MLB Player News

McCullers (elbow) announced on Twitter that he threw a bullpen session Wednesday, his first of the offseason.

The 23-year-old spent time on the DL with shoulder and elbow injuries last season, the latter of which ended his season in early August. When he was on the mound, he posted a 6-5 record with a 3.22 ERA and 1.54 WHIP in 14 starts. His increased WHIP, largely due to an increase in walk rate to 5.0 BB/9, may have been related to the injuries. Getting those numbers down may be a key to McCullers' success in 2017, though the first step to his rebound season is proving he's fully healthy.

Gausman, who is notorious for first-half struggles, began his offseason throwing program earlier than he has in previous years, Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun reports.

Gausman's ERA prior to last season's Midsummer Classic was more than a full run higher than his second-half number. After enduring a frustrating first half, he exploded into the discussion of the league's top young pitchers, posting a 3.10 ERA post All-Star break to end the year with a 3.61 mark. "I've always finished strong. So, for me, now it's kind of figuring out why that is," Gausman said.

Giolito's fastball was the primary reason for his poor debut in the majors last season with Washington.

Opposing big-league batters hit .355 and slugged .742 off Giolito's fastball (per BrooksBaseball.net) while he struck out just 11 batters in 21.1 innings. Those strikeout numbers pop out for the right-hander, who had 397 punchouts in 369 minor league innings. MLB's Statcast indicates Giolito's spin rate was below league average. Higher spin rates correlates to swinging strikes. "I'd say the lower spin rate was probably because I wasn't extending as much. I was really flying open a lot last year. I've been working super hard to get back to basics with my mechanics this offseason and put it all together. I feel like the ball is coming out of my hands much better right now," said the 6-foot-6 Giolito. He still has the luster of a prospect despite a rude introduction to the majors in 2016. He's expected to open the 2017 at Triple-A Charlotte, with a promotion to the Windy City anticipated at some point.

Bundy is not expected to be on an innings limit in 2017, MASN Sports reports.

Bundy logged 109.2 innings for the Orioles last season over 34 games that included 16 starts. Manager Buck Showalter expressed confidence that the young right-hander will be ready to handle the load of being in the starting rotation for the entire year. Bundy features a mid-90s fastball that he complements with a solid changeup and curveball. The Orioles' first-round selection in 2011 was noticeably better at home (3.14 ERA) than on the road (5.21 ERA) in 2016, and he seemed to tire late in the season.

Stroman said the left knee he had surgically repaired in March 2015 is back to 100 percent, the Toronto Star reports.

The Jays' ace has emphasized the importance of having a stronger landing leg, mentioning that it will allow him to throw harder, go deeper into games and have more control. In 2015, Stroman returned to the mound six months after surgery to help the Blue Jays end a 22-year playoff drought. He was the Opening Day starter last year and worked over 200 innings in the regular season, posting a 9-10 record and 4.37 earned-run average over 32 starts. Due to last season's unappealing numbers, some owners may make the unwise decision to lower their interest before draft day rolls around.

Kaminsky believes that a change in his delivery posture will lead to more success in 2017, David Laurila of Fangraphs reports.

The 22-year-old left-hander has seen his stock fall ever since coming over to the Indians from the Cardinals in the summer of 2015 for Brandon Moss. Although Kaminsky has been solid (3.28 ERA and 1.19 WHIP over 137 innings last year), his stuff is reasonably unattractive compared to other young arms (6.0 K/9 and 1.9 K/BB). There's an outside chance the former first-round pick will make his MLB debut with a spot start or two in 2017, but it would take a slew of injuries for Kaminsky to become a mainstay in the team's rotation.

Aiken says that he'll enter spring training healthy and expects all of his pitches will be ready to go, William Boor of MLB.com reports.

Aiken is nearly two years removed from Tommy John surgery, yet the Indians continue to treat him with extreme caution. He should see his workload increase this spring, giving the lefty's stock a slight uptick. Cleveland's first-round pick in 2015, and No. 9 overall prospect, was tattooed for 19 earned runs over 24 innings (7.12 ERA) in the Arizona League last year. Aiken is the definition of a high-risk, high-reward player, and those dynasty league owners who employ such strategies will likely be attracted to him.

Kaprielian was invited to Yankees camp for spring training.

After missing almost all of the 2016 season with an elbow injury, Kaprielian was able to pitch seven games in the Arizona Fall League. Although he allowed 16 runs (13 of which were earned) over 27 innings of work, Kaprielian managed to strike out 26 batters. He'll likely begin 2017 at High-A Tampa, but could very well climb through New York's farm system if he stays healthy.

Severino will remain a starting pitcher after being demoted to the bullpen late last season, Brendan Kuty of NJ.com reports.

Severino struggled as a starter in a rocky rookie campaign, going 1-8 with a 7.98 ERA over 11 starts. After being demoted to the bullpen, however, the right-hander posted a dominant 1.13 ERA in 16 innings. Nonetheless, GM Brian Cashman reasserted his faith in the youngster by saying that even if Severino does not make the rotation out of spring training, he will return to the minors as a starter.

Keuchel (shoulder) plans to throw a bullpen session Thursday at Minute Maid Park in the next phase of his recovery, Jake Kaplan of The Houston Chronicle reports.

It will be Keuchel's first time throwing off a mound since August, a major step in his rehab process. The 2015 Cy Young Winner missed the final month of a disappointing 2016 campaign, but says he's in the best shape of his life after the long offseason. Keuchel expects to throw between two and four bullpen sessions before heading to spring training Feb. 12.