MLB Player News

Munoz underwent Tommy John surgery Friday.

Munoz was shut down for workload reasons in mid-September after posting a 3.91 ERA and a 30.9 percent strikeout rate in his 23-inning debut, but the plan to keep him healthy evidently didn't work. A typical recovery timeline would keep him out of action until sometime in the middle of the 2021 season, though he'll still be just 22 years old at that point and will have plenty of time to develop into a shutdown reliever.

Howard was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis on Friday.

Howard was plucked off waivers from the Rockies in October but won't be opening the season in the big leagues. He owns a 5.87 ERA in 23 career major-league innings.

Hartlieb was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis on Friday.

Hartlieb didn't do much in his 35-inning debut last season to suggest he should open this year in the big leagues. He posted a 9.00 ERA and 2.00 WHIP. His .411 BABIP and 59.5 percent strand rate suggest he got rather unlucky, but he'll need more than a rebound in his luck to be an effective reliever this season.

Sims had a 7.94 ERA over 5.2 innings this spring, giving five earned runs on six hits and two walks.

Sims is battling for one of the last two to three bullpen spots, along with Cody Reed, Joel Kuhnel, Mat Bowman and Justin Shafer. It could be one less spot open if Tyler Mahle stays with the big club as a reliever.

Kuhnel had a nice spring campaign, throwing 5.2 scoreless innings, striking out three against one walk and two hits. He's a dark horse candidate for the Opening Day roster, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

Five bullpen spots are spoken for - Raisel Iglesias, Amir Garrett, Michael Lorenzen, Pedro Strop and Robert Stephenson are all safely on the team. The Reds could keep two or three more relievers, most likely three with the new 26-man roster. He throws hard and closed games in the minors, with decent but not elite strikeout numbers.

Beede (elbow) will undergo Tommy John surgery Friday, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Beede was diagnosed with a flexor strain and a UCL sprain in his throwing elbow during spring training, and his second opinion that he received Monday revealed that the injury will require Tommy John surgery. After recording a 5.08 ERA and 1.48 WHIP in nearly a full season of major-league work last season, Beede will now face a recovery timeline that will keep him sidelined for all of 2020 and likely part of the 2021 season.

Szapucki reported to camp healthy this spring, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

He was scratched from the Arizona Fall League roster in order to give his arm some rest, but if he was injured at all, the time off allowed him to get right. Szapucki was added to the 40-man roster after returning from Tommy John surgery last year to make 11 appearances at Low-A, nine appearances at High-A and one start at Double-A. He figures to return to Double-A whenever the minor-league season gets underway and could reach the majors in 2021.

Melancon has posted a 0.00 ERA and 6:0 K:BB through five innings this spring.

The 34-year-old was a perfect 11-for-11 in save chances to close out last season for Atlanta, and Melancon appears ready to handle ninth-inning duties again when Opening Day finally rolls around. He'll likely split high-leverage work with Will Smith, but Melancon is still expected to receive at least the majority of the team's save opportunities.

Mekkes was reassigned to minor-league camp Thursday, Bruce Levine of 670TheScore.com reports.

Mekkes spent all of last year with Triple-A Iowa, where he posted a subpar 5.29 ERA across 49.1 relief innings. He posted a much stronger 1.44 ERA in 31.1 innings at Triple-A in 2018, and he'll look to bounce back this year as he serves as organizational depth for the Cubs.

Chafin has had an efficient spring thus far, which makes it hard for manager Torey Lovullo to evaluate the left-hander, Richard Morin of the Arizona Republic reports.

Chafin, perhaps more than other Diamondback reliever, will be impacted by the rule change requiring relievers to face a minimum of three batters upon entering a game unless the inning comes to an end first. He's been successful attacking hitters, putting the ball in the zone with good results. A byproduct of that is a low pitch count. Lovullo would like to see more pitch variety from Chafin. "I would have liked to seen him throw a slider or two," Lovullo said after one outing. "But he knows what he needs to get to [get ready for Opening Day]. We'll figure that out." Chafin is an old-breed lefty specialist. He's made 225 appearances over the last three seasons, totaling 153.1 innings.