MLB Player News

Alzolay did not play in Friday's spring training game against the White Sox due to an illness, Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Alzolay picked up the illness Thursday and was scratched from Friday's game and noted that his schedule will be pushed back by two days. He agreed to a one-year, $2.11 million contract in January after going to arbitration with the Cubs. Alzolay posted a 2-5 record and 22 saves last season with a 2.67 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 67:13 K:BB over 64 innings.

Reds manager David Bell said Friday that Gibaut (forearm) is progressing but isn't a lock to be ready by Opening Day, Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Gibaut is working his way back from a pronator strain in his right forearm. While he is feeling better, he has yet to resume a throwing program. If healthy, Gibaut is projected for a middle-relief role in Cincinnati.

Matsui (back) resumed playing catch Friday, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

The left-hander was shut down from throwing the past few days due to back inflammation, but he's back to playing catch Friday. Matsui will likely need to stretch out his throwing distance before returning to mound work, so he should be at least a week or two away from being ready for game action.

Rainey topped out at 92 mph with his fastball while working a scoreless inning of relief during Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Cardinals, Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports reports.

The 31-year-old right-hander made only one appearance last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in August 2022, but he's healthy coming into camp and looking to regain a high-leverage role in the Nationals' bullpen. Rainey averaged 97.0 mph with his fastball in 2022 prior to going under the knife, but he said after Thursday's game he wasn't concerned about the radar gun readings. "You go back and look at my springs the past four or five years, that's probably harder than I'm usually throwing [at this point]," Rainey said. "I've started springs before at 88-89 mph. The velocity is not an issue... Hopefully from here on, it's a normal spring training, every two or three days on the mound. Being able to work on things while I'm pitching. That way come mid-late March, we're in midseason form and ready to go." Even if he returns to form, Rainey figures to open the season behind both Kyle Finnegan and Hunter Harvey in the pecking order for saves.

Finnegan threw three sweepers at 84-85 mph among his 15 pitches during Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Red Sox, Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports reports.

The 32-year-old right-hander has gotten solid results in his big-league career with a fastball that averaged 97.3 mph in 2023 along with a a splitter and occasional slider that both sit about 90 mph, but Finnegan worked this offseason to add something slower to his arsenal to give batters a different look. The early results Wednesday with the sweeper were encouraging, as one of them generated an awkward swing on strike three from Ceddanne Rafaela. Finnegan threw his fastball 70 percent of the time last year and that likely isn't going to change, but the sweeper could help boost a strikeout rate that sunk to a career-low 21.9 percent. After recording a career-high 28 saves in 2023, Finnegan will be in the closing mix this season for the Nationals along with Hunter Harvey and potentially Tanner Rainey.

Beck is scheduled to undergo vascular surgery Monday to address the aneurysm in his upper right arm, Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic reports.

The 27-year-old was diagnosed with the aneurysm Thursday after experiencing hand discomfort earlier in the week, and there won't be much of a delay before he goes in for surgery. Beck has already been ruled out for Opening Day, and a return timeline won't be established until after the procedure.

Patino has reported to Padres' camp after being delayed by visa issues, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Patino landed back in his original organization via waiver claim this offseason. It's not clear whether the Padres plan to stretch him out to start or if he's pegged for a relief role. The latter would certainly be the most expedient way to get him ready for Opening Day after the delay.

Kranick was diagnosed with a Grade 2 left hamstring strain Thursday, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Manager Carlos Mendoza said Kranick will be shut down for "a while" and will begin the regular season on the injured list. A clearer picture regarding Kranick's return timeline should emerge once he resumes throwing, but the 26-year-old right-hander is officially out of the race for an Opening Day rotation spot.

Giles struck out the side in a perfect third inning during Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Phillies.

The veteran righty wasn't facing minor-league scrubs either -- Giles fired nine of 15 pitches for strikes while fanning Bryce Harper, Nick Castellanos and Alec Bohm. Giles is in camp as an NRI and has thrown only eight total MLB innings across the last three seasons, so he's a long shot to win a spot on the 26-man roster, but at one time he was an elite high-leverage reliever before a series of arm issues derailed his career. If Giles has regained something close to his old form, he could still have something to offer a big-league bullpen.

Giants manager Bob Melvin said Thursday that Hjelle is a candidate to move into the rotation with Tristan Beck (arm) sidelined, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The Giants' starting pitching depth already seemed shaky and is now further thinned out with Beck out indefinitely due to an aneurysm in his upper arm. Melvin would prefer to keep Hjelle in long relief but now has no choice to consider him as a rotation option. The Giants also figure to look for help outside the organization. All 23 of Hjelle's major-league appearances have come in relief, but they've often covered multiple innings, and he was a starter almost exclusively in the minors.