MLB Player News

Blue Jays manager John Schneider told reporters Saturday that White is dealing with elbow inflammation, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.

It was previously known that White was dealing some a shoulder impingement, but the reason for his absence as of late is elbow trouble. The right-hander is now a lock to start the year on the injured list, and he likely won't be ready to make his debut until the middle of April at the earliest.

Angels manager Phil Nevin said Saturday that the first opportunity to close a game this season will depend on "what the game dictates," Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

Estevez appeared to be the frontrunner for closing duties early in camp, but Nevin has yet to commit to any reliever for that role. Estevez has struggled statistically this spring, though he struck out the side in a scoreless inning during his last appearance and has attributed his troubles in Cactus League play to experimenting with pitch usage. Nevin did say that Estevez "is definitely going to get some big outs late in the game most of the year," so the veteran reliever's poor numbers this spring don't seem to have shaken his manager's confidence. However, Nevin elected for a closer committee after the Angels traded Raisel Iglesias last season, thus it's not certain that he'll name a full-time closer at any point in 2023.

Richards has posted a 14:5 K:BB without allowing a home run over 7.1 innings this spring.

The right-hander's elite changeup looks as baffling as ever, but his lack of even an average fastball has led to some erratic numbers in the majors. Richards posted a 5.34 ERA and 1.44 WHIP in 2022 despite a 29.2 percent strikeout rate, thanks in part to a career-worst 12.5 percent walk rate. He'll likely fill a lower-leverage role for Toronto this season.

Brazoban appears to be on track for a spot on the Opening Day roster, Jordan McPherson of The Miami Herald reports.

The 33-year-old right-hander made his big-league debut in 2022, posting a 3.09 ERA and 28.4 percent strikeout rate over 32 innings while averaging 97.2 mph with his fastball. He also walked 14.9 percent of the batters he faced. Brazoban should work the middle innings for the Marlins, limiting his fantasy appeal despite his ability to miss bats.

Lovelady was optioned to Triple-A Omaha on Saturday.

Lovelady had an excellent spring, pitching eight innings without allowing an earned run or a walk while striking out 10. Despite the strong showing, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports the Royals want Lovelady to work on building up arm strength after missing most of 2022 while recovering from Tommy John surgery. If the southpaw can continue his strong pitching into the minor-league regular season, it shouldn't be long before he's an option for the major-league roster.

Nardi appears to be on track for a spot on the Opening Day roster, Jordan McPherson of The Miami Herald reports.

The 24-year-old lefty is one of the last 13 pitchers remaining in camp with the Marlins. Nardi made his big-league debut in a low-leverage role last season but stumbled to a 9.82 ERA and 2.66 WHIP over 14.2 innings. He'll likely handle middle innings and long-relief situations again as the third southpaw in the bullpen behind A.J. Puk and Tanner Scott.

Taylor was optioned to Triple-A Omaha on Saturday.

Taylor, Josh Staumont and Richard Lovelady all fell short of making the Royals' Opening Day bullpen. After dealing with a back injury for all of 2022, Taylor will be focused on building up arm strength with Omaha to start the year, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

Staumont was optioned to Triple-A Omaha on Saturday.

Staumont is a surprising omission from the Opening Day roster. He pitched to a 1.13 ERA and 10:5 K:BB across eight innings during Cactus League play, though the walk issues are a carryover from 2022. Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports manager Matt Quatraro told Staumont that he needs to work on getting ahead in counts. It's expected he'll be with the big club again at some point in the season, though the Royals boast bullpen depth that has been lacking in recent years.

Waites (lat) was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento on Saturday, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Waites made his spring debut Thursday, striking out two and allowing one hit over a scoreless inning. The plan is for Waites to build up with Sacramento early in the season. It's safe to assume that he's healthy since he got into game action, and a strong showing with Sacramento should earn the right-hander a look at the major-league level at some point this season.

Muckenhirn has posted a 7:0 K:BB over six scoreless innings this spring and could win the final spot in the Mets' bullpen, Tim Britton of The Athletic reports.

The 28-year-old southpaw has yet to make his big-league debut, but he could get that chance in 2023 in a New York bullpen with a spot open after Edwin Diaz's season-ending knee injury. Muckenhirn would give the Mets a second left-handed relief option behind Brooks Raley (hamstring) and would likely work in low-leverage spots.