MLB Player News

Thompson is viewed as a reliever and is not part of the competition for the Cubs' final rotation spot, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

Kyle Hendricks' shoulder injury will open up a starting role to begin the year, but Thompson isn't a candidate to fill it. Hayden Wesneski, Javier Assad and Adrian Sampson are the frontrunners. Thompson made 17 starts and 12 relief appearances last season, finishing with a 3.76 ERA.

Wilson (elbow) signed a one-year, $1 million contract with the Brewers on Saturday, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports. The contract includes a $2.5 million club option for 2024.

Brewers general manager Matt Arnold said that Wilson likely won't pitch until July while he recovers from the Tommy John surgery he underwent last June. Wilson threw only 3.2 innings at the MLB level last season prior to suffering the elbow injury and hasn't thrown more than 40 in a season since 2018, but he's been effective enough when available, posting a 3.74 ERA over the last four years.

Balazovic broke his jaw in an off-site altercation last Saturday and underwent surgery, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.

The nature of the altercation is unclear. Neither is Balazovic's timeline as far as his return to game action, though he's expected to be able to play catch within 10 days.

Poche lost his arbitration case against the Rays on Saturday, meaning he'll make $1.175 million this season, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports.

Poche had filed for $1.3 million. The southpaw saved seven games for the Rays last season despite posting a mediocre 3.99 ERA. Tampa Bay's typically fluid bullpen setup could see Poche earn another small handful of saves when opposing lefties are due up in the ninth inning, but he doesn't look like a candidate for a traditional closer role should the Rays go that route.

Morris will be brought along slowly this spring due to lat discomfort, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.

Moving slowly is certainly preferable to being shut down, but it's not an ideal start to camp for the 26-year-old righty. After posting a 2.28 ERA (albeit with a much less promising 4.33 FIP) in seven outings as a rookie last season, Morris appeared to have the chance to at least contend for a rotation spot in camp. The odds of that happening could quickly evaporate if the lat issue is significant enough to prevent him from getting stretched out before Opening Day, but he'll still have a good chance of pushing for starts down the road as long as the injury isn't too serious.

Leone (elbow) joined the Rangers as a non-roster invitee Saturday, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Leone recorded a passable 4.01 ERA in 49.1 innings for the Giants last year before ending the season on the injured list due to elbow inflammation. Assuming he's fully healthy, he'll compete for a lower-leverage relief role in camp.

Hernandez will get stretched out as a starter during spring training but is expected to begin the regular season in the rotation with Triple-A Syracuse, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

The Mets have five veteran starters on guaranteed contracts, which means when everyone is healthy, depth options like Hernandez will either work out of the big-league bullpen or get stashed at Syracuse. As the former Marlin has minor-league options remaining, the latter route seems more likely to begin the season. Hernandez made 10 of his 20 appearances for Miami last season as a starter, but his lack of plus stuff and difficulties keeping the ball in the park mean a long-relief role is likely his best path to a consistent spot in the majors.

Thompson will work exclusively as a reliever this spring, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

Thompson's MLB debut was a four-inning relief appearance last June, and he followed that up with a five-inning start, but he filled a much more conventional relief role the rest of the way. He finished with an impressive 2.08 ERA, but that came with a sub-par 19.9 percent strikeout rate and 10.3 percent walk rate. Now 25 years old, the lefty could still spend time starting for Triple-A Memphis, but it looks as though he'll be relieving in St. Louis if all goes well.

Bautista (knee/shoulder) is expected to be game-ready by mid-March, Nathan Ruiz of The Baltimore Sun reports.

Bautista's breakout 2022 campaign saw him deal with both knee soreness and arm fatigue in September. Neither issue sounded major at the time, but the fact that he came into camp with both problems still lingering was discouraging. While the injuries add risk to his profile this spring, it's possible they don't wind up costing him any game time, as he can still be ramped up by Opening Day if he gets the chance to appear in four or five Grapefruit League contests. He's already thrown a bullpen session without discomfort, albeit at 70 percent, per Dan Connolly of The Athletic.

Rodriguez (shoulder) threw a bullpen session Friday, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

Rodriguez joins a bullpen that was an area of weakness in 2022, particularly in the area of walks. As such, Boston revamped its crew of relievers, and Rodriguez is a virtual lock to make the team. He's had issues with walks in the past, but Rodriguez has excelled in limiting home runs and had a better FIP (3.23) and SIERA (3.54) than the 4.47 ERA he posted in 55 games with the Mets in 2022.