MLB Player News

The Yankees optioned De Los Santos to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday.

De Los Santos finished spring training with a 1.93 ERA across 9.1 innings, but he was unable to secure a spot in the Yankees' Opening Day bullpen. De Los Santos spent all of 2024 in Triple-A, but he'll be a prime candidate for a call-up if the Yankees need right-handed depth out of the bullpen.

Cruz is working out with the Padres at Petco Park on Wednesday and could be included on their Opening Day roster, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Cruz was optioned to minor-league camp in mid-March, but it looks like he will wind up making the team after all. The left-hander would be making his major-league debut if he gets into a game.

Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said Wednesday that Brazoban will be included on the Opening Day roster, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.

Brazoban secured one of the final available spots in the New York bullpen. The 35-year-old right-hander is likely to be used mostly in middle relief after he turned in a 3.83 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 51:25 K:BB to go with five holds across his 51.2 big-league innings between the Marlins and Mets during the regular season last year.

Kranick will be part of the Mets' bullpen on Opening Day, Abbey Mastracco of the New York Daily News reports.

Kranick had a dominant Grapefruit League showing, permitting only two runs with a 15:1 K:BB over 12.1 innings. The 27-year-old's stuff has played up since he switched to relief, and he could work his way into a high-leverage role for the Mets.

The Reds placed Diaz (hamstring) on the 15-day injured list Wednesday.

Diaz's placement on the IL is retroactive to Monday, so he could be activated as soon as April 8, assuming he's fully moved past his hamstring injury by then. The 28-year-old has notched at least 25 saves in consecutive seasons, but he struggled to keep his walks in check in both years and saw his strikeout rate dip to 22.7 percent in 2024. The control problems cropped up again this spring, which put Diaz's status as the Reds' closer on shaky ground even before he was diagnosed with hamstring inflammation. The Reds are seemingly prepared to take a committee approach to the closer position to begin the season, and if a reliever is quickly able to gain the trust of manager Terry Francona in the late innings, Diaz may not be in the mix for save chances once he's healthy.

Smith will open the season in the White Sox rotation, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.

Smith had already been told he was on the Opening Day roster, and the team has now provided confirmation that he'll be deployed as a starter. He secured the final rotation spot over Bryse Wilson, who will likely work in long relief. A Rule 5 pick, Smith earned the starting role by posting a 3.38 ERA and 11:4 K:BB over 10.2 innings covering four outings during Cactus League play.

The Marlins designated Martinez for assignment Wednesday.

After being claimed off waivers from the Mariners on March 15, Martinez's stay on Miami's 40-man roster lasted less than two weeks with the Marlins swapping him out for right-hander Tyler Phillips, whom the team acquired from the Phillies on Wednesday. Martinez spent most of the 2024 season in the majors with Houston, serving in a middle-relief role while logging a 3.59 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 36:18 K:BB while collecting three wins, three holds and one save over 52.2 innings.

Chafin will report to Trriple-A Toledo after the Tigers informed him Wednesday that he won't be included on the Opening Day roster and will be reassigned to the minors, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.

Even though the Tigers unexpectedly had an extra spot in the bullpen available with Jason Foley surprisingly getting optioned to Triple-A coming off a 28-save season with Detroit, Chafin wasn't able to make the cut. While the 34-year-old lefty boasts a fairly long track record of success in the majors, a poor spring in which he yielded eight earned runs on seven hits and six walks over six Grapefruit League innings kept him from winning an Opening Day spot. Brenan Hanifee instead appears to have clinched the final opening in the Detroit bullpen.

Reds manager Terry Francona said Wednesday that while Santillan is an "easy choice" to be the closer, "he might be too valuable getting to the ninth," Charlie Goldsmith of the Dayton Daily News reports.

While Francona admitted he's not sure who his closer will be while Alexis Diaz (hamstring) is sidelined, it's notable that he mentioned Santillan in the fashion that he did, suggesting the right-hander might be the favorite to see the first opportunity. Santillan began last season in the minors after re-signing with the Reds last offseason on a minor-league deal, but he was excellent with the big club after being called up, posting a 3.00 ERA and 46:9 K:BB over 30 innings. Taylor Rogers, Scott Barlow, Graham Ashcraft and Emilio Pagan are other candidates to see save chances with the Reds.

The White Sox reassigned Wilson to minor-league camp Wednesday.

Wilson was scrubbed from the 40-man roster before spring training but had a chance to make the team as a non-roster invitee. That ultimately didn't happen, even as he yielded just two runs with seven strikeouts over seven Cactus League innings. He'll head to Triple-A Charlotte to begin the season.