MLB Player News

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.

Beck was diagnosed Thursday with an aneurysm in his upper right arm, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

The diagnosis was made after Beck visited with a vascular specialist regarding an issue with his pitching hand. Beck will weigh his treatment options over the next few days before deciding what to do, but surgery would seem to be a possibility. Giants manager Bob Melvin said Thursday that Beck won't be ready for Opening Day and could be sidelined for a while, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. The right-hander had tentatively been penciled into the rotation, but his long-term status is now up in the air.

Atlanta reassigned Widener to minor-league camp Thursday.

Widener logged 49 appearances in the majors with the Diamondbacks between the 2020 and 2022 seasons before making a one-year stop in the Korea Baseball Organization in 2023 with the Samsung Lions. After compiling a 4.54 ERA and 1.32 WHIP over 115 innings for the Lions, Widener returned stateside this offseason, settling for a minor-league deal with Atlanta. As anticipated, Widener fell short in his bid for Atlanta's Opening Day roster, so he'll likely open the 2024 season as a member of the Triple-A Gwinnett rotation.

Pivetta is expected to start Saturday's split-squad game against Tampa Bay, Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Pivetta prepared for the outing by tossing two innings in the bullpen Wednesday. He had been tentatively scheduled to start Tuesday, but Kutter Crawford started instead. Saturday will be Pivetta's spring debut.

Winckowski walked one and struck out one over two hitless and scoreless innings in Wednesday's spring start against Washington.

Winckowski, making his Grapefruit League debut, walked the first batter he faced then retired six in a row, submitting his first piece of evidence that he should be Boston's fifth starter. The right-hander is transitioning from the bullpen -- he excelled in relief last season -- so Winckowski needs to show he can sustain through longer outings. His main competition for the final rotation spot is Tanner Houck and Garrett Whitlock.

Sborz allowed two runs on a hit and a walk while striking out one over one relief inning during Wednesday's spring game against the Dodgers.

Sborz made his Cactus League debut, and the results were different from the last time he pitched in a competitive environment; the right-hander shut the door on Arizona for the final out of the 2023 World Series. Giving up a two-out, two-run home run to the No. 9 hitter Wednesday wasn't ideal, but it should not prevent Sborz from filling an expected role as part of manager Bruce Bochy's high-leverage bullpen crew. He could see save opportunities for a team with a volatile closer situation.

Bradford allowed one hit and one walk while striking out two over two scoreless innings during Wednesday's spring start against the Dodgers.

Bradford made his second Cactus League start in a quest to claim the fifth spot in the rotation. To that end, he's reintroduced a curveball to his repertoire to go along with a four-seamer, slider and changeup. "It's just to have something to steal strikes with," Bradford said. "It was a good pitch for me [in college], so I'm trying to get back to basically figuring out how to do that again." Or, if the rotation doesn't work out for Bradford, the lefty could land a bullpen spot. He pitched in both roles in 2023, including five relief appearances during Texas' postseason run, when he allowed one run over 7.2 innings.

Treinen (shoulder) pitched a scoreless inning in a Cactus League game against the White Sox on Tuesday, allowing one hit and striking out one batter.

This was a significant outing for Treinen, as he didn't pitch in the majors at all last season and hurled just 3.1 minor-league frames after undergoing shoulder surgery in November 2022. The veteran reliever entered in the sixth inning Tuesday and began his outing by giving up a single to Gavin Sheets but rebounded with a punchout and two infield popouts. Treinen's successful outing further puts him on track to be ready for the Dodgers' opening series in Korea that begins March 20.

Mariners manager Scott Servais said Santos (lat) checked out well after playing catch Tuesday, Shannon Drayer of Seattle Sports 710 AM reports.

According to Servais, Santos was throwing hard while playing catch, but he's still not been cleared to advance to mound work as he looks to shake off right lat soreness. Santos could get the green light to throw a bullpen session after he plays catch again later this week.

Stephan will be shut down for three weeks with a deep bone bruise in his right elbow, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.

Stephan's elbow is structurally sound, but the Guardians will shelve the reliever for a while to let him recover from the bone bruise. Considering that Opening Day is just over four weeks away, Stephan undoubtedly will require a stay on the injured list. The 28-year-old has been a key setup man for Cleveland, posting a 3.73 ERA and 27.5 percent strikeout rate over the last three seasons.