MLB Player News

The Rockies optioned Romo to Triple-A Albuquerque on Wednesday.

Romo's demotion likely solidifies Jacob Stallings and Hunter Goodman as the Rockies' catching tandem heading into Opening Day. The 23-year-old Romo already appears major-league ready from a defensive standpoint, but the Rockies would presumably like to see him show more improvement with his plate skills before giving him an extended run in the big leagues as their No. 1 catcher. Romo hit .297 with 14 home runs while striking out in just 17.8 percent of his 370 plate appearances at Albuquerque last season, but he languished upon getting his first big-league call-up in mid-August. Over 53 plate appearances with the Rockies, Romo hit .176 with a 3.8 percent walk rate and a 34 percent strikeout rate.

The Rockies optioned Amador to Triple-A Albuquerque on Wednesday.

Amador surprisingly made the jump from Double-A Hartford to the majors last June, but he slashed just .171/.194/.200 over 10 games with the Rockies before being shut down with a right oblique strain. Once healthy, he was optioned back to Hartford, where he finished the season with a .227/.341/.373 slash line to go with 14 home runs and 35 stolen bases across 453 plate appearances. Though the Rockies non-tendered Brendan Rodgers in November, the team brought in Thairo Estrada on a one-year deal later in the offseason, and he projects to open the season as Colorado's everyday second baseman. However, given the minimal investment in Estrada, the Rockies likely won't hesitate to open up a full-time role for Amador once the organization is confident that he's ready for another look in the big leagues.

The Cardinals reassigned Wetherholt to minor-league camp Wednesday.

Wetherholt was given lots of playing time this spring but didn't do much at the plate, going 2-for-20 with one home run, three stolen bases and a 5:6 K:BB. The top prospect is slated to open the 2025 season either at High-A Peoria or Double-A Springfield.

Nationals manager Dave Martinez said Wednesday that Rutledge will be used as a multi-inning reliever moving forward, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reports.

A first-round pick in the 2019 First-Year Player Draft, Rutledge has seen spot duty in the majors the last two seasons but really struggled last year at Triple-A Rochester, posting a 6.40 ERA with a 13.7 percent walk rate. Rutledge's stuff should play up in relief and the new role also figures to mask some of his control problems.

Profar (wrist) will be limited to tracking pitches for now but could be cleared to resume swinging a bat in a few days, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

Profar was diagnosed with a bone bruise in his left wrist after having to exit a Grapefruit League game over the weekend. He is not expected to miss any regular-season action, saying Wednesday that he's "very confident" he'll be ready to go Opening Day.

Walker (knee) went through a running progression Tuesday, Daniel Guerrero of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Walker is expected to progress to lateral movements next as he works his way back from left knee inflammation. A return to Grapefruit League action should come after that. Walker hasn't played since tweaking his knee March 4 but is expected to have enough time to ramp back up for Opening Day.

Minter (hip) will make his Grapefruit League in Wednesday's game versus the Cardinals, Manny Gomez of NJ.com reports.

Minter will be in line for his first game action since he underwent hip surgery last August. He has just over two weeks to ramp up for Opening Day, but since he'll be deployed as a one-inning reliever, he'll likely need only a handful of appearances in spring training to get himself ready. He's projected to help set up for closer Edwin Diaz in the Mets bullpen this season.

Pfaadt allowed one run on three hits and one walk while striking out two over three innings in Tuesday's spring game against the Royals.

Pfaadt didn't start the game and came on to pitch innings five through seven after Merrill Kelly and Justin Martinez got the Diamondbacks through the first four frames. This was Pfaadt's third Cactus League outing and decidedly better than his previous appearance when he was chased after 1.1 innings. Despite working out of the bullpen Tuesday, Pfaadt remains in the mix for the final spot in the rotation, along with Ryne Nelson and Jordan Montgomery.

Martinez threw a scoreless two-thirds of an inning in Tuesday's spring game against Kansas City.

Martinez came on in the fourth inning to relieve starter Merrill Kelly, who left with one out and runners at the corners. Martinez needed just two pitches to get out of the jam, inducing a double-play groundout to end the inning. It was the fourth scoreless appearance in five Cactus League outings for Martinez, who is competing with A.J. Puk and Kevin Ginkel for the closer role.

Kelly allowed five hits while striking out one over 3.1 scoreless innings in Tuesday's spring start against the Royals.

Kelly threw 48 pitches in his third Cactus League start, the same number of pitches he threw the last time out, March 7, against the Mariners. He navigated first-inning trouble with the help of his defense; a baserunner was caught attempting to steal and a second one was picked off by Kelly, the third time he's picked off a runner this spring. After three spring outings, Kelly has a 2.35 ERA over 7.2 innings.