MLB Player News

The Tigers reassigned Effross (oblique) to minor-league camp Wednesday, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

Effross made three Grapefruit League appearances before his bid for a spot in the Tigers' Opening Day bullpen effectively ended after he was shut down just over a week ago due to a left oblique strain. If he's not cleared to face hitters by the time minor-league camp ends this weekend, Effross could begin the season on Triple-A Toledo's injured list.

The Cardinals reassigned Blewett to minor-league camp Wednesday, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Blewett had been attending spring training as a non-roster invitee, but he made a spirited run at a spot in the Cardinals' Opening Day bullpen after submitting a 1.50 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 7:3 K:BB in six Grapefruit League innings. With Blewett now officially out of the mix for a roster berth, Rule 5 pick Matt Pushard and offseason trade acquisition George Soriano should have better odds of breaking camp with the big club.

The Brewers announced Wednesday that Yoho has been diagnosed with a low-grade right soleus strain and is projected to return to action in mid-April, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

The soleus strain will take Yoho out of contention for a spot in the Brewers' Opening Day bullpen, but he's not expected to be in store for a long-term stay on the shelf to begin the season. The 26-year-old righty was one of the more dominant relief arms in the International League last season but struggled across his multiple stints in the majors, giving up seven earned runs on eight hits and nine walks over 8.2 innings in eight regular-season appearances for Milwaukee.

The Brewers announced Wednesday that Zastryzny is recovering from a left rhomboid strain and is likely to return to action at some point in April, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Zastryzny made two Cactus League appearances for the Brewers before joining Team Canada for the World Baseball Classic. The lefty reliever apparently suffered the injury at some point during the WBC, but the Brewers don't believe he'll be in store for a long-term absence. In any case, Zastryzny looks like he'll open the season on the injured list, which could clear the way for another southpaw to win a spot in the Opening Day bullpen.

The Mariners optioned Hoppe to Triple-A Tacoma on Wednesday.

After being acquired from the Red Sox in November, Hoppe was immediately added to the Mariners' 40-man roster heading into 2026. The 27-year-old righty has yet to make his big-league debut, but he could be a candidate to join the Mariners at some point later on in the season if he thrives with Tacoma. Hoppe split time between Triple-A Worcester and Double-A Portland in Boston's organization last season, logging a 4.55 ERA, 1.52 WHIP and 73:34 K:BB in 61.1 innings.

Lopez gave up three runs on five hits and two walks over 3.2 innings in Tuesday's Grapefruit League game against the Red Sox, He struck out six.

While the right-hander's final line wasn't pretty, Lopez got stretched out to 73 pitches (48 strikes) and remains on track for a spot in the Opening Day rotation. He isn't yet showing the velocity he carried prior to last year's shoulder injury, however -- Lopez topped out at 94.3 mph with his four-seamer Tuesday and had trouble reaching 90 mph consistently in his final inning of work, after he averaged 95.5 mph with the pitch in 2024. With Atlanta already down Spencer Schwellenbach (elbow), Hurston Waldrep (elbow) and other starting options, the team needs Lopez to be both healthy and effective in 2026, so his 2.84 ERA and 14:6 K:BB over 12.2 spring innings is at least encouraging.

The Dodgers optioned Hurt to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Wednesday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

With a 12:2 K:BB and 1.09 WHIP over 7.1 innings across three Cactus League appearances, Hurt made a good case for winning a spot in the Opening Day bullpen, but the Dodgers' ample pitching depth along with the fact that he had two minor-league options remaining ended up working against the right-hander. Hurt has been deployed as a starter for much of his minor-league career, but he appears set to operate as a full-time reliever for Oklahoma City to begin the upcoming season.

Allen agreed to a minor-league contract with the Dodgers on Wednesday, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports.

After spending the 2025 season in the Korea Baseball Organization with the NC Dinos, Allen became a free agent this winter and initially agreed to a deal with Toros de Tijuana of the Mexican League. However, following a couple of strong appearances for Team Canada in the World Baseball Classic, Allen will wind up forgoing the opportunity in Mexico to join the Dodgers organization. The 28-year-old lefty will likely open the season at Triple-A Oklahoma City, though it's unclear whether he'll work out of the bullpen or rotation after serving as a full-time starter in the KBO in 2025.

The Orioles optioned Espada to minor-league camp Wednesday, Cordell Woodland of 105.7 The Fan Baltimore reports.

Espada had spent the entire 2025 season in the minors before earning a call-up to Baltimore in September and making one relief appearance for the big club. The 29-year-old righty had been competing for a spot in the Orioles' Opening Day bullpen but wasn't able to secure a spot despite pitching well in the Grapefruit League (two unearned runs on one hit and one walk over four innings). He'll likely report to Triple-A Norfolk for the start of the 2026 season.

Across five appearances for Team Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic, Palencia did not allow a hit while logging five scoreless innings and striking out nine.

Palencia closed out Venezuela's win over the United States on Tuesday to win the WBC, and it continued a dominant stretch for the flamethrowing righty throughout the tournament. Following a breakout 2025 campaign in which he recorded a 2.91 ERA, 22 saves and 61 strikeouts across 52.2 innings for the Cubs during the regular season, Palencia has already been named the team's closer heading into 2026 and could be in line for even better production now that his role in the bullpen is secure.