MLB Player News

Hudson (knee/ankle) threw another bullpen session Thursday in Dodgers camp, Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Hudson required surgery last June to repair a torn ACL in his left knee and then came down with some right ankle tendinitis earlier this month, but he would appear to be trending in a positive direction now. The veteran reliever figures to begin appearing in Cactus League games within the first week or two of March. And if there are no further setbacks, he should begin the season in the mix for saves since the Dodgers don't have a clear-cut closer.

Kelly's stuff has ticked up in recent seasons and is a contender to win a full-time role in Boston's bullpen this season, MLB Pipeline reports.

Kelly was a journeyman reliever earlier in his minor-league career. He gained fastball velocity during the off year in 2020 and came back racking up the strikeouts the past two years, culminating with him fanning 72 batters (34.4 percent) in 49.2 innings at Triple-A Worcester before earning his MLB debut last season. In addition to his mid-90s fastball, Kelly sports a plus changeup that has similar movement characteristics to Devin Williams' famous "airbender" changeup. Kelly probably won't get saves as a rookie, but he could offer value in leagues where relievers who post good ratios and strikeouts are useful.

Jackson (elbow) threw his third bullpen session of the spring Wednesday, Evan Webeck of the San Jose Mercury News reports.

Jackson is almost 11 months removed from Tommy John surgery and seems to be trending well in his recovery. As long as there are no setbacks along the way, the 31-year-old right-hander should be an option for the Giants' bullpen around late May or early June. He inked a two-year, $11.5 million deal with San Francisco in January.

Marlins manager Skip Schumaker indicated Wednesday he doesn't plan on using a traditional closer and will instead play matchups with Scott and the team's other high-leverage options, Jordan McPherson of The Miami Herald reports. "Our best guys are going to be against their best hitters," Schumaker said.

The veteran lefty led the Marlins with 20 saves last season, but control issues cost Scott the closing job down the stretch and allowed Dylan Floro to reclaim the ninth-inning role. Those two, along with newcomers Matt Barnes and A.J. Puk, figure to be in the mix for late-inning work, with Steven Okert (triceps) and JT Chargois potentially options as well. Given the sheer number of viable arms at the manager's disposal, there may not end up being one consistent save source on the Marlins this season, but plenty of fantasy value in formats that count holds as well.

Marlins manager Skip Schumaker indicated Wednesday he doesn't plan on using a traditional closer and will instead play matchups with Puk and the team's other high-leverage options, Jordan McPherson of The Miami Herald reports. "Our best guys are going to be against their best hitters," Schumaker said.

The 27-year-old southpaw had a breakout season in relief for Oakland last season, collecting 20 holds and four saves with a 27.0 percent strikeout rate, and it appears as though Puk will have a similar role in Miami. Holdovers Dylan Floro and Tanner Scott, as well as fellow offseason addition Matt Barnes, also figure to be in the mix for late-inning work, with Steven Okert (triceps) and JT Chargois potentially options as well. Given the sheer number of viable arms at the manager's disposal, there may not end up being one consistent save source on the Marlins this season, but plenty of fantasy value in formats that count holds as well.

Marlins manager Skip Schumaker indicated Wednesday he doesn't plan on using a traditional closer and will instead play matchups with Barnes and the team's other high-leverage options, Jordan McPherson of The Miami Herald reports. "Our best guys are going to be against their best hitters," Schumaker said.

The 32-year-old right-hander is coming off a shaky season in Boston, but Barnes racked up 24 saves for the Red Sox in 2021. He also piled up 90 holds over a four-year stretch earlier in his career. Dylan Floro, Tanner Scott and fellow offseason addition A.J. Puk also figure to be in the mix for late-inning work in Miami, with Steven Okert (triceps) and JT Chargois potentially options as well. Given the sheer number of viable arms at the manager's disposal, there may not end up being one consistent save source on the Marlins this season, but plenty of fantasy value in formats that count holds as well.

Marlins manager Skip Schumaker indicated Wednesday he doesn't plan on using a traditional closer and will instead play matchups with Floro and the team's other high-leverage options, Jordan McPherson of The Miami Herald reports. "Our best guys are going to be against their best hitters," Schumaker said.

Floro has 25 saves over the last two seasons for the Marlins but also 16 holds, and it doesn't sound like that ratio will change all that much with Schumaker at the helm. Tanner Scott, who had 20 saves in 2022 for Miami, and offseason additions A.J. Puk and Matt Barnes also figure to be in the mix for late-inning work, with Steven Okert (triceps) and JT Chargois potentially options as well. Given the sheer number of viable arms at the manager's disposal, there may not end up being one consistent save source on the Marlins this season, but plenty of fantasy value in formats that count holds as well.

Mushinski was shut down from throwing Thursday due to lower-back spasms, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

The Astros are calling the reliever day-to-day, so it would appear the hope is he won't be shut down long. Mushinski made seven appearances for Houston last season and is competing for a spot in the Opening Day bullpen.

Barria indicated Sunday that he wants to be a starter this season, Sam Blum of The Athletic reports.

Barria has bounced back and forth between a starting and relief role throughout his career, though he came out of the bullpen for all but one of his appearances last season. Perhaps not coincidentally, he put together his best big-league campaign, posting a 2.61 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 54:19 K:BB over 79.1 innings. Nonetheless, Barria has a desire to start again, and he shed 13 pounds of weight during the offseason in part to better his chances of entering the rotation. The Angels don't have a clear No. 6 starter at this point, thus Barria is certainly in the running for the role. However, the team has a variety of other options to fill the slot and intends to deploy its top starters every six days (rather than every six games), so whoever earns the role could be used more as a swing starter than as a traditional piece of the rotation, per Blum.

Angels general manager Perry Minasian recently expressed optimism that Estevez will earn the team's closer role this season, though he made it clear that the decision will be made by manager Phil Nevin, Sam Blum of The Athletic reports.

Estevez signed a two-year contract with the Angels in December after spending the first six seasons of his career with Colorado. The right-hander has racked up 25 saves in his career, with 11 coming in his rookie campaign and another 11 in 2021. Estevez doesn't have huge strikeout numbers -- he fanned less than a batter per inning in each of his past two seasons -- but he posted career-best marks with a 3.47 ERA and 1.18 WHIP over 57 frames in 2022. Jimmy Herget was impressive as part of a closer committee for Los Angeles last season after Raisel Iglesias was traded in early August, and Ryan Tepera should also be in the mix for save chances. Given Minasian's comments, Estevez may have a leg up in the closer competition, but he's far from guaranteed to be handed that role and should be among the final closers to be selected in fantasy drafts.