MLB Player News

Montero is out of minor-league options but hasn't pitched well enough this spring to guarantee himself a spot in the Mets' bullpen for Opening Day, Oliver Macklin of MLB.com reports.

The 26-year-old has always had a live arm, but control and command issues have prevented him from having any sustained big-league success no matter how he's been used. Those struggles have continued this spring, as Montero has posted a 7:5 K:BB through six innings along with a bloated 10.50 ERA and 2.33 WHIP. The club would need to pass him through waivers to send him to the minors, but he isn't giving the Mets much choice with his performance in camp.

McGrath threw a bullpen for the first time since experiencing elbow soreness on March 6, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

The southpaw had been shut down for the past 10 days due to what was dubbed as "very minor" elbow soreness. McGrath said he felt fine after the session, so he may be able to return to Cactus League action fairly soon. However, this injury could impact his ability to land an Opening Day roster spot out of spring training, as he may not have built up enough innings to be fully ready for the start of the season. Things should become clearer once he gets back into game action, though.

Bass is in the running for the Cubs' final bullpen spot, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports.

Bass is in camp with the Cubs on a minor-league contract. He's pitched just 5.2 major-league innings over the past two years and owns a career 4.60 ERA and a 15.4 percent strikeout rate. Eddie Butler appears to be the favorite for the final bullpen job, but Bass could be up at some point during the regular season.

Reyes (elbow) won't appear in any games this spring, Joe Trezza of MLB.com reports.

There is reportedly no setback for Reyes, and the team was never fully planning on him appearing this spring. His timetable still has him returning in a bullpen role in early May, though it would have been nice to see him get some action this spring to assess how he looks as he works his way back from Tommy John surgery.

Suter continues to compete for a spot in the Brewers' starting rotation, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

It appeared early this spring that Suter would grab a spot in the Brewers' starting rotation coming out of spring training, but the chances of him doing so have decreased the last couple weeks with several other pitchers -- Wade Miley, Junior Guerra and Brandon Woodruff -- making strong cases as well and the Brewers considering opening the season with just a four-man rotation. The Brewers view Suter as the ultimate swing pitcher, which bodes well for him over the course of the campaign, but could hurt him early on.

Strop (calf) said he "definitely" can start the regular season on time, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Strop said he would appear in a Cactus League game by Thursday of next week at the latest, though he indicated he could be back in there sooner. If the right-hander can get a few appearances in, he should be able to slide into his high-leverage role in the Chicago bullpen ahead of new closer Brandon Morrow without missing any regular-season action.

Garcia was optioned to Double-A Jacksonville on Friday, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports.

He threw four scoreless frames while in big-league camp this spring, continuing his transition back to the rotation after serving as a reliever in 2017. Instead of assigning him to Triple-A, the Marlins will make the transition a bit easier on Garcia by sending him to Double-A initially, although he could see a promotion early in the season. While Garcia could get big-league starts at some point this summer, he lacks the upside necessary to justify stashing him in the vast majority of formats.

Peters was optioned to Triple-A New Orleans on Friday, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports.

He logged a 4.70 ERA and 1.96 WHIP in five spring appearances, and those poor results led to him missing out on a rotation spot to start the season. While he will open the year at Triple-A, Peters could still spend the bulk of the season in the big-league rotation, given the Marlins' other options. Jose Urena, Dan Straily, Justin Nicolino, Odrisamer Despaigne and Sandy Alcantara seem to be the favorites to break camp in the rotation, Craig Mish of Sirius XM speculates.

Jansen (hamstring) struck out one batter in a scoreless inning of work Thursday against the Royals.

Jansen appears to be over the hamstring issue that forced him to miss his previously scheduled appearance. Assuming he feels no ill effects Friday, the star closer will continue to ramp up his activity as he gears up for Opening Day. Jansen once again projects to be the top closer option this season after converting 41 of 42 save chances while posting a 1.32 ERA, 0.75 WHIP and 109:7 K:BB across 68.1 innings in 2017.

Reyes (elbow) is set to throw two innings of live batting practice Thursday, Joe Trezza of MLB.com reports.

Reyes threw in an intrasquad game Sunday and will progress to live batting practice, which puts him right on schedule. He's still expected to begin the year on the 10-day disabled list with the opportunity to come out of the bullpen starting in May.