MLB Player News

Gsellman is open to starting the season in the bullpen, NJ.com reports.

Every team needs more than just five starters, especially the Mets, given their high amount of injury-prone pitchers, so it's likely Gsellman will make some starts this season regardless of where he opens the year. When everyone is healthy, though, Gsellman appears to be behind Steven Matz, Zack Wheeler and possibly Seth Lugo for the fifth starter job. The 24-year-old righty struggled to a 5.19 ERA in 119.2 innings last year and could be better suited to the pen, where his velocity can increase in shorter outings.

Grace will be stretched out a bit this spring with multi-inning outings in preparation for a long-reliever role this season, Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post reports.

He was the de facto long man last year, throwing 50 innings in 40 outings and compiling one win, two saves and only 31 strikeouts. Grace also made one spot start, throwing 4.1 shutout innings against the Padres, and could be an option if the Nationals have need of a spot starter at some point this season. His inability to miss bats at a sufficient clip makes him uninteresting in the majority of formats.

Leiter will compete for the Phillies' final rotation spot during spring training, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.

Assuming the Phillies don't bring in another starter to fill out their rotation, Leiter will compete with the likes of Ben Lively, Jake Thompson and Zach Eflin for the remaining rotation spot. The soon-to-be 27-year-old is coming off a rookie campaign during which he started 11 games for Philadelphia and appeared in another 16 out of the bullpen, finishing the year with a 4.96 ERA across 90.2 innings. His xFIP (4.19) suggests he was a bit unlucky to end the year with such a poor ERA. If he's able to lock down a rotation spot out of camp, Leiter could prove to be a solid, albeit low-ceiling back-end starter.

The Phillies have not shared a specific plan for their intended usage of Neris in 2018, Meghan Montemurro of The Athletic Philadelphia reports.

New manager Gabe Kapler may elect to play the late-inning matchups on a day-to-day basis, rather than cling to pre-determined roles for his relievers. Neris is seemingly on board with being used however the team sees fit, which could guide him to a more flexible late-inning role in 2018. Despite picking up 26 saves in 29 chances last season, it may be prudent to think of Neris as a fantasy team's third source of saves on draft day, unless the Phillies make it clear that he'll be their primary ninth-inning option this season.

Edwards is expected to begin the 2018 season in a setup role following the offseason addition of Brandon Morrow, who was confirmed as the team's closer by Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein when spring training began.

If Morrow struggles, or misses time with an injury, Edwards is on the short list of potential replacements, although the Cubs have another addition in Steve Cishek with past experience in the ninth-inning role. Nevertheless, Edwards is in the mix in many league formats even as a non-closer reliever, as he's an effective late-inning arm on a good team, capable of making a run at 100 strikeouts if the Cubs nudge his workload closer to 70 innings in 2018.

Hernandez is competing for one of the Marlins' final three rotation spots in spring training, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports.

Hernandez is set to compete with around 10 others as the Marlins look to fill out their rotation behind Dan Straily and Jose Urena. Given the 22-year-old hasn't pitched above High-A, where he posted a 3.98 ERA across 63.1 innings last season, he's unlikely to lock down a roster spot in spring. That said, as a Rule 5 pick, the Marlins will have to carry him on their active roster all season if they want to retain him beyond 2018, so he should see some low-leverage action out of the team's bullpen.

Padres manager Andy Green said shortly before spring training began that Lamet had a "leg up" for one of the three openings in the team's rotation, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Green said that Clayton Richard and Bryan Mitchell are assured rotation spots, but Lamet arguably remains the Padres' top starter from a fantasy standpoint, despite his skipper's lack of a firm commitment. Though Lamet has a modest pedigree -- the Dominican went unsigned as an international free agent until just before his 22nd birthday -- he breezed through the minors in about three years and displayed impressive swing-and-miss stuff in his first exposure to the big leagues last season, churning out a 10.9 K/9 rate in 114.1 innings. The right-hander isn't without his faults -- namely, spotty command and vulnerability against lefty bats -- but pitching roughly half his games in pitcher-friendly Petco Park can go a long way toward masking those deficiencies.

Schultz (elbow) is close to throwing live batting practice, Adam Berry of MLB.com reports.

Schultz has already thrown a number of bullpen sessions in Pirates camp, so it seems like his rehab from Tommy John surgery is going well. No timetable for his return has been announced as of yet, but given that he underwent Tommy John surgery on March 29 of last year, it seems like he's on track to return sometime in the earlier portion of the season.

Sims is in the running for the Braves' final rotation spot, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

It seems like Julio Teheran, Mike Foltynewicz and Brandon McCarthy are locks to make the rotation, with Luiz Gohara the favorite to swipe the fourth spot. This leaves just one spot remaining for either Sims, Sean Newcomb, Max Fried or Scott Kazmir (hip). Sims seems to be a bit of a long-shot for the role, mostly given the successes of Newcomb and Fried last season. Sims' struggles in the majors certainly don't help his case. In 57.2 frames, he could only muster a 5.62 ERA and 1.51 WHIP while striking out just 6.9 batters per nine. Sims would need to put together an outstanding spring to truly have a shot at overtaking the competition for the fifth rotation spot.

Bickford is pitching without any limitations this spring, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

A broken hand and a suspension limited Bickford to just six official appearances last season, but he ended the season healthy, and nothing changed in that regard during the offseason. Bickford has slipped down prospect lists or fallen off them entirely, but he was highly regarded when acquired by the Brewers in 2016, so he will look to get back on a path to the major leagues in 2018.