MLB Player News

Garcia gave up a hit in a scoreless eighth inning during Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the Rays.

The right-hander didn't allow a run in two innings while pitching for the Dominican Republic during the WBC, and he's also delivered three clean innings for the Jays in Grapefruit League play. Garcia's combined 2:0 K:BB over that time isn't exactly dominant, but he's still set to be one of the primary setup men for closer Jordan Romano in 2023, and he recorded a career-high 22 holds in that role last year.

The Angels announced Monday that Marte was diagnosed with a stress reaction in his right elbow and will be shut down for at least four weeks, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

Marte had yet to make his Cactus League debut due to what manager Phil Nevin and Angels director of sports medicine Mike Frostad termed as "soreness," but the right-handed reliever is evidently dealing with a more significant issue than the team initially led on. Given that he won't be able to resume throwing until late April or early May, Marte will essentially have to complete his own version of spring training before being ready to contribute out of the Angels bullpen. Bollinger suggests that Marte is a likely candidate to move to the 60-day injured list if the Angels need to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for another player.

Lee gave up a hit and struck out two over a scoreless ninth inning during Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the Twins.

The 28-year-old is coming off an impressive 2022 campaign in the Atlanta bullpen, and Lee has carried that forward into the spring with an 8:0 K:BB through 5.1 scoreless innings. He's still the team's No. 2 left-handed relief option after A.J. Minter, which could limit him to middle relief rather than a consistent set-up role, but after recording nine holds in 46 appearances last year, Lee seems a pretty safe bet to at least reach double digits in 2023.

The Reds reassigned Bracho to minor-league camp Monday.

Bracho, who was attending big-league camp as a non-roster invitee, owns a lifetime 4.88 ERA and 15.7 K-BB% across 95 relief appearances in the majors over parts of six seasons with Arizona and Atlanta. The 30-year-old will likely need to make a positive impression at Triple-A Louisville to begin the season before Cincinnati entertains adding him to its MLB bullpen.

The Reds released Norris on Monday.

Norris had been in camp as a non-roster invitee and has been cut loose after posting a 6.75 ERA and 5:7 K:BB over 6.2 innings. The veteran southpaw will look to catch on elsewhere, presumably on a minor-league deal.

White (shoulder) will throw around 50 pitches over three innings in a minor-league game Wednesday, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.

White has yet to appear in a Grapefruit League game this spring because of a right shoulder impingement. That could come after Wednesday's minor-league outing, although at this point White is no longer under serious consideration for the final spot in Toronto's rotation. If healthy, he figures to get a shot eventually.

Hall (back) is scheduled to appear in relief of starter Kyle Bradish in Monday's Grapefruit League game against the Phillies, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

The upcoming appearance will mark Hall's first of the spring after he had been building up slowly during camp while he's worked to move past discomfort in the lower right side of his back. He'll likely work only an inning or two Monday but is still expected to be stretched out as starter, even though he won't be a candidate to break camp as a member of the Opening Day rotation. The Orioles are likely to place Hall on the injured list in the coming days, but he'll still be able to continue his buildup program at the team's spring facility in Florida before eventually heading out on a rehab assignment once the minor-league season begins in early April.

The Marlins optioned Villalobos to Triple-A Jacksonville on Monday, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

Villalobos was added to the Marlins' 40-man roster in November, but he'll miss out on a spot in the big club's Opening Day bullpen after giving up two runs on five hits -- including a pair of solo home runs -- and no walks over 4.2 innings in Grapefruit League play. The 27-year-old righty submitted a 2.86 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 101:29 K:BB while holding opposing batters to a .191 average over 78.2 innings in 2022 between stops at Jacksonville and Double-A Pensacola.

The Marlins optioned Simpson to Triple-A Jacksonville on Monday, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

Miami protected Simpson from the Rule 5 Draft over the winter by adding him to the 40-man roster, but with only 12.1 career innings above the Double-A level under his belt, the 26-year-old southpaw was never considered especially likely to win a spot in the Marlins' Opening Day bullpen. Between stops with Jacksonville and Double-A Pensacola in 2022, Simpson logged a 3.97 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 112:34 K:BB in 68 innings.

The Tigers optioned Uceta to Triple-A Toledo on Monday, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.

A waiver pickup from the Diamondbacks in January, Uceta was sent out to the minors after allowing five runs (four earned) on eight hits and four walks over seven innings in Grapefruit League play during his first camp with the Tigers. The 25-year-old right-hander will probably need to show sharpened command and control at Triple-A for at least his first few appearances of the season before the Tigers entertain the idea of calling him up.