MLB Player News

Wood did not throw his scheduled bullpen Thursday after tweaking his ankle during warmups, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Registerq reports.

Luckily the issue doesn't appear to be anything overly serious, and the Dodgers are likely just being precautious with the 27-year-old lefty, who is now expected to throw his bullpen Friday instead. Wood will slot into the middle of the Dodgers' rotation this season after going 16-3 with a 2.71 ERA and 1.06 WHIP across 152.1 innings in 2017.

Houser is a few weeks behind the rest of the pitchers after undergoing an appendectomy in January, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

Houser recently returned from Tommy John surgery last August and will now begin the 2018 campaign a couple steps behind the rest of the staff due to this procedure. The 25-year-old will be back in the minor leagues at the beginning of the season, although it's unclear as to what level and in what capacity. General manager David Sterns admitted that the organization is unsure as to whether Houser will be utilized as a starter or reliever back in December and it doesn't appear as though there's been a clear-cut answer since. Expect a better understanding of his role at the end of spring camp.

Fried has a legitimate shot of filling the final rotation spot for the Braves out of spring training, David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

At this point, Julio Teheran, Mike Foltynewicz and Brandon McCarthy are assured starting roles. This leaves two spots in the rotation for Fried, Luiz Gohara, Sean Newcomb and Scott Kazmir (hip). Gohara is the early favorite to win the fourth spot, but Fried has a good reason to believe he'll land the fifth spot. He was accelerated to the majors last season and held his own in 26 big-league innings, producing a 3.81 ERA while striking out nearly a batter per inning as a starter. Arguments stating that the pitching prospect could use more seasoning in the minors are certainly valid given the fact that he only has two Triple-A starts under his belt, but a strong spring could silence those detractors and make Fried's time to shine come now.

Miley signed a minor-league contract with the Brewers on Wednesday, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.

The deal guarantees Miley $2.5 million if he makes the major-league roster, and $5.7 million if he earns a rotation spot and reaches 29 starts. The 31-year-old is looking to bounce back after posting a career-worst 5.61 ERA and 1.73 WHIP across 32 starts (157.1 innings) with the Orioles in 2017. He'll compete with Brandon Woodruff, Brent Suter, Junior Guerra and Yovani Gallardo for one of the team's final two rotation spots in spring training, though he could wind up in the bullpen if he doesn't break camp as a starter.

Finnegan, who had injuries to both of his shoulders last season, is ready to go for the start of spring training and is scheduled to throw a bullpen session Thursday, MLB.com's Mark Sheldon reports.

The surgery that Finnegan had last year was to his non-throwing shoulder, on an injury that occurred while he was boating, not throwing. Finnegan isn't guaranteed a spot in the Reds' rotation, but with a decent enough spring he'll be a favorite.

Flexen is set to compete for a job in the Mets' rotation this spring, MLB.com's Anthony DiComo reports.

More likely than not, Flexen will wind up starting at Triple-A Las Vegas, with Zack Wheeler (arm), Steven Matz (elbow), Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman also battling for two of the spots in the club's rotation. In 2017, he appeared in 14 games at the major-league level -- starting nine of those -- and allowed 42 earned runs in 48 innings, including 11 home runs and a rough 36:35 K:BB. The spring camp should provide the right-hander with more experience against big-league hitting and he remains a candidate to come up to the team this summer.

Matz (elbow) threw a bullpen session Wednesday, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

The embattled southpaw underwent surgery on his throwing elbow in August, but it seems like he's close to fully recovered from the operation. Given his injury history, it will be important for Matz to prove his health in a game situation, but this is an encouraging sign nonetheless. If he's healthy, the 26-year-old should open the season in the rotation.

Cueto is being eased into throwing because he dealt with the flu shortly before flying to Arizona for spring training, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The decision to ease the right-hander into throwing was initially assumed to just be something typical with veteran pitchers, but it turns out there was another reason behind it. Despite this, this is hardly anything to be concerned about, as Cueto will likely be back to 100 percent in the next few days once he gets more rest. Once he's healthy, he'll look to bounce back after an injury-plagued season in which he produced a a lofty 4.52 ERA and 1.45 WHIP in 147.1 innings pitched.

Corbin's home park in Arizona will install a humidor for this season which could result in a significant drop in home runs, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports.

General manager Mike Hazen made the announcement late Tuesday, ending months of speculation. The humidor is expected to reduce the number of hard-hit balls in Chase Field, with some suggesting the number of homers there could fall by 25-50 percent. Corbin actually had far more trouble with the long ball on the road (19 homers in 86.2 innings) than at home (seven in 103 innings) last season, but this is still a positive for him, as it boosts his chances for continued success in Arizona, assuming he's still there Opening Day. The lefty will look to build on last season's rebound before hitting the open market next winter.

Walker's home park in Arizona will install a humidor for the 2018 season, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports.

The long-rumored humidor has finally been confirmed by the Diamondbacks. Balls stored in a humidor absorb water, decreasing their "coefficient of restitution," or bounciness. Physics professor Alan Nathan suggests that the device could decrease home runs at Chase Field by anywhere from 25 to 50 percent. That's good news for Walker, who gave up 11 of his 17 home runs at home last season and had a home ERA (4.18), which was over a run worse than the number he put up on the road (2.92). Expect Walker's price to increase somewhat following this news.