MLB Player News

Faucher (biceps) is scheduled to make a relief appearance in Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Astros, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

Faucher, whom the Marlins acquired from Tampa Bay in November, closed the 2023 season on the 60-day injured list after developing right biceps tendinitis in mid-August. He hasn't faced any apparent limitations in spring training, however, as he'll be making his second Grapefruit League appearance Wednesday after he gave up three runs (two earned) on four hits and a walk while retiring two batters in Sunday's 6-3 loss to the Nationals. Faucher projects to fill a middle-relief role out of the Miami bullpen.

Brash (elbow) could be sidelined for a significant period of time, perhaps for the entire season, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reports.

Brash and the Mariners haven't revealed where exactly the reliever is hurting, but Divish notes that the righty was looking down at his elbow while discussing the injury. Divish also hears from sources that the injury could potentially be long term and, at the very least, is likely to result in an injured list stint to begin the season. Brash struck out 107 batters over 70.2 innings last season and his potential loss would be a devastating blow to Seattle's bullpen.

Walter struck out two over two hitless and scoreless innings in Tuesday's spring game against St. Louis.

Walter was impressive in his Grapefruit League debut, getting all six batters out, with one ball leaving the infield. He followed starter Kutter Crawford, pitching the third and fourth innings. The left-handed Walter had a rough introduction to the majors in 2023, charged with 16 earned runs on 32 hits and seven walks over 23 innings. That experience shaped his offseason preparations, per Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe. "I was able to reflect on it and see why I wasn't successful," Walter said. "I'm so used to being successful in the minor leagues. Making adjustments on the fly is something I need to improve on. I focused on attacking with all my pitches and throwing strikes. I was too consumed with velocity instead of doing what I do best." The 27-year-old Walter is expected to be part of the rotation at Triple-A Worcester to open the 2024 season.

Montas struck out two over two hitless and scoreless innings in Tuesday's spring start against the Cubs.

Montas logged two perfect innings in his Cactus League debut, which left him feeling ebullient following the outing. The right-hander underwent shoulder surgery in February 2023 and made one relief appearance for the Yankees last season. "It's been a long time," Montas told Mark Sheldon of MLB.com. "I think two years [ago] when I was pitching in spring training. Being back on the mound is exciting for me. I feel happy and blessed about that." He threw 27 pitches and used his entire arsenal -- four-seam and two-seam fastball, splitter, cutter and slider -- with his velocity sitting 94-to-96 mph.

Crochet threw 34 pitches and completed 1.2 innings in his Cactus League debut against the Dodgers on Tuesday, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Crochet returned from Tommy John surgery early last season, but he also faced shoulder trouble that limited him to only 25 total innings combined between the majors and minors. Despite the limited workload, he's attempting to land a role in the White Sox's rotation to begin the season. He made a good impression in his first spring outing, retiring Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman to begin the game. Crochet also touched 99 mph and 100 mph with his fastball, a good sign that his arm is back to full strength.

Martinez, Andrew Abbott and to a lesser extent, Brandon Williamson, are competing for the Reds' fifth starter role, Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Martinez would still pitch in a high-leverage role out of the bullpen should he lose out to Abbott, a role he has filled before. This presumes Hunter Greene, Frankie Montas, Graham Ashcraft and Nick Lodolo (lower leg) are all healthy enough to begin the season, which is no sure thing.

Scholtens was placed on the 60-day injured list Tuesday with a torn UCL in his right elbow.

Scholtens finished last season on the injured list with a calf strain and will begin the 2024 campaign in the same fashion with a much more serious injury. The 29-year-old is scheduled to undergo surgery Friday, per LaMond Pope of the Chicago Tribune, and is poised to miss the entirety of the 2024 season.

Horn was acquired by the White Sox from the Cubs on Tuesday in exchange for Matthew Thompson, Ken Rosenthal and Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic report.

The trade clears up space on the Cubs' 40-man roster for the signing of Cody Bellinger, which will soon be made official. Horn made 39 relief appearances at Triple-A Iowa last season and had a 4.58 ERA, 1.53 WHIP and 59:29 K:BB across 53 innings.

Hernandez (shoulder) received a cortisone injection Tuesday and has been shut down from throwing, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

The right-hander threw a bullpen session Saturday, but his sore right shoulder didn't respond well after resting for the previous two weeks. It's unclear when Hernandez will resume throwing, but his availability for Opening Day is now very much in question.

Kranick struck out two batters over two perfect innings in Monday's Grapefruit League game against the Nationals.

The 26-year-old didn't pitch in the majors at all last season while still in the Pirates' organization, but after being claimed off waivers by the Mets in January, Kranick has a chance to crack the big-league rotation. Monday's outing came against a Washington squad that featured most of its likely Opening Day lineup, but the right-hander will need to keep pitching well this spring to emerge from a pack of arms that includes Tylor Megill, Jose Butto and Joey Lucchesi and seize the fifth starter role.