MLB Player News

The Marlins designated Martinez for assignment Thursday.

Martinez was claimed off waivers from the Diamondbacks last Thursday, and after just a week with the Marlins he'll lose his spot on the 40-man roster in favor of Brett de Geus, who was picked up off waivers from Pittsburgh. Martinez finished last season with a 3.59 ERA and 1.27 WHIP over 52.2 regular-season innings with the Astros, so there could still be several teams willing to give him a spot on their 40-man instead.

Miami claimed de Geus off waivers from Pittsburgh on Thursday, Kevin Barral of FishonFirst.com reports.

De Geus was designated for assignment by the Marlins in September and was also with the Blue Jays during the offseason before being traded to the Pirates. He made 13 big-league appearances last year and had a 7.15 ERA and 7:4 K:BB over 11.1 innings. In a corresponding move, Miami designated Seth Martinez for assignment.

Bautista (elbow) threw approximately 25 pitches Thursday in his second live batting practice session of the spring, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

The hard-throwing right-hander faced Heston Kjerstad four times and Gary Sanchez three times during the session, recording three strikeouts among the seven plate appearances. Bautista is expected to throw live BP sessions on one or two more occasions before making his Grapefruit League debut in the first or second week of March. Manager Brandon Hyde has set seven spring appearances -- either in Grapefruit League games or on the back fields at camp -- as the benchmark Bautista needs to hit to make himself an option for the Opening Day bullpen.

Phillips (shoulder) threw his third bullpen session of spring training Thursday, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

Phillips has already ruled himself out for the Dodgers' first two games of the season March 18 and 19 in Tokyo versus the Cubs, but the right-handed reliever may still have a chance of being ready to go for the March 27 domestic opener versus the Tigers if he experiences no setbacks during the ramp-up process. Though he led the Dodgers with 18 saves in 2024, Phillips will likely find himself at least a couple rungs lower in the bullpen pecking order during the upcoming season after Los Angeles added two other pitchers with more closing experience (Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates) in free agency.

Atlanta reassigned Suero to minor-league camp Thursday.

Suero was competing for a spot in Atlanta's bullpen after posting a 2.66 ERA and 1.21 WHIP across 67.2 innings with Houston's Triple-A affiliate last year. However, he gave up two earned runs over two innings in the Grapefruit League and will now head to Gwinnett to begin the 2025 campaign.

Manager Torey Lovullo said Thursday that Winder will undergo Tommy John surgery, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports.

Winder signed with Arizona on a minor-league deal in January and made one appearance this spring, allowing two earned runs over 1.2 innings. However, his upcoming surgery will ensure he misses the entire 2025 season and likely the first half of 2026.

Manager Torey Lovullo said Thursday that Vieira (elbow/knee/shoulder) will undergo Tommy John surgery, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports.

Vieira reported soreness in his knee, shoulder and elbow Monday -- the last of which seems to be the most severe, as it will require him to undergo Tommy John surgery. The operation will force him to miss the entire 2025 season, and he likely won't be cleared for game action until mid-2026.

Yoho threw a scoreless inning of relief in Wednesday's exhibition game.

The 25-year-old rose rapidly through the minor-league ranks last season and is competing for a relief spot with the big club. Even if he secures one it's unlikely he jumps into a key role with just 14.1 career innings above the Double-A level, but he tallied 10 saves last season and owns both a 15.5 K/9 as a professional. He features and elite changeup and is worth keeping an eye on this spring.

The Cardinals were granted a fourth option year on Thompson earlier this offseason, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

Before the extra option year was granted, Thompson would have either had to be included on the Opening Day roster or exposed to waivers. Now, St. Louis has the ability to send him to Triple-A Memphis to begin the 2025 season, which it's likely to do after Thompson struggled both in the majors (9.53 ERA) and minors (4.40 ERA, 14.2 percent walk rate) in 2024.

Webb (Achilles) is listed as one of the Orioles' available pitchers for Thursday's Grapefruit League game versus the Blue Jays, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

Webb has had tough luck on the injury front during his career, as he missed the entire 2023 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery and the entire 2024 season after undergoing surgery last May to repair a torn left Achilles tendon. After a long rehab from the latter injury, Webb is back to full health and is slated to make his first appearance in a game setting since March 9, 2023. The 27-year-old righty is likely to open the upcoming season in the bullpen at Triple-A Norfolk.