MLB Player News

The Padres acquired Rogers and outfielder Brent Rooker from the Twins on Thursday in exchange for starting pitcher Chris Paddack and reliever Emilio Pagan, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

Rumors swirled late Wednesday that the Padres were working to acquire Rogers, and after trade talks continued into Thursday, the two sides came to an agreement on a deal. Rogers is likely to step in as San Diego's closer, though he may have a shorter leash on the role than he enjoyed in Minnesota, given the high-quality alternatives that exist in the Padres' bullpen. That said, Rogers has generally been reliable when his number has been called the past three seasons, as he's converted 48 of 60 save opportunities during that span while accruing a 3.06 ERA and 1.12 WHIP. He looks like a fairly safe No. 1 or 2 closer for most fantasy squads.

The Pirates designated Medina for assignment Wednesday.

Medina's removal from the 40-man roster clears a spot for the newly signed Andrew Knapp, who will open the season as the Pirates' No. 2 catcher. Meanwhile, Medina will be in DFA limbo for the second time this offseason, after the Phillies previously dropped him from their 40-man roster in December before he was claimed off waivers by the Pirates in March once the lockout concluded. If he clears waivers this time around, Medina will stick in Pittsburgh's organization and report to Triple-A Indianapolis.

Beede was informed by the Giants on Wednesday he's made the Opening Day roster, Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic reports.

Beede had a 5.08 ERA over 117 innings for the Giants in 2019 but missed the following campaign while recovering from Tommy John surgery, and he returned to the mound with Triple-A Sacramento last year. The 28-year-old was reportedly throwing up to 98 mph during spring training, though he still surrendered six earned runs across 4.2 frames. San Francisco has five solidified starters in its rotation, but Beede could work as the sixth man of the group if the Giants elect to go that route.

Adams pitched 4.2 innings this spring, allowing four runs on five hits and three walks. He struck out six.

Adams was characteristically wild in exhibition play, walking three and hitting one batter. His wildness last year was largely balanced by a 13.0 K/9 and .154 BAA. He's expected to fill a late-inning role again this season, though he's likely to find himself under plenty of stress if he isn't able to straighten out his control issues.

Johnson allowed one run (on a solo homer) over 3.1 innings this spring, and he racked up an 8:0 K:BB.

The right-handed reliever gave up only one hit aside from the long ball, and he whiffed eight of the 12 batters he faced. Johnson established himself as one of the Padres' top bullpen arms with a solid 2021 campaign during which he posted a 3.22 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 11.8 K/9 across 58.2 frames. Robert Suarez is the most likely candidate to get save opportunities for the team early this season, but Johnson could enter consideration for the role if Suarez struggles.

The Mets signed Curtiss (elbow) to a one-year contract Wednesday and placed him on the 60-day injured list, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports.

Curtiss will miss the entire 2022 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in September, but his contract with the Mets contains a team option for the 2023 campaign. He made 41 appearances (three starts) with the Marlins and Brewers last year prior to undergoing his procedure, and he recorded a 3.45 ERA and 1.22 WHIP in 44.1 innings. The Mets will monitor his rehab over the months to come before deciding whether to exercise his option early next offseason.

Padres manager Bob Melvin indicated recently that he's pleased with Knehr's work this spring, per Bill Center of FriarWire. "I like Knehr's stuff. He throws strikes, has a good breaking ball. He's got late movement to it. He's got a lot of confidence in what he is doing now based on the fact that he was in the big leagues last year. I like his progress," Melvin stated.

Knehr got into one Cactus League game this spring, allowing one run (on a solo homer) over two innings while striking out three. However, he also worked on his pitching on the back fields and evidently impressed his manager. Knehr posted a 4.97 ERA, 1.48 WHIP and 20:20 K:BB across 29 innings for San Diego last season, and it's not clear if he'll have a spot on on the 2022 Opening Day roster.

VerHagen will begin the season as a member of the Cardinals' bullpen, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

VerHagen and Jake Woodford were both in contention for the fifth starter's role, but the two will instead head to the bullpen as multi-inning options after manager Oliver Marmol announced Wednesday that Jordan Hicks secured the final opening in the rotation. The 31-year-old right-hander has previously seen big-league action in parts of six seasons with Detroit from 2014 through 2019, but he spent the past two years in with the Nippon-Ham Fighters in Japan, where he was one of the top starters in Nippon Professional Baseball. He returned stateside this winter on a two-year, $5.5 million deal with St. Louis and looked to have an inside track on a starting role, but a 10.13 ERA and 1.50 WHIP over his eight innings during the Grapefruit League slate prompted the Cardinals to go in a different direction.

Guerra consistently hit 98-99 mph during Cactus League play, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

The right-handed reliever isn't guaranteed a spot on the Padres' Opening Day roster, though he finished spring training on a positive note by pitching four straight scoreless outings and frequently approaching triple-digit velocity. However, Guerra has been plagued by injuries in recent seasons, and he has thrown only 50 frames across both the majors and minors since 2019. One thing working in his favor as he seeks a spot on the 28-man Opening Day roster is that he is out of minor-league options.

Manager Oliver Marmol said Wednesday that Hicks will be part of the Cardinals' Opening Day rotation, John Denton of MLB.com reports. Hicks will make his first start Tuesday against the Royals in St. Louis.

The Cardinals said at the end of March that Hicks would serve as a reliever in 2022 with a potential for save chances, but the club will reverse course with Jack Flaherty (shoulder) on the injured list to begin the regular season. The right-hander hasn't yet started at the major-league level, and he posted a 5.40 ERA and 1.50 WHIP in 10 innings across 10 relief appearances last year. Despite his low innings counts over the past three years, the Cardinals are viewing him as a traditional starter rather than an opener, according to Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat. Hicks may have lighter workloads in his first couple of outings, but the Cardinals plan to have him steadily build up his pitch counts during his starts.