MLB Player News

Manager Dave Roberts said Buehler will work as a starter in 2018, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

Buehler finished last season as a reliever after earning a September callup, though the Dodgers have always viewed the talented righty as a starter in the long term. While he struggled during his brief stint with the big club, posting a 7.71 ERA, 2.04 WHIP and 12:8 K:BB in 9.1 innings, the 23-year-old compiled a more respectable 3.35 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 125:31 K:BB through 88.2 innings across three levels of the minors prior to his promotion. He misses bats at an impressive clip and has front-of-the-rotation stuff, headlined by a plus curveball and a fastball that can serve as another reliable offering. The Dodgers have starters to burn, however, so Buehler will likely be competing for a back-end rotation spot in spring training.

While meeting with reporters at the Winter Meetings on Monday, Brewers manager Craig Counsell said Woodruff is expected to be in the picture for a rotation spot when spring training begins in February.

There are at least two moving parts that could significantly alter Woodruff's path to an Opening Day spot in the rotation. First, the Brewers could add pitching help via trade or free agency this winter. Second, Josh Hader's role is yet to be determined. Even if Hader is stretched out as a starter and the Brewers add another arm (or two) during the winter, Woodruff will almost certainly remain stretched out to compete for one of the final spots in the rotation with the likes of Brent Suter and Junior Guerra.

Mikolas signed a two-year contract with the Cardinals on Tuesday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

The deal is said to be worth $15.5 million, per Jon Heyman of FanRagSports.com. It's a handsome reward for Mikolas, who bet on himself and turned his career around in Japan after disappointing stints with the Padres and Rangers. The right-hander turned in sub-2.50 ERAs in each of his three seasons with the Yomiuri Giants, and posted a sparkling 187:23 K:BB over 188 innings as a starter last season. He should slot into the rotation behind Carlos Martinez, Michael Wacha and Luke Weaver.

DeSclafani (elbow) said he threw all his pitches during instructional league games in Arizona and feels he'll be ready for the start of spring training, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

DeSclafani was limited to a pair of minor-league rehab appearances in 2017 while battling a UCL sprain in his right elbow last spring that prevented him from toeing the rubber for the MLB club at any point. He was shut down while rehabbing after experiencing tendinitis, but his strong showing during instructionals set the right-hander up for a normal offseason. The Reds are hopeful that DeSclafani, who is eligible for arbitration this winter, will re-emerge as an anchor for the rotation in 2018.

Rucinski agreed to a minor-league contract with Miami on Thursday, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation reports.

Rucinski spent a majority of the 2017 season with Triple-A Rochester in the Twins' system, posting a 2.57 ERA and 1.02 WHIP while compiling a 57:10 K:BB. During just two appearances in the majors, the right-hander allowed 10 hits and five earned runs in 4.1 innings of relief. Looking forward, he will likely begin the year in the minors while serving as organizational depth for the club.

Oaks was added to the Dodgers' 40-man roster Monday, Eric Stephen of TrueBlueLA.com reports.

To protect Oaks from the Rule 5 draft, the Dodgers added him to their 40-man roster. Oaks fought an oblique injury throughout the season, but pitched 84 innings over 16 games at Triple-A Oklahoma City when healthy. He ended the year with a serviceable 3.64 ERA and 1.25 WHIP.

Gonzalez was added to the 40-man roster Monday to protect him from the Rule 5 draft, Joe Capozzi of The Palm Beach Post reports.

After being acquired from the Mets in July, Gonzalez was assigned to High-A Jupiter. While there, he posted a dominant 1.11 ERA and 0.95 WHIP over five games (24.1 innings).

Gomber was added to the Cardinals' 40-man roster Monday.

The move protects Gomber from the Rule 5 draft. Although he struggled with control (issuing a career-high 51 walks), the 23-year-old southpaw still put together a strong season for Double-A Springfield in 2017, compiling a 3.34 ERA and 140 strikeouts in 143 innings as a starter. He'll likely open the year with Triple-A Memphis, though he could see some time with the big club as pitching depth.

Lynn was tendered a qualifying offer by the Cardinals prior to Monday's deadline, the Los Angeles Times reports.

It's expected that he'll decline the one-year, $17.4 million tender and seek a multi-year contract on the open market in the coming weeks. Lynn pitched well in 2017 after missing all of 2016 while recovering from Tommy John surgery, but he's fallen short of 200 innings in each of the last four seasons he's pitched. If Lynn enters the market as expected, he'll be doing so following a season that included the lowest strikeout rate (7.4 K/9), highest walk rate (3.8 BB/9), and highest home-run rate (1.30 HR/9) of his career.

According to his agent Bryce Dixon, Cueto will not opt out of the final four years of his contract with the Giants, Andrew Baggarly of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

After a lackluster 2017 season in which he posted a 4.52 ERA -- his highest ERA total since his rookie season with the Reds -- Cueto has decided to lock in the final four years of his contract with the Giants as opposed to testing the open market. The 31-year-old is owed $84 million over the remainder of his contract and will head into the 2018 season with his sights set on returning to his pre-2017 form.