MLB Player News

Kluber threw 31 pitches in a bullpen session Friday, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

Kluber is coming off a fully healthy season, his first since 2018. In 31 starts for the Rays, the right-hander posted a 4.34 ERA and showed hints of an effective pitcher that previously earned a Cy Young Award. The 36-year-old is looking to build off last season and will slot in the middle of Boston's rotation.

Cortes (hamstring) felt no issues during his bullpen session Friday, Marly Rivera of ESPN.com reports.

The southpaw mentioned to Rivera after his workout that he has made "good strides and felt better," and that he was progressing faster than he initially thought. Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports that Cortes tossed 24 pitches in the session and was operating at "70-75 percent" capacity after being diagnosed with a Grade 2 hamstring strain that caused him to pull out of the World Baseball Classic. Fantasy managers will want to see how Cortes feels in the coming days, but for now, this appears to be a very positive development.

Mize was placed on the 60-day injured list by the Tigers on Friday as he recovers from right elbow and back surgeries.

The Tigers needed to free up a spot on the 40-man roster for waiver claim Tyler Holton. Mize had Tommy John surgery last June and also underwent back surgery around the same time. He's begun a throwing program but is expected to miss most, if not all, of the 2023 season.

Martin said Friday that the right biceps soreness which forced him from his final start of last season was a non-issue this offseason, James Fegan of The Athletic reports.

Martin took a couple weeks off from throwing after the season and then went through his normal offseason training. The right-hander said his goal is to throw 170-180 innings this season, and the White Sox might need him to with Mike Clevinger's status up in the air due to an ongoing MLB investigation into domestic violence allegations.

McCullers' right arm is "a little sore" following a bullpen session Tuesday, Astros manager Dusty Baker told Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle on Friday.

Baker didn't divulge additional details other than to say "it's the same thing" McCullers is dealing with, which would seem to indicate it's the same forearm injury the pitcher battled through for most of 2022. While Baker doesn't seem concerned at this point in time, it's obviously not an ideal start to McCullers' camp.

Bello has been shut down after feeling soreness in his right forearm during his last bullpen session, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora said it's "nothing to alarm" and that there are no current plans to have imaging taken of Bello's arm. "We're very confident Monday he's back on his throwing program," Cora added. It's good to hear that the club is optimistic this isn't a long-term concern, but any arm-related issue obviously is a little worrisome. More should be known about Bello's status next week.

DeGrom (side) could resume throwing Sunday or Monday, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.

DeGrom's throwing program is on pause after he felt some tightness in his left side during a bullpen session earlier this week. The Rangers have downplayed the severity of the issue, suggesting the veteran right-hander would be pitching if it were the regular season. The injury isn't a concern at this point, but obviously deGrom will be watched closely over the next several days.

Turnbull (elbow) hit 94 mph during his first bullpen session of the spring Friday, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

That's right at where he was sitting prior to Tommy John surgery, but Turnbull was encouraged because he said he never throws that hard in bullpen sessions. The right-hander missed all of 2022 following his elbow operation in July 2021, but he'll enter 2023 with a clean bill of health. Expect the Tigers to be careful with Turnbull's workload, though, given that he threw just 50 innings in 2021 and 56.2 frames in 2020.

Gausman is working on eliminating the heel tap in his delivery from the stretch to avoid running afoul of MLB's new crackdowns on balks, Gregor Chisholm of The Toronto Star reports.

As part of the introduction of a pitch clock, the league has instructed umpires to make sure pitchers come to a complete stop before beginning their delivery, something Gausman hasn't really been doing for many years now. In fact, his delivery was used as an example of what not to allow in the video MLB released explaining the changes. The veteran right-hander doesn't seem concerned about the adjustment, however. "It's something that I will have to change, and the good thing is I have six weeks to mess with my delivery and figure out what's going to be new and comfortable to me," Gausman said Thursday. The 32-year-old took a step back statistically in 2022 thanks in part to an elevated .363 BABIP, but he still had a successful first season with Toronto that included a career-best 3.9 percent walk rate and 15.9 percent swinging strike rate.

Cortes (hamstring) is slated to throw a bullpen session Friday, Chris Kirschner of The Athletic reports.

Cortes had to pull out of the World Baseball Classic because of a strained right hamstring, but he's feeling much better and should be ready in time for Opening Day, barring any setback. The left-hander put up a superb 2.44 ERA over 28 starts for the Yankees last season.