MLB Player News

Keller worked on adjusting his curveball during the offseason, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

Keller is competing for a rotation spot this spring. He's needed to make some improvements after posting ERAs of 5.39 and 5.09 over the last two seasons. He ended 2022 in a relief role, and the competition from veterans and prospects alike makes a return to a starting role challenging. Keller hasn't often used a curveball before, but adding one to his repertoire could give him a new look to test hitters as he tries to produce a bounce-back campaign.

Paddack was placed on the 60-day injured list by the Twins on Thursday as he continues his recovery from Tommy John surgery, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.

The team needed to free up a spot on the 40-man roster for the Donovan Solano signing. Paddack is about nine months removed from what was his second Tommy John surgery and just recently began a throwing program. He's hoping to make it back sometime late this season.

DeGrom (side) threw a 22-pitch bullpen session Thursday, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.

DeGrom and Rangers pitching coach Mike Maddux looked to be all smiles after the pitcher completed his mound work, which seems like a good sign. The ace is a little behind schedule due to some tightness in his left side, which cropped up at the start of camp, but he's progressed well since then. While deGrom is not expected to appear during the team's first week of Cactus League games, it shouldn't be long after that assuming all goes well.

Turnbull (elbow) impressed during his first live batting practice session of the spring Thursday, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.

It was the first time Turnbull has faced live hitting since he suffered a right elbow injury back in June of 2021, which ultimately required Tommy John surgery. The 30-year-old is expected to be part of the Tigers' Opening Day rotation, but his workload will be monitored closely considering he missed all of 2022 and barely topped 100 innings combined from 2020-21.

Bradley impressed manager Kevin Cash during his first bullpen session of the spring, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. "Very good pitch mix when he throws all four pitches," Cash said Tuesday. "He's got plenty of life to his fastball. And he has a very clean delivery. Pretty polished for 21 being in Triple-A."

Cash saying that he likes it when Bradley throws all four pitches is noteworthy, as the 21-year-old righty generally leans on his mid-90s fastball and plus cutter, so the Rays will likely encourage him to incorporate his lesser pitches more often this spring. MLB Pipeline noted Bradley could pitch his way onto the big-league roster this spring because he is already on the 40-man roster and could be one of the team's more impressive pitchers in camp. It seems more likely that he heads to the Triple-A Durham rotation to put the finishing touches on his minor-league development, but Bradley could spend plenty of time in the majors this season.

Zulueta has a chance to win a spot in the big-league bullpen this spring, MLB Pipeline reports.

Kaitlyn McGrath of The Athletic had the same report a month ago, and it makes sense as Toronto is in win-now mode and Zulueta's fastball/slider combo could give big-league hitters fits in the short term. The Blue Jays continues to say they view Zulueta as a starter long term, but he walked 18 batters in 20 innings across Double-A and Triple-A last season, so he may fit better as a high-leverage reliever.

Canning (back) will face live hitters this week, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports.

Canning has no limitations in camp despite missing all of the 2022 season due to back issues. The 26-year-old is competing for the sixth spot in the rotation with the Angels, and a strong start in the Cactus League would go a long way towards winning that job. Assuming good health, he should be able to make starts in Arizona relatively soon.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone confirmed that Montas (shoulder) underwent arthroscopic surgery on his labrum Wednesday, Brendan Kuty of The Athletic reports.

With Boone relaying that Montas experienced no complications with his surgery, the right-hander will now spend at least the next 12 weeks in recovery mode before he's potentially cleared to resume throwing in late May or early June. Given that Montas will require a prolonged ramp-up period even if his rehab goes according to plan, he may not be a realistic option to make his season debut until around the All-Star break. Expect the Yankees to move Montas to the 60-day injured list as soon as the organization needs to open a spot on the 40-man roster for another player.

Kremer will get into one of the Orioles' early Grapefruit League games before he goes to pitch for Israel at the World Baseball Classic, Nathan Ruiz of The Baltimore Sun reports.

Kremer is in the mix for a spot in the middle of the Orioles' rotation, but he'll be out of camp for at least part of the spring. Manager Brandon Hyde will get at least one look at the right-hander before he leaves for international play. Kremer started 21 of his 22 appearances last season and looked solid with a 3.23 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 87:34 K:BB across 125.1 innings, and he finished the year strong, so he should have an inside edge for a starting role in 2023.

Brown appears on track to begin the season as the Astros' fifth starter after Lance McCullers (forearm) acknowledged Wednesday that he won't be ready to go for Opening Day, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

In a show of faith to Brown and as a testament to the organization's starting pitching depth as a whole, the Astros didn't sign any replacements this offseason for staff ace and reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander, who bolted for the Mets in free agency. The Astros could still look to add another veteran arm on a low-cost MLB or minor-league deal, but at least for the time being, McCullers' absence to begin the campaign clears the way for the 24-year-old Brown to break camp as a member of the rotation. After dazzling at Triple-A Sugar Land for the first five months of the past season, Brown joined Houston as a September call-up and provided a glimpse of his immense potential, logging a 0.89 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 22:7 K:BB across 20.1 innings over seven appearances (two starts). Expect Houston to be somewhat conservative with Brown's workload this season, but even if his innings are capped and he doesn't hold a full-time rotation spot when/if the Astros pitching staff is at full strength, the elite strikeout rates he's posted in the minors and in his limited sample in the majors give him a chance at making a major splash in fantasy.