MLB Player News

Colome walked three batters and struck out one in a scoreless inning of relief during Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Mets.

The high-leverage roles in the Nationals' bullpen remain undecided beyond Kyle Finnegan, but Colome didn't do himself any favors in his quest to secure one with this performance. The veteran right-hander is coming off a season in which he posted a 5.74 ERA through 47 innings with the Rockies, and he's been no better at sea level this spring, giving up two homers with a 5:5 K:BB through 6.2 innings over seven appearances. Given that he's only on an NRI deal in camp, there's no guarantee Colome even makes the Opening Day roster.

Bachman (general soreness) is slated to make a Cactus League appearance Friday, Taylor Blake Ward of The Sporting Tribune reports.

Bachman has been held out of game action since February because of general soreness, but he appears ready to roll. The 2021 first-round pick appears ticketed for the Double-A Rocket City rotation to start 2023.

Vest has been held out of Grapefruit League games lately as he works on his delivery, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

Vest has been blasted for eight runs over just three innings this spring. He'll throw live batting practice Saturday and could get into a game after that. "We have to get him moving down the mound the way he normally does," Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said.

Leclerc allowed one hit and two walks while striking out three over 1.1 scoreless relief innings in Thursday's spring game against the Dodgers.

Leclerc entered in the eighth inning and extricated the Rangers from a jam created by Marc Church. An inning later, Texas' probable closer had to escape a bases-loaded jam of his own making. The right-hander appears to be over the neck injury that paused his spring development for a week and has yet to allow a run over 4.1 Cactus League innings.

Sewald has fired two scoreless innings during which he's allowed one hit and recorded two strikeouts across two Cactus League appearances.

Sewald hasn't failed to throw a strike yet, finding the zone on all 11 of his pitches over his pair of appearances. The hard-throwing right-hander, who underwent heel and elbow procedures this offseason, is slated to see a fair amount of ninth-inning work this year after recording a career-high 20 saves in 25 chances in 2022, but Andres Munoz (foot) and Diego Castillo should also log an allotment of high-leverage opportunities.

Speier has a 4.76 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and 8:0 K:BB across 5.2 innings over six Cactus League appearances.

Speier's slightly elevated ERA is almost exclusively the byproduct of having allowed two earned runs on three hits across one inning against the Angels on Monday, as he's been highly effective otherwise. Speier has given up just an earned run on two hits over 4.2 frames in his other five Cactus League outings, a caliber of performance similar to that which produced the 2.00 ERA and 1.15 WHIP he generated in 27 innings over 24 appearances for the Royals between the 2021 and 2022 seasons.

Gott has a 2-0 record, 6.35 ERA and 1.41 WHIP across 5.2 innings over six Cactus League appearances.

Gott has actually been much more effective than his ERA and WHIP would indicate, as the bloated figures are essentially the byproduct of one poor outing against the Guardians on Feb. 28. The veteran right-hander allowed four earned runs on two hits and two walks over two-thirds of an inning, but he has otherwise fired five scoreless frames during which he's conceded four hits while recording three strikeouts. Gott is expected to be a key middle-innings asset for manager Scott Servais after posting 11 holds alongside a 4.14 ERA and 1.03 WHIP across 45 appearances for the Brewers in 2022.

With Hayden Wesneski likely closing in on the fifth spot in the rotation, according to Patrick Mooney of The Athletic, Assad will probably begin the season in the bullpen.

Assad has looked sharp this spring in limited work, but Wesneski has also turned heads, and the latter seems to have the inside track on a rotation spot. That will likely push Assad into a long-relief role, though he certainly could start at some point this year. The righty made his MLB debut last season and held his own across nine appearances (eight starts), registering a 3.11 ERA.

Manager Brandon Hyde said Thursday that Baumann will be used as a traditional reliever moving forward, Nathan Ruiz of The Baltimore Sun reports.

Baumann had been in competition for a rotation spot, but he has struggled significantly with five walks and eight earned runs allowed across eight frames this spring. He worked in relief in Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Blue Jays and turned in a clean inning with one strikeout. Baumann should not be expected to work in a high-leverage role to begin the season.

Diaz underwent successful surgery to repair his patellar tendon Thursday.

Diaz tore his tendon during a celebration on the field after Puerto Rico's victory over the Dominican Republic in Wednesday's World Baseball Classic matchup. He is expected to begin a rehab program in a week, but he is a long shot to pitch at any point in 2023.