MLB Player News

Manager Brian Snitner said Thursday that Minter (shoulder) is healthy and throwing well, but the lefty isn't expected to make his Grapefruit League debut until next week, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

The Braves are bringing Minter along slowly coming off a tough 2019 season that concluded in early September, when he was shut down with shoulder inflammation. While it's encouraging that Minter has seemingly moved past that injury, the 26-year-old doesn't look like he'll be entrusted with a key role out of the Atlanta bullpen right away, even if he cracks the Opening Day roster. Minter still has two minor-league options remaining, so he could be a candidate to open the season at Triple-A Gwinnett.

Burdi struck out two batters in a scoreless fourth inning against Boston on Wednesday.

The righty's season ended in late April last year, when he suffered a nerve injury relating to thoracic outlet syndrome. Manager Derek Shelton remains cautious regarding his pitcher's health. "It's just making sure every time he goes out, he's feeling OK -- not only today, but he's definitely one of those guys we're checking in with tomorrow just to make sure he feels the way he should," Shelton noted. Burdi reached 100 mph with his fastball Wednesday.

Manager Gabe Kapler said Tuesday, "We're excited about Rogers," after he retired all three batters faced in a Cactus League game against the White Sox, Mark W. Sanchez of KNBR Radio reports.

Rogers made his major-league debut in 2019 and delivered a 1.02 ERA, 0.85 WHIP and 16:3 K:BB over 17.2 innings while recording five holds. The 29-year-old submariner may begin 2020 in a high-leverage role, given San Francisco's lack of established back-end options in the bullpen.

Dominguez has yet to see Grapefruit League action due to an elbow issue, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.

Dominguez has thrown bullpen sessions and said previously that he'd be ready for Opening Day. With that date still a month away, that's certainly still quite possible, but it would definitely be reassuring to see him pitching and showcasing his typical stuff in a spring game. Elbow issues shut the righty down in June last season. Tommy John surgery appeared to be on the table, but he wound up needing nothing more than rest and rehab. Whether or not that worked remains to be seen. Dominguez saved 16 games as a rookie back in 2018 and could challenge Hector Neris for saves this season if he's healthy and effective.

Reyes was unable to complete a full inning Tuesday in what was supposed to be a two-inning appearance, as he struggled with his command, Rob Rains of KSDK.com reports.

He walked two batters and allowed two hits while only retiring one of the five hitters he faced. Only half of his 24 pitches were strikes. He hit 95 mph with his fastball and threw a quality changeup, but he did not display starter-level command. The Cardinals would obviously like for their former top prospect to work his way into the rotation mix this spring, but he has not gotten off to a good start. He still has minor-league options remaining, so if his struggles continue, he may open the year at Triple-A.

Helsley, who earned a hold with two scoreless innings during a 6-3 Grapefruit League loss to the Marlins on Monday, kept himself firmly in contention for a spot on the starting rotation to open the season, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports. "Valuable guy," said Cardinals manager Mike Shildt. "A guy that's historically been able to hold his velocity in a minor-league setting as he goes deeper into games. But clearly he is able to have high velocity with plus secondary pitches in the short outings as well. That's really what we're looking for in the modern game."

Helsley was a rousing success as a reliever last season, posting a 2.95 ERA across his first 24 major-league appearances. The 25-year-old threw an efficient 22 pitches during his pair of frames Monday, and he's slated to have an opportunity to corroborate his ability to go multiple innings as a starter later in spring training. For the moment, Helsley will continue to incorporate his curveball in Grapefruit League action -- he threw five in Monday's appearance -- after primarily deploying a cutter and triple-digit fastball in his 2019 big-league stint. The latter pitch, which makes him the team's hardest-throwing healthy pitcher, also has Helsley in contention for the closer's role.

Pomeranz is expected to start the season pitching short outings, but the Padres are not ruling out asking him to eventually pitch multiple innings, Bill Center of FriarWire reports.

Pomeranz made a successful transition to the bullpen last year, holding opposing hitters to a .165 average and racking up 50 strikeouts in 28.2 innings. Manager Jayce Tingler cited the southpaw's experience as a starter in considering Pomeranz for an eventual multiple-inning role, though it remains to be seen how the season will play out. As it stands, the Padres look to have one of baseball's strongest bullpens with Pomeranz joined by All-Star closer Kirby Yates and offseason addition Emilio Pagan.

Pivetta is hoping to feature a changeup this season, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.

Pivetta is hardly the only pitcher looking to improve his changeup this spring, and there's no guarantee he'll be successful, but for those looking for a reason to buy back in on last year's popular sleeper pick, this is potentially something to latch onto. Pivetta threw just 15 changeups in 93.2 innings last season while struggling to a 5.38 ERA. The new pitch didn't lead to much success in his first outing of the spring against the Tigers on Saturday, as he allowed three runs on five hits in 1.2 innings of work.

Leiter (elbow) signed with the Diamondbacks at the start of camp, the righty announced on his personal Instagram page.

Leiter underwent Tommy John surgery last March. A typical recovery timeline would see him back in game action sometime this summer. Leiter owns a career 5.53 ERA in 114 major-league innings, but you don't have to squint too hard to see a pitcher who at least fits in a low-leverage role in the big leagues. His 20.5 percent strikeout rate is a few points below league average, but his 8.3 percent walk rate is right at league average while his 48.2 percent groundball rate is better than average.

Hudson has no timetable for his Grapefruit League debut as the Nationals carefully monitor his spring workload, Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post reports.

The right-hander was one of the stars of the team's run to a championship last year, but he did it while battling through knee pain. "There were times when I started to feel my arm overcompensating for my knee being sore since it was my back leg and I was trying to generate force and velocity," Hudson said. "But it never got to the point where my elbow or shoulder was in jeopardy. If it did, I wouldn't have been pitching. I was able to make it through." After taking a full month off in November, Hudson resumed his offseason routine and headed into spring training fully healthy, but the Nats would like to keep it that way, so he'll be held to bullpen sessions on back fields for now. He'll be part of the late-inning mix alongside Sean Doolittle and Will Harris, but Doolittle will likely be the team's primary closer to begin the season.