MLB Player News

Bibee is opening the year with Triple-A Columbus, MLB.com reports.

Per the report, Gavin Williams will be opening the year at Double-A Akron, so Bibee is the current favorite to be the first of the duo to reach the majors in 2023. While the 24-year-old righty is a highly touted prospect, he may have to bide his time for a couple months, as evidenced by the team's decision to add Hunter Gaddis to the big-league rotation in the wake of Triston McKenzie's shoulder injury. In addition to Gaddis, the Guardians have rotation candidates Konnor Pilkington and Joey Cantillo on the 40-man roster. Logan Allen is a non-40-man candidate due to his strong spring and experience at Triple-A last year.

Williams is opening the season back at Double-A Akron, MLB.com reports.

This comes via an article from the MLB Pipeline crew listing the starting level for each top 100 prospect, so it's possible it's just an error as it hasn't been reported elsewhere, but it would be pretty noteworthy for Williams' 2023 outlook if true. The hard-throwing righty dominated at Double-A for 16 starts in 2022 (2.31 ERA, 1.00 WHIP), but the Guardians have a bit of a roster crunch in the Columbus rotation. Most notable is the fact that Tanner Bibee is reportedly headed to Triple-A, so he would appear to be the current favorite of the Bibee/Williams duo to reach the majors first.

Paxton (hamstring) tentatively appears to be on track to return from the 15-day injured list in late April, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

One of three Red Sox starting pitchers who opened the season on the IL, Paxton is without a firm target date for his return, but Abraham notes that the veteran southpaw is behind both Garrett Whitlock (hip) and Brayan Bello (forearm) in his rehab program. Of the trio, Whitlock appears closest to a return -- he'll be pitching Friday for Triple-A Worcester in the first of what's expected to be two rehab starts for the affiliate before he comes off the IL as early as April 11. Meanwhile, Abraham notes that Bello is about a week behind Whitlock, while Paxton is about 7-to-10 days behind Bello. Paxton is expected to begin a minor-league rehab assignment of his own Monday, but looks as though he'll need at least three starts to get fully stretched out.

Whitlock (hip) is scheduled to make a rehab start Friday for Triple-A Worcester, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Though he missed out on a spot on the Red Sox's Opening Day roster while he continues to build back up from the right hip surgery he underwent last September, Whitlock will take the hill for the Triple-A club's season opener. Abraham's report doesn't specify what his workload will look like with Worcester, but considering he covered four innings and 63 pitches in a minor-league game a week ago, the right-hander could push toward the 75-pitch range Friday. After Friday, Whitlock is expected to make one more start for Worcester on April 5 before coming off the 15-day injured list and making his season debut for Boston as soon as April 11 versus the Rays.

Castillo did not factor into the decision Thursday versus the Guardians, yielding just one hit and no walks over six shutout frames in a 3-0 victory. He struck out six.

The only baserunner Castillo allowed on the night was a leadoff single by Will Brennan in the third inning which actually glanced off the pitcher's head and knocked his cap off, although the right-hander was fine. The incident clearly didn't spook Castillo, as he fanned the next three to get out of the frame and start a streak of 12 straight batters retired to finish off his night. He needed only 76 pitches to cruise through his six innings, collecting 13 swinging strikes and a 37 percent CSW rate along the way. The four-seamer was Castillo's most-used pitch in this one, just as it was after he came over to Seattle in a trade last August.

Bieber did not factor into the decision Thursday in Seattle despite six scoreless innings on six hits and no walk. He struck out three.

Bieber and Luis Castillo traded zeros for six frames before the Mariners won a battle of the bullpens. Worth noting is that Bieber's velocity was down across the board -- his fastball topped out at 91.9 mph after averaging 91.3 mph in 2022 -- although it was also down last season and he made it work. It should tick back up as the year moves along, but his strikeout upside will remain limited unless he can rediscover his Cy Young velocity.

Ryu was placed on the 15-day injured list by the Blue Jays on Thursday with a left elbow UCL tear, Scott Mitchell of TSN.ca reports.

While he's only going on the 15-day IL for now, Ryu should eventually move to the 60-day IL when the Jays need the 40-man roster spot. The left-hander is hoping to make it back from Tommy John surgery by July.

Muller tossed five innings against the Angels on Thursday, allowing one run on four hits and one walk while striking out three batters. He did not factor in the decision.

Muller got the Opening Day nod for Oakland despite pitching in just three big-league games last season, and he rose to the occasion. The southpaw was by no means overpowering -- he notched just five swinging strikes and three punchouts -- but this was nonetheless a promising start to the campaign after he allowed 11 runs over 12.1 innings in the majors last year. Fantasy managers may want to see Muller succeed over multiple outings before plucking him off the waiver wire, though he appears to be locked into Oakland's rotation and has shown enough success in the minors to be worth a speculative add in deeper formats.

Valdez did not factor into the decision Thursday, allowing six hits and zero walks over five scoreless innings against the White Sox. He struck out four.

Valdez yielded six hits in the outing, but only one (a Tim Anderson double) went for extra bases. Last year's MLB leader in quality starts appeared on his way for another to begin 2023, but he was pulled after throwing 85 pitches across five innings. Nonetheless, this was a strong opening to the campaign for Valdez as he looks to put together a second straight All-Star season.

Greinke (0-1) allowed two earned runs on six hits and one walk while striking out four across 5.1 innings to take the loss Thursday against the Twins.

Greinke kept pace with his counterpart Pablo Lopez, as he held the Twins scoreless until the top of the sixth inning. As has been the case in recent years, Greinke's success came from his ability to induce soft contact rather than generate swings and misses. That will lead to more volatile outcomes, but he managed a respectable 3.68 ERA and 1.34 WHIP across 137 innings in 2022 and began the new campaign in good form as well.