MLB Player News

Lopez will return to starting in 2018, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Lopez had moved from the rotation to the bullpen last season at Double-A Biloxi, finishing the year with 13 starts and a further 26 appearances out of the pen. He spent the winter starting games in the Dominican Winter League. The 25-year-old has made brief appearances at the big-league level in two of the last three seasons, starting two games in 2015 and appearing once out of the bullpen last season.

Miller (elbow) was placed on the disabled list Monday, Jack Magruder of FanRagSports.com reports.

Placing Miller on the disabled list was a procedural move for the Diamondbacks, who had to make room on their roster for the newly-signed Jarrod Dyson. Miller underwent Tommy John surgery in May, and is currently without a timeframe for his eventual return. The righty started just four games last season, over which he threw for a 4.09 ERA and 1.45 WHIP.

General manager Neal Huntington said Burdi (elbow) is progressing well in his throwing program and could resume mound work after spring training, Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Burdi, who was picked by the Phillies in last year's Rule 5 draft before being traded to the Pirates, remains on track in his recovery from Tommy John surgery, which he underwent last May. The flamethrowing 25-year-old impressed during his brief time with Double-A Chattanooga in 2017 before injuring himself, posting a 0.53 ERA, 0.77 WHIP and 20:4 K:BB across 17 innings of relief. Barring any setbacks as he continues to progress through his throwing program, Burdi could be back in action sometime this summer.

Peters will start the Marlins' Grapefruit League opener Friday against the Cardinals, Craig Davis of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports.

Peters is one of about a dozen pitchers auditioning this spring for a spot in a Miami rotation that lacks any true Opening Day locks beyond Dan Straily and Jose Urena. As a result, the lefty, who is scheduled to toss two innings Friday, may need to distinguish himself during his Grapefruit League outings in order to gain separation from the rest of the pack. After delivering sub-2.00 ERAs across stops at High-A Jupiter and Double-A Jacksonville last season, Peters earned the call to the big leagues in September and made six starts for the Marlins, registering a 5.17 ERA and 1.63 WHIP in 31.1 innings.

Yates is dealing with a twisted ankle, which the Padres view as a short-term issue, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

The injury could result in Yates missing a few workouts, but the expectation is that he'll be ready to face hitters shortly after the Padres open up their Cactus League schedule Friday against the Mariners. Yates looks on track to open the 2018 campaign as the top setup man to closer Brad Hand after registering 20 holds and a 14.0 K/9 rate across 56.2 innings with the Padres and Angles a season ago.

Pivetta is considered an early frontrunner for one of the Phillies' two expected vacancies in the rotation heading into the upcoming season, Meghan Montemurro of The Athletic Philadelphia reports.

Montemurro lists Aaron Nola, Jerad Eickhoff and Vince Velasquez (finger) as the likely rotation locks, leaving Pivetta to vie with Mark Leiter, Ben Lively, Jake Thompson, Zach Eflin (shoulder) and any veteran free agent the club may sign for back-end slotting. After riding a mid-90s fastball to a 9.5 K/9 rate over 133 innings in the big leagues as a rookie, Pivetta seemingly offers more fantasy upside than the arms he's competing with, though issues with walks and home runs could make him an ERA and WHIP sinkhole, as was the case in 2017. If Pivetta can show some improvement with keeping the ball in the yard and getting through innings more efficiently in his Grapefruit League outings, he should come away with a starting gig.

Suarez has an outside chance to grab a rotation spot to start the season, Chris Haft of MLB.com reports.

At this point, the pitching prospect is on the outside looking in, as Chris Stratton and Ty Blach appear to be the favorites for the final two starting spots entering camp. Suarez does have some nice numbers to back up his case, though. He never gave up more than three walks per nine innings pitched, and his ERA and FIP never went over 4.00. That said, he only has 88.2 innings at the Triple-A level, so he likely could use some more seasoning in the minors.

Beede is in the running for a spot in the Giants' rotation entering spring training, Chris Haft of MLB.com reports.

Chris Stratton and Ty Blach seem to be the frontrunners for the final two rotation spots, but Beede's pedigree gives him an outside shot to crack the rotation. That said, the Vanderbilt product leaves much to be desired from a fantasy perspective. He produced good ERAs in the lower minors, but he could only muster a 4.79 ERA at Triple-A last season while striking out just 6.9 batters per nine innings. Even if he does grab a rotation spot, Beede hasn't shown much to make him appealing in fantasy.

Nelson (shoulder) has been able to throw from 60 feet the past few days and stated that he's progressing ahead of schedule, Tom Haudricourt of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Nelson has been progressing from mid-September surgery to repair his labrum in a timely fashion, although he stated that once he's able to extend out to 90 feet, then "things will accelerate." For the time being, it still appears as though his timetable will keep the right-hander sidelined until June. but a more concise target date should come into focus once he's able to ramp up activity. Expect another update on Nelson's status in the coming weeks.

Blach is expected to break camp with a big-league rotation spot, Chris Haft of MLB.com reports.

Madison Bumgarner, Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija are locks to make the rotation, leaving two spots open heading into spring training. At this point, Blach and Chris Stratton are the favorites to win the starting competition, but things can change over the course of the spring. The 27-year-old southpaw struggled mightily down the stretch last season (5.02 ERA, 30:22 K:BB after the All-Star break), but his FIP wound up actually being lower than his ERA on the season. That said, his low strikeout totals and his issues facing right-handed hitters make him a relatively unattractive fantasy option even if he does crack the rotation to start the season.