MLB Player News

Santana is "in the mix" for a spot in the Yankees' Opening Day bullpen, Max Goodman of The Newark Star-Ledger reports.

Santana is currently on a minor-league contract and is in camp as a non-roster invitee, but he appears to have a good chance of opening the campaign in the big-league bullpen. Goodman reports that the right-hander is sporting a new cutter (which he learned from ex-Yankee Frankie Montas) this spring, and that the offering has become his go-to pitch. The results for Santana have been promising, as he's allowed just one earned run on nine hits while compiling a 10:0 K:BB over 7.2 innings in Grapefruit League action.

Cabrera gave up one hit and struck out two over two scoreless innings of relief in Friday's Grapefruit League game against the Tigers.

The southpaw fired 19 of 25 pitches for strikes and looks just about ready for Opening Day. Cabrera has been sharp overall this spring, posting a 2.70 ERA and 9:2 K:BB over 6.2 innings, and he's ticketed for a key role in the Blue Jays bullpen as the second lefty behind Tim Mayza. In 23.2 innings last season for Toronto after being acquired from St. Louis, Cabrera delivered a win and six holds with a 2.66 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and 20:6 K:BB.

Green struck out two over 1.1 perfect innings of relief in Friday's Grapefruit League game against the Tigers.

After giving up six runs in 2.1 innings over his prior three spring appearances, things began to click for Green on Friday as he fired 10 of 18 pitches for strikes. The 32-year-old righty has thrown only 27 innings over the last two seasons due to Tommy John surgery in June 2022, but he's being counted on to fill a regular role in the Blue Jays bullpen in 2024. The presence of Erik Swanson and Yimi Garcia should allow the club to ease Green back into high-leverage duties, however.

Garcia tossed 1.1 scoreless innings of relief in Friday's Grapefruit League game against the Tigers.

Entering the game in the third inning to follow Ricky Tiedemann, Garcia retired Kerry Carpenter, Javier Baez, Jake Rogers and Colt Keith for his fourth scoreless spring appearance in his last five games. The 33-year-old righty hasn't been dominant in camp, posting a 5:2 K:BB through seven innings, but he's on track to fill a setup role once again in front of Toronto closer Jordan Romano. Over the last two seasons for the Blue Jays, Garcia has racked up 41 holds with a 3.61 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 137:31 K:BB through 127 innings.

Crochet has thrown nine scoreless innings in Cactus League action while maintaining a 12:0 K:BB.

Crochet has pitched exclusively out of the bullpen to this point in his big-league career, but the team has committed to stretching him out this spring. His last outing came Thursday against the Angels, during which he allowed only two hits and struck out three across three frames. Neither the White Sox nor Crochet have confirmed that he's set to begin the season in the rotation, but the departure of Dylan Cease will further enhance his chances.

Martinez (ribs) will throw live batting practice Saturday, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

Martinez's scheduled outing Thursday was pushed back to Saturday due to a rib injury, but it appears the 33-year-old right-hander will work on the practice field instead. Martinez has previously said that he doesn't feel any discomfort while on the mound, and the Reds are confident he will be ready to go by Opening Day.

Lawrence has allowed three earned runs while maintaining a 9:1 K:BB across six innings in Cactus League action.

Lawrence's ERA isn't particularly impressive, but he's held opponents scoreless in four of his six outings. He's also struck out at least one batter in each appearance. Lawrence is in competition for the closer role in Colorado with Tyler Kinley, and both pitchers have performed well this spring. That leaves things murky for the ninth-inning job to begin the season, though last season's usage -- 27 of Lawrence's 69 appearances began with runners on base, and he pitched multiple innings on 21 occasions -- suggests that the Rockies may prefer to utilize Lawrence in the highest-leverage situations rather than reserve him for the ninth inning.

Kinley has thrown five scoreless innings while maintaining a 7:2 K:BB during Cactus League action.

Kinley is in competition for the closer role with Justin Lawrence, and both pitchers have performed well this spring. Kinley has allowed only one base hit across his five innings of work and has at least one strikeout in all five of his appearances. That doesn't guarantee he'll be first in line for save chances, but he's certainly made a strong case for the role.

Manager Oli Marmol said Saturday that Middleton will be shut down for 10 days due to a right forearm strain, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

It's unclear when Middleton picked up the injury, but he won't be in action for the next 10 days and will start the regular season on the injured list. Middleton joined the Cardinals on a one-year, $6 million contract in February after splitting last season between the White Sox and Yankees. The right-hander posted a 3.38 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 64:23 K:BB over 50.2 innings in 2023.

Jansen (lat) allowed three runs on three hits and struck out one over two-thirds of an inning in Friday's spring game against Minnesota.

Jansen surrendered a pair of home runs in his Grapefruit League debut but wasn't worried about the results. "It's my first outing, and we'll sharpen things up as we go," Jansen told Ian Browne of MLB.com. He's particularly focused on getting his cutter in shape. Jansen estimates he'll need another four outings to be ready for the regular season, and he should have enough time to ramp up before Opening Day. His next scheduled outing comes Monday.