MLB Player News

Woodruff and the Brewers agreed Tuesday on a one-year, $6.8 million contract to avoid arbitration, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports.

Woodruff will get a $3.52 million raise after he showed no signs of wearing down last season over the course of 179.1 innings, up nearly 60 frames from his previous career-high total in 2019. Over his 30 starts in 2021, Woodruff proved to be one of the baseball's top No. 2 pitchers, finishing with a 2.56 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 211:43 K:BB. He's scheduled to make his first Cactus League start Thursday against the Diamondbacks, tentatively lining him up to start the Brewers' second game of the regular season April 8 in Chicago, while reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes likely gets the Opening Day nod versus the Cubs.

Burnes and the Brewers agreed Tuesday on a one-year, $6.5 million contract to avoid arbitration, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports.

Burnes was arbitration-eligible for the first time in his career after taking home the National League Cy Young Award in 2021. The 27-year-old right-hander finished first among all qualifying MLB pitchers in ERA (2.43) and K-BB% (30.4%) while trailing only Max Scherzer with a 0.94 WHIP. He's expected to get the ball for the Brewers' Opening Day game April 7 against the Cubs in Chicago.

Musgrove and the Padres agreed Tuesday on a one-year, $8.625 million contract to avoid arbitration, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.

Musgrove, who is scheduled to make his Cactus League debut Tuesday against the Guardians, will be receiving a $4.175 million salary increase from 2021. After being acquired from the Padres last winter, Musgrove was the team's top starter in what was a breakout season for the 29-year-old. He covered a career-high 181.1 innings over 32 appearances (31 starts), finishing with a 3.18 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 203:54 K:BB.

Flaherty (shoulder) signed a one-year, $5 million deal Tuesday, avoiding arbitration, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.

The deal settles one question for Flaherty, but more important questions regarding his health remain unanswered. After battling oblique and shoulder strains for much of last season, he's already dealing with shoulder inflammation this season and is in the middle of a two-week shutdown period.

Lauer was scratched from his scheduled Tuesday start against the White Sox due to a minor groin injury, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

The Brewers expect Lauer to return to the mound for his next start. Assuming that winds up happening, Lauer should still be able to make the Opening Day roster, but it's possible he'll be on a reduced pitch count for his first turn in the rotation if he's not quite fully built up with his workload.

Castillo has been slowed by shoulder soreness this spring and may miss the start of the season, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

Castillo's arrival at camp was delayed slightly by a family issue, and the shoulder troubles pushed back his throwing progression even further. He's advanced to long toss and appears to be trending in the right direction, but it's likely he misses at least a start or two at the beginning of the regular season.

Meyer struck out out five Mets over four perfect innings during Monday's Grapefruit League game.

Entering the game in the third inning in relief of Elieser Hernandez, Meyer carved up a New York lineup that included Dominic Smith and J.D. Davis, using his plus slider to get all five of his punchouts while sitting 95-97 mph with his fastball. The 23-year-old right-hander is the Marlins' top pitching prospect after being selected in the first round of the 2020 Draft, rising to Triple-A Jacksonville at the end of last season and posting a 0.90 ERA, 0.80 WHIP and 17:2 K:BB in 10 innings over two starts. Miami won't rush him, but if Meyer dominates Triple-A again to begin the 2022 campaign, he could force his way into the big-league rotation this summer despite the fact he isn't yet on the 40-man roster.

Davies agreed Tuesday with the Diamondbacks on a one-year contract worth up to $4.5 million, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports.

According to Heyman, the deal includes a club option for 2023, potentially locking Davies in with Arizona for two years if he impresses during his first season in the desert. With 155 career MLB starts to his name, Davies was one of the more experienced rotation options on the open market, though the 5.78 ERA (5.03 xFIP) and career-worst 5.8 K-BB% he turned in over 148 innings with the Cubs in 2021 doesn't make him especially appealing for fantasy purposes. He'll still likely be in strong position to enter the season as the No. 4 or 5 pitcher in the Diamondbacks' rotation, provided his delayed signing doesn't affect his ability to build up his pitch count over the final two weeks of spring training.

Webb will pitch in his first spring game Wednesday against Arizona, Evan Webeck of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

Webb is coming off a stellar 2021 season, posting a 3.03 ERA and 1.11 WHIP with a 158:38 K:BB over 148.1 innings. He's a strong candidate to be named San Francisco's Opening Day starter, a decision that is expected to be made by manager Gabe Kapler after one turn through the rotation this spring.

Greene struck out two of the four batters he faced Monday in his spring training debut against the Cubs, hitting 100-mph or higher on seven of his 17 pitches, Bobby Nightengale of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

The only reason Greene faced more than the minimum three batters was due to a dropped pop-up. He also had his slider working, getting one of his two strikeouts with that pitch. While Greene might begin the year at Triple-A Louisville, it's likely he'll get more than a token look in the big leagues this season.