports.

Due to his late signing, Archer could require some ramp-up time and may not be included in the Opening Day rotation, but Minnesota's schedule will allow it to get by with four starters until April 13, if necessary. Winder's MLB debut thus doesn't appear to be imminent, but the 25-year-old righty looks like he'll rank near the top of the list for a promotion if an opening in the rotation arises at any point in 2022. Considering that Winder missed the final two months of the 2021 season due to shoulder fatigue, some extra tune-up time at Triple-A St. Paul to begin the year is probably more ideal than being thrown into the fire in the big-league rotation. Winder made only four starts for the affiliate before being shut down last season, providing a 4.67 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 15:3 K:BB in 17.1 innings over that stretch.

Tate hopes to be considered as a closer option this season, Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com reports.

Cole Sulser and Tanner Scott are the leading closer candidates for now, but manager Brandon Hyde hasn't provided much insight to specific roles for bullpen arms. Tate was solid last year with a 4.39 ERA and 1.24 WHIP, though his 49:23 K:BB doesn't profile well for a closing role unless he can trim the walk rate a bit. The right-hander added three saves, seven holds and two blown saves while posting an 0-6 record in 62 appearances. Tate has yet to allow a run or a walk in three Grapefruit League outings this season, striking out three in 3.1 innings.

Wantz was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake on Wednesday.

Wantz made two relief appearances in the Cactus League this year and allowed two hits and a walk while striking out three in three scoreless frames. Although he made 21 relief appearances for the Angels last year, he'll begin the 2022 campaign in Salt Lake.

Manager Chris Woodward doesn't want to put Barlow back in the closer's role right away this season, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports.

Landry said Woodward cited the raised expectations for the club as the reason to use Barlow as more of a fireman. Per Landry, Spencer Patton, Matt Bush or Greg Holland could slide into the ninth-inning role early this season.

Poche is scheduled to appear in relief of starter Josh Fleming in Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Orioles, Neil Solondz of the Rays Radio Network reports.

Healthy again after missing the entire 2020 and 2021 seasons while recovering from the Tommy John surgery he underwent in June 2020, Poche is vying for a spot in the Rays' Opening Day bullpen. He's looked sharp in his first two Grapefruit League appearances to date, striking out two over two scoreless frames while recording a save.

Manaea recorded seven strikeouts and allowed an earned run on two hits and a walk over 5.2 innings during a Cactus League loss to the Dodgers on Tuesday.

The left-hander was in midseason form as his numbers indicate, making it two straight strong performances for Manaea after a rocky spring debut against the Reds back on March 19. Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports Manaea retired nine straight hitters at one point against a Dodgers lineup replete with regulars, recorded all seven of his punchouts on swinging strikes and was especially effective with his slider. "My sliders over the past two games have just gotten better and better," Manaea said. "I feel like I'm really starting to rip it and not worried about placing it somewhere and trying to make it do something. I just get my grip and let it go."

Clase has struck out three and allowed three hits across three innings in three Cactus League appearances.

Clase enters the 2022 campaign as the Guardians' top closing option. With James Karinchak (shoulder) sidelined to start the season, it's safe to say Clase will get a week or two at a minimum to take full control of ninth-inning duties. The flamethrowing right-hander was fantastic last year with a 1.29 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 74:16 K:BB across 69.2 innings. He logged 24 saves, six holds and five blown saves.

Trivino, who's fired three scoreless innings across three Cactus League appearances, should be the clear-cut closer to open the season, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

The right-hander has worked around three hits and a walk while recording six punchouts thus far, an encouraging start after he saw his strikeout rate tumble to 21.6 percent last season. Trivino recorded a career-high 22 saves last season over 26 chances and added eight holds, giving him no shortage of fantasy relevance. Given his experience, solid results in the role last season and the makeup of the rest of the bullpen, it appears he'll be given every opportunity to hold on to the closer job in 2022.