MLB Player News

Menez was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento on Friday.

Menez was a long shot at best to break camp with the big-league team, as he owns a 5.29 ERA in 17.0 innings at the highest level. His 30.1 percent strikeout rate in his brief debut was largely overshadowed by his 16.4 percent walk rate.

Adam was assigned to minor-league camp Friday.

Adam was signed as a non-roster invitee in January but didn't stick around in big-league camp for long. He threw 4.2 innings in the Cactus League, striking out nine but walking eight while allowing six runs (three earned).

Rodriguez (biceps) was optioned to Double-A Tennessee on Friday.

Rodriguez is out indefinitely with a Grade 2 right biceps strain, but he was never a candidate for the big-league roster, as he's yet to play above High-A. As he has no big-league experience, the Cubs are allowed to option him now rather than placing him on the major-league injured list. It looks likely that he'll open the season on the injured list in the minors, however.

Hader threw a scoreless inning in Thursday's spring game against the Reds and struck out two batters.

Outings like Thursday's have become the norm for Hader, who has posted a 15.3 K/9 in his big-league career. He will head into the regular season as the Brewers' closer and will have a long leash, but there is at least a chance he could be moved into a more versatile role when fellow reliever Corey Knebel (elbow) is ready to go in May. Regardless of role, Hader will be at or near the top of the list of relief options in nearly all fantasy formats given his penchant for punchouts.

Feyereisen is competing for a spot in the Brewers' bullpen this spring and has made three appearances to date. He has allowed two earned runs over three innings while giving up six hits and posting a 4:0 K:BB.

Feyereisen had an outstanding season at the Triple-A level last year and gave himself a shot to make the big-league roster by dramatically increasing his strikeout rate. He was added to the 40-man roster over the offseason, so even if he does not break camp with the big club he could make his major-league debut at some point in 2020.

Wilson was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett on Friday.

The 22-year-old was attempting to earn a spot in Atlanta's starting rotation for Opening Day, but he'll instead begin his 2020 campaign in Gwinnett. Wilson struggled with a 7.20 ERA, 1.80 WHIP and 16:10 K:BB in four starts (20 innings) in the majors last season, and he figures to receive the call at some point again this year.

Webb was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett on Friday.

Webb posted a 1.39 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 28:12 K:BB over 32.1 innings for the Braves last season and appeared to have a promising chance to make the Opening Day roster, but he'll instead begin the season at Triple-A. The 26-year-old actually struggled at Gwinnett last year with a 6.97 ERA, so he'll look to get off to a better start in 2020.

Bukauskas (wrist) allowed one hit over a scoreless inning in Thursday's spring game against the Rangers.

Bukauskas escaped unscathed in his spring debut despite surrendering a couple of hard-hit balls. The right-hander, whose 2019 was cut short by an elbow injury, was delayed this spring due to a minor wrist injury. "I just wanted to feel good, more than anything," Bukauskas told Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. "Have the wrist and elbow feel good. They did, so the fact that it was a clean inning was good enough for me." Bukauskas' fastball sat in the mid-90s.

Betances (Achilles) is scheduled to make his Grapefruit League debut Saturday against the Nationals, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports.

While Betances' velocity hasn't been where he wants it to be during his throwing sessions this spring, he's at least feeling fine from a physical standpoint after he ruptured his left Achilles' tendon last September. After signing Betances to a one-year, $10.5 million deal this winter, the Mets clearly envision the right-hander being a weapon at the back end of the bullpen, but he may be eased into high-leverage work coming off an injury-ruined 2019 campaign. Before suffering the torn Achilles in his lone big-league appearance of the season, Betances had been sidelined with shoulder and lat issues.

Nelson (lower body) is scheduled to throw a bullpen session Friday, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

Nelson has dealt with multiple injuries throughout camp (most recently lower-body discomfort), but he's on track to resume mound work Friday after playing catch earlier in the week with no issues. While Nelson is no longer in consideration for a spot in the Dodgers' Opening Day rotation, manager Dave Roberts indicated that the veteran right-hander could open the campaign in the bullpen and build up to a starter's workload over the course of the season.