MLB Player News

Manager Charlie Montoyo said Tuesday that Saucedo will be included in the Blue Jays' Opening Day bullpen, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Saucedo earned his spot on the roster after striking out nine and issuing one walk over five scoreless innings during Grapefruit League play. The 28-year-old lefty is expected to begin the season in a middle-relief role.

Manager Charlie Montoyo said Tuesday that Thornton will be part of the Blue Jays' Opening Day bullpen, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Thornton will join Ross Stripling as one of two long-relief options out of the bullpen. The role likely won't lend itself to much high-leverage work, as most of Thornton's usage is expected to come in mop-up situations or in the middle innings. He made 34 of his 37 appearances out of the bullpen for Toronto in 2021 and didn't record a hold or save.

Patino has won a spot in Tampa Bay's starting rotation and will make his first regular season start April 11 against Oakland, the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Patino had a sore shoulder early in spring training, but is apparently back to full strength as the regular season begins. However, he may see a limited workload early in the season and could form a tandem with Josh Fleming. Patino has thrown just two innings in major-league spring training, giving up one hit, no walk and no strikeouts.

Borucki (hamstring) is slated to pitch in a simulated game Tuesday, Laura Armstrong of the Toronto Star reports.

The Blue Jays will wait and see how Borucki's sore right hamstring responds to the sim game before determining whether he'll be part of the Opening Day bullpen. Even if Borucki is forced to begin the season on the 10-day injured list, he'll likely be in store for a minimum stint, given that he's already been cleared to face hitters.

Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said Tuesday that Pearson (illness) has been diagnosed with mononucleosis and will be out "a while," Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Pearson was already on track to miss out on a spot in the Blue Jays' Opening Day bullpen after an unspecified ailment had kept him from working out with the team for the past few days, and he looks like he'll be sidelined for the first few weeks of the season now that he's received a diagnosis for his illness. The Blue Jays are expected to formally place Pearson on the injured list at some point before the weekend. Since Toronto had planned to have Pearson stretch out for starting duty in the spring, he could prepare for a rotation role with Triple-A Buffalo once he's cleared to begin a minor-league rehab assignment. Before he even resumes throwing, however, Pearson will turn his focus on resting up and attempting to shake off an illness that can often carry a volatile recovery timeline.

Tapia was optioned to Triple-A Omaha on Tuesday, Alec Lewis of The Athletic reports.

Tapia struggled with his control this spring, surrendering five runs on eight hits and six walks while striking out one batter over 5.1 innings in seven appearances. The reliever was an effective bullpen option for the Mariners and Royals last season, posting a 2.67 ERA and 1.19 WHIP. He'll look to recapture his control from 2021 while in the minors and return to the big leagues at some point in the coming weeks.

Cimber hasn't given up a run over 4.1 innings this spring with a 5:0 K:BB.

The groundball specialist (53.8 percent GB% in 2021) isn't typically a strikeout pitcher, but he's been dominant nonetheless in Grapefruit League play. Cimber figures to be a key member of the Blue Jays' bullpen this season, but that role didn't result in much fantasy value last year -- he managed two wins, one save and five holds in 39 appearances for Toronto despite a 1.69 ERA and 0.96 WHIP.

Merryweather has given up three home runs over five innings this spring, leading to a 10.80 ERA, but he's also posted a 6:1 K:BB.

His inability to keep the ball in the park is a little worrying after Merryweather served up four homers in 13 innings last year, but the strikeout numbers are encouraging and he was reported to be touching 98 mph with his fastball earlier in camp. If the right-hander can stay healthy, something he hasn't been able to do in his pro career, he should be a valuable setup man in front of Blue Jays closer Jordan Romano.

Lowther was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk on Tuesday, Zachary Silver of MLB.com reports.

Lowther struggled this spring, surrendering four runs on five hits and five walks while striking out four over 4.1 innings. The 25-year-old will begin the season with Triple-A Norfolk, but considering the state of the Orioles' roster, he will likely get a shot with the big-league club at some point this summer. He'll look to improve upon the 6.67 ERA and 1.65 WHIP that he compiled with the Orioles in 2021.

Miller was assigned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Sunday.

The Yankees signed Miller to a minor-league deal in late March, but he got into only one Grapefruit League game with the club. In that contest, the 31-year-old pitched a scoreless inning during which he gave up one hit and struck out one. Miller may need to impress in the minors to get a chance in the big leagues this season after posting a 9.24 ERA across 12.2 frames between the Pirates and Cubs in 2021.