MLB Player News

The Twins reassigned Megill to minor-league camp Wednesday.

The 28-year-old joined the Twins on a minor-league deal in December and is expected to serve as organizational relief depth during the 2022 campaign. Megill reached the majors for the first time in his career in 2021, making 28 appearances while posting an 8.37 ERA and 1.86 WHIP across 23.2 innings with the Cubs.

The Twins reassigned Hamilton to minor-league camp Wednesday.

Hamilton is expected to return to Triple-A St. Paul for the second season in a row after he made all 38 of his appearances with the affiliate in 2021, finishing with a 4.12 ERA and 1.44 WHIP across 59 innings. The 26-year-old reliever last saw big-league action in 2020, when he made four appearances for the White Sox.

Robles (not injury related) is slated to arrive at spring training Thursday, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

Robles dealt with visa issues this spring and will have just a week to prepare for Opening Day with the team once he arrives at camp Thursday. While it's possible that he'll be unavailable to begin the year, manager Alex Cora said that it's possible that the right-hander will be ready for the start of the regular season. If the team decides that Robles needs more time to build up, he'll likely head to Triple-A Worcester since he signed a minor-league contract with Boston in mid-March.

Fairbanks has a 50 percent tear of his lat muscle and will likely be forced to miss at least three months, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The Rays announced Monday that Fairbanks would face a shutdown of at least six weeks due to his lat injury, and he'll require at least six additional weeks to build up once he's cleared to resume throwing. As a result, the right-hander will likely be out until at least July. It wouldn't be surprising to see Fairbanks land on the 60-day injured list to begin the regular season.

The Tigers scratched Chafin from his scheduled relief appearance in Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Blue Jays due to groin tightness, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.

Detroit is hopeful that after a couple days of rest, Chafin will be ready to take the mound when his next planned pitching appearance comes over the weekend. After inking a two-year, $13 million deal with Detroit earlier this month, Chafin is expected to serve as the team's top lefty setup man behind closer Gregory Soto.

Winder appears to be out of the running for a spot in the Twins' Opening Day rotation after Minnesota signed Chris Archer to a one-year deal Monday, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reports.

Due to his late signing, Archer could require some ramp-up time and may not be included in the Opening Day rotation, but Minnesota's schedule will allow it to get by with four starters until April 13, if necessary. Winder's MLB debut thus doesn't appear to be imminent, but the 25-year-old righty looks like he'll rank near the top of the list for a promotion if an opening in the rotation arises at any point in 2022. Considering that Winder missed the final two months of the 2021 season due to shoulder fatigue, some extra tune-up time at Triple-A St. Paul to begin the year is probably more ideal than being thrown into the fire in the big-league rotation. Winder made only four starts for the affiliate before being shut down last season, providing a 4.67 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 15:3 K:BB in 17.1 innings over that stretch.

Tate hopes to be considered as a closer option this season, Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com reports.

Cole Sulser and Tanner Scott are the leading closer candidates for now, but manager Brandon Hyde hasn't provided much insight to specific roles for bullpen arms. Tate was solid last year with a 4.39 ERA and 1.24 WHIP, though his 49:23 K:BB doesn't profile well for a closing role unless he can trim the walk rate a bit. The right-hander added three saves, seven holds and two blown saves while posting an 0-6 record in 62 appearances. Tate has yet to allow a run or a walk in three Grapefruit League outings this season, striking out three in 3.1 innings.

Wantz was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake on Wednesday.

Wantz made two relief appearances in the Cactus League this year and allowed two hits and a walk while striking out three in three scoreless frames. Although he made 21 relief appearances for the Angels last year, he'll begin the 2022 campaign in Salt Lake.

Manager Chris Woodward doesn't want to put Barlow back in the closer's role right away this season, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports.

Landry said Woodward cited the raised expectations for the club as the reason to use Barlow as more of a fireman. Per Landry, Spencer Patton, Matt Bush or Greg Holland could slide into the ninth-inning role early this season.

Poche is scheduled to appear in relief of starter Josh Fleming in Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Orioles, Neil Solondz of the Rays Radio Network reports.

Healthy again after missing the entire 2020 and 2021 seasons while recovering from the Tommy John surgery he underwent in June 2020, Poche is vying for a spot in the Rays' Opening Day bullpen. He's looked sharp in his first two Grapefruit League appearances to date, striking out two over two scoreless frames while recording a save.