MLB Player News

The Tigers scratched Chafin from his scheduled relief appearance in Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Blue Jays due to groin tightness, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.

Detroit is hopeful that after a couple days of rest, Chafin will be ready to take the mound when his next planned pitching appearance comes over the weekend. After inking a two-year, $13 million deal with Detroit earlier this month, Chafin is expected to serve as the team's top lefty setup man behind closer Gregory Soto.

Kerr was optioned to Triple-A El Paso on Wednesday.

Kerr was traded to the Padres during the offseason, and he allowed two runs on three hits and two walks while striking out five in three innings across three relief appearances during Cactus League play. The left-hander will begin the year in the minors but will likely be in the mix to make his major-league debut at some point this season.

Atlanta expects to reinstate Yates (elbow) from the 60-day injured list at some point in August, barring any setbacks in his recovery from Tommy John surgery, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.

Yates had the elbow procedure March 24 of last year, so he would be 16 months removed from surgery by the time August arrives. The 35-year-old Yates may need some time to shake off some rust once Atlanta activates him and may not take on a high-leverage role right away, but he could prove to be a valuable late-season addition to the bullpen. Just three years earlier, he turned in one of the best reliever seasons in recent memory, converting 41 of his 44 save chances while submitting a 1.19 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 101:13 K:BB in 60.2 innings for the Padres.

Winder appears to be out of the running for a spot in the Twins' Opening Day rotation after Minnesota signed Chris Archer to a one-year deal Monday, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reports.

Due to his late signing, Archer could require some ramp-up time and may not be included in the Opening Day rotation, but Minnesota's schedule will allow it to get by with four starters until April 13, if necessary. Winder's MLB debut thus doesn't appear to be imminent, but the 25-year-old righty looks like he'll rank near the top of the list for a promotion if an opening in the rotation arises at any point in 2022. Considering that Winder missed the final two months of the 2021 season due to shoulder fatigue, some extra tune-up time at Triple-A St. Paul to begin the year is probably more ideal than being thrown into the fire in the big-league rotation. Winder made only four starts for the affiliate before being shut down last season, providing a 4.67 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 15:3 K:BB in 17.1 innings over that stretch.

Finnegan threw a scoreless two-thirds of an inning with one hit allowed in Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Cardinals.

Even so, Finnegan sits with a 12.27 ERA this spring. He was knocked around for five runs in his first three Grapefruit League appearances, and while he's turned in a pair of scoreless appearances since, he hasn't fanned a single batter his last couple times out. By no means does that negate Finnegan's strong 2021 body of work, but manager Dave Martinez seemed to prefer Tanner Rainey as his closer entering camp and Finnegan has done little so far to close the gap.

Rodriguez may have an outside chance to close for the Cubs this season with manager David Ross planning on beginning the season with a mixture of pitchers in the ninth-inning role, per Jordan Bastian of MLB.com.

There is no quote from Ross in the article directly putting Rodriguez in the late-game conversation. However, Bastian speculates Rodriguez could be in the mix for save chances along with Rowan Wick, David Robertson, Mychal Givens and Chris Martin. Rodriguez mostly struggled in his first cup of coffee in the big leagues last season, but he averages north of 97 mph on his sinking fastball, so he's at least a name to know.

Pagan and Robert Suarez look like the readiest options at closer for the Padres, speculates Dennis Lin of The Athletic.

This doesn't seem to be tied to any firm reporting, just Lin's expertise from being around the team this spring. Pagan has 22 career saves across five big-league seasons while Suarez most recently served as an effective closer in Japan.

Suarez and Emilio Pagan look like the readiest options at closer for the Padres, speculates Dennis Lin of The Athletic.

This doesn't seem to be tied to any firm reporting, just Lin's expertise from being around the team this spring. Suarez, 31, emerged as one of the top closers in Japan over the last two years and got a $5 million deal with the Padres this winter.

The Cardinals have been tinkering with the idea of having a fluid bullpen free of defined roles, so there are a handful of pitchers who could get saves in addition to Gallegos, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

It sounds like Jordan Hicks, Genesis Cabrera and Ryan Helsley could all get opportunities in the ninth inning. There is no direct quote here from the brass, but apparently manager Oliver Marmol, pitching coach Mike Maddux and the front office are on the same page in trying to utilize an approach where pitchers are called upon because of favorable matchups and their top pitches instead of set schedules. Gallegos is clearly the team's best reliever, so he retains the most fantasy value, even in a committee; however, fantasy managers shouldn't be banking on 30-plus saves from him this season.

Tate hopes to be considered as a closer option this season, Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com reports.

Cole Sulser and Tanner Scott are the leading closer candidates for now, but manager Brandon Hyde hasn't provided much insight to specific roles for bullpen arms. Tate was solid last year with a 4.39 ERA and 1.24 WHIP, though his 49:23 K:BB doesn't profile well for a closing role unless he can trim the walk rate a bit. The right-hander added three saves, seven holds and two blown saves while posting an 0-6 record in 62 appearances. Tate has yet to allow a run or a walk in three Grapefruit League outings this season, striking out three in 3.1 innings.