MLB Player News

Santos is dealing with soreness in his right lat/teres major area, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

Santos ended last season with right elbow soreness, but now he's got a new injury which cropped up following a bullpen session this spring. It's not clear at this juncture whether the setback might be significant enough to delay his start to the season. Santos was acquired via trade from the White Sox earlier this month and, if healthy, is slated to serve as a setup man.

Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said Thursday that he does not expect Jameson (elbow) to pitch this season, Alex Weiner of ArizonaSports.com reports.

Jameson had Tommy John surgery in September, so even if he came back as a reliever it always was unlikely he'd pitch in 2024. The 26-year-old right-hander will focus on rehabbing this year with eyes of contributing for Arizona again in 2025.

Ginkel is dealing with soreness in his right elbow, Theo Mackie of The Arizona Republic reports.

Manager Torey Lovullo said the issue first appeared about a week ago, but nothing alarming showed up when Ginkel went in for imaging. While the D-backs don't expect Ginkel's elbow to become an problem, they will still postpone his ramp-up process as a precaution. The 29-year-old reliever logged a 2.48 ERA and 0.98 WHIP in 65.1 innings last season and figures to serve as Paul Sewald's primary setup man in 2024.

Zimmermann could be in the mix for a rotation spot with John Means (elbow) and Kyle Bradish (elbow) likely to miss the start of the season, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

Zimmermann covered 13.1 major-league innings last season, posting a 4.73 ERA and 14:0 K:BB. With Triple-A Norfolk, he featured as a starter, but ended up with middling results -- a 4-7 record, 4.42 ERA, 1.55 WHIP and 110:39 K:BB through 99.2 innings across 21 starts. Zimmermann will need a strong spring to secure a spot in the rotation -- Cole Irvin and Tyler Wells will likely be favored to fill out that group if the Orioles begin the year with a five-man rotation. Zimmermann could ultimately find himself in a swingman role.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Thursday that Phillips is in line to receive "the brunt" of the save chances for the team, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

The Dodgers flirted with signing Josh Hader and have been mentioned as a possible landing spot for Kenley Jansen if he's traded. For the time being, however, Phillips is the clear best option to close, having posted a dominant 1.74 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and 152:33 K:BB across 134.2 innings during his time in Los Angeles. The 29-year-old notched 24 saves in 27 chances last season.

White is projected to break camp on the Blue Jays' 26-man roster by Gregor Chisholm of The Toronto Star.

The 29-year-old right-hander has struggled during his time in Toronto after being acquired from the Dodgers in August 2022 and even lost his spot on the 40-man roster for a couple months this offseason, but he's out of minor-league options and the Jays can't afford to lose him on waivers given their lack of rotation depth. Should White open the season in the majors, he would likely be penciled into a long-relief role.

Lee (shoulder) will need to pitch well this spring to ensure he breaks camp on the big-league roster, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.

The 29-year-old southpaw dazzled in 2022 with a 2.13 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 59:10 K:BB through 50.2 innings, but shoulder trouble rendered him far less effective last season and he underwent surgery in October. Lee's healthy to begin the spring, but he faces plenty of competition for a spot in the bullpen after Atlanta added Aaron Bummer, Reynaldo Lopez, Ken Giles and other relief arms this offseason. As Lee still has minor-league options remaining, he could find himself on the outside looking in when camp breaks if he doesn't force the issue with his performance.

Tarnok (hip) is a bit behind schedule at the beginning of Athletics camp, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

Tarnok needed surgery on his right hip last August and will be eased into things this spring. The 25-year-old will be in the mix for a spot in Oakland's rotation once he's ready to roll, although a trip back to Triple-A Las Vegas to knock some rust off at the start of 2024 seems likely.

Newcomb (knee) is slightly behind schedule at the start of Athletics camp, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

Newcomb had surgery on his left knee in September and on his right knee in December and is still working his way back into shape from those procedures. At this point, he should not be at risk of being unavailable for Opening Day. Newcomb is likely pegged for a long relief role.

Lopez will be stretched out as a starter to begin spring training, but his ultimate role remains uncertain, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.

The flamethrowing right-hander hasn't been able to find much sustained success during his career, but Lopez did post a combined 3.02 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 146:45 K:BB over 131.1 innings over the last two seasons while getting the start in only one of his 129 appearances, so he seems better suited to bullpen work. On the other hand, he converted only six of 17 save chances during that time, suggesting he's a risky option in high-leverage spots. Nonetheless, an Atlanta squad that had its rotation depth tested in 2023 will keep its options open with the 30-year-old early in the spring. However he gets deployed, Lopez figures to have a significant role after signing a three-year, $26 million contract with the AL East champs in November.