MLB Player News

McGuire agreed to a minor league contract with Cincinnati, Matt Eddy of Baseball America reports.

The 27-year-old has yet to progress past Triple-A, likely attributable to his career struggles across parts of three seasons there. McGuire has a 5.26 ERA in 289.1 innings over that span, and will likely serve as organizational depth for the Reds in 2017.

Eflin (knee) felt good after throwing 40-45 pitches in a bullpen session Monday, Meghan Montemurro of The News Journal reports.

The right-hander sat out the past couple days due to a bout of knee soreness, but he seems to be taking strides toward being 100 percent once more. Reports also stated that Monday's session "exceeded expectations," so this knee ailment will not likely be much of an issue moving forward.

Lynn (elbow) threw a live bullpen session on Monday, Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

The 29-year-old missed all of 2016 recovering from Tommy John surgery and will be 17 months removed from it come Opening Day, giving him a good shot to regain his footing early in the season. With prospect Alex Reyes missing the upcoming season due to Tommy John surgery, the Cardinals are looking to ease Lynn back in this spring, possibly skipping his first scheduled start, as he will be needed in their starting rotation once the season rolls around.

Fried, who is participating in his first major league spring training, could begin the season at Double-A Mississippi, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

The 23-year-old spent all of last season at Low-A after missing 2015 due to Tommy John surgery, but he dominated down the stretch, posting a 2.80 ERA and 72:19 K:BB in 54.2 innings over his final 11 regular-season starts before striking out 24 batters in 14.2 innings during the playoffs. If Fried does make the jump to Double-A, either to begin the season or during the first half, the left-hander could maker his MLB debut late in 2017.

Wheeler reported no issues with his arm a day after Sunday's bullpen session, The New York Daily News reports.

He threw 21 pitches at about 75 percent Sunday, which isn't exactly a thorough test, but Wheeler said he felt good heading into Monday morning's team workout. His next bullpen session is scheduled for Wednesday, but don't expect the Mets to dramatically increase his workload as he works his way back from a two-year absence.

Wainwright "looked great" while throwing to hitters for the first time Sunday, Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

The two-time 20-game winner turned in an uneven campaign in 2016, compiling a solid 13-9 record but also giving up a career high in homers (22) and generating his highest ERA (4.62) since a three-appearance stint in 2005, his first season with any major league game action. Wainwright also exhibited some uncharacteristic control problems, as evidenced by a 1.40 WHIP that equaled the second highest of his career. However, the 35-year-old righty still slots in as the Cardinals' projected No. 2 starter behind ace Carlos Martinez, so Sunday's report, which came courtesy of pitching coach Derek Lilliquist, represents an encouraging start.

Wheeler threw a bullpen session on Sunday and experienced no issues, Marc Carig of Newsday reports.

Wheeler experienced tenderness in his elbow after his bullpen session last week, so the fact that he felt fine after today's session is a definite step in the right direction. His status for Opening Day is still very much in question, but it does appear that the young righty is making progress.

Rea was placed on the 60-day disabled list on Sunday.

Rea underwent Tommy John surgery in November and will miss the entirety of the 2017 season. His move to the 60-day DL opened a roster spot for recent signee Jered Weaver.

Cueto is still in the Dominican Republic taking care of his ailing father, Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area Sports reports.

The absence has lasted longer than initially expected, but manager Bruce Bochy says Cueto is working out in a team facility there. It's nothing to be concerned with at this point and it seems reasonable that the Giants' ace will return as soon as possible.

Kershaw was named the Dodgers' Opening Day starter on Saturday, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

Per Gurnick, this marks Kershaw's seventh Opening Day start. While it's not a surprising announcement, it's noteworthy in the sense that manager Dave Roberts clearly has full confidence in the health of his ace's back. His back injury last season cost him several starts, but he still managed to post a 1.69 ERA with a 0.72 WHIP over 21 starts in 2016.