MLB Player News

The Reds will include Fulmer in their Opening Day bullpen, Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Since last summer, Fulmer has bounced around between five organizations, but the Reds seem committed to hanging on to him, at least to begin the season. After coming over in a waiver claim from Pittsburgh earlier this month, Fulmer made three relief appearances for the Reds in the Cactus League, giving up a run on one hit and two walks over three innings. The 27-year-old will likely work in low-leverage situations out of Cincinnati's bullpen.

The Phillies announced Wednesday that Coonrod will be included in the team's Opening Day bullpen.

Coonrod's spot on the roster looked tenuous earlier in camp, but he was able to solidify his place in the bullpen after finishing the spring with a 0.96 ERA, 0.64 WHIP and 9:3 K:BB in 9.1 innings. Despite Coonrod's solid showing in the Grapefruit League, he'll enter the season behind at least closer Hector Neris and top setup men Jose Alvarado and Archie Bradley for saves and holds. That will make it tough to extract fantasy value from Coonrod, even if he maintains those excellent ratios over what will likely be a low volume of innings in relief.

Feyereisen was informed Wednesday that he will be included in the Brewers' Opening Day bullpen, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Feyereisen earned his spot after giving up just one hit (a solo home run) while posting a 17:2 K:BB in 9.1 innings this spring. Josh Hader is Milwaukee's closer and reigning NL Rookie of the Year and Devin Williams is locked in as the top setup man, but the bullpen pecking order is fairly unsettled beyond the top two options. If Feyereisen is able to carry over his form from the spring into the regular season, he could emerge as a key cog in the bridge to Williams and Hader.

Manager Joe Girardi announced that Moore will start the Phillies' fourth game of the season Monday against the Mets, Pat Gallen of CBS 3 Philadelphia reports.

Moore and fellow newcomer Chase Anderson were awarded the final two spots in the rotation over Vince Velasquez, who will head to the bullpen. Philadelphia brought Moore in a one-year, $3 million deal this winter after the 31-year-old southpaw appeared to get his career back on track in Japan last season with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. Though he only made 13 starts while missing time due to injury, Moore whiffed 27.8 percent of the batters he faced to go with a 2.65 ERA. He wasn't quite as dominant this spring for the Phillies, though he struck out nearly a batter per inning and submitted a tidy 1.15 WHIP. Before he made the jump to Japan, Moore's track record in the majors from 2015 through 2019 wasn't overly impressive, so he's best viewed as a streamer or back-end roster option in NL-only and deeper mixed leagues to begin the season.

Phillies manager Joe Girardi said Wednesday that Alvarado would open the season as one of the top setup men for closer Hector Neris, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.

Though Neris should be in line to receive the bulk of the save chances to begin the season, Alvarado -- the lone southpaw in the bullpen -- could factor into the ninth-inning mix when the Phillies face lefty-heavy lineups. Alvarado missed extended time in both of his final two seasons with the Rays due to arm injuries, but he was healthy and effective this spring, striking out 13 while holding opposing hitters to a .167 average over 8.1 innings.

Manager Joe Girardi said Neris would open the season as the Phillies' closer, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.

After posting a 14:0 K:BB while allowing just five hits in 9.2 innings this spring, Neris was awarded the job over Archie Bradley and Jose Alvarado, who Girardi confirmed would be the Phillies' top right-handed and left-handed setup man, respectively. Though Neris has converted 70 of his 87 save chances (80.5 percent) over the past four seasons, an inability to consistently keep the ball in the yard has prevented him from building up much job security. With two high-quality options in Bradley and Alvarado waiting in the wings, Neris will likely need to avoid blowups early on in April and May to ensure he finishes the season as the Phillies' top option for saves.

Chicago manager David Ross said Miller will "contribute to our team" this season, Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic reports.

Miller was reassigned to minor-league camp Saturday, and he could opt out of the assignment at some point early in the season, but Ross said the righty will "pitch big innings for us." With the jump from 60 games in 2020 back to 162 games this season, teams will likely dip into their pitching depth to cover the innings without overworking starters. Miller's not on the fantasy radar right now, and his performance the past few seasons hasn't been great, but he could work his way into a regular role with the Cubs at some point.

Alexander has been awarded a spot in the Dodgers' Opening Day bullpen, Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Alexander will give the Dodgers a second matchup lefty out of the bullpen to complement Victor Gonzalez. Fellow southpaw David Price will serve as more of a multi-inning option. The 31-year-old Alexander saw his effectiveness wane during his third season with the Dodgers in 2020, giving up four runs on nine hits and nine walks over 12.1 innings.

Santana won't be included on the Dodgers' Opening Day roster, Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times reports.

The coaching staff evidently felt the team was better off carrying another lefty reliever to begin the season, so Scott Alexander was awarded the final spot in the bullpen over the right-handed Santana. The 24-year-old is expected to spent the next month at the Dodgers' alternate site or as a member of the taxi squad before reporting to Triple-A Oklahoma City for the start of the minor-league season in May.

The Giants reassigned Leone to their minor-league camp Tuesday, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.

Leone was one of four non-roster relievers with previous big-league experience whom the Giants sent back to minor-league camp ahead of Opening Day. He spent 2020 with Cleveland, making 12 appearances out of the bullpen while giving up nine earned runs over 9.2 innings.