MLB Player News

Iglesias walked one and struck out two in a scoreless inning of relief during Monday's Grapefruit League game against the Twins.

The Atlanta closer followed Spencer Strider in the game and took over for the sixth inning, fanning Willi Castro and Carlos Santana before escaping a bit of a jam created by an error on the part of minor-league second baseman Luke Waddell. Iglesias has a 4:2 K:BB through three spring innings, and he appears on track to be ready for Opening Day after reaching 30 saves for the fourth time in his career in 2023.

Sewald struck out two over a hitless and scoreless inning in Monday's spring game against Oakland.

Sewald made his fourth Cactus League appearance and left a scoreless spring intact after pitching a perfect seventh inning. His velocity was down compared to last season, per Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports, but manager Torey Lovullo downplayed that as the normal ramping up through the course of spring training. Additionally, none of the 14 pitches (nine strikes) he threw were a changeup -- a pitch he's incorporating to his arsenal this spring to prevent batters from keying in on his fastball. "I need something to drop to make my fastball look even more like it rises," Sewald told Jesse Borek of MLB.com about the new pitch. "So that's kind of the point -- that people can't cheat to my fastball." Sewald's allowed two hits and one walk while striking out three over four scoreless spring innings as he prepares to be Arizona's closer.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Saturday that Wilson is one player who has caught his attention in camp, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Wilson is with the Dodgers on a minor-league contract, so he's not on the 40-man roster and is far from guaranteed to break camp with the big club. However, given Roberts' comments, there's at least a chance that the left-hander hurler could make the Opening Day roster, and he's made his presence known with a 10:1 K:BB over four innings across four spring outings (though he's also given up two runs on five hits). Wilson has had plenty of success in the majors with 18 career saves and 132 career holds, but he hasn't pitched in the big leagues since undergoing Tommy John surgery in June of 2022.

Gilbreath (elbow) is expected to face hitters by late March, MLB.com reports.

Gilbreath underwent Tommy John surgery in March of 2023 and is progressing in his recovery. He'll begin the season on the injured list, though it's unclear how long he'll remain sidelined in the new campaign.

The Nationals optioned Ward to Triple-A Rochester on Monday, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.

Ward spent all of last season on the Nationals' active roster or on the injured list after Washington selected him in the Rule 5 Draft, but his 6.37 ERA and 1.61 WHIP over 35.1 innings out of the bullpen suggested that he wasn't quite big-league ready. Now that he's eligible to be optioned to the minors, Ward could end up spending the bulk of the campaign at Rochester, where he'll be a part of the rotation after he was limited exclusively to relief work in the big leagues in 2023.

The Pirates reassigned Heller to minor-league camp Sunday, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.

The 32-year-old holds a 3.06 ERA over 50 career relief appearances at the big-league level over parts of five seasons, but his resume wasn't enough to win him a spot in the Pirates' Opening Day bullpen. After missing much of the 2021 and 2022 seasons while recovering from arm injuries, Heller enjoyed good health in 2023, but control proved to be a concern for him at both the major-league and Triple-A levels. He'll likely need to string together some quality outings at Triple-A Indianapolis early on in the season to garner a look in Pittsburgh.

Rodriguez was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento by the Giants on Monday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The 24-year-old was wild this spring in issuing eight walks over four relief innings. Control problems are nothing new for Rodriguez, who walked 57 across 70 frames in the minors in 2023.

Miller was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento by the Giants on Monday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Miller had a shot at a bullpen job with the Giants but is being sent out after permitting one run over just three innings this spring. The 26-year-old has a good chance to debut at some point with the big club in 2024.

Floro (shoulder) recently pitched to hitters in live batting practice, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.

Floro is expected to throw at least one more live batting practice session before making his Grapefruit League debut. The veteran reliever has been slowed all spring due to right shoulder soreness, but he's still expected to be ready to go for Opening Day.

Matzek (side) is expected to return to Grapefruit League play in the next few days, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

Matzek hasn't been available for a few days while dealing with some left side soreness, but he threw a bullpen session Monday and it sounds like he's mostly over the issue. The southpaw reliever has made three scoreless appearances this spring and looks ready to rejoin Atlanta's bullpen after missing all of 2023 following Tommy John surgery.