MLB Player News

Webb, a Rule 5 draft pick, has lost out on a spot in the Pirates bullpen and has been offered back to the Yankees, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

The 25-year-old allowed a 3.59 ERA in 72.2 innings at Triple-A last year, an encouraging enough effort for the Pirates to give him a chance to serve as their second lefty out of the bullpen. He was solid in Cactus League play, as he posted a 2.77 ERA over 13 innings of work. However, Pittsburgh instead decided to go with Wade LeBlanc, a veteran with over 500 innings of major-league experience, to fill that role. Now Webb will wait for the Yankees' decision to see which minor-league team he'll report to in 2017.

Iglesias (elbow) will be ready for Opening Day according to Reds manager Bryan Price, C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer reported Friday.

Iglesias was warming in the Reds' minor-league bullpen Friday and remains on track to put the injuries caused by a shower fall behind him before the start of the regular season. With Drew Storen, Tony Cingrani and Michael Lorenzen on the roster as well, the Reds have as many as four players they can use in the ninth inning, so it's important that Iglesias is able to establish himself to begin the season. He had a brilliant 1.98 ERA and 0.96 WHIP in 50 relief innings last season, so he should be considered Cincinnati's best option to close this season.

Blach has made San Francisco's Opening Day roster and will be used as a reliever to open the season, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Blach was given some starting opportunities in camp, but wasn't quite able to do enough to oust any of San Francisco's veteran starters from the rotation. Expect Blach to work in the bullpen, but given his Triple-A success as a starter last year (3.43 ERA, 1.14 WHIP over 162.2 innings), he could very well be the first option for a spot start should a Giants starter fall to injury.

Hernandez is in the running for the Braves' final bullpen spot, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

The 31-year-old has been in Braves camp for less than a week, but after left-hander Kevin Chapman was designated for assignment Friday, Hernandez is in the thick of the race to land a major-league roster spot. The right-hander hasn't been very impressive in any of the three major-league camps he's been in, but his solid performance with the Phillies last season could give him a leg up on Chaz Roe for the final spot. There's also a chance the Braves opt to carry both relievers.

Hoover has earned a spot on the Diamondbacks' Opening Day roster, Nick Piecoro of AZCentral.com reports.

The veteran right-hander signed on as a non-roster invitee this spring and made the most of his opportunity. He fired 10.2 scoreless frames while fanning 12 batters and walking just one this spring. He'll slot in as a middle reliever out of the Diamondbacks' bullpen.

Smith (elbow) underwent Tommy John surgery Thursday, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Although it's very early, the current assessment is that Smith will be back in the majors in May of 2018. More information regarding his return should become available as he gets further in the rehab process.

Nelson is scheduled to start the Brewers' fifth game of the season.

Nelson has struggled following a pair of scoreless outings to start the spring, allowing eight runs in his next two appearances; that's left his ERA at 5.68 in Cactus League play. Despite his struggles, the 27-year-old is scheduled to round out the Brewers' rotation with Matt Garza headed for the DL to begin the year. Nelson showed some potential at the start of last season, but second-half struggles eventually saw his ERA balloon to 4.62. He'll look to bounce back in 2017 and earn his keep in the rotation.

Gomez will open the season as the Phillies' closer, CSN Philadelphia's Jim Salisbury reports.

This comes as no surprise, since manager Pete Mackanin had maintained at various times throughout spring training that Gomez was his closer at the moment. The announcement was more of a formality, but now it's been officially confirmed the closing role is his to start the season. Gomez fought off Joaquin Benoit and Hector Neris for the job, as the 29-year-old allowed one run in 9.2 innings this spring. The right-hander converted 37 of his 43 save chances last season for Philadelphia.

Reyes (elbow) was placed on the 10-day DL on Thursday, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports.

This was merely procedural as Reyes is slated to miss the entire 2017 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in mid-February. A move to the 60-day DL is inevitable -- it should happen whenever the Cardinals are pressed to free up a spot on the 40-man roster.

With Carter Capps (elbow) beginning the year on the disabled list, Maurer will officially begin the season as the club's closer, The San Diego Union-Tribune's Dennis Lin reports.

The 26-year-old was considered the favorite to win the job to open the season, so no surprises here. While this news makes him a cheap source of saves early on, Capps isn't expected to be sidelined for long, and he could take over the job at some point after his return, but that would have to coincide with some sort of ineffectiveness from Maurer. The veteran posted a 3.09 ERA with 13 saves after taking over as closer last season, so if righty can handle the role early on, then there is a possibility that he runs with the job all season.