MLB Player News

Nelson will remain stretched out as a reliever, Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports reports. "(Nelson) is going to be able to provide us some length," Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. "We feel like we've got some solid backup there just in case the starter doesn't give us what he needs to."

Nelson, who fell short in his bid to be the No. 5 starter, became the top long option out the bullpen following the news that Jordan Montgomery will undergo Tommy John elbow surgery. The Montgomery news also suggests that Nelson could be in line to start should a current member of the rotation require extended downtime due to injury. Nelson was a valued part of the rotation in 2024, when he improved in several underlying metrics (K:BB, K/9, BB/9, HR/9) compared to 2023.

Lodolo allowed just one run over six innings in his final spring training out against the Guardians, striking out seven and retiring the final 11 batters he faced, Gordon Wittenmyer of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Lodolo was the only Reds starter to go six innings in Arizona this spring and will open the season as their No. 2 starter, getting his first start Saturday at home against the Giants.

Jones won't require surgery on his sore right elbow but he'll be held out from throwing for six weeks and will begin the season on the injured list, Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Jones was unable to make his final Grapefruit League start last week after experiencing discomfort in his right elbow, prompting the Pirates to send him in for tests. After receiving a pair of medical opinions, Jones has elected to go the rest-and-rehab route for treating the injury, but he won't be able to resume a throwing program until around mid-May and will likely need several weeks after that to get fully stretched back out for a starting role. As a result of the 23-year-old's injury, Carmen Mlodzinski will open the season in the rotation as Pittsburgh's No. 5 starter.

Atlanta placed Strider (elbow) on the 15-day injured list Monday.

The move is simply a procedural one for the right-hander as he finishes up his rehab from the internal brace procedure he underwent last April. Strider was able to get in two Grapefruit League starts before the end of spring training and had a 10:1 K:BB with two earned runs allowed over four innings, potentially setting him up to make his 2025 debut as early as mid-April.

Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said Tuesday that Bellozo will be part of the team's Opening Day rotation, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

Bellozo was optioned to Triple-A Jacksonville earlier this month, but the Marlins are in need of reinforcements with Ryan Weathers (forearm) and Edward Cabrera (blister) going down. The 25-year-old Bellozo managed a 3.67 ERA for Miami last season, but that came with a 5.72 FIP. His leash in the role will be short.

Rea is expected to begin the season working as a reliever after Ben Brown was named the Cubs' No. 5 starter Tuesday, Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic reports.

Rea appeared to have the upper hand for Chicago's final rotation spot after Jordan Wicks was optioned to Triple-A Iowa last week, but Ben Brown will instead get the nod with Javier Assad (oblique) on the shelf. Rea is likely to receive some starts at some point this season, but his 4.29 ERA and 7.2 K/9 across 167.2 regular-season innings with Milwaukee last year suggest he won't have much fantasy relevance.

The Cubs informed Brown on Tuesday that he will begin the season as the club's No. 5 starter, Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic reports.

The 25-year-old took the loss out of the bullpen in the season opener in Japan last week as he surrendered three runs (two earned) across 2.2 innings, but he apparently showed enough during camp to win the rotation spot. Brown started in eight of his 15 appearances as a rookie last year and had a 3.58 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 64:19 K:BB across 55.1 innings, and he may need to perform similarly this year to retain the rotation spot since Javier Assad (oblique) will potentially return early in the season.

Montgomery will undergo Tommy John surgery next week, Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reports.

Montgomery had seemed like a good bet to be traded eventually, but that's not going to happen now. The surgery ends a nightmarish stint in Arizona, as Montgomery posted a 6.23 ERA last season after signing late and never getting on track. He will be a free agent this winter and likely miss at least the first couple months of the 2026 season.

Herz was diagnosed Tuesday with a left elbow UCL sprain, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reports.

Herz's velocity was down this spring, which originally attributed to a "dead arm" phase. However, as it turns out, he's dealing with an injury that often requires season-ending UCL surgery, although it's not yet clear whether Herz might try the rest-and-rehab route first. At minimum, the lefty is likely to be out a few months, and in all likelihood, much longer.

Glasnow pitched five innings in an exhibition contest against the Angels on Monday, allowing one run on two hits and one walk while striking out nine batters.

Glasnow gave up a home run to the first batter he faced (Taylor Ward), then surrendered a single to Mike Trout two batters later. From then on, the right-handed hurler was almost perfect, as he retired 14 of the final 15 hitters he faced. Glasnow induced 15 whiffs among his 73 pitches in the outing and topped out at 98.2 mph on the radar gun. The Dodgers have lined up Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki to take the mound during their first home series beginning Thursday, so Glasnow will have to wait until next Monday versus Atlanta to make his first start of the regular season.