MLB Player News

Strider (elbow) could see action in at least one spring training game, Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

The right-hander is recovering from an internal brace procedure performed on his elbow last April, and after he threw another bullpen session Friday, general manager Alex Anthopoulos seemed optimistic that Strider could make his regular-season debut a little earlier than anticipated. "He's throwing bullpens, he looks good. Live [batting practice] will definitely happen in spring training, assuming no setbacks or things like that," Anthopoulos said Friday. The GM indicated that while Atlanta has an internal timeline for Strider, he wouldn't make it public just yet other than to say the 26-year-old ace would begin the campaign on the IL. "We have a calendar for him, but I think if we start saying, 'Hey, on this date he's doing this' and for whatever reason we decide to move it back a day or two, then it's a story and it's viewed as a setback or [that] we weren't forthcoming," Anthopoulos said. "So, what I can tell you is he will not be on the Opening Day roster, that has been decided."

Manager Brandon Hyde said Saturday that McDermott has a mild lat/teres strain, Jacob Calvin Meyer of The Baltimore Sun reports.

The plan is to shut McDermott down for 10-to-14 days before he restarts his throwing program. The 26-year-old right-hander entered spring training with an outside chance to make the Opening Day roster, but his latest injury makes it even more likely he begins the year at Triple-A Norfolk.

Mahle has no restrictions heading into spring training, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports. The right-hander was limited to three starts in 2024 after rehabbing from Tommy John elbow surgery.

Mahle was eventually shut down after three August starts due to shoulder soreness. After being shut down, Mahle worked on mechanical adjustments during the winter designed to limit the stress on his shoulder. "It was probably good that [the shutdown] happened, because we figured out what was wrong with my shoulder," Mahle explained. He's healthy and expected to take up a spot in the middle of the Rangers' rotation. The 30-year-old has been plagued by injuries during his major-league career, throwing more than 130 innings just once (180 innings in 2021).

Varland is likely to work as a reliever this spring and try to win a spot in the bullpen, Bobby Nightengale of the Minnesota Star Tribune reports. "It's very possible that we see a good amount of him out of the bullpen this year," manager Rocco Baldelli said.

However, Baldelli did say the move to the bullpen wasn't certain. If Varland is kept as a starter, he'd likely begin the season in the minors. He struggled last season as a starter in Triple-A with a 4.75 ERA. As a reliever in 2023 in the majors, he showed promise with a 1.50 ERA in 12 innings and a 17:1 K:BB. If he claims a spot in the major-league bullpen, Varland could be in the high-leverage mix due to a fastball that can touch triple digits.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Friday that May is a possibility to open the season in the bullpen, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

May is among the competitors for the final spot in the Dodgers' rotation. However, he cannot be optioned to the minor leagues, so he should be part of the Opening Day roster in some capacity. The 27-year-old missed all of 2024 and made a total of just 20 starts from 2021-23 due to injuries. May's absence in 2024 was due to his continued recovery from UCL and flexor surgery and later an esophageal tear, but he is healthy at the start of camp.

Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said Friday that the team plans to use a five-man rotation until Shohei Ohtani (shoulder/elbow) is ready to pitch, which would seemingly leave Gonsolin in a competition for one remaining spot, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Manager Dave Roberts recently suggested that Ohtani could be ready to make his season debut on the mound sometime in May, though there's no concrete timeline yet. The Dodgers will shift to a six-man rotation at that point, but until then they will use a traditional five-man setup. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Roki Sasaki are locked into four of the spots, which leaves Gonsolin, Dustin May, Bobby Miller, Landon Knack, Justin Wrobleski, Ben Casparius and perhaps others competing for the final slot. Roberts said Friday that Gonsolin and May will be considered for the bullpen if they don't make the rotation.

McGreevy added 15 pounds of muscle this offseason, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

McGreevy has a shot at winning one of the last spots in the Cardinals rotation in camp and he's taking the opportunity very seriously, saying he tried to trim as much body fat as he could while putting on the 15 pounds of muscle. "He looks good [this spring training]," said manager Oliver Marmol. "He put on some weight and had a really good offseason, and I'm excited to see what's coming out of that arm." The 24-year-old righty logged 150 innings at Triple-A and 23 innings in the majors last season. He registered an elite 62.5 percent groundball rate and 2.3 percent walk rate in the majors, leading to a 0.78 WHIP. McGreevy sits in the low-90s with his fastball, but he has a plus slider and his command might be double-plus. Andre Pallante and Steven Matz may have a leg up on him for the final two spots in the rotation, but McGreevy is arguably the most appealing of the three from a fantasy perspective.

Wright (shoulder) could be ready to throw a live batting practice session next week, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

Recovering from surgery to repair a torn capsule in his right shoulder, Wright will throw at least one more bullpen session before progressing to facing hitters. The righty hopes to be ready for Opening Day, but it will depend on how he looks and feels as he ramps things up. Wright could potentially compete for a spot in the Royals' Opening Day rotation, but he might be a long shot given how much time he's missed -- he didn't pitch at all in 2024, and he struggled over 31 innings for Atlanta in 2023 -- and the fact that he's behind other arms in camp.

Bello was shut down for a few days due to shoulder soreness but has resumed throwing, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.

It's encouraging that the right-hander is already back to throwing, but any arm issues early in camp are a cause for at least mild concern. There's no indication that Bello's availability for the start of the regular season has been affected however, and Boston is counting on him to take a regular turn in a rotation that already features question marks in Walker Buehler and Lucas Giolito (elbow).

Kloffenstein is dealing with right shoulder fatigue but recently underwent an MRI that came back negative, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.

Kloffenstein missed the final two months of the 2024 season with a right shoulder injury, so it's certainly not ideal that he's still battling shoulder issues. However, the expectation is that he'll be ready to resume throwing in a few days. Kloffenstein projects to open the 2025 season in the rotation at Triple-A Buffalo, and while his 2024 numbers were impacted by his health, he produced a 3.16 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 140:55 K:BB over 128 innings in 2023 between Double-A and Triple-A.