MLB Player News

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Severino threw two innings of live batting practice Tuesday and is probably the "most ready" pitcher in big-league camp for the upcoming season, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

Boone's comments are certainly eyebrow-raising, given that Severino hasn't been completely healthy for a spring training since 2018 and has made just seven combined regular-season appearances at the big-league level across the past three year due to lat and shoulder injuries in addition to his February 2020 Tommy John surgery. While Severino looks like he'll be part of the Opening Day rotation, the Yankees could still look to monitor his workloads carefully to some degree in 2022, given his light innings counts in recent years. That being said, if Severino is anywhere close to the pitcher he was during his last healthy season in 2018, he and ace Gerrit Cole would form one of the best top-of-the-rotation duos in the American League. Expect Severino's average draft position to continue climbing if he remains healthy and continues to draw raves from the coaching staff and reporters during his throwing sessions and Grapefruit League outings.

Kaprielian is dealing with AC joint irritation and will be a couple weeks behind schedule this spring, Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Injuries have been a major part of the story of Kaprielian's career thus far, as he's only thrown 225 total professional innings since being drafted back in 2015. Over half of those came in 2021, including 119.1 at the major-league level, during which he posted a 4.07 ERA. Assuming his current issue only winds up delaying him by a few weeks, he's in line to be a key member of the Athletics' rotation.

McCullers said Tuesday that he's not dealing with any UCL damage to his right forearm and is instead recovering from a flexor tendon strain, Jake Kaplan of The Athletic reports.

McCullers said that he sought multiple medical opinions on the forearm injury he sustained in the ALCS last fall, with all of his doctors concluding that he wasn't dealing with a UCL issue. While that offers hope that McCullers won't need surgery on his elbow, he still hasn't recovered from the flexor strain as quickly as he or the Astros anticipated. McCullers won't be ready to go for the start of the season as a result, and until he's cleared to resume throwing again, the Astros likely won't offer a potential target date for his 2022 debut. McCullers' absence to begin the season should allow Jake Odorizzi to reclaim a starting role, after Odorizzi had previously lost hold of a rotation spot during the Astros' postseason run.

Paxton (elbow) threw off flat ground Monday, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.

Paxton has thrown regularly since spring training opened. The left-handed starter is recovering from Tommy John elbow surgery and is not expected to join the active roster until the second half of the season.

The Tigers will likely use Tyler Alexander as their No. 5 starter early in the season, with Faedo (elbow) probably slated to begin the year in the minors, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.

Faedo already faced an uphill climb to make the team as he works his way back from Tommy John surgery, and with spring training now condensed due to the lockout, the 26-year-old is almost certain to start the year in the minors. He might be an option for the majors down the road, but the club will likely want to see Faedo perform well at Double- and Triple-A before he gets his chance.

Wentz threw a bullpen session Monday and looked comfortable on the mound, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.

Wentz logged just 72 innings last season between Low-A Lakeland and Double-A Erie in his first year back following Tommy John surgery, recording a 4.50 ERA and 1.46 WHIP in the process. If the 24-year-old looks sharp this spring, the organization will likely increase his workload, and Wentz could push his way up to the Triple-A level at some point in 2022.

Anderson signed a minor-league contract with the Tigers on Monday, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

There's no question that Anderson has struggled over his last few seasons, accruing a 7.22 ERA over 33.2 innings during the 2020 campaign and a 6.75 ERA across 48 innings with Philly a season ago, but he was formerly a serviceable starter, posting his best season with Milwaukee in 2017 with a 2.74 ERA and 1.09 WHIP in 141.1 frames. The Tigers lack established rotation options behind Eduardo Rodriguez, Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize, so Anderson could realistically break camp in the big-league rotation if he has a strong spring.

Finnegan signed a minor-league contract with the White Sox on Monday that includes an invite to major-league spring training.

Finnegan served as a non-roster invitee for the Reds in 2021 but spent the entire season at Triple-A Louisville. He made 40 appearances (one start) and logged a 5.53 ERA and 1.71 WHIP in 55.1 innings. The left-hander hasn't appeared in the majors since 2018 and appears likely to spent most of 2022 in the minors.

Manager Aaron Boone said Monday that German had some shoulder issues pop up in late January that delayed the start of the right-hander's throwing program, Brendan Kuty of The Newark Star-Ledger reports.

While German has now started his throwing program now that spring training is underway, his offseason preparation was slowed by his injury. It's not yet clear whether the delay will impact his ability to build up in time for the start of the regular season, especially since pitchers have an abbreviated spring training in 2022. If the right-hander isn't ready to join the starting rotation in time for Opening Day, Jameson Taillon (ankle) and Michael King are candidates to see starts early in the year.

Manager Aaron Boone said Monday that Taillon (ankle) is on target to start the season on time, Lindsey Adler of The Athletic reports.

Taillon underwent ankle surgery in late October, but he's made good progress during the offseason and resumed throwing in recent weeks. The right-hander will presumably work on building up his workload during spring training, and he'll benefit from having an extra week ahead of the regular season after Opening Day was pushed back by a week. Boone revealed that Domingo German has been dealing with some shoulder injuries since January, so Taillon should compete for a spot in the rotation to begin the regular season.