MLB Player News

Bradley impressed manager Kevin Cash during his first bullpen session of the spring, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. "Very good pitch mix when he throws all four pitches," Cash said Tuesday. "He's got plenty of life to his fastball. And he has a very clean delivery. Pretty polished for 21 being in Triple-A."

Cash saying that he likes it when Bradley throws all four pitches is noteworthy, as the 21-year-old righty generally leans on his mid-90s fastball and plus cutter, so the Rays will likely encourage him to incorporate his lesser pitches more often this spring. MLB Pipeline noted Bradley could pitch his way onto the big-league roster this spring because he is already on the 40-man roster and could be one of the team's more impressive pitchers in camp. It seems more likely that he heads to the Triple-A Durham rotation to put the finishing touches on his minor-league development, but Bradley could spend plenty of time in the majors this season.

Zulueta has a chance to win a spot in the big-league bullpen this spring, MLB Pipeline reports.

Kaitlyn McGrath of The Athletic had the same report a month ago, and it makes sense as Toronto is in win-now mode and Zulueta's fastball/slider combo could give big-league hitters fits in the short term. The Blue Jays continues to say they view Zulueta as a starter long term, but he walked 18 batters in 20 innings across Double-A and Triple-A last season, so he may fit better as a high-leverage reliever.

Canning (back) will face live hitters this week, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports.

Canning has no limitations in camp despite missing all of the 2022 season due to back issues. The 26-year-old is competing for the sixth spot in the rotation with the Angels, and a strong start in the Cactus League would go a long way towards winning that job. Assuming good health, he should be able to make starts in Arizona relatively soon.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone confirmed that Montas (shoulder) underwent arthroscopic surgery on his labrum Wednesday, Brendan Kuty of The Athletic reports.

With Boone relaying that Montas experienced no complications with his surgery, the right-hander will now spend at least the next 12 weeks in recovery mode before he's potentially cleared to resume throwing in late May or early June. Given that Montas will require a prolonged ramp-up period even if his rehab goes according to plan, he may not be a realistic option to make his season debut until around the All-Star break. Expect the Yankees to move Montas to the 60-day injured list as soon as the organization needs to open a spot on the 40-man roster for another player.

Kremer will get into one of the Orioles' early Grapefruit League games before he goes to pitch for Israel at the World Baseball Classic, Nathan Ruiz of The Baltimore Sun reports.

Kremer is in the mix for a spot in the middle of the Orioles' rotation, but he'll be out of camp for at least part of the spring. Manager Brandon Hyde will get at least one look at the right-hander before he leaves for international play. Kremer started 21 of his 22 appearances last season and looked solid with a 3.23 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 87:34 K:BB across 125.1 innings, and he finished the year strong, so he should have an inside edge for a starting role in 2023.

Brown appears on track to begin the season as the Astros' fifth starter after Lance McCullers (forearm) acknowledged Wednesday that he won't be ready to go for Opening Day, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

In a show of faith to Brown and as a testament to the organization's starting pitching depth as a whole, the Astros didn't sign any replacements this offseason for staff ace and reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander, who bolted for the Mets in free agency. The Astros could still look to add another veteran arm on a low-cost MLB or minor-league deal, but at least for the time being, McCullers' absence to begin the campaign clears the way for the 24-year-old Brown to break camp as a member of the rotation. After dazzling at Triple-A Sugar Land for the first five months of the past season, Brown joined Houston as a September call-up and provided a glimpse of his immense potential, logging a 0.89 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 22:7 K:BB across 20.1 innings over seven appearances (two starts). Expect Houston to be somewhat conservative with Brown's workload this season, but even if his innings are capped and he doesn't hold a full-time rotation spot when/if the Astros pitching staff is at full strength, the elite strikeout rates he's posted in the minors and in his limited sample in the majors give him a chance at making a major splash in fantasy.

Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said deGrom (side) will throw his first bullpen session of spring training Thursday, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.

DeGrom will wind up having his spring throwing progression pushed back about a week on account of left side tightness, after the minor injury coupled with cold weather in Arizona prompted the Rangers to scratch him from his previously scheduled bullpen session last Wednesday. The two-time Cy Young Award winner was able to resume throwing and fielding drills Sunday, and after experiencing no setbacks while working out for the past few days, deGrom will step back on the mound Thursday. He's not expected to be included in the pitching schedule for the Rangers' first week of Cactus League games, but deGrom nonetheless looks to be on track to be fully ramped up well in advance of Opening Day.

McCullers (forearm) said Wednesday that he won't be ready to pitch at the start of the regular season after he underwent an MRI on Tuesday that revealed a "small muscle strain," Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Fortunately for McCullers, his MRI showed no structural damage to his forearm/elbow, but he'll still be shut down for at least the next couple of weeks on account of the muscle strain. The right-hander still believes that he'll be able to reach 150 innings this season, but his delayed start in making his 2023 debut means that he'll likely need to avoid any further setbacks with the elbow in addition to any other injury concerns in the months to come. With the depature of Justin Verlander this offseason via free agency, the depth of the Astros' rotation will be tested early in the campaign, though Houston has plenty of talented young arms to turn to in McCullers' stead. Hunter Brown is the most likely candidate to replace McCullers in the starting rotation early in the campaign, having produced a 0.89 ERA and 1.08 WHIP with 22 punchouts over 20.1 innings in seven appearances (including two starts) in his first major-league action last season. A clearer timeline for McCullers' season debut should come once he resumes throwing and starts facing hitters again, something that could happen late in spring training.

Wells (shoulder) faced hitters Wednesday in a live batting practice session, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

Though the Orioles could slow play Wells into the Grapefruit League pitching schedule, the fact that he's already facing hitters in his second week at camp suggests that he reported to spring training with no limitations on the health front. Before landing on the injured list last September with right shoulder inflammation and spending the final two weeks on the shelf, Wells proved reliable in a starting role, putting together a 7-7 record to go with a 4.25 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 76:28 K:BB across 103.2 innings. Despite his quality 2022 season, Wells may still have to battle for a rotation spot in spring training after Baltimore added two more battled-tested veteran starters (Kyle Gibson and Cole Irvin) in the offseason. Top prospect Grayson Rodriguez is also likely to be included in the Opening Day rotation, potentially leaving Wells to vie with the likes of Kyle Bradish, Dean Kremer and Austin Voth for one of two remaining spots.

Houck (back) will serve as a starter during spring training but could move to a multi-inning bullpen role, Christopher Smith fo MassLive.com reports. "We will see where we want him but we have to maximize him," Red Sox manager Alex Cora said.

Houck is one of seven candidates vying for the five-man rotation. The pitcher said he's a "full-go" for spring training after undergoing back surgery last September. Houck has been used as both a starter and reliever in the majors, thriving in both roles. The right-hander has a 3.22 ERA in 20 career starts and a 2.68 ERA in 33 relief appearances.