MLB Player News

Pearson "looks really comfortable in his own skin right now" and "his stuff is outstanding," Blue Jays pitching coach Pete Walker told Keegan Matheson of MLB.com on Thursday.

Pearson's career has been sidetracked by injury, most recently with his 2022 season being wiped out by mononucleosis and a lat strain. He's healthy now, though, and while his days of starting might be over, he has the potential to be a lockdown reliever for the Jays.

Kelly's stuff has ticked up in recent seasons and is a contender to win a full-time role in Boston's bullpen this season, MLB Pipeline reports.

Kelly was a journeyman reliever earlier in his minor-league career. He gained fastball velocity during the off year in 2020 and came back racking up the strikeouts the past two years, culminating with him fanning 72 batters (34.4 percent) in 49.2 innings at Triple-A Worcester before earning his MLB debut last season. In addition to his mid-90s fastball, Kelly sports a plus changeup that has similar movement characteristics to Devin Williams' famous "airbender" changeup. Kelly probably won't get saves as a rookie, but he could offer value in leagues where relievers who post good ratios and strikeouts are useful.

Mushinski was shut down from throwing Thursday due to lower-back spasms, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

The Astros are calling the reliever day-to-day, so it would appear the hope is he won't be shut down long. Mushinski made seven appearances for Houston last season and is competing for a spot in the Opening Day bullpen.

Barria indicated Sunday that he wants to be a starter this season, Sam Blum of The Athletic reports.

Barria has bounced back and forth between a starting and relief role throughout his career, though he came out of the bullpen for all but one of his appearances last season. Perhaps not coincidentally, he put together his best big-league campaign, posting a 2.61 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 54:19 K:BB over 79.1 innings. Nonetheless, Barria has a desire to start again, and he shed 13 pounds of weight during the offseason in part to better his chances of entering the rotation. The Angels don't have a clear No. 6 starter at this point, thus Barria is certainly in the running for the role. However, the team has a variety of other options to fill the slot and intends to deploy its top starters every six days (rather than every six games), so whoever earns the role could be used more as a swing starter than as a traditional piece of the rotation, per Blum.

Angels general manager Perry Minasian recently expressed optimism that Estevez will earn the team's closer role this season, though he made it clear that the decision will be made by manager Phil Nevin, Sam Blum of The Athletic reports.

Estevez signed a two-year contract with the Angels in December after spending the first six seasons of his career with Colorado. The right-hander has racked up 25 saves in his career, with 11 coming in his rookie campaign and another 11 in 2021. Estevez doesn't have huge strikeout numbers -- he fanned less than a batter per inning in each of his past two seasons -- but he posted career-best marks with a 3.47 ERA and 1.18 WHIP over 57 frames in 2022. Jimmy Herget was impressive as part of a closer committee for Los Angeles last season after Raisel Iglesias was traded in early August, and Ryan Tepera should also be in the mix for save chances. Given Minasian's comments, Estevez may have a leg up in the closer competition, but he's far from guaranteed to be handed that role and should be among the final closers to be selected in fantasy drafts.

Foley figures to have a prominent relief role for the Tigers this season with several key members of last year's bullpen departing in the offseason, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

Gregory Soto is the most significant departure, as the lefty led the Tigers in saves last year. However, Joe Jimenez, Michael Fulmer and Andrew Chafin are also gone. That leaves the likes of Foley, Alex Lange and Jose Cisnero in a position to take on more prominent roles, though it's unclear who might emerge as the closer. Foley recorded a 3.88 ERA and 1.38 WHIP across 60.1 innings in 2022. However, he only tallied 43 strikeouts in that time, so the righty doesn't profile as an overpowering pitcher, which could make him more of a setup option.

Rodriguez (shoulder) is not on the schedule to throw live batting practice this week in Angels camp, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports.

Rodriguez is said to be rounding the corner in his recovery from November 2021 shoulder surgery, but he's obviously at least a little behind the other pitchers who are contending for the Angels' projected six-man starting rotation. The 24-year-old right-hander missed all of 2022 and likely won't be an option at the outset of the 2023 campaign given the Halos figure to continue easing him along this spring.

Speas joined the Rangers for minor-league camp this week and has elected to resume his playing career after spending most of the 2022 season on the restricted list, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.

During his last full season in 2021, the 24-year-old right-hander struggled to the tune of an 11.15 ERA, 2.48 WHIP and 30:26 K:BB across 15.1 innings between stops at Double-A Frisco and the rookie-level Arizona Complex League. The Rangers will likely assign Speas to a lower-level affiliate to begin the season with the hope that he can regain confidence and show improved control. A 2016 second-round draft pick, Speas is blessed with a fastball that can hit the triple digits, so he could have some developmental upside as a reliever if he's able to find the strike zone on a consistent basis.

Barlow is working on a two-seam fastball to add to his pitch mix, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

Barlow enters the year as the Royals' expected closer, though the offseason addition of Aroldis Chapman could create a committee. Rogers reports Barlow's two-seamer has been applauded by Royals hitters during camp, so the 30-year-old righty will likely continue to develop it as a fourth pitch to go with his four-seamer, slider and curveball. Barlow went 24-for-28 in saves with a 2.18 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 77:22 K:BB across 74.1 innings in 2022.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Wednesday that Pivetta (illness) won't pitch for the Canadian team during the upcoming World Baseball Classic, Gabrielle Starr of the Boston Herald reports.

Pivetta contracted COVID-19 last week, and while he reported back to camp Tuesday and completed a throwing session, he hasn't bounced back from the illness quite as swiftly as he had hoped. Since he apparently wasn't convinced that he would be in top form by the time Canada begins playing in games, Pivetta will instead stick around at Red Sox camp and advance through a throwing program at a more comfortable pace. Though Pivetta's slow recovery from the illness is expected to delay his entry into the Grapefruit League pitching schedule, he still looks like a good bet to get built up in time for Opening Day.