MLB Player News

Bukauskas will undergo surgery on his injured right lat and be sidelined for 9-to-10 months, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Bukauskas pitched in just six big-league games last season due to injuries and appears set to miss the entirety of the 2025 campaign with this lengthy recovery timeline. Bukauskas has been dealing with lat issues, as this is the fourth time he's injured the same one. The hope is that surgery will finally correct the issue for good and Bukauskas can return to full health for the 2026 season.

Hendriks is slated to pitch in Wednesday's game against the Rays, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.

This will be Hendriks' first Grapefruit League action of the year and his first game action since June of 2023. Aroldis Chapman is also expected to pitch in Wednesday's exhibition, while Justin Slaten is scheduled to throw a live batting practice. Therefore, as Browne wrote, the closer competition will officially get underway. In addition to Hendriks, Chapman and Slaten, Garrett Whitlock is expected to get late-inning work, so how each pitcher fares this spring will be important for determining who gets the first save chances of the year in Boston.

Bummer is expected to become Atlanta's top left-handed setup man in front of closer Raisel Iglesias following the offseason departure of A.J. Minter (hip), David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.

After recording 46 holds over his last three years with the White Sox, Bummer was dealt to Atlanta in November 2023 but had a bumpy 2024 debut with his new team, managing only two holds in 56 regular-season appearances with a 3.58 ERA, 1.43 WHIP and 69:18 K:BB over 55.1 innings. The 31-year-old was the victim of some extraordinary bad luck however, as highlighted by his 2.22 FIP -- Bummer's barrel rate was in the 100th percentile and his groundball rate in the 98th percentile, but the squibs and flares he gave up kept finding holes. Dylan Lee could also see plenty of high-leverage work against southpaw hitters, but Bummer will get first crack at being the eighth-inning bridge to Iglesias, along with right-hander Pierce Johnson.

Bautista (elbow) will throw a couple more live batting practice sessions before getting into game action, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

It's worth noting that Kubatko reported Monday that Bautista said he "should" get in a game after this week's session, and now it sounds like he'll need at least one more live BP before getting into games next week at the earliest. He will either throw Wednesday or Thursday after throwing 25 pitches Sunday.

The Astros reassigned Otto (shoulder) to minor-league camp Tuesday, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Both pitchers have been behind schedule due to right shoulder issues, which effectively ended any chance they had to make the Opening Day roster. Otto missed time with a shoulder problem last season at Triple-A El Paso in the Padres organization, and it's not clear when he might be ready to pitch in games.

Dubin will be shut down after being diagnosed with right shoulder inflammation, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

It's not known how long the shutdown period will last, but it would appear unlikely that Dubin will be ready in time for Opening Day. The right-handed reliever held a 4.17 ERA and 49:26 K:BB over 45.1 regular-season innings for Houston in 2024.

Nardi (back) played catch Monday, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

Recovering from a lower-back injury, Nardi has a rest day Tuesday and then will play catch again Wednesday if he feels up to it. The left-hander should have time to get ready for Opening Day if he progresses well from here on out, but it doesn't seem as though he's particularly close to pitching in a game.

Assad (oblique) could throw off a mound this week, but a stint on the injured list to begin the season is possible, Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic reports.

Assad is working his way back from a mild left oblique strain suffered early on in camp. He could have enough time to ramp up for Opening Day if he does indeed get back on a mound this week, but a stint on the injured list to begin the season has not been ruled out. Assad came into camp as the presumed favorite to serve as the Cubs' fifth starter, but if he's not ready, Colin Rea, Jordan Wicks and Ben Brown would compete to fill in.

Vasquez allowed one run on five hits while striking out two batters over two innings in a Cactus League contest against the Cubs on Monday.

Vasquez allowed constant traffic on the basepaths, but four of the five hits he surrendered were singles, and he managed to yield just one run. The most impressive parts of Vasquez's outing were the seven whiffs he registered on 31 pitches and the six different pitch types he deployed. Vasquez is battling for the final spot in San Diego's rotation, with Kyle Hart, Matt Waldron, Jhony Brito and Stephen Kolek all in the mix as well.

Murfee (elbow) recorded two strikeouts in a scoreless inning during Monday's Grapefruit League game against the Rangers.

Murfee has been given a clean bill of health after recovering from Tommy John surgery that sidelined him for the 2024 season. He looked sharp in his spring debut, though the team will presumably monitor the right-hander closely throughout camp given his previous injury. Murfee should have a chance to earn a high-leverage role with the White Sox heading into the 2025 campaign.