MLB Player News

Neris is using the offseason to polish up and implement his slider, Jim Salisbury of CSN Philly reports.

Neris is coming off a breakout year in 2016, where he posted a 2.58 ERA and an 11.4 K/9 in 80.1 innings, the third-most among National League relief pitchers. He did so while relying heavily on two pitches, a fastball he threw 46 percent of the time and a splitter he threw 49 percent of the time. He's working on improving his slider, which he threw 2.9 percent of the time in 2016, so he will be able to diversify his pitch repertoire further and build on his success. The third pitch could help the 27-year-old grab hold of the closer job that he is currently competing with Jeanmar Gomez and Joaquin Benoit for.

Rusin has a leg up on other competitors for spots in the Rockies bullpen since he is out of minor league options, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports.

The 30-year-old lefty was a largely underrated member of the Rockies pitching staff last year, switching between starting and relieving all season en route to posting a 3.74 ERA and 1.25 WHIP, both career bests. Rusin still isn't a lock to break camp with the big league squad, but given his recent success, lack of options, and left-handedness, he seems like a good bet to be present when Opening Day rolls around. That being said, it's tough to see him making much noise in the fantasy realm, as he doesn't strike out nearly enough batters to be worth anything as a reliever and doesn't start enough games to be anything more than a streaming option when he lands a start away from Coors Field.

Estevez is not a lock for a spot in the Rockies bullpen to start the season, Nick Groke of the Denver Post reports.

The young reliever spent a chunk of the summer as Colorado's closer, converting 11 of 18 save opportunities. However, his 5.24 ERA left much to be desired, and given the multitude of veteran options brought in to bolster the bullpen, Estevez is on the fringe of the major league roster. It seems most likely that the 24-year-old will start the year at Triple-A Albuquerque and shuttle up to the big leagues as needed.

Manager Andy Green said that Hand will make the Opening Day roster as a member of the Padres' bullpen.

Hand had his best season as a professional last season in San Diego (2.92 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 21 holds), something that many pitchers experience when becoming a Padre. It was more than just ballpark factor that contributed to his newfound success, as his strikeout rate (11.2) and FIP (3.12) experienced tremendous growth while the rest of his metrics remained relatively constant. The biggest change Hand made last season was relying on his curveball more than he has in year's past. He threw his bender 31.4 percent of the time last season compared to 15.1 percent the year prior. Hand will look to repeat his 2016 success and should be a decent source of holds in either a seventh or eighth inning role this year.

Stoffel did not participate in Sunday's team workout due to right shoulder discomfort, Stephen Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Stoffel signed a minor league deal with the Pirates this offseason which included an invitation to spring training. He's being listed as day-to-day with his shoulder discomfort, so the injury does not appear to be overly serious.

Vizcaino (shoulder) will set up Jim Johnson if he's healthy to begin the season, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Braves manager Brian Snitker squashed any thought of a spring competition for the ninth-inning role Friday, naming Johnson his closer and saying the focus for Vizcaino was just to stay off the DL, something the 26-year-old has yet to do in his big league career. "(Vizcaino) hasn't done it in a long time. Viz has just got to be healthy. We just hope we get him through [the spring], and he's healthy and back to being like he was when I got here last year in May," Snitker said. Johnson is far from an elite closing option and could always get traded, so Vizcaino might yet rack up some saves in 2017, but at this point you should wait and see how he looks in Grapefruit League action before considering him even as an option to stash on your reserve list.

Beede is one of several starters vying for the Giants' fifth spot in the rotation and VP of baseball operations Brian Sabean expects he will be in the majors sooner rather than later, CSN Bay Area reports.

Matt Cain is still considered the favorite to win the fifth starter job out of spring training, so Sabean's statement was more than likely made to suggest that Beede is next in line should one of the Giants' veteran starters go down to injury or falter out of the gates. A dominating season at Double-A Richmond (2.81 ERA, 8.3 K/9 and 0.55 HR/9) proved that his poor 2015 was more of an outlier than a sign of things to come. He could certainly surpass expectations this spring and force the Giants' hand in putting him in the rotation, but the expected path for Beede would be to start the year with Triple-A Sacramento and then moving to the majors if and when the team needs a starter.

Edwards could see an uptick in usage this season and possibly a higher-leverage role, The Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Edwards pitched a combined 61.1 innings last year between Triple-A and the majors. He posted a 3.75 ERA with 52 strikeouts across 36 innings for the Cubs, and manager Joe Maddon said Edwards could be used in a setup role this year for closer Wade Davis. "You saw last year what he's capable of doing," Maddon said. "I really anticipate a lot of the same and probably a little bit of an uptick there.

Reyes (elbow) underwent successful Tommy John surgery on Thursday and will begin rehabbing in April, Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Reyes is proceeding on schedule after it was discovered that he would need Tommy John surgery earlier this week. He'll begin rehabbing sometime in April and will miss the entire 2017 season and possibly some of the beginning of spring training in 2018. The Cardinals will now likely look to Michael Wacha to fill their last rotation spot, however Luke Weaver and Trevor Rosenthal will also get looks in camp.

Gomez said he won't join Team Venezuela for the World Baseball Classic, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.

This is a reversal from a report Zolecki delivered last week, but Gomez apparently has changed his mind. The right-hander saved 37 games for Philadelphia last year but collapsed down the stretch. Despite that drop-off, Gomez enters camp as the favorite for closing chances, though talented arms like Hector Neris, Joaquin Benoit and Edubray Ramos will keep his leash short should he falter again.