MLB Player News

Martinez (ribs) will throw live batting practice Saturday, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

Martinez's scheduled outing Thursday was pushed back to Saturday due to a rib injury, but it appears the 33-year-old right-hander will work on the practice field instead. Martinez has previously said that he doesn't feel any discomfort while on the mound, and the Reds are confident he will be ready to go by Opening Day.

Lawrence has allowed three earned runs while maintaining a 9:1 K:BB across six innings in Cactus League action.

Lawrence's ERA isn't particularly impressive, but he's held opponents scoreless in four of his six outings. He's also struck out at least one batter in each appearance. Lawrence is in competition for the closer role in Colorado with Tyler Kinley, and both pitchers have performed well this spring. That leaves things murky for the ninth-inning job to begin the season, though last season's usage -- 27 of Lawrence's 69 appearances began with runners on base, and he pitched multiple innings on 21 occasions -- suggests that the Rockies may prefer to utilize Lawrence in the highest-leverage situations rather than reserve him for the ninth inning.

Kinley has thrown five scoreless innings while maintaining a 7:2 K:BB during Cactus League action.

Kinley is in competition for the closer role with Justin Lawrence, and both pitchers have performed well this spring. Kinley has allowed only one base hit across his five innings of work and has at least one strikeout in all five of his appearances. That doesn't guarantee he'll be first in line for save chances, but he's certainly made a strong case for the role.

Manager Oli Marmol said Saturday that Middleton will be shut down for 10 days due to a right forearm strain, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

It's unclear when Middleton picked up the injury, but he won't be in action for the next 10 days and will start the regular season on the injured list. Middleton joined the Cardinals on a one-year, $6 million contract in February after splitting last season between the White Sox and Yankees. The right-hander posted a 3.38 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 64:23 K:BB over 50.2 innings in 2023.

Jansen (lat) allowed three runs on three hits and struck out one over two-thirds of an inning in Friday's spring game against Minnesota.

Jansen surrendered a pair of home runs in his Grapefruit League debut but wasn't worried about the results. "It's my first outing, and we'll sharpen things up as we go," Jansen told Ian Browne of MLB.com. He's particularly focused on getting his cutter in shape. Jansen estimates he'll need another four outings to be ready for the regular season, and he should have enough time to ramp up before Opening Day. His next scheduled outing comes Monday.

Jax has thrown six scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts and no walks this spring.

He's in midseason form and ready to return as the primary setup man to closer Jhoan Duran. Jax's barrel rate allowed was in the 97th percentile last season (3.3 percent), while his hard-hit percentage, average exit velocity and 56.8 percent groundball rate were all well above average. He should be a significant source of holds (23 last season) this year while nabbing an occasional save when Duran is unavailable.

Berroa (shoulder) has been cleared to resume throwing Friday, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Berroa had a right shoulder issue crop up earlier this week, but everything checked out fine and the reliever is "on pace to crank it up," per White Sox manager Pedro Grifol. It sounds like the hard-throwing reliever could have a chance to be ready for Opening Day, which would be a pleasant surprise. If healthy, Berroa should be in the late-inning mix for the White Sox.

Wingenter was removed from Friday's appearance versus Atlanta after being struck in the leg by a comebacker, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

Wingenter had thrown just five pitches in the appearance before having to exit due to the injury. The 29-year-old right-hander is competing for a bullpen job in camp and has a 6:4 K:BB through 5.1 spring innings, allowing only one run on two hits.

Cubs manager Craig Counsell doesn't plan to enter the season with defined bullpen roles for Leiter or any other reliever, Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic reports.

Leiter has notched seven saves over the last two seasons with the Cubs, collecting a 3.75 ERA and 150:49 K:BB over 132 innings along the way. The reverse-splits reliever could potentially work his way into the saves mix again in 2024, although he's probably at least behind Adbert Alzolay and Hector Neris, and possibly also Julian Merryweather, in the pecking order.

Cubs manager Craig Counsell doesn't plan to designate specific roles for Merryweather or any other reliever before the season, Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic reports.

Merryweather got off to a poor start for the Cubs last season but posted a 2.69 ERA and 84:33 K:BB over 60.1 innings from May on. He'll likely be behind Adbert Alzolay and Hector Neris in the bullpen hierarchy initially, but Merryweather has a chance to work his way into saves consideration.