MLB Player News

Cleveland is looking at Clase as an impact reliever who could pitch in the late innings this season, Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com reports.

Pluto speculates that Clase, whose cutter has touched 99 mph this spring, could work in the seventh and eighth innings this season. Clase's goal is to be the team's closer, per Zack Meisel of The Athletic. Manager Terry Francona has already suggested that James Karinchak could be used to get outs at the highest-leverage moments of the game, even if that happens prior to the ninth inning, so it could be any of Clase, Nick Wittgren, Phil Maton or Blake Parker who ends up with the save in those instances.

Martin does not have a timetable to make his Grapefruit League debut this spring, but he's healthy and getting regular work on the back fields for Atlanta, Gabriel Burns of The Atlanta-Journal Constitution reports. "A guy like that, he's going to be a one-inning guy, so you can just monitor things with him (throwing simulated innings)," manager Brian Snitker said earlier this week. "He's not a tough one to put on the back fields and see. But he'll have plenty enough appearances by the time this thing's over."

Martin heads into 2021 as the top right-handed option in a bullpen that features three tough lefties in Will Smith, A.J. Minter and Tyler Matzek. Smith is widely expected to open the season as the primary closer, but Martin's high-leverage role could see him pick up the occasional save along with his holds depending on who's coming to the plate for the opposition in the ninth inning. Since joining Atlanta at the trade deadline in 2019, the 34-year-old has 12 holds and one save in 39 appearances while posting a dazzling 42:4 K:BB over 35.2 innings.

Kimbrel allowed four runs on two hits and two walks while retiring just two batters in Friday's Cactus League game against the Brewers.

It's been an awful start to the spring for Kimbrel, who has a 30.38 ERA across three appearances (2.2 innings). The veteran reliever is reportedly working through some mechanical issues in camp, so perhaps he can figure things out and right the ship soon, but he's not inspiring any confidence at the moment. If the struggles continue, the Cubs could turn to Rowan Wick (ribs) or Brandon Workman to close out games.

Suter (hand) will play catch Saturday and plans to stay on schedule in his preparations for Opening Day, Will Sammon of The Athletic reports.

Suter was hit on the left hand by a comebacker during Friday's intrasquad scrimmage, but the injury is believed to be minor. Barring any setbacks, the injury shouldn't affect Suter's preparations for Opening Day, and the left-hander is expected to serve as a swingman for Milwaukee to begin the year.

Feyereisen tossed his fourth perfect inning of the spring in Friday's exhibition game against the Cubs.

Feyereisen broke camp with a spot in the Brewers' bullpen last year, and he is well on his way to doing the same in 2021, allowing zero runners to reach base and punching out seven batters over his first four appearances this spring.

Minter is expected to handle a high-leverage role this season, Gabriel Burns of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

The southpaw bounced back from a brutal 2019 to post a 0.83 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 27.2 percent strikeout rate across 21.2 innings last year as he got his career back on track. Fellow lefty Will Smith is the likely closer for Atlanta, and Chris Martin is the top right-handed option in the team's late-inning mix, but Minter should still find himself working in plenty of high-leverage spots if he can at least maintain the improvements he showed with his control and command. He recorded a career-high 12 holds in 2018, but Minter could blow past that figure in 2021.

Medina was reassigned to minor-league camp Saturday, Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Medina made two appearances (one start) early in spring training and allowed one hit and no walks while striking out one over two scoreless innings for the Phillies. The right-hander will now shift his focus toward preparing for the minor-league season.

Llovera was reassigned to minor-league camp Saturday, Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Llovera had visa issues to begin spring training and didn't appear in any Grapefruit League games. He appears to be set to begin the regular season in the minors but could provide bullpen help in the majors at some point in 2021.

Hudson has made two Grapefruit League appearances so far this spring, giving up a home run in two innings without a walk or a strikeout.

The long ball remains a potential source of concern for Hudson after he served up six homers in 20.2 innings last year, but the veteran right-hander is healthy and on track to be ready for a high-leverage role Opening Day. He's picked up 16 saves for the Nats since they acquired him at the 2019 trade deadline, but the offseason addition of Brad Hand pushes Hudson back into a setup role, a job he's indicated in the past he's more comfortable with anyway. The 34-year-old has two 20-hold campaigns on his resume and could be poised to add a third in 2021.

Bard will serve as the Rockies' closer to begin the season, Nick Groke of The Athletic reports.

Manager Bud Black unsurprisingly said Friday that Bard would handle the ninth-inning duties to begin the season after he ended the 2020 campaign in the role. Right-hander Scott Oberg could compete for save chances once he builds back up to full strength after he underwent surgery to address thoracic outlet syndrome in September, but Bard will have the opportunity to secure the role early in the season. Bard converted on all six of his save chances in 2020 and posted a 3.65 ERA and 27:10 K:BB over 24.2 innings.