MLB Player News

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts confirmed Saturday that Buehler (elbow) will not be on the Opening Day roster, Eric Stephen of SBNation.com reports.

The Dodgers are trying to figure out the best way to manage Buehler's workload as he comes back from Tommy John surgery and will have him on a "slow program," per Roberts. Whether that means the right-hander will begin the year in extended spring training, on a rehab assignment or something else has not been revealed by the club yet. It's also unclear at this juncture when Buehler might join the Dodgers' rotation, but fantasy managers probably should count on him being unavailable at least for the first month or so. Buehler also figures to have a truncated workload when he does make it back. It's a tricky situation in fantasy, but there's not at least a bit more clarity ahead of spring training.

The White Sox traded Mena to the Diamondbacks in exchange for Dominic Fletcher on Saturday, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Since his promotion to Double-A in 2022, Mena has struggled to find his footing in the minor leagues. He managed a 4.66 ERA and 1.35 WHIP across 23 starts in Double-A last season and surrendered 13 runs in 19.2 frames upon arriving in Triple-A. Arizona general manager Mike Hazen said Mena will likely begin 2024 at Triple-A Reno and could be a rotation option later in the year, per Steve Gilbert of MLB.com. The 21-year-old right-hander will need to show significant improvement before joining the Diamondbacks' rotation -- a task that may prove difficult in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.

Atlanta announced Friday that Waldrep received an invitation to major-league spring training.

The No. 24 overall selection in the 2023 Draft, Waldrep cruised through four minor-league levels last season, posting a 1.53 ERA and 41:16 K:BB over 29.1 innings covering eight starts. Slated to turn 22 next month, Waldrep is likely headed back to Triple-A Gwinnett to start 2024, but it wouldn't be a surprise if he makes some starts for Atlanta this season.

Feltner (elbow) is healthy heading into spring training and will compete for a rotation spot, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports.

Feltner had an injury-plagued 2023 campaign, first suffering a skull fracture after being struck by a line drive in mid-May. He ended the season on the injured list with elbow inflammation, but he has fully recovered and will be entering the spring at full strength. That doesn't necessarily mean he'll start the season in the majors or the rotation, as he posted a 5.82 ERA and 1.68 WHIP across 43.1 innings with the club in 2023. Peter Lambert and Noah Davis are the other primary candidates to be the team's fifth starter.

Paxton's guaranteed salary in his new contract with the Dodgers was lowered from $11 million to $7 million due to an unspecified health issue, Fabian Ardaya and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic report.

The health concern is not considered serious and obviously didn't prevent a deal from being completed, but the two sides did agree to some restructuring. Paxton received a $3 million signing bonus along with a guaranteed salary of $4 million, and he can get a $2 million roster bonus if he's on the roster either for the Dodgers' opening series in Korea against the Padres on March 20 or their domestic opener on March 28 versus the Cardinals. If he's added to the roster by April 15, Paxton will get a $1 million bonus, as well as another $1 million if he makes 20 starts. There are also additional games started incentives. All told, Paxton's contract could max out at $13 million. Paxton's 2023 season ended due to right knee inflammation, though it's not clear what injury led to the contract alterations.

The Pirates announced Tuesday that Skenes received an invitation to major-league spring training.

Pittsburgh will also have fellow top prospects Termarr Johnson, Bubba Chandler, Jared Jones and Anthony Solometo in big-league camp. Skenes, though, is the headliner as the first overall pick in the 2023 First-Year Player Draft and the consensus top pitching prospect in baseball. The 21-year-old tallied 129.1 innings between college and the minors last season, peaking at Double-A Altoona, so workload shouldn't be much of a hindrance in 2024. There's a good chance Skenes will make his major-league debut at some point during the upcoming season.

The Dodgers could delay Walker Buehler's 2024 season debut, which could open up a rotation spot for either Stone or Emmet Sheehan, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

Stone faltered against big league hitters last season, but at least finished strong. While injuries certainly could open up the door for either Stone or Sheehan for a longer trial (never a stretch with Tyler Glasnow and James Paxton in the rotation), this might also only end up amounting to 3-to-4 starts.

The Dodgers intend to delay Walker Buehler's debut to the 2024 season to make sure he's strong for October, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports. Thus, Sheehan and Gavin Stone will compete for the fifth starter's job to begin the season.

Sheehan might have a bright future, but he may not spend the entire 2024 season in the big-league rotation. Once Buehler is ready, the Dodgers will have Buehler, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Bobby Miller and James Paxton ahead of Sheehan/Stone, assuming those five pitchers are healthy.

The Dodgers are considering delaying Buehler's (elbow) season debut in 2024 as they look to manage his workload coming off Tommy John surgery, Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register reports.

Buehler wasn't far off from a return late last season, as he made one rehab start with Triple-A Oklahoma City. He was having some trouble rebounding from throwing sessions, though, and the Dodgers made the decision to shut him down. Because he threw only 65 innings in 2022 and just two in 2023, Buehler was never going to come close to a full workload in 2024. The Dodgers have not yet made a decision on how exactly his workload will be limited, but delaying his season debut might be the most likely option as the team tries to have him ready for October. "He'll be ready to go in spring training, but when we decide to make his debut in 2024 is going to be determined," manager Dave Roberts said in December. "Whether it's the first week or a month later, we're going to kind of wait and see how spring goes."

Rockies GM Bill Schmidt said Sunday that Marquez (elbow) isn't expected to be activated from the injured list until after the All-Star break, Patrick Lyons of TheDNVR.com reports.

The 28-year-old underwent Tommy John surgery in mid-May last year, so a return during the first half of 2024 was never likely. Marquez had a 4.95 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 150:63 K:BB over 181.2 innings in 2022 and is likely to have some limitations once back with the big club after the break.