MLB Player News

Armstrong has been sidelined during camp with a neck injury, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

It's unclear how severe the injury is. The right-hander was a key contributor to the Rays bullpen in 2022 with a 3.60 ERA and 1.27 WHIP, and he agreed to a one-year, $1.2 million deal to avoid arbitration last month. If healthy, he should be a middle-relief or set-up option for Tampa Bay in 2023.

Rays manager Kevin Cash confirmed Friday that Patino (shoulder) is being built up as a starter this spring, Neil Solondz of the Rays Radio Network reports.

Patino struggled to an 8.10 ERA in six major-league starts last season and was shut down in September with a shoulder issue, but he brought a clean bill of health into camp, and the Rays still hope that he can provide some organizational rotation depth. The 23-year-old is likely to open the season at Triple-A Durham, assuming Tampa Bay's five projected starters make it through the spring unscathed. Patino could be the first pitcher called upon if an injury opens up a spot.

Henriquez is dealing with right posterior elbow soreness, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reports.

The reliever underwent an MRI and will be re-evaluated in about a week after receiving an injection. Henriquez probably wasn't going to crack the Opening Day bullpen anyway, but this injury should officially rule out that possibility even if it doesn't wind up being serious.

Bautista (shoulder/knee) will throw another bullpen session Saturday and will up his effort level to around 80-85 percent, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

Bautista threw a less intense bullpen session Tuesday and will now ramp things up a bit more this weekend. The Orioles have elected to proceed cautiously with their closer this spring after he dealt with shoulder and knee soreness late last season. It's not clear when Bautista might be cleared for Grapefruit League action.

Rodriguez will be competing for a full-time spot in the Rangers' bullpen this season, MLB Pipeline reports.

Once a starting pitching prospect, Rodriguez's fastball can touch triple digits and averaged 98.1 mph in 2022, and he will focus solely on relief work going forward. He has a sweeping low-80s slider to pair with his plus fastball. Rodriguez logged a 4.27 ERA, 1.56 WHIP, 73 strikeouts and four saves in 49 games while navigating hitter-friendly conditions in the Pacific Coast League last season.

Cisnero has received treatment this week for a muscle spasm in the left side of his neck, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.

It seems likely to be a day-to-day situation, but the Tigers are only saying that Ciseno will resume workouts once symptoms subside. The 33-year-old right-hander is in the mix to compete for the closer job this season, so any missed time during camp isn't ideal.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone indicated over the weekend that Holmes may sometimes be used outside of save situations during the regular season, Andy Martino of SNY.tv reports. "There are going to be days where if it's [George] Springer, [Bo] Bichette and Vladdy [Vladimir Guerrero Jr.] coming up in the eighth inning in a big spot, that might be Clay," Boone explained.

Boone suggested that he plans to deploy Holmes in the highest leverage situations, which could come earlier than the ninth inning at times and may not always qualify the right-handed hurler for a save. Still, the manager hinted that he would continue to see plenty of chances to close, stating, "I would expect [Holmes] to close a lot of games for us. Probably most games, and hopefully a lot of games. But I do see a number of guys getting saves." Holmes didn't earn any saves in his first four big-league seasons, but he racked up 20 last year after taking over the ninth-inning role in the first half of the campaign. The reliever's stock is boosted by playing for a team projected to be among the best in the league, but Boone's comments and Holmes' late-season fade last year may provide enough risk to keep him outside of the top 10 closers in fantasy drafts.

Alexander is expected to primarily work in relief this season, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.

Alexander made 17 starts and 10 relief appearances in 2022, but he's likely to be much more of a bullpen option this year with Matthew Boyd and Spencer Turnbull back in the starting mix coming off injuries. Newcomer Michael Lorenzen also figures to slot into the rotation, along with Eduardo Rodriguez and Matt Manning. Alexander is a valuable lefty swingman for the Tigers, though his fantasy value will be limited in a relief role. He's always an option to start if a need arises, however.

Silseth could win a spot in the Angels' rotation this spring, but he is more likely to start the season in the minors, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

The Angels seemingly have five of six rotation spots accounted for, with Jaime Barria, Tucker Davidson, Griffin Canning, Chris Rodriguez and Silseth competing for the sixth spot. Silseth has a higher long-term ceiling than most of his competitors, but is also the least experienced of the bunch, so it would make sense for him to open the year in the minors. The 22-year-old righty logged a 2.28 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and a 34.4 percent strikeout rate in 15 starts at Double-A last year. He has never pitched at the Triple-A level, but he gave up 21 earned runs with 24 strikeouts in 28.2 frames in the majors last year.

Mariners manager Scott Servais noted Thursday that Munoz is ahead of schedule in his recovery from October bone-fusion surgery in his right foot, Shannon Drayer of MyNorthwest.com reports.

"I am very happy with what I've seen there, and he feels good about where he's at," said Servais. Munoz is not yet on the pitching schedule for Cactus League games, but he's already thrown a number of bullpen sessions without issue since he reported to Mariners camp. The expectation is that the high-leverage reliever will be 100 percent in time for Opening Day.