MLB Player News

The Padres returned Nunez to the Orioles on Tuesday, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports.

The Padres selected Nunez in the Rule 5 Draft back in December, but he wasn't able to secure a spot on the Opening Day roster after surrendering four runs (two earned) on six hits and six walks across five innings in spring training. He'll now return to the Orioles' farm system, losing his 40-man roster spot in the process. Nunez will likely open the 2025 season at High-A Aberdeen or Double-A Chesapeake.

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.

Johnson has secured a spot on the Angels' Opening Day roster, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

Johnson was the 74th overall pick in the 2024 First-Year Player Draft and will bypass the minor leagues as he slots into the Los Angeles bullpen. The hard-throwing right-hander allowed five runs with a 10:1 K:BB over 11.1 innings during Cactus League play. Johnson will probably be eased into high-leverage situations, but he certainly has the talent to eventually become a late-inning reliever. The last player to make his major-league debut without having appeared in the minors first was Garrett Crochet.

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.

The Rangers optioned Corbin to Triple-A Round Rock on Tuesday, Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Corbin's tenure meant he had to agree to being sent down, which he did so that he could continue to build up stamina after signing with the Rangers last week. He is slated to make two starts in the minors, with the goal of joining the Rangers' rotation April 11 against the Mariners.

Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young said Tuesday that Leiter will open the season in the team's rotation, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Leiter showed an increase in velocity this spring while striking out 21 over 20.2 innings. He also walked 10, and whether the 24-year-old is ultimately able to throw enough strikes will go a long way in determining how successful he'll be. The upside is certainly there, but there's also risk.

Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young said Tuesday that Rocker will be in the team's Opening Day rotation, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Injuries to Jon Gray (wrist) and Cody Bradford (elbow) seemed to make this a foregone conclusion, and now it's official. Rocker mostly struggled this spring, but he ended on a high note with eight strikeouts over 4.2 innings in his final Cactus League outing. The 25-year-old's workload in 2025 will be curtailed to some degree after he threw only 48.1 innings in 2024 following a return from Tommy John surgery.