MLB Player News

Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said Thursday that Senga has been diagnosed with a moderate posterior capsule strain in his right shoulder, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Senga will begin the season on the injured list and will be shut down from throwing "until symptoms subside and strength returns," per Stearns. A more specific timetable won't be known for a while, but the absence does figure to be a fairly lengthy one. The Mets will need to dip into their rotation depth while Senga is on the shelf, with Adrian Houser, Tylor Megill, Jose Butto and Max Kranick all in the mix to see starts.

Ashcraft added a changeup to his repertoire during the offseason, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

Ashcraft busted out the new pitch during a live session last Saturday, throwing four of them. The right-hander said he's working on the pitch in camp and is not ready to use it in games. The change adds a fourth pitch to his arsenal, which includes a cutter, slider and sinker. "If I can throw the two-seamer for strikes and the slider for the strikes, I think everything else will take care of itself," Ashcraft said. While the Reds are delaying his Cactus League debut, the club maintains Ashcraft is on track for Opening Day.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday that Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto are each expected to start a contest in the team's season-opening two-game set in Korea that begins March 20, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Glasnow and Yamamoto were both acquired in the offseason as part of a major overhaul of the team's pitching staff, and it appears that both hurlers will get a chance to make their regular-season Dodgers debut in Korea. It isn't yet clear which of the two will get the ball first, but Glasnow may be the slight favorite given that Yamamoto hasn't yet thrown an MLB pitch. Los Angeles has a unique opening schedule in that it plays three exhibition contests in California following the Padres series before resuming the regular season against St. Louis on March 28. With that in mind, it's possible that both hurlers could pitch twice within the team's first four regular-season contests.

Milwaukee placed Woodruff (shoulder) on the 60-day injured list Wednesday after he finalized a two-year contract with the club, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Woodruff will be guaranteed $17.5 million in the deal, which includes a $20 million mutual option or a $10 million buyout for the 2026 season. Just over four months removed from right shoulder surgery, Woodruff said that he began throwing program last week. He noted that the operation went better than expected and that he feels completely normal now, but the rehab process will be slow and steady and a potential return before the end of the 2024 season will be decided by doctors. In all likelihood, Woodruff won't get on a major-league mound again until 2025.

Bednar (back) hasn't been taking part in workouts with the Giants thus far in spring training and is "still working his way back," Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

The Giants are expected to provide another update on the young right-hander's status in the coming days, but he looks as though he's still in the midst of an extended shutdown period that dates back to the Arizona Fall League. The 2021 first-round pick has yet to pitch above the Single-A level through his first three seasons in the professional ranks, with injuries playing a major part in his slow ascent through the San Francisco farm system.

Rodriguez is scheduled to start the Diamondbacks' spring opener Friday versus the Rockies, Theo Mackie of The Arizona Republic reports.

Rodriguez will likely work just an inning or two before turning the game over to the bullpen. After joining Arizona on a four-year, $74 million deal in free agency this winter, Rodriguez is projected to open the season as the No. 3 starter behind Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly as the Diamondbacks look to build on last season's surprise run to the National League pennant.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said that Senga experienced arm fatigue during his side session Tuesday and is being evaluated by the training staff, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports.

Mendoza didn't sound too concerned that Senga was dealing with an injury that could threaten his availability for the start of the season, but the Mets likely won't know the full extent of the issue until he's evaluated further. Senga walked 11.1 percent of the batters he faced during his first season in the majors in 2023, but he otherwise made a smooth transition from Nippon Professional Baseball to MLB, pitching to a 2.98 ERA and 1.22 WHIP while striking out 202 batters over 166.1 innings. The Mets are counting on Senga to serve as the clear No. 1 starter in 2024 after the team shipped out Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander in midseason deals last summer.

Jefferies could be needed in the Giants' rotation sooner rather than later if Keaton Winn (elbow) is sidelined, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

A non-roster invitee, Jefferies threw to hitters Tuesday for the first time since May of 2022 following a long rehab after his second Tommy John surgery. Given the length of time that he's missed, the expectation is that Jefferies will head to Triple-A Sacramento to begin the season. However, if he gets off to a nice start with Sacramento he could be needed on the big club in short order, particularly if Winn's elbow injury lingers. Jefferies posted a 5.75 ERA and 37:14 K:BB over 56.1 innings for the Athletics from 2020-22.

Ashcraft is a few days behind other starters after undergoing right big toe surgery last September, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Atheltic reports.

The delay doesn't sound like a major concern; the team said it's mostly about Ashcraft's conditioning. If he's only be a few days behind other starters, Ashcraft's bid for a rotation spot should not be affected.

Greene worked on adding a curveball to his repertoire during the offseason, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

Greene thew mostly his fastball (54.4 percent) and slider (40.3 percent) last season while occasionally mixing in a changeup (5.3 percent). The numbers were similar to 2022. "It's exciting," Greene said Sunday about the new pitch. "(I'll) continue to refine it and work on it, but looking forward to being able to have a good offering this season." Cincinnati pitching coach Derek Johnson said Greene needed a slower pitch, which will make his fastball play better. How much Greene throws the curve, which is in the low-80s this spring, will depend on how it looks against live batters during Cactus League games. The 24-year-old right-hander, who is expected to lead the Reds' rotation, has not thrown more than 125.2 innings in either of his first two seasons in the majors.