MLB Player News

Taillon (elbow) resumed throwing this week after taking the first of two scheduled breaks in his program, Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic reports.

Apparently Taillon is getting after it again after a built-in break in his throwing progression. The Pirates are understandably taking it slow with the right-hander given that he's coming back from his second Tommy John surgery. A 2020 return has already been ruled out and Taillon will face limitations in 2021 as well, assuming he's even ready by then. The book is still very much open for Taillon, but history has generally not been kind to two-time TJ recipients.

Cantillo is expected to begin the 2020 campaign with High-A Lake Elsinore, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Cantillo began last season with Low-A Fort Wayne, dominating with a 1.93 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and 128:27 K:BB over 98 innings. He then moved up to the California League, allowing seven earned runs over three starts for Lake Elsinore before he was shut down for workload reasons. The 20-year-old had some control issues in his brief stint at the High-A level -- he walked seven batters over his 13.2 frames -- but he continued to display swing-and-miss stuff with 16 strikeouts. Given his minor-league success thus far, Cantillo could be a quick climber through the Padres' system.

Martinez had likely secured the No. 5 spot in the starting rotation by the time spring training was suspended, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

The veteran right-hander had apparently made good on his offseason goal of reclaiming a rotation spot, remaining healthy throughout spring training and proving his previously ailing right shoulder was up to the rigors of starting. Martinez logged 13 innings overall across four Grapefruit League appearances, and even in his poorest outing of spring March 11 against the Mets, he was able to record six strikeouts over 3.2 innings.

Wainwright is one of the Cardinals particularly hurt by the current suspension of spring training, Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Hummel notes Wainwright appeared to be trending in the right direction when play was paused, as he'd fired five scoreless innings against the Marlins on March 12, a game that would turn out to be the final one for the Cardinals for the time being. However, instead of having at least one more opportunity to build momentum ahead of the regular season, Wainwright has been forced to maintain his own throwing program while awaiting baseball's potential re-start. The 38-year-old right-hander, who's coming off a solid 14-10 record in 2019, projects as the No. 4 starter in the rotation this coming season.

General manager Alex Anthopoulos said Friday in an interview with broadcaster Chip Caray for the Braves' "At Home" special that Hamels (shoulder) is now feeling pain-free. "Under normal circumstances, he would've been going right now to get ready to start to prepare," Anthopoulos said of the lefty.

Had the regular season started March 26 as originally scheduled, Hamels would have began his first campaign in Atlanta on the injured list, but it now looks as though the veteran may be ready to go when the league-wide hiatus ends. While Hamels continues to conduct his rehab at home, Anthopoulos' comments imply the southpaw is progressing through a throwing program and would likely be ready to face hitters by now. Assuming Hamels is ready to go when the season resumes, Sean Newcomb, Felix Hernandez and Kyle Wright will be left to battle for the fifth and final spot in the Atlanta rotation.

The Marlins optioned Cabrera to Double-A Jacksonville on March 6.

One of the better young pitchers in the Marlins' farm system, Cabrera will open the 2020 season where he finished it in 2019. Miami will likely monitor Cabrera's innings count carefully in 2020, but if he can quickly replicate the success he found in his initial taste of Jacksonville last season, he could move to Triple-A Wichita before the year ends.

The Marlins optioned Mejia to High-A Jupiter on March 6.

Though Miami shielded Mejia from the Rule 5 draft over the winter, his addition to the 40-man roster shouldn't be taken as a sign that his big-league debut is imminent. The right-hander only made five appearances for Jupiter last season, so the Marlins likely want to see how he fares over a larger sample of innings before testing him against higher-level competition. Mejia was highly impressive in his first exposure to the Florida State League, posting a 2.28 ERA and 0.86 WHIP across 23.2 frames.

Peterson is a likely beneficiary if big-league teams are allowed to use expanded rosters to accommodate a shortened or compacted schedule, Deesha Thosar of The New York Daily News reports.

Proposals have been floated that would see a 29-man roster in MLB for at least the first month of a shortened season. In that scenario, Peterson -- who was often referred to as the Mets' "seventh starter" in camp by manager Luis Rojas, before Noah Syndergaard (elbow) was lost for the season -- would be the logical candidate to join the big-league squad and provide extra rotation depth. The 24-year-old southpaw was a first-round pick in 2017 and posted a strong 122:37 K:BB over 116 innings at Double-A last year.

Wood emphasized strength training and conditioning less this offseason, focusing instead on his mechanics, Rowan Kavner of Dodger Insider reports.

Injuries limited Wood to only seven games last season, thus reducing his need for substantial rest following the end of the campaign. He started throwing in October and spent time at Driveline Baseball in Washington, where he made four visits of three-to-five days each. The change in approach paid dividends for Wood this spring as he struck out seven batters in 5.2 innings and reportedly displayed increased velocity on his fastball. The southpaw is expected to start the regular season as the Dodgers' fifth starter.

Flaherty is tabbed as a potential ace of the Cardinals' staff by team beat writer Anne Rogers, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

The right-hander was arguably already worthy of the title during the second half of last season, when he posted an 0.91 ERA, .142 BAA and 124:23 K:BB across 99.1 post-All-Star-break frames. Flaherty ultimately finished fourth in NL Cy Young voting, and he was set for an Opening Day start before play was suspended. Rogers notes the one missing component for Flaherty's ascension to the next level is consistency, as the 24-year-old posted an elevated 4.64 ERA in the first half of the 2019 campaign. As such, Flaherty emphasized through the offseason and spring training that staying strong from start to finish was his main focus coming into 2020, and he'll still look to make good on that vow during what projects to be an abbreviated season.