MLB Player News

Bednar remains the Pirates' closer after the team signed Aroldis Chapman this offseason, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports.

Bednar has posted three consecutive excellent seasons with the Pirates, and he's served as the closer for the latter two. It therefore hardly comes as a surprise that he's locked into the role in 2024, but manager Derek Shelton went out of his way early in camp to make clear that Bednar is first in line for saves.

Giants manager Bob Melvin indicated Tuesday that Winn is in a favorable spot to capture one of the open spots in the rotation, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Melvin noted that he has four pitchers in mind in competition for the fourth and fifth rotation spots, but Winn and Tristan Beck are the clear early front-runners. Winn, 26, posted a 4.68 ERA and 35:8 K:BB across 42.1 frames covering five starts and four relief appearances with San Francisco in 2023. The Giants will eventually get Alex Cobb (hip) and Robbie Ray (elbow) back, but Winn and Beck could both have time to establish themselves before then.

Giants manager Bob Melvin indicated Tuesday that Beck is in good position to win one of the spots in the rotation, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Beck, 27, pitched mostly in relief for the Giants in 2023, collecting a 3.92 ERA and 68:21 K:BB over 85 innings covering 33 appearances (three starts). He's mostly been a starter in the minors, though, and it sounds like he'll get a chance to be part of the Giants' rotation at least until Alex Cobb (hip) and Robbie Ray (elbow) are ready. Keaton Winn is the other likely candidate to slide in behind Logan Webb, Jordan Hicks and Kyle Harrison.

Ginkel (elbow) threw a bullpen session Tuesday, Alex Weiner of ArizonaSports.com reports.

Ginkel came into camp with some right elbow soreness, but the fact he was able to play catch over the weekend and now return to the bump is certainly an encouraging development. It's not clear when he might be cleared for game action, but Ginkel is trending in a positive direction.

Ort was designated for assignment by the Phillies on Monday, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.

Philadelphia needed to clear a spot on its 40-man roster as its contract with Whit Merrifield became official. Ort was claimed off waivers just last week and now could be on the move again. He held an ugly 6.26 ERA over 23 innings in 2023.

Manager Torey Lovullo said Ginkel (elbow) played catch Sunday with no issues, Alex Weiner of ArizonaSports.com reports.

An elbow injury apparently cropped up in early February, but the right-hander's relatively quick return to throwing is an encouraging development. It'll probably be a little while before Ginkel is cleared for game action, but at this point Lovullo expects his setup man to be ready by Opening Day.

Warren (elbow) was placed on the 60-day injured list Sunday, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.

The move to the long-term IL was an eventuality, as Warren underwent Tommy John surgery last May and isn't expected to be available until midseason. The right-hander joined the Giants on a one-year deal last week and has a 3.55 ERA in 32 big-league appearances over his career.

Hjelle is expected to function as a long reliever in 2024, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Hjelle came up through the minors as a starter, but all 23 of his major-league appearances so far have come out of the bullpen. The right-hander is not stretching out as a starter this spring, which signals he'll be a multi-inning option out of the bullpen. That role comes with little fantasy interest, especially since it doesn't seem like manager Bob Melvin will deploy an opener as often as his predecessor, Gabe Kapler.

Matzek (elbow) feels healthy to begin the spring and is aiming to be ready for Opening Day, but an IL stint to begin the season hasn't been ruled out, Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Atlanta has the bullpen depth to take things slowly with Matzek as he completes his recovery from Tommy John surgery, so he might end up needing a brief IL stint to allow him to finish ramping up. The 33-year-old southpaw didn't pitch at all in 2023, and his numbers declined in 2022 prior to undergoing surgery that October, but the team is hoping Matzek can return to the form that saw him post a 2.64 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 120:47 K:BB over 92 innings in 2020-21.

Brice signed a minor-league contract with the Phillies on Sunday that includes an invitation to big-league camp, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.

The right-hander spent last season at Triple-A with the Twins and Diamondbacks, and he didn't see big-league action as he struggled to a 6.92 ERA over 40.1 frames in the minors. Brice will need a strong showing during spring training to have a chance of cracking Philadelphia's Opening Day roster.