MLB Player News

Flaherty (shoulder) signed a one-year, $5 million deal Tuesday, avoiding arbitration, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.

The deal settles one question for Flaherty, but more important questions regarding his health remain unanswered. After battling oblique and shoulder strains for much of last season, he's already dealing with shoulder inflammation this season and is in the middle of a two-week shutdown period.

Lauer was scratched from his scheduled Tuesday start against the White Sox due to a minor groin injury, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

The Brewers expect Lauer to return to the mound for his next start. Assuming that winds up happening, Lauer should still be able to make the Opening Day roster, but it's possible he'll be on a reduced pitch count for his first turn in the rotation if he's not quite fully built up with his workload.

Castillo has been slowed by shoulder soreness this spring and may miss the start of the season, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

Castillo's arrival at camp was delayed slightly by a family issue, and the shoulder troubles pushed back his throwing progression even further. He's advanced to long toss and appears to be trending in the right direction, but it's likely he misses at least a start or two at the beginning of the regular season.

Meyer struck out out five Mets over four perfect innings during Monday's Grapefruit League game.

Entering the game in the third inning in relief of Elieser Hernandez, Meyer carved up a New York lineup that included Dominic Smith and J.D. Davis, using his plus slider to get all five of his punchouts while sitting 95-97 mph with his fastball. The 23-year-old right-hander is the Marlins' top pitching prospect after being selected in the first round of the 2020 Draft, rising to Triple-A Jacksonville at the end of last season and posting a 0.90 ERA, 0.80 WHIP and 17:2 K:BB in 10 innings over two starts. Miami won't rush him, but if Meyer dominates Triple-A again to begin the 2022 campaign, he could force his way into the big-league rotation this summer despite the fact he isn't yet on the 40-man roster.

Davies agreed Tuesday with the Diamondbacks on a one-year contract worth up to $4.5 million, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports.

According to Heyman, the deal includes a club option for 2023, potentially locking Davies in with Arizona for two years if he impresses during his first season in the desert. With 155 career MLB starts to his name, Davies was one of the more experienced rotation options on the open market, though the 5.78 ERA (5.03 xFIP) and career-worst 5.8 K-BB% he turned in over 148 innings with the Cubs in 2021 doesn't make him especially appealing for fantasy purposes. He'll still likely be in strong position to enter the season as the No. 4 or 5 pitcher in the Diamondbacks' rotation, provided his delayed signing doesn't affect his ability to build up his pitch count over the final two weeks of spring training.

Webb will pitch in his first spring game Wednesday against Arizona, Evan Webeck of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

Webb is coming off a stellar 2021 season, posting a 3.03 ERA and 1.11 WHIP with a 158:38 K:BB over 148.1 innings. He's a strong candidate to be named San Francisco's Opening Day starter, a decision that is expected to be made by manager Gabe Kapler after one turn through the rotation this spring.

Greene struck out two of the four batters he faced Monday in his spring training debut against the Cubs, hitting 100-mph or higher on seven of his 17 pitches, Bobby Nightengale of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

The only reason Greene faced more than the minimum three batters was due to a dropped pop-up. He also had his slider working, getting one of his two strikeouts with that pitch. While Greene might begin the year at Triple-A Louisville, it's likely he'll get more than a token look in the big leagues this season.

Ashcraft allowed one run over three innings in Monday's spring training game against the Cubs, topping out at 100 mph while mostly working in the 96-99 mph range with his fastball, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

Ashcraft struggled at times with his control, hitting back-to-back batters in his second inning, but he recovered afterward and didn't walk anyone. He has an outside shot of winning a starting role out of camp, but he's more likely to begin 2022 at Triple-A Louisville.

Butto was optioned to minor-league camp Monday, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.

Butto was added to the 40-man roster in November but isn't quite knocking on the door of the active roster. He's yet to reach Triple-A and only made eight Double-A starts, though those went quite well, as he struck out 29.9 percent of opposing batters and walked just 5.4 percent en route to a 3.12 ERA.

Gallen (shoulder) felt good following a live batting practice session Monday, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports.

It was revealed last week that Gallen dealt with shoulder issues over the offseason, rendering him questionable for Opening Day. He doesn't appear to be significantly delayed in his buildup process, so while a trip to the injured list to open the season remains in play, it might be a short one.