MLB Player News

The Pirates optioned Burrows (elbow) to the minor leagues Friday, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Burrows had his 2023 season cut short when he underwent Tommy John surgery in late April. The right-hander will start the 2024 season in the minors and look to work his way up to the majors.

Waldrep was reassigned to minor-league camp by Atlanta on Friday, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.

Waldrep had an impressive spring debut March 3, when he pitched two scoreless innings with two strikeouts and two walks. The 24th overall pick in the 2023 Draft could make his major-league debut this season if he pitches well in the minors.

Kloffenstein was optioned to Triple-A Memphis by the Cardinals on Friday, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

Kloffenstein earned a spot on the Cardinals' 40-man roster after registering an impressive 3.16 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 140:55 K:BB over 128 innings in 2023 between Double-A and Triple-A. If Kloffenstein is effective with Memphis early in the season, he could see some time in the majors in 2024.

Gipson-Long (groin) is scheduled to throw a bullpen session Saturday, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

The right-hander resumed throwing in late February after dealing with a groin strain, and he'll return to the mound this weekend. Gipson-Long will likely need a couple bullpen sessions before advancing to face live hitters, but he's getting closer to being ready for game action.

Teng (oblique) will throw a live batting practice session Saturday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Teng is working his way back from a left oblique strain suffered early in camp. The 25-year-old is pegged to open the season in Triple-A Sacramento's rotation.

Cobb (hip) will throw a live batting practice session Monday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Cobb continues to make good progress from last October's left hip surgery and is now expected back much sooner than initially anticipated. The Giants have not yet offered a clear timeline for Cobb's season debut, but president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi did say last weekend that the righty could be back "relatively soon into the year."

Walker (knee) will see his first Grapefruit League action of the spring Saturday, Corey Seidman of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports.

Walker was away from the Phillies early on in camp for personal reasons and has dealt with a sore right knee over the past week. However, he got through his last bullpen session with no problems and has been cleared for his first spring start. He should still have enough time to ramp up prior to Opening Day.

Schmidt is throwing a new split-finger changeup this spring, Max Goodman of The Newark Star-Ledger reports.

Schmidt threw a changeup on only 1.5 percent of his pitches last season, and when he did go to the offering, batters knocked it around to the tune of a .429 batting average. The right-hander has since worked on changing his grip on the pitch, modeling the adjustment on Blue Jays hurler Kevin Gausman. Of course, the Yankees would be ecstatic if Schmidt's results are anything close to Gausman's, but even if the new offering brings less dramatic improvement it could help the younger hurler bring stability to the back of the team's rotation. Schmidt posted a mediocre 4.64 ERA and 1.35 WHIP along with a 149:46 K:BB last season, but he gave an injury-riddled staff 159 innings, and manager Aaron Boone said in late February that he is guaranteed a spot in New York's Opening Day rotation.

Keller (shoulder) signed a minor-league contract with the White Sox on Friday that includes an invitation to spring training.

Keller's 2023 season ended in September when the Royals put him on the injured list due to thoracic outlet syndrome. It's uncertain what his current health situation is, but the White Sox clearly felt comfortable enough with it to give the righty a low-risk, non-roster invite. Keller has been an effective innings-eater in the past and is still just 28, but he holds a 5.14 ERA since the start of the 2021 campaign. The White Sox will likely send him to the minors initially if he performs well enough, but given their dearth of rotation options, he could well end up spending time in the big-league rotation in 2024.

The Rockies optioned Davis to Triple-A Albuquerque on Friday, Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post reports.

Davis was competing for a spot at the back end of Colorado's Opening Day rotation but allowed three earned runs on 10 hits and three walks over six innings during spring training, striking out five. The 26-year-old struggled to an 8.70 ERA over 30 frames in his first taste of the majors last season but is a decent bet to receive another look with the Rockies at some point in 2024.