MLB Player News

Hernandez will start the Royals' fourth game of the season April 11 versus the Guardians, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

Despite a tough pair of appearances so far in spring training, Hernandez is set to begin the year in the rotation. The 25-year-old showed promise in 85.2 innings last season, logging a 6-2 record, 3.68 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 74:41 K:BB across 24 appearances (11 starts). Rogers adds the Royals plans are to roll with a five-man rotation with multiple pitchers stretched out in bullpen roles. Hernandez starting the season in the rotation is encouraging, but he'll have to perform to keep that job.

Stephan is on the Guardians' 28-man Opening Day roster, Mandy Bell of MLB.com reports.

Stephan pitched to a reasonable 4.41 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and 75:31 K:BB in 63.1 innings as a rookie last season. He went 3-1 with one save and three holds in a mainly low-leverage role. The hard-throwing righty will need to trim back on walks (4.4 BB/9) and homers (2.1 HR/9), as those high rates led to a 5.48 FIP last season. He should see most of his appearances in middle relief to begin 2022.

Hentges will begin the 2022 season in the bullpen, Mandy Bell of MLB.com reports.

Not surprisingly, Hentges is on the outside looking in for a spot in the rotation. The southpaw struggled with a 6.68 ERA and 1.78 WHIP across 30 appearances last season, but he was more effective in relief than he was in his 12 starts. The 25-year-old should see mostly multi-inning assignments, and he could function as a piggyback to starters as they build up their pitch counts early in the season.

Morgan will begin 2022 as a reliever, Mandy Bell of MLB.com reports.

Morgan worked as a starter in 2021, posting a 5.34 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 81:22 K:BB across 89.1 innings in 18 starts. With the Guardians' rotation at full health to begin the season, he'll have to settle for multi-inning assignments out of the bullpen. He could vulture a win here or there as the starters get stretched out, but the 25-year-old right-hander will need to make some improvements from his rookie season to earn interest in fantasy.

The Royals optioned Zerpa to Double-A Northwest Arkansas on Sunday, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

Zerpa was summoned from the minors to make a spot start for the Royals late in the 2021 season, and though he acquitted himself well by striking out four while allowing two unearned runs in five innings in a Sept. 30 loss to Cleveland, he never looked like a serious threat to win a spot on Kansas City's Opening Day roster. Instead, Zerpa will return to the Double-A level in search of better results after he submitted a 5.96 ERA and 1.55 WHIP in 45.1 innings for Northwest Arkansas in 2021.

Rucker seems likely to secure an Opening Day bullpen spot with the Cubs, Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic reports.

Rucker appeared in 20 games with the Cubs last season, and although he posted an inflated 6.99 ERA and 1.52 WHIP, his 30 strikeouts across 28.1 innings does show some promise. The righty is unlikely to be a high-leverage arm, but he can give Chicago multiple innings out of the bullpen and may snag a few cheap wins here and there.

Gsellman will likely begin the year in the minors, though he could get called up later if he pitches well there, Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic reports.

Gsellman appeared in 17 games for the Mets last season and logged 119.2 innings for New York working as a starter back in 2017, so he certainly has plenty of MLB experience. However, he's on a minor-league deal with the Cubs, and the team doesn't seem to have an open MLB bullpen spot for the 28-year-old. Gsellman could work his way into the mix at some point, though his fantasy value seems fairly limited.

The Mets acquired Rodriguez from the Yankees on Sunday in exchange for Miguel Castro, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.

The swap of relievers gives the Mets a much-needed lefty option, as Rodriguez becomes the only southpaw that's tentatively in the Mets' projected Opening Day bullpen. Rodriguez is expected to slot into the middle relief/setup ranks for the Mets after he accrued a 4.66 ERA, 1.53 WHIP and 47:18 K:BB in 46.1 innings with the Yankees last season to go with one save and 13 holds.

The Yankees acquired Castro from the Mets on Sunday in exchange for Joely Rodriguez, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.

The two New York teams are flipping relievers in the deal, with Castro providing the Yankees with another potential setup option while Zack Britton (elbow) remains on track to miss most, if not all, of the 2022 season. Castro likely won't rank high in the pecking order for saves with his new team, but he proved to be a serviceable arm for the Mets in 2021, finishing with a 3.45 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and nine holds over 70.1 innings.

Davidson will make Atlanta's Opening Day roster, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

Davidson was competing for a spot in Atlanta's rotation, but it appears he'll work out of the bullpen and as a potential sixth starter. Spencer Strider is expected to fill a similar role, which means Kyle Wright should open the campaign as the No. 5 starter. Wright has a 6.56 ERA over 70 big-league innings, so Davidson and Strider could still receive more starting opportunities if Wright doesn't fare better in 2022.