MLB Player News

The Blue Jays optioned Kay to their minor-league camp Monday, Hazel Mae of Sportsnet reports.

Kay was one of 15 players sent to minor-league camp Monday in the Jays' latest round of roster cuts. The 27-year-old southpaw has been stretching out as a starter this spring and is expected to slot into the rotation at Triple-A Buffalo. He made 11 appearances (five starts) for the big club in 2021, compiling a 5.61 ERA and 1.66 WHIP across 33.2 innings.

Santillan is under consideration for one of the three open spots in the Reds' rotation, though he hasn't worked more than two innings in spring training so far, Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Santillan came up through the minors as a starter, though he had better results in the bullpen in the majors last season. "We'd love to have him in the bullpen because he dominated at the end of last season," Bell said. "To have that in the bullpen, his aggressive mentality, I would not be afraid of him in any situation (in the bullpen). But he's also a really good starter. With where we are, it's early to make that decision."

Houston optioned Solomon to Triple-A Sugar Land on Monday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Solomon was one of four players sent to minor-league camp in the Astros' latest round of roster cuts. The 25-year-old made his big-league debut in 2021 as a reliever, but Houston is still expected to continue developing him as a starter at Sugar Land to begin the 2022 season.

The Astros optioned Paredes to Triple-A Sugar Land on Monday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Paredes was one of four players sent to minor-league camp in the Astros' latest round of roster cuts. He's made 34 relief appearances for the big club between the past two seasons, logging a 3.99 ERA and 35:28 K:BB across 29.1 innings.

Atlanta optioned Webb to Triple-A Gwinnett on Monday.

One of Atlanta's more impressive relievers in the 2019 and 2020 seasons, Webb's performance took a major step back during the team's run to the World Series in 2021. He worked almost exclusively in low-leverage spots last season, accruing one save and no holds over 34 appearances while logging a 4.19 ERA and 1.51 WHIP. With Atlanta improving its relief ranks this offseason with the pickups of Kenley Jansen and Collin McHugh, the team had no room in its Opening Day bullpen for Webb.

The Yankees reassigned Nittoli to their minor-league camp Sunday.

Nittoli's longshot bid for the Yankees' Opening Day bullpen comes to an end after he gave up six earned runs in three innings over his three Grapefruit League appearances. The 31-year-old right-hander reached the majors for the first time in his career in 2021, giving up two earned runs in an inning of relief in his lone outing with Seattle.

Zimmermann (illness) is scheduled to pitch Wednesday versus the Rays, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

Zimmermann was forced out of his last appearance after two innings while dealing with a stomach bug. He appears to have put the illness behind him and will likely try to stretch out a bit more in Wednesday's outing.

The Brewers reassigned Kelley to their minor-league camp Monday.

He's expected to open the season at Triple-A Nashville. Kelley last appeared in the majors in 2020 with the Phillies, pitching in four games out of the bullpen and giving up four earned runs over 3.1 innings.

Honeywell is dealing with an olecranon stress reaction in the back of his right elbow and has been shut down from throwing indefinitely, Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Honeywell was a very exciting prospect a few years ago but simply hasn't been able to stay healthy. He missed three straight seasons from 2018 to 2020 while dealing with elbow troubles, though he was able to get back on the field last season and made his MLB debut, throwing 4.1 innings at the highest level. He looked like he had a chance to break camp with the Athletics this season but will now be sidelined yet again. It's unclear when he'll return, but it looks as though he'll miss an extended period. Honeywell has requested renowned surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache to take a look at scans of his elbow, so more clarity on the righty's recovery timeline could arrive in the coming days, according to Kawahara.

Garcia is expected to begin the season on the 10-day injured list while he contends with a side injury that first surfaced during his Cactus League debut March 21, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

According to Cassavell, Garcia was able to play catch Monday, so his side injury doesn't look to be a long-term concern. In any case, Garcia doesn't look as though he'll have enough time to get fully ramped up for Opening Day, which will leave him out of the mix not only for a spot in the Padres' season-opening bullpen but also remove him from contention for the closing job for the time being. Manager Bob Melvin has yet to anoint a closer as Opening Day approaches, so it's possible the Friars take a committee approach to the ninth inning to begin the season before potentially settling on a preferred option. Garcia was believed to be a candidate to factor into the closing picture after he submitted a 3.24 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 34:8 K:BB in 33.1 innings for the Cardinals in 2021 before inking a two-year, $7 million deal with the Padres in free agency this winter.