MLB Player News

Weaver has been scratched from Tuesday's scheduled start versus the Blue Jays due to a stiff neck, Chris Kirschner of The Athletic reports.

Dennis Santana will take the ball instead. Weaver -- who is slated for a long-relief role in 2024 -- should be considered day-to-day.

The Rays optioned Curet to minor-league camp Monday.

Curet caught onto the Rays' 40-man roster in November after posting a 2.94 ERA and 144:73 K:BB over 104 innings across Single-A Charleston and High-A Bowling Green. The right-hander will begin the 2024 season in the minors and could see a promotion to Double-A or Triple-A should he make strides. Curet appeared in two games in spring training and allowed two runs on two hits and three walks while striking out three over two innings.

White Sox pitching coordinator Matt Zaleski said Schultz (shoulder) is scheduled to pitch in his first game this spring Saturday, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.

Schultz will presumably pitch in a minor-league game rather than in the Cactus League, given that he has yet to make his debut in full-season ball. The White Sox have been proceeding cautiously with the 2022 first-round draft pick in spring training after he finished the 2023 season on the injured list at Single-A Kannapolis due to a left shoulder impingement. He also missed extensive time earlier last season due to a forearm strain, resulting in him logging just 27 total innings for Kannapolis. Zaleski noted that Schultz has been throwing in live batting practices up to this point in the spring and has sported a fastball that checks in at around 96-to-98 miles per hour, per Merkin. Though all seems well for Schultz on the health front and the expectation is that he'll open the season with Kannapolis or High-A Winston-Salem rather than sticking around at extended spring training, the White Sox plan to limit him to around 65 to 80 innings in 2024, according to Zaleski.

The Pirates reassigned Plassmeyer to minor-league camp Sunday, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.

Plassmeyer joined Pittsburgh on a minor-league deal in December after he had seen big-league action with the Phillies in both of the prior two seasons, accruing a 9.82 ERA and 1.64 WHIP over 11 innings. He was sharp in Grapefruit League play with four strikeouts over 3.2 scoreless innings out of the bullpen, but he'll need to impress over a larger sample at Triple-A Indianapolis before he gets another look in the majors with Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh optioned Ashcraft to minor-league camp Monday, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.

Ashcraft, 24, allowed two unearned runs with a 3:2 K:BB over 3.2 frames this spring. The right-hander pitched well after making it back from Tommy John surgery last season, holding a 2.39 ERA and 63:11 K:BB over 52.2 innings across three levels. He'll likely open the 2024 campaign at either Double-A Altoona or Triple-A indianapolis.

Giolito will undergo surgery Tuesday to repair UCL damage in his right elbow, Sean McAdam of The Springfield Republican reports.

Whether Giolito will require Tommy John surgery or the less invasive internal brace procedure won't be known until the operation is being performed. Either way, the right-hander's 2024 season is undoubtedly over. If Tommy John surgery is needed, it would be the second of Giolito's career and would set him up for a longer rehab that would likely extend into the 2025 campaign. The 29-year-old holds a $19 million player option for 2025, which he'll surely pick up this offseason in the wake of the major elbow operation.

Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said Monday that Cabrera will undergo an MRI on his injured right shoulder, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

Cabrera had to be scratched from a scheduled Grapefruit League start Sunday against the Astros because of shoulder tightness. Though Cabrera has since gone through strength tests on the shoulder that came back normal, the Marlins want to send him in for imaging just to be safe. Even if Cabrera isn't dealing with any structural damage, he would still seem to be a question mark for Opening Day. If that's the case, Ryan Weathers or Max Meyer would likely slide into the rotation.

Ray (elbow) threw a 25-pitch bullpen session Monday, Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Ray likely won't be an option for the Giants until the second half of the season while he completes his recovery from the Tommy John surgery he underwent last May, but he's seemingly steered cleared of any major setbacks through the first 10 months of his rehab program. Though pitchers have returned from the elbow operation in as few as 12 months, Ray's procedure also included a flexor tendon repair, so he'll likely be facing a longer recovery timeline than the typical Tommy John patient.

Winn (elbow) is scheduled to pitch in a minor-league spring training game Wednesday, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.

Winn's Cactus League debut might not come until next week at the soonest, but the right-hander's ability to pitch in a minor-league game suggests that he's completed his throwing progression after he was shut down early in camp due to a sore elbow. Because of the time he's missed thus far in camp, Winn could be facing an uphill battle to get fully stretched out for a starter's workload prior to the Giants' March 28 season opener, but the team isn't yet discounting the possibility of him being included on the Opening Day roster. With Alex Cobb (hip) and Sean Hjelle (elbow) seemingly trending toward joining Tristan Beck (arm) and Robbie Ray (elbow) on the injured list to begin the season, Winn has a clear path to a back-end rotation spot if the Giants are comfortable with where he stands in his buildup program by the end of the spring.

The Marlins optioned Munoz to Triple-A Jacksonville on Monday.

Now a part of his fourth organization in less than a year after the Marlins acquired him in December, Munoz retains a spot on Miami's 40-man roster but will need to distinguish himself in the minors before he garners his first big-league call-up. While splitting most of his time between Atlanta and Washington's Triple-A affiliates in 2023, the 23-year-old compiled a 5.42 ERA, 1.58 WHIP and 81:53 K:BB across 78 innings.