MLB Player News

Barraclough is not expected to overtake Brad Ziegler as the Marlins' closer to start the regular season, Fox Sports Florida reports.

"Claw" has a gaudy 12.1 K/9 to go with a 2.97 ERA in 163 MLB innings, but manager Don Mattingly seems to prefer using him in high-leverage situations outside of the ninth inning. The skipper commented, "For two years I've been putting Claw against the best part of anybody's lineup, in the seventh or the eighth...We want to be flexible with a few of our guys down there." Barraclough should put up good numbers and seems to be next in line for save opportunities, but it doesn't seem like a changing of the guard is imminent.

Chargois (elbow) was claimed off waivers by the Dodgers on Friday, Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times reports.

The 27-year-old righty pitched 23 innings for the Twins back in 2016, putting up a 4.70 ERA and a low 17:12 K:BB. He missed almost the entirety of the 2017 season with a series of injuries, throwing just 2.2 innings for Triple-A Rochester. Even if healthy, he's unlikely to be anything more than organizational depth for the Dodgers.

Neal will start the Dodgers' Cactus League game Saturday against Kansas City, Eric Stephen of TrueBlueLA.com reports.

Neal will be stretched out as a starter after appearing exclusively out of the bullpen in six games for Oakland last year. The 29-year-old righty owns a career 4.89 ERA and a 10.7 percent strikeout rate in 84.2 major-league innings, so he's unlikely to be more than organizational depth for the Dodgers this season.

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.