MLB Player News

Montas started Tuesday's Cactus League loss to the Royals and fired 2.2 scoreless innings, allowing four hits while recording a strikeout.

The right-hander, who, along with rotation mate Sean Manaea has been the subject of trade rumors in recent days, faced 11 batters. Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports Montas hit 96 mph on the radar gun in four of his first five pitches and logged 41 offerings overall. Montas also utilized both his splitter and slider effectively, and if he remains with the team, he's considered the leading candidate to serve as the Opening Day starter versus the Phillies on April 8.

Ryu is scheduled to start Friday's Grapefruit League game against the Tigers, Hazel Mae of Sportsnet reports.

Though he'll be making his spring debut later than most of Toronto's healthy pitchers, Ryu shouldn't be too far behind them from a conditioning standpoint. Before he reported to spring training once the lockout ended, Ryu had been taking part in workouts in South Korea with the Doosan Bears of the Korea Baseball Organization. He contracted COVID-19 during his training program, but he was asymptomatic after testing positive for the virus and made a swift recovery. He'll head into his age-35 campaign coming off a down 2021 in which he finished with a 4.37 ERA, his worst mark in any of his seven MLB seasons where he made multiple starts.

The Tigers optioned Faedo (elbow) to High-A Lakeland on Tuesday, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.

On the comeback trail after his January 2021 Tommy John surgery, Faedo appears to be ready for game action. He started throwing bullpen sessions two months ago before throwing his first live batting practice session last week, according to Jason Beck of MLB.com. Though Faedo's last minor-league action came at Double-A Erie, the Tigers will have him drop down a level to begin the 2022 campaign so he can pitch in more favorable weather in Florida as he looks to shake off the rust following the lengthy layoff. He should report back to Erie or perhaps even Triple-A Toledo as the temperatures climb later in the spring.

Valdez signed one-year, $3 million contract with the Astros on Tuesday to avoid arbitration, Kiley McDaniel of ESPN.com reports.

It's a solid figure for Valdez's first year of arbitration eligibility, which isn't a major surprise given he delivered a 3.14 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 125:58 K:BB across 134.2 innings (22 starts) last season. The 28-year-old will once again be a major piece of Houston's starting rotation in 2022.

Montgomery signed a one-year, $6 million contract with the Yankees on Tuesday to avoid arbitration, Kiley McDaniel of ESPN.com reports.

Montgomery was a solid rotation piece for New York last season with a 3.83 ERA over a career-high 157.1 innings, and he'll receive a raise for his penultimate year of arbitration eligibility after making $2.13 million in 2021. The 29-year-old southpaw will be a key rotation piece again for the Yankees this year.

Allard did not allow a hit and struck out two over two scoreless innings in Tuesday's spring training start against the Diamondbacks.

Allard made his Cactus League debut as a starter and pounded the strike zone to the tune of 17 strikes among his 25 pitches. It's not certain the lefty will be a starter in 2022, but he was used as both a starter and reliever in 2021, often throwing multiple innings in a piggyback, bulk-inning role. Allard showed promise when he first entered the rotation last season, but a 10-start stretch in July and August, during which he yielded a 6.54 ERA, sent him back to the bullpen. The Rangers have several pitchers they'll try in the rotation ahead of Allard, who will build up innings as insurance and could be a multi-inning reliever when the regular season begins.

Taillon signed a one-year, $5.8 million contract with the Yankees on Tuesday to avoid arbitration, Kiley McDaniel of ESPN.com reports.

Taillon returned to the mound in 2021 after missing a year for his second Tommy John surgery, and he had a solid campaign with a 4.30 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 140:44 K:BB across 144 innings (29 starts). He's in his final year of arbitration eligibility and is set to be a free agent at the end of the season.

Ray tossed four innings in his Cactus League debut against the Cubs on Tuesday, allowing two earned runs on a hit and two walks. He struck out five.

The prized offseason acquisition was originally slated for three frames, but thanks to his efficiency, he was able to work the extra inning and still log a relatively modest 57 pitches. Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports Ray's fastball topped out at 95 mph and he frequently complemented it successfully with his trademark slider, allowing him to strike out five of the 16 hitters he faced. Manager Scott Servais has implied he won't begin thinking about his Opening Day starter until he's had a chance to see each starting pitcher once this spring, but he emphasized how impressed he was with Ray's initial performance.

Montas agreed to a one-year, $5.025 million contract with the Athletics on Tuesday to avoid arbitration, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.

Montas made only $1.8 million in his first year of arbitration eligibility last season, so he'll receive a raise for 2022 after posting a 3.37 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 207:57 K:BB over 187 innings. The right-hander has been a popular name in trade discussions given the A's selloff of key players, but for now he'll remain in Oakland.

Bieber and the Guardians agreed to a one-year, $6 million contract Tuesday, avoiding arbitration, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports.

Shoulder issues limited him to 16 starts last season, but he excelled when available, riding a 33.1 percent strikeout rate to a 3.17 ERA.