MLB Player News

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.

Erceg fired two scoreless relief innings during which he allowed two hits and recorded two strikeouts in a Cactus League win over the Diamondbacks on Monday.

The right-hander's spring ERA remained unblemished with Monday's impressive performance, and the two hits were the first he's allowed this spring. Erceg has appeared in four Cactus League games overall and pitched a total of five innings, allowing an unearned run with a 5:1 K:BB. Erceg logged the first 50 big-league appearances of his career last season in Oakland, occasionally working as a multi-inning reliever and posting a 4-4 record, 11 holds, a 4.75 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP.

Fairbanks didn't allow a baserunner and struck out two in a scoreless inning in Monday's Grapefruit League game against the Blue Jays.

The outing marked Fairbanks' spring debut, and he didn't disappoint. Per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, he hit 98 mph with his fastball while striking out the first two batters he faced. Fairbanks is coming off an excellent 2023 season and projects to earn the majority of save chances for Tampa Bay in 2024.

Kelley was sent to minor-league spring training Monday, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

Kelley had a rough go in big-league camp, allowing four runs on one hit and two walks while striking out one over 2.1 innings of work. He'll now set his sights on preparing for the minor-league season and should end up reporting to Triple-A Tacoma. Kelley posted a 5.23 ERA and 1.52 WHIP with a 28:11 K:BB across 32.2 frames a season ago at Triple-A Durham.

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 Twins optioned Canterino to Triple-A St. Paul on Monday, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.

Canterino missed all of last season following Tommy John surgery but impressed this spring, yielding one run with a 5:0 K:BB over three innings. The 26-year-old could return to a starting role at St. Paul but might have a better shot to make an impact for the Twins as a reliever in 2024.

Minnesota optioned Woods RIchardson to Triple-A St. Paul on Monday, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.

Woods Richardson was unscored upon in three appearances this spring, but he never seemed like a serious candidate for the Opening Day roster. The 23-year-old will be used in St. Paul's rotation at the start of the 2024 season.

The Twins optioned Headrick to Triple-A St. Paul on Monday, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.

Headrick was in the running for one of the Twins' final bullpen spots but ultimately came up short. The left-hander posted a 2.84 ERA and 3:4 K:BB over 6.1 innings this spring. He split time between the rotation and bullpen at St. Paul last season and could be used as a swingman again in 2024.

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.

Thielbar (hamstring) threw a live batting practice session Saturday, MLB.com reports. "I don't know exact timeline, but I anticipate being just fine for the second half of March at least to get into some games and be ready to go," Thielbar said afterward.

The Twins could have Thielbar throw one more live BP session before turning him loose in a game setting for his Grapefruit League debut, but the reliever still looks on pace to be ready for Opening Day. Thielbar, who is recovering from a left hamstring strain, turned in a 3.23 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 36:6 K:BB while collecting 14 holds and three wins in 30.2 innings out of the Minnesota bullpen in 2023.