MLB Player News

Stephenson (elbow) threw a bullpen session Tuesday, according to MLB.com.

Stephenson is slated to throw one more bullpen session before being re-evaluated. Conceivably, he could be ready for a Grapefruit League appearance at that point, which would hopefully give him enough time to get ready for Opening Day. If healthy, Stephenson projects as a primary setup man for Pittsburgh.

Almonte (elbow) will face hitters Wednesday for the first time this spring, Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Almonte missed much of the second half last season with a right elbow injury, so the Dodgers have eased him into things this spring. It's not clear at this point when he might be in game-ready shape, but the club expects him to be available for the start of the season. Almonte was quite a find for the Dodgers in 2022, sporting a 1.02 ERA over 33 relief appearances.

Hudson (knee/ankle) will face live hitters Wednesday for the first time this spring, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Hudson has been eased along this spring after requiring surgery last June to repair a torn ACL in his left knee. He's not expected to be ready for Opening Day but could join the Dodgers' bullpen by the middle of April if all continues to go smoothly with his rehab program.

Soto (personal) officially arrived at Phillies camp Wednesday.

Soto was delayed in getting to the Phillies' spring training complex in Florida due to visa issues and had to bow out of an opportunity to pitch for Team Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic. However, he can now work on playing catch-up from this point forward and should serve as a high-leverage bullpen option for the reigning NL champs come Opening Day. The 28-year-old right-hander was acquired from the Tigers in a January trade.

The Reds reassigned Busenitz to minor-league camp Tuesday.

Busenitz was one of seven players cut Tuesday as the Reds reduce their group at big-league camp to 61 men. The right-handed reliever previously made 51 appearances in the majors with the Twins between 2017 and 2018 before spending the last four years overseas with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball.

The Pirates placed Kranick (elbow) on the 60-day injured list Wednesday.

The move frees up a 40-man roster spot for Mark Mathias, whom the Pirates acquired from Texas on Wednesday. Kranick isn't expected to return until late in the season, if at all, as he recovers from June 2022 Tommy John surgery.

Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said Wednesday that tests on Garcia's left arm revealed no structural damage to his shoulder or elbow, but the team has yet to hone in on a formal diagnosis for his injury, Chris Halicke of DKPittsburghSports.com reports.

For now, Garcia's injury is being labeled as "left arm soreness," but more definitive word on the precise nature and extent of the issue should become available within the coming days when he undergoes additional testing. Tomczyk noted that Garcia is unable to grip a baseball at the moment, so the reliever likely won't be ready to throw for at least a couple of weeks and looks to be at risk of beginning the season on the injured list.

Soto (personal) has resolved his visa issue and is scheduled to arrive at the Phillies' spring camp in Florida on Wednesday or Thursday, Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Because he'll be arriving at camp about three weeks after pitchers and catchers were scheduled to report, Soto isn't expected to be available to pitch for the Dominican Republic team in the World Baseball Classic and will instead conduct workouts with the Phillies. It's unclear how much throwing Soto has been able to do on his own while he was waiting for his visa situation to be resolved, so he could be more than a week away from making his spring debut. Fortunately for Soto, because he'll presumably be ticketed for a one-inning relief role, he won't require an extensive ramp-up period and still looks on track to be a part of the Phillies' Opening Day bullpen.

Kinley (elbow) has begun throwing from 120 feet, MLB.com reports.

Kinley had season-ending surgery in late June of 2022 and is still recovering. He hopes to throw from a mound at some point in April before progressing to bullpen sessions. Despite the progression, Kinley is not expected back prior to the All-Star break.

Gilbreath (elbow) announced Tuesday that he will undergo Tommy John surgery, Danielle Allentuck of The Denver Gazette reports.

It was announced late last week that Gilbreath would likely need to undergo the operation, but the southpaw sought a second opinion before announcing the decision. Because of the surgery, he'll miss all of the 2023 season and could miss the start of the 2024 campaign as well. Gilbreath will likely be placed on the 60-day injured list whenever the team needs an opening on the 40-man roster.