MLB Player News

Beede -- who was recently optioned to the minors -- could be considered to fill the Giants' vacant fifth starter opening, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

The 2014 first-round selection was expected to begin the year in the minors after a poor 2017 campaign with Triple-A Sacramento (4.79 ERA over 109 innings) followed by a rougher spring. With Madison Bumgarner (hand) and Jeff Samardzija (chest) projected to miss at least the first month of the regular season, the Giants could look in-house to fill the role with their salary right at the luxury tax limit. The Giants won't need a fifth starter until the third turn through the rotation, so they could also opt to bypass starting the clock on the likes of Beede or Andrew Suarez and simply fill the final or start or two with bullpen games until Samardzija is healthy enough to return.

Garcia (elbow) may open the season on the disabled list, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

Garcia is still working his way back up to speed from Tommy John surgery that he underwent in October of 2016. The 27-year-old was able to appear in five Cactus League games for the Dodgers this spring, posting a 5.79 ERA over 4.2 innings.

Suter earned a spot in the Brewers' starting rotation and will face San Diego in the club's opening series.

Suter beat out Brandon Woodruff for the fourth spot in Milwaukee's rotation, as the team has seemingly elected to move forward with a four-man group to start the campaign. The Brewers also announced that Yovani Gallardo has not made the team and optioned Junior Guerra to Triple-A Colorado Springs. Over the course of 22 big-league appearances in 2017, Suter posted a 3.42 ERA and 1.29 WHIP with a 64:22 K:BB in 81.2 innings.

Strop, who made his Cactus League debut Thursday, will likely get into at least two more games before spring training is over and could be ready for the start of the regular season, Carrie Muskat of MLB.com reports.

Strop has been sidelined this spring with a calf injury and then an illness, which delayed his recovery. He looked good in his debut, setting down the side in order with a strikeout in his inning of work. Manager Joe Maddon indicated that he wants to see how Strop looks in his next few outings before deciding on the righty's status for Opening Day. Unless he suffers a setback, it appears Strop should be ready for the start of the regular season, and he'll slot into a high-leverage role in front of new closer Brandon Morrow.

Hernandez will stop throwing for the next couple days due to shoulder stiffness, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

The club failed to provide any sort of information, so it remains to be seen whether Hernandez will be ready for Opening Day. The right-hander is expected to take on an important setup role for the Reds this season after signing a two-year deal in late January. In 2017, Hernandez posted a 3.11 ERA and 1.04 WHIP over 55 innings of relief split between the Angels and Diamondbacks.

Sims was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett on Saturday.

Sims was battling for a spot in the bullpen but couldn't quite find a groove during spring training and will start off the campaign at the Triple-A level. Last year he appeared in 14 big-league games, posting a 5.62 ERA and 1.51 WHIP over 57.2 innings.

Venditte will begin the 2018 season at Triple-A Oklahoma City, Eric Stephen of True Blue LA reports.

Venditte will return to the Triple-A level after spending the entire 2017 season with Lehigh Valley in the Phillies' organization. During 52 appearances, he posted a 3.36 ERA and 1.30 WHIP over 69.2 innings of relief. The 32-year-old will serve as depth for the Dodgers this year.

Nelson (shoulder) has increased his throwing program to 105 feet and is planning on moving up to 120 feet prior to Opening Day, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

Nelson's move up to 120 feet will be pivotal in determining an accurate return date for the right-hander. Once he's able to take the next step, he will remain at that distance for a couple weeks in order to see how his arm reacts. If all goes well Nelson could resume mound work in late April. Beyond that, the Brewers haven't publicly stated any sort of timetable, but there have been reports that he may not return until early July.

Robles was optioned to minor-league camp Friday, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Robles was considered likely to make the Mets' Opening Day bullpen but pitched himself out of a job this spring, putting up a 9.26 ERA in 11.2 innings. He posted a 4.92 ERA with a 5.13 FIP in 56.2 innings for the Mets last season. He'll likely be back with the team at some point, and while he gets a decent number of strikeouts (25.9 percent career strikeout rate) he's likely to be far from the closer conversation and therefore not much of an asset in most leagues.

Collins is one of four left-handed relievers competing for two open spots in the Nationals' bullpen, Chelsea Janes of The Washington Post reports.

Matt Grace, Enny Romero and Sammy Solis are also in the mix, although the Nats have some roster flexibility to keep more than two of them to begin the regular season with Koda Glover (shoulder) and Joaquin Benoit (forearm) both expected to land on the DL. Collins has the most big-league experience of the bunch, but he also hasn't pitched in the majors since 2014 due to two Tommy John surgeries. He's looked healthy this spring, though, showing his old pop with his fastball and posting a 13:3 K:BB in 8.2 innings. Because he's not on the 40-man roster and can't opt out of his minor-league deal until July 1, the 28-year-old is arguably the longest shot of the four lefties to break camp with the Nats, but a reliever with a proven ability to get tough left-handed sluggers out could be useful in a division with Freddie Freeman, Jay Bruce and Justin Bour around to cause late-game trouble.