MLB Player News

The Pirates placed Brubaker (elbow) on the 60-day injured list Monday, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.

The transaction frees up a spot on the 40-man roster for Canaan Smith-Njigba, who is back with his original organization. Brubaker is slated to be sidelined until around midseason as he works his way back from Tommy John surgery.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Monday that it's unlikely Buehler (elbow) will make any Cactus League appearances this spring, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Roberts declined to offer a timetable for when Buehler will join the Dodgers' rotation, but the fact that the right-hander won't make any spring training appearances indicates that it won't be early on in the season. Buehler made just one rehab appearance last year while working his way back from his second Tommy John surgery. The 29-year-old figures to stay behind in extended spring training for a while before eventually starting a rehab assignment.

Lynch (shoulder) said Sunday that he's feeling "probably the best I've felt in two years," Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

Lynch wound up pitching just 52.1 innings in 2023 due to a left shoulder issue which ultimately ended his season in July. He returned to pitching in the Arizona Fall League and also the Dominican Winter League, though, and entered Royals came with no restrictions. Lynch is competing with Jordan Lyles and Alec Marsh for the fifth spot in Kansas City's rotation. Lyles would seem to have a leg up for the job, but Lynch has more upside and could push for the gig with a strong spring.

Gipson-Long was diagnosed with a left groin strain after undergoing an MRI last week, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

Gipson-Long sustained the injury in a bullpen session last week during the first week of spring training. The 26-year-old is completing daily rehab activities, but the Tigers have yet to offer a timeline for when the right-hander might be ready to make his Grapefruit League debut. Gipson-Long entered camp on the outside looking in for a spot in the Detroit rotation, and the groin injury won't help his case for making the Tigers' Opening Day roster.

Woodruff (shoulder) signed a two-year contract with the Brewers on Monday, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.

The financial details of the deal are not yet known. Woodruff was non-tendered by the Brewers earlier this offseason after he underwent surgery to repair the anterior capsule in his right shoulder. The veteran right-hander is expected to be sidelined for the duration of the 2024 campaign, with Milwaukee hoping it can get Woodruff back to ace-level production in 2025. Woodruff held a 2.28 ERA, 0.82 WHIP and 74:15 K:BB over 67 innings covering 11 starts in 2023.

Miller added a splitter to his repertoire this offseason, Brandon Gustafson of 710 ESPN Seattle reports.

Miller picked up some valuable experience last season beginning with his May 2 MLB debut, finishing the 2023 campaign with an 8-7 record, 4.32 ERA and 1.14 WHIP across 25 starts. The right-hander's fastball clocked in at an impressive 95.1 mph as well, and while he primarily relied on his four-seam fastball and a sinker/two-seamer as a rookie, he decided to add the splitter after seeing rotation mates Logan Gilbert and George Kirby enjoy plenty of success with it last season. "I thought it was something that would be really good for how I throw and for what I needed," Miller said. " ... It took me a month or two just to find a grip that I was comfortable with and one that I was able to get consistent shapes with."

Stripling has begun unveiling a new "Deathball" pitch that he worked on this offseason, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

The veteran right-hander was just acquired from the Giants on Feb. 2 and has already been deploying the pitch in front of his new coaches and teammates. Stripling admits he's still perfecting his use of the offering, which he's primarily used in bullpen sessions thus far and is described as a modified version of a slider that drops straight down late. Stripling plans to use his Cactus League appearances to experiment with it in game situations and decide if he'll be utilizing it in his arsenal when he opens the season as the Athletics' projected No. 3 starter.

Gonzales (forearm) is healthy to begin spring training, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.

Gonzales managed only 10 starts and 50 innings in 2023 before undergoing surgery to address a forearm issue. He was then traded twice this offseason but figures to settle into being either the second or third starting pitcher in Pittsburgh behind Mitch Keller and potentially Martin Perez. In addition to his rehab, Gonzales also went to Driveline during the offseason to work on regaining the feel on his cutter while attempting to pick up some added velocity.

Sale indicated Saturday that he'd been completely healthy this offseason for the first time since 2018, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.

The 34-year-old left-hander has dealt with a litany of injuries in the years since, and his typical winter during that time involved rehabbing from his latest issue rather than focusing on the upcoming campaign. A clean start to 2024 doesn't guarantee that Sale will be able to take 30-plus turns in the rotation for Atlanta, of course, but it does offer some reason for optimism that he'll top the 102.2 innings he threw for Boston last year. Sale still flashes premium stuff, posting a 29.4 percent strikeout rate last season with a 6.8 percent walk rate, and his 33.6 percent chase rate was in the 92nd percentile. If he can handle a bigger workload, he could produce 200 strikeouts for the first time since 2019.

The Tigers haven't discussed any specific workload restrictions on Mize for spring training or the regular season as he returns from Tommy John surgery, MLB.com reports.

Mize added that he hopes to throw "as much as they let me" in camp, though the Tigers will certainly take a cautious approach. Even if a specific innings limit isn't announced for the regular season, the team will surely be careful then as well, considering Mize last took an MLB mound in April of 2022. The righty's career high for innings in a season is 150.1, which he recorded back in 2021, and it would be safe to assume that somewhere around that number will end up being his maximum in 2024 if he's able to stay healthy. Mize can be an impact pitcher when on top of his game, but it might take him a little while to shake off some rust, so fantasy managers will need to be patient.