MLB Player News

Patino (shoulder) will start Thursday's Grapefruit League game against Atlanta, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.

Patino was scratched from his previous spring start March 22 on account of a sore right shoulder, but he was cleared to resume throwing soon thereafter and received the green light to pitch Thursday following a pair of bullpen sessions along with a live batting practice session. Since he wasn't shut down while he dealt with the injury, Patino looks as though he's still on track to break camp as a member of the Tampa Bay rotation.

Moreta has a chance to win a roster spot out of spring training in the bullpen, Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports. He struck out the side Wednesday after the first batter reached on a dropped pop-up. "Moreta has shown what he can do," Reds manager David Bell said. "He had a great year in the minor leagues last year, came up [to the big leagues] and definitely held his own. He has got a strong chance to be a part of our bullpen, and today you saw another good outing."

The Reds made a handful of roster moves this week and Moreta remains as part of the bullpen mix in the wake of those moves. 2021 was a breakout campaign for the right-hander, as he compiled a whopping 59:9 K:BB over 54 innings between Double-A and Triple-A. He made his MLB debut late last season and allowed one run on two hits with four strikeouts and a walk across 3.2 frames.

Soto, who tossed a scoreless inning and struck out two in Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Phillies, topped out at 99 mph on the radar gun, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

The Detroit closer looks ready for the regular season, with his high velocity actually a tick ahead of the 98.3 mph he averaged on his fastball last season. Soto has increased his average velocity in each of his three MLB seasons, and if he does that again in 2022, he figures to be an even more effective reliever. The lefty will be looking to build on the career-high 18 saves he recorded in 2021.

Fulmer has an 11.57 ERA and has allowed two home runs across three Grapefruit League games.

It's a small sample size of just 2.1 innings, but Fulmer hasn't been sharp yet, which is further evidenced by his lack of strikeouts. He's also reportedly a few ticks off from his typical velocity, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports. The righty was solid for the Tigers last season with a 2.97 ERA and 14 saves, so he should get rolling at some point. However, with Gregory Soto and offseason addition Andrew Chafin around, Fulmer might not see as many save opportunities in 2022.

Martin could be in the mix for saves with the Cubs this season as manager David Ross may use multiple pitchers in the closer role, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

Rowan Wick is the presumptive favorite for ninth-inning work, though Ross said he may rotate pitchers into the role. That could include the veteran Martin, along with the likes of Mychal Givens, David Robertson and Manuel Rodriguez. Martin was an effective reliever the last two seasons for Atlanta, though he only recorded two saves in that time, so he was more of a setup option than a true closer.

Quezada cleared waivers and was outrighted to Double-A Springfield on Wednesday, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

Quezada was designated for assignment Tuesday but will remain in the organization after passing through waivers unclaimed. The 27-year-old will report to the Double-A level, where he allowed 14 earned runs with a 14:6 K:BB over 11.2 innings last season.

The Twins reassigned Megill to minor-league camp Wednesday.

The 28-year-old joined the Twins on a minor-league deal in December and is expected to serve as organizational relief depth during the 2022 campaign. Megill reached the majors for the first time in his career in 2021, making 28 appearances while posting an 8.37 ERA and 1.86 WHIP across 23.2 innings with the Cubs.

The Twins reassigned Hamilton to minor-league camp Wednesday.

Hamilton is expected to return to Triple-A St. Paul for the second season in a row after he made all 38 of his appearances with the affiliate in 2021, finishing with a 4.12 ERA and 1.44 WHIP across 59 innings. The 26-year-old reliever last saw big-league action in 2020, when he made four appearances for the White Sox.

Robles (not injury related) is slated to arrive at spring training Thursday, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

Robles dealt with visa issues this spring and will have just a week to prepare for Opening Day with the team once he arrives at camp Thursday. While it's possible that he'll be unavailable to begin the year, manager Alex Cora said that it's possible that the right-hander will be ready for the start of the regular season. If the team decides that Robles needs more time to build up, he'll likely head to Triple-A Worcester since he signed a minor-league contract with Boston in mid-March.

Fairbanks has a 50 percent tear of his lat muscle and will likely be forced to miss at least three months, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The Rays announced Monday that Fairbanks would face a shutdown of at least six weeks due to his lat injury, and he'll require at least six additional weeks to build up once he's cleared to resume throwing. As a result, the right-hander will likely be out until at least July. It wouldn't be surprising to see Fairbanks land on the 60-day injured list to begin the regular season.