MLB Player News

Montero is expected to earn a spot on the Mets' Opening Day roster, Marc Carig of Newsday reports.

With Seth Lugo (arm) headed for the disabled list, Montero is set to nab one of the Mets' final bullpen spots. There's no word yet on how long Lugo is expected to be sidelined, but his impending placement on the disabled list means that Montero will be up with the Mets until at least mid April. Montero certainly did his part to earn a bullpen spot this spring, notching a 1.77 ERA with a 1.13 WHIP and 23 strikeouts over 20.1 innings.

Bracho was optioned to Triple-A Reno on Friday, Bob McManaman of The Arizona Republic reports.

Bracho lost out on the final bullpen spot to Andrew Chafin despite having a better ERA (3.68 to 6.10) over 5.1 innings this spring. Manager Torey Lovullo says the competition was close, but ultimately elected to have the young right-hander continue his development in the minors. "Because of the way Bracho was really starting to attack hitters and getting quick, easy outs, as a group we really started taking notice," Lovullo said. The 24-year-old will look to build upon his 2016 campaign at Reno, when he posted a 4.81 over 36 relief appearances. He'll likely be among the first relievers to get a call-up if an extra arm is needed.

Chafin has made the Diamondbacks' Opening Day roster as the final reliever, Bob McManaman of The Arizona Republic reports.

Manager Torey Lovullo said the final competition was close, but ultimately came down to Chafin's progress over his last few outings. "Inside of each appearance, the fastball command and the velocity were coming back," the skipper said. "The secondary pitches were starting to show a little more consistency and we like the idea of having a second lefty in the bullpen." The southpaw finishes spring play with a 6.10 ERA over 10.1 innings and appears to be in line for low-leverage relief situations as the season begins. Silvino Bracho was reassigned to Triple-A Reno in a corresponding move.

Treinen's adjustment to ninth-inning duties could be made easier by having Matt Wieters, who has plenty of experience catching for closers that rely on their sinker, behind the plate, Barry Svrluga of The Washington Post reports.

Wieters formed late-inning batteries with both Zach Britton and Jim Johnson in Baltimore, and Treinen's 95 mph sinker is comparable to Britton's overpowering offering. In fact, one of the first questions Nats GM Mike Rizzo asked the backstop before signing him was, "How do sinker-ballers attack the ninth?" If Wieters can help Treinen gain the same level of confidence in his primary pitch that Britton now enjoys, any potential closer controversy in Washington could be put to rest very quickly.

Webb, a Rule 5 draft pick, has lost out on a spot in the Pirates bullpen and has been offered back to the Yankees, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

The 25-year-old allowed a 3.59 ERA in 72.2 innings at Triple-A last year, an encouraging enough effort for the Pirates to give him a chance to serve as their second lefty out of the bullpen. He was solid in Cactus League play, as he posted a 2.77 ERA over 13 innings of work. However, Pittsburgh instead decided to go with Wade LeBlanc, a veteran with over 500 innings of major-league experience, to fill that role. Now Webb will wait for the Yankees' decision to see which minor-league team he'll report to in 2017.

Iglesias (elbow) will be ready for Opening Day according to Reds manager Bryan Price, C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer reported Friday.

Iglesias was warming in the Reds' minor-league bullpen Friday and remains on track to put the injuries caused by a shower fall behind him before the start of the regular season. With Drew Storen, Tony Cingrani and Michael Lorenzen on the roster as well, the Reds have as many as four players they can use in the ninth inning, so it's important that Iglesias is able to establish himself to begin the season. He had a brilliant 1.98 ERA and 0.96 WHIP in 50 relief innings last season, so he should be considered Cincinnati's best option to close this season.

Blach has made San Francisco's Opening Day roster and will be used as a reliever to open the season, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Blach was given some starting opportunities in camp, but wasn't quite able to do enough to oust any of San Francisco's veteran starters from the rotation. Expect Blach to work in the bullpen, but given his Triple-A success as a starter last year (3.43 ERA, 1.14 WHIP over 162.2 innings), he could very well be the first option for a spot start should a Giants starter fall to injury.

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

The 31-year-old has been in Braves camp for less than a week, but after left-hander Kevin Chapman was designated for assignment Friday, Hernandez is in the thick of the race to land a major-league roster spot. The right-hander hasn't been very impressive in any of the three major-league camps he's been in, but his solid performance with the Phillies last season could give him a leg up on Chaz Roe for the final spot. There's also a chance the Braves opt to carry both relievers.

Hoover has earned a spot on the Diamondbacks' Opening Day roster, Nick Piecoro of AZCentral.com reports.

The veteran right-hander signed on as a non-roster invitee this spring and made the most of his opportunity. He fired 10.2 scoreless frames while fanning 12 batters and walking just one this spring. He'll slot in as a middle reliever out of the Diamondbacks' bullpen.

Smith (elbow) underwent Tommy John surgery Thursday, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Although it's very early, the current assessment is that Smith will be back in the majors in May of 2018. More information regarding his return should become available as he gets further in the rehab process.