MLB Player News

Neris will leave the Phillies on Sunday to join the Dominican Republic as the team prepares for the start of the World Baseball Classic, Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Neris made three appearances this spring, allowing two runs on three hits over three innings while striking out five and walking one. He remains the likely candidate for saves should Jeanmar Gomez falter in camp or during the regular season.

Biddle walked two and struck out one in a scoreless frame during his spring debut against the Phillies on Saturday.

It was a big deal for Biddle, who missed all of 2016 recovering from Tommy John surgery and last saw game action in August of 2015. He retired three straight batters after walking the first, but more importantly, he said he felt good afterwards. "So far, so good. I feel 100 percent. I feel awesome," Biddle said. The 25-year-old will look to continue to stay healthy and get his career back on track.

Treinen tossed a scoreless inning with two strikeouts in his Grapefruit League debut Thursday.

The Nats' addition of Joe Blanton to the bullpen seemingly impacts Treinen less than Shawn Kelley, unless Blanton is added to the mix of possible ninth-inning options by manager Dusty Baker. The battle to open the season as the Nats' closer appears to be a four-man competition between Treinen, Kelley, Koda Glover, and Joe Nathan.

Maurer made his 2017 spring training debut Friday, giving up one unearned run on one hit over his lone inning of work.

With the extra week of spring training due to the WBC, the Padres opted to bring the back end of their bullpen along slowly. Maurer is a lock to make the 25-man roster after finishing the season as the club's closer last year. He is considered the favorite the start the year as San Diego's closer, but he will have to fend off Carter Capps (elbow) both during Cactus League action and during the regular season (if he wins the job). Capps is considered the more-dominant reliever, but he is also recovering from Tommy John surgery last March, so he may not be ready to take on the closer role right off the bat.

Rusin has a "mild strain" of his right oblique, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post reports.

Rusin was forced to exit Friday's game with the soreness and there doesn't appear to be any definitive timetable for his return. The southpaw is in competition for a starting spot, a position which could be in jeopardy due to the injury. Consider him day-to-day until more information becomes available.

Snow has not been pitching in spring games because of a lower back/hip issue, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

The good news here is that Snow is close to pitching again, but he may not see game action for quite some time. The right-hander posted a combined 2.83 ERA over 54 innings in the minors last season.

Vizcaino hit 98 mph with his fastball while striking out two in an inning of work during Friday's Grapefruit League game against the Red Sox, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

He did give up a solo home run to Andrew Benintendi, but otherwise it's been a great start to the spring for Vizcaino, who's whiffed five batters in his first two appearances. The shoulder injury that derailed his second half last year doesn't appear to be an issue for him heading into 2017, and Vizcaino should begin the season as the Braves' primary setup man.

Adleman threw three scoreless, hitless innings against the Cubs in Friday's spring training win.

Adleman remains in competition for a rotation spot, and he's not the only competitor that's had a good week. Amir Garrett had a good outing Thursday, and Robert Stephenson pitched well against the Cubs as well on Friday.

Stephenson threw two perfect innings against the Cubs on Friday, striking out four of the six batters he faced. All four of Stephenson's strikeouts came on curveballs, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Stephenson wanted to work on two things this spring -- using his curveball and throwing inside more. At least in this outing, he accomplished that. Given how poorly his previous start went, giving up four runs in one inning, he needed this outcome.

Rusin left Friday's game after feeling soreness in his right side, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post reports.

Things didn't look good for Rusin when he walked off the mound with the team trainer, but it does not sound like the injury is too serious. Rusin will be hoping for a quick recovery so that he can get back to competing for Colorado's fifth starter spot.