MLB Player News

Montero has looked good so far in spring training, The New York Post reports. "The stuff is still there," Las Vegas pitching coach Frank Viola said. "It's just [a question of] confidence."

The 25-year-old's fastball/changeup combination is still capable of making a contribution, but after spending most of last season in the minors and posting some atrocious walk rates, Montero has a lot to prove to the Mets. If he looks sharp this spring he could win a spot in the bullpen, but more likely the organization will try to keep developing him as a starter at Triple-A.

Manager Bruce Bochy formed his rotation for spring training Wednesday, listing Moore as his third pitcher which is where he should land once the regular season begins, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Moore had an up-and-down season between Tampa Bay and San Francisco last season, finishing with a modest 4.08 ERA and a 2.5 K/BB ratio over 198.1 innings. A full season in San Francisco should help in terms of his home ballpark being favorable to pitchers and also having a better offense behind him for leagues that count wins. Moore isn't a safe pitcher by any means, but his ability to strike out batters (8.1 K/9) make him viable in most formats.

Manager Craig Counsell said that Suter's best chance to make the Opening Day roster is as a reliever, but he could still develop as a starter in the minors, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

The left-hander appeared 12 times as a reliever and twice as a starter for the Brewers last year, so he could easily fill either role in Milwaukee's organization. Suter does have a leg up on a roster spot given he's one of the few lefties in camp, although his low strikeout potential leaves much to be desired if he becomes a full-time reliever.

Smith will be temporarily shut down with elbow inflammation, Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area Sports reports.

The positive news is that the MRI came back clean and manager Bruce Bochy is confident his reliever will be ready for opening day. The Giants plan to have Smith make six appearances before the season opener, but will likely exercise caution with the lefty. The 27-year-old made 26 appearances with San Francisco after being acquired at the trade deadline, posting a 2.95 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP.

Melancon said that he feels where he wants to be physically heading into spring training, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Melancon threw a bullpen session Tuesday and reportedly felt great physically afterwards. He mentioned that he normally feels a "slowness" when beginning spring training but that was not the case this year. This is good news for both the Giants -- who recently signed their new closer to four-year deal this offseason -- and fantasy owners hoping for another solid season from one of the game's top closing options.

The Reds still want to go with a four-man closer committee, rather than committing to Iglesias as the closer.

Ultimately the Reds hope that their plan won't be decided in spring training. "I would really like to see this particular game plan we have in place work out," manager Bryan Price said on Sunday. "We want to look at the end of the year and we see Storen and Iglesias and Lorenzen, in particular, with some saves. That may mean Cingrani as well, if he's the best guy we have for that situation in the ninth inning.

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.