MLB Player News

Hentges will begin the 2022 season in the bullpen, Mandy Bell of MLB.com reports.

Not surprisingly, Hentges is on the outside looking in for a spot in the rotation. The southpaw struggled with a 6.68 ERA and 1.78 WHIP across 30 appearances last season, but he was more effective in relief than he was in his 12 starts. The 25-year-old should see mostly multi-inning assignments, and he could function as a piggyback to starters as they build up their pitch counts early in the season.

Morgan will begin 2022 as a reliever, Mandy Bell of MLB.com reports.

Morgan worked as a starter in 2021, posting a 5.34 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 81:22 K:BB across 89.1 innings in 18 starts. With the Guardians' rotation at full health to begin the season, he'll have to settle for multi-inning assignments out of the bullpen. He could vulture a win here or there as the starters get stretched out, but the 25-year-old right-hander will need to make some improvements from his rookie season to earn interest in fantasy.

The Royals optioned Zerpa to Double-A Northwest Arkansas on Sunday, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

Zerpa was summoned from the minors to make a spot start for the Royals late in the 2021 season, and though he acquitted himself well by striking out four while allowing two unearned runs in five innings in a Sept. 30 loss to Cleveland, he never looked like a serious threat to win a spot on Kansas City's Opening Day roster. Instead, Zerpa will return to the Double-A level in search of better results after he submitted a 5.96 ERA and 1.55 WHIP in 45.1 innings for Northwest Arkansas in 2021.

The Yankees acquired Castro from the Mets on Sunday in exchange for Joely Rodriguez, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.

The two New York teams are flipping relievers in the deal, with Castro providing the Yankees with another potential setup option while Zack Britton (elbow) remains on track to miss most, if not all, of the 2022 season. Castro likely won't rank high in the pecking order for saves with his new team, but he proved to be a serviceable arm for the Mets in 2021, finishing with a 3.45 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and nine holds over 70.1 innings.

Tate is expected to miss a couple days of workouts while he contends with a sore throat, Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com reports.

At this stage, the minor illness isn't expected to affect Tate's availability for the start of the regular season. Tate is viewed as a possible candidate for saves out of the Baltimore bullpen in 2022, though Cole Sulser and Tanner Scott look to be better bets at the moment to see the bulk of the work in save situations.

Romano (ankle) is scheduled to pitch in a minor-league game Sunday, Kaitlyn McGrath of The Athletic reports.

Romano recently suffered a mild ankle sprain when he slipped while walking his dog, but he missed only a day of workouts before he was able to get back on the mound Friday. After completing a bullpen session without incident, Romano will face hitters Sunday, which seemingly clears up any concern about his availability for Opening Day. Manager Charlie Montoyo has yet to formally name a closer ahead of Opening Day, but Romano looks like the best bet for saves out of the Toronto bullpen after posting a 2.14 ERA while converting 23 of his 24 save chances in 2021.

Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said Sunday that Borucki (hamstring) continues to work out and throw and could be cleared for Opening Day, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.

On Saturday, Borucki was sent in for an MRI, which confirmed that he was dealing with right hamstring tightness but no other damage. Since Borucki hasn't been shut down from throwing, he'll have a shot at being ready for the team's April 8 season opener versus the Rangers, though the lefty would likely need to make an appearance at some point over the Blue Jays' remaining three exhibition games to avoid the injured list.

The Twins reassigned Smeltzer to minor-league camp Sunday, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.

Smeltzer's long-shot bid for the Twins' Opening Day roster likely ended when Minnesota signed Chris Archer last week to fill the fifth and final spot in its rotation. The 26-year-old lefty is expected to head to Triple-A St. Paul to begin the upcoming campaign and will remain on hand as organizational starting depth for Minnesota.

The Twins optioned Moran to Triple-A St. Paul on Sunday, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.

Moran missed out on the Twins' Opening Day roster after he was hit hard in spring training, giving up seven runs on nine hits and seven walks over eight innings in Grapefruit League play. He'll fill a spot in the St. Paul bullpen to begin the upcoming campaign.

Barnes' fastball reached 92-93 mph in Saturday's spring training outing against the Pirates, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.

Barnes averaged 95.8 mph on his four-seamer in 2021 and touched 96 and 97 at times. He was an All-Star closer over the first half of the season. This spring, however, the velocity has been inconsistent and down. The right-hander allowed one run on two hits while striking out one Saturday in his fourth Grapefruit League outing. He's scheduled to make two more appearances, and Boston manager Alex Cora hopes to see an uptick in velocity before Thursday's Opening Day. Cora has yet to name a closer and said that reliever will be revealed the first time the Red Sox are in a save situation during the regular season. Hansel Robles and Garrett Whitlock are perceived to be potential closers if Barnes isn't finishing games.