MLB Player News

Brown (shoulder) threw a bullpen session consisting of 20 fastballs Friday, MLB.com reports.

Brown has been dealing with a shoulder issue all spring and looks likely to head to the injured list to begin the season. He'll start mixing in breaking balls in his next bullpen session before progressing to live batting practice.

Freeman (back) remains sidelined and could begin the 2026 season on the injured list, MLB.com reports.

Freeman was scratched with back tightness Wednesday and has yet to return to action. His status is still ambiguous, though he'll likely need to get back on the field for a Cactus League game to have a chance to avoid the injured list to begin the regular season.

Bart has gone 5-for-31 with 13 strikeouts across 12 Grapefruit League games.

Bart is likely the favorite to win a roster spot as Pittsburgh's second catcher alongside Henry Davis, and his path became clearer earlier in the week when Endy Rodriguez was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis. Rafael Flores also remains in the mix, though he has hit poorly this spring.

Flores has gone 2-for-25 with 10 strikeouts during Grapefruit League games.

Flores is vying for a roster spot as a second catcher alongside Henry Davis, with Joey Bart being his primary competition. Neither has made much of an impression, as Bart has struck out 13 times across 31 at-bats with only five hits. Flores made his major-league debut to close 2025 but had only 17 plate appearances.

Tellez signed a minor-league contract with Atlanta on Friday, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.

Tellez spent time with the Mariners and Rangers last season, slashing .228/.276/.443 across 312 total plate appearances. He's spent the entire offseason on the open market but still saw a little bit of action while playing for Mexico in the World Baseball Classic, during which he went 1-for-9 with two walks and two strikeouts across four games. The 31-year-old will almost certainly begin 2026 as an organizational depth piece at Triple-A Gwinnett, but he'd be likely to join the big club if Matt Olson were to miss any amount of time.

Ruiz was removed from Friday's Grapefruit League game against the Nationals due to left side tightness, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

Ruiz suffered the injury after taking a swing in the third inning and needed assistance making it into the dugout. The speedy outfielder owns just a .446 OPS this spring through 41 plate appearances and already had slim odds of breaking camp with the big club before getting hurt.

Stowers was removed from Friday's Grapefruit League game against the Astros due to right hamstring tightness, Kevin Barral of FishonFirst.com reports.

Stowers strained his right hamstring earlier this spring and had to sit out for two weeks because of it. It's unclear how serious his latest setback is, but there is now a chance that he opens the regular season on the injured list. If that happens, Griffin Conine and Heriberto Hernandez would be next in line to pick up starts in the outfield.

Manager Craig Stammen said Friday that Matsui (groin) will begin the season on the injured list, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

Matsui hasn't appeared in a game this spring after suffering a groin injury during a live BP session in February. He resumed throwing off a mound in early March, and Stammen added that the 30-year-old southpaw is slated to resume facing live hitters within the next several days. Assuming his rehab continues to progress smoothly, he may not need to spend more than the 15-day minimum on the IL.

The Diamondbacks optioned Strowd to Triple-A Reno on Friday, Alex D'Agostino of SI.com reports.

Strowd showed a lot of promise during his first season in the majors last year, posting a 1.71 ERA and 1.10 WHIP across 26.1 frames with the Orioles. He joined the Diamondbacks via trade in February and entered spring training with a chance to make the big club's Opening Day roster, but he will instead head back to Triple-A after allowing 10 earned runs in just 7.2 Cactus League innings. Arizona is running a bit thin on reliable relievers, as the team is set to begin the regular season without A.J. Puk (elbow) and Justin Martinez (elbow), so Strowd could be invited back into the big-league bullpen if he returns to form in the minors.

Atlanta assigned Williams to minor-league camp Friday.

Williams, a 29-year-old utility player, was a long shot to make the big-league roster, and Friday's move confirms he'll open 2026 in the minor leagues. Williams went 6-for-30 (.200) with one homer, one double and a 4:10 BB:K during spring training.