MLB Player News

Effross will likely undergo testing after exiting a Grapefruit League appearance Tuesday against the Twins with a hamstring injury, Greg Joyce of the New York Post reports.

Effross lasted only one pitch before grabbing at his hamstring and walking off the field with the trainer. The reliever missed all of the 2023 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery and made just 32 appearances between the majors and minors in 2024 while coming back from back surgery.

When asked Tuesday by Foul Territory TV whether Bednar was his closer, Pirates manager Derek Shelton said, "we're not ready to say that."

Shelton did add, however, that "we feel very good with the fact that we have a guy who was a two-time All-Star closer." Bednar looks to be the heavy favorite to emerge with the Pirates' closer job coming out of spring training, but Shelton isn't ready to hand him the responsibility yet after the reliever held a 5.77 ERA in 2024 and finished the season in a low-leverage role. If Bednar struggles this spring, guys like Dennis Santana, Colin Holderman and others could enter the saves mix for Pittsburgh.

Effross was removed from Tuesday's Grapefruit League appearance versus the Twins with an apparent leg injury, Greg Joyce of the New York Post reports.

Effross threw just one pitch in the bottom of the eighth inning before grabbing his hamstring area and walking off the mound with the trainer. The Yankees should have more on the reliever's condition soon.

Sweet was lifted from Tuesday's Grapefruit League appearance versus the Rays after being struck in the right triceps by a line drive, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.

After retiring the first batter in the bottom of the fifth inning on a flyout, Sweet then faced Yandy Diaz, who hit one back up the box and off the pitcher's arm. The Phillies are calling the injury a right triceps contusion. Sweet should be considered day-to-day.

Marsh (shoulder) is slated to throw another bullpen session Thursday, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

Marsh has been throwing side sessions for the past week as he works his way back from right shoulder tightness. He's reportedly responded well to the bullpen work and appears to be inching closer to facing live batters. Marsh made 25 regular-season starts for the Royals last season, producing a 9-9 record, 4.53 ERA and 123:39 K:BB ratio over 129 innings.

Vanasco (hip) is scheduled to complete a bullpen session Tuesday, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

The last report was that Vanasco had been playing catch almost daily, and now he has advanced to throwing bullpen sessions. Vanasco is recovering from a labral tear in his right hip and is in camp on a minor-league deal.

Bukauskas will undergo surgery on his injured right lat and be sidelined for 9-to-10 months, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Bukauskas pitched in just six big-league games last season due to injuries and appears set to miss the entirety of the 2025 campaign with this lengthy recovery timeline. Bukauskas has been dealing with lat issues, as this is the fourth time he's injured the same one. The hope is that surgery will finally correct the issue for good and Bukauskas can return to full health for the 2026 season.

Hendriks is slated to pitch in Wednesday's game against the Rays, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.

This will be Hendriks' first Grapefruit League action of the year and his first game action since June of 2023. Aroldis Chapman is also expected to pitch in Wednesday's exhibition, while Justin Slaten is scheduled to throw a live batting practice. Therefore, as Browne wrote, the closer competition will officially get underway. In addition to Hendriks, Chapman and Slaten, Garrett Whitlock is expected to get late-inning work, so how each pitcher fares this spring will be important for determining who gets the first save chances of the year in Boston.

Bummer is expected to become Atlanta's top left-handed setup man in front of closer Raisel Iglesias following the offseason departure of A.J. Minter (hip), David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.

After recording 46 holds over his last three years with the White Sox, Bummer was dealt to Atlanta in November 2023 but had a bumpy 2024 debut with his new team, managing only two holds in 56 regular-season appearances with a 3.58 ERA, 1.43 WHIP and 69:18 K:BB over 55.1 innings. The 31-year-old was the victim of some extraordinary bad luck however, as highlighted by his 2.22 FIP -- Bummer's barrel rate was in the 100th percentile and his groundball rate in the 98th percentile, but the squibs and flares he gave up kept finding holes. Dylan Lee could also see plenty of high-leverage work against southpaw hitters, but Bummer will get first crack at being the eighth-inning bridge to Iglesias, along with right-hander Pierce Johnson.

Bautista (elbow) will throw a couple more live batting practice sessions before getting into game action, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

It's worth noting that Kubatko reported Monday that Bautista said he "should" get in a game after this week's session, and now it sounds like he'll need at least one more live BP before getting into games next week at the earliest. He will either throw Wednesday or Thursday after throwing 25 pitches Sunday.