MLB Player News

Castillo is headed to Cincinnati as part of the deal to acquire pitcher Dan Straily, MLB.com's Joe Frisaro reports.

Castillo was marvelous for High-A Jupiter in 2016, posting a 2.26 ERA and 0.96 WHIP over 117.2 frames. The 24-year-old right-hander eventually earned a promotion to the Double-A level, where he is expected to start for Cincinnati in 2017. He was Miami's No. 2 prospect, although that's not saying much, as the Marlins have a bottom-three system in baseball. Castillo possesses a fastball that consistently hits the upper-90s and can touch triple digits, but needs to improve his secondary pitches in order to realize his mid-rotation ceiling. He was recently converted from the bullpen to the rotation, so he has more upside than the typical 24-year-old at Double-A.

Nola (elbow) said Tuesday that he will enter spring training without restrictions, Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com reports.

The right-hander said something similar in early November, suggesting he was 100 percent healthy even then, but this is still notable as Nola has been throwing for some time and has avoided setbacks. He said Tuesday that he's feeling "great," now nearly five months removed from suffering a low-grade UCL sprain and a low-grade flexor pronator tendon strain. Nola, who's just 23, figures to see his ADP steadily creep up if he can prove his health in camp.

Gonzales (elbow) said he's stretched his throwing distance out to 90 feet, MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch reports.

Gonzales underwent Tommy John surgery last April and was sidelined for the entire 2016 season, but is hopeful that he'll be back on the mound for the start of spring training. The Cardinals will likely be extremely cautious with the 24-year-old coming off a major procedure, but if his recovery process goes as anticipated, Gonzales could be facing hitters by the end of camp. Given the year-long layoff, Gonzales figures to open the season in the minor-league ranks before potentially vying for a rotation spot with the big club later in the campaign.

Corbin agreed to a one-year deal with the Diamondbacks on Friday, avoiding arbitration.

The terms of the agreement were not announced. Corbin is coming off a pretty terrible year in which he posted a 5.15 ERA, 1.56 WHIP and 131:66 K:BB in 155.2 innings. He will compete with Shelby Miler, Archie Bradley and Braden Shipley for the final two spots in the big league rotation this spring.

DeGrom agreed to a one-year, $4.05 million deal with the Mets on Friday, avoiding arbitration, ESPN's Adam Rubin reports.

The deal includes some performance bonuses that would allow deGrom to top the $4.05 million figure. This was the highest base salary ever for a starting pitcher in his first arbitration-eligible year who did not qualify for the ERA title in the previous season. Of course, deGrom is a pretty special pitcher, and projects to offer SP2-level production in 2017.

Nicasio and the Pirates avoided arbitration and agreed to a one-year, $3.65 million deal Friday, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports.

The Pirates gave Nicasio a try in the rotation in 2016, hoping he could be another bargain-bin reclamation project, before eventually moving him back to the bullpen. He put up a 2.96 ERA after his return to the bullpen, so expect him to remain a reliever this season.

Wood and the Dodgers avoided arbitration Friday with a one-year, $2.8 million deal, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

Wood was in the middle of a notable uptick in strikeouts as a starter before an elbow injury knocked him out for most of the season. He eventually managed to return and pitch out of the bullpen in September and the playoffs. He'll likely enter 2017 as a starter though, given that manager Dave Roberts said that the reason Wood returned as a reliever was he simply didn't have enough time to build his stamina back up.

Cole avoided arbitration with the Pirates on Friday by signing a one-year, $3.75 million deal, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports.

Cole stumbled in 2016, posting a career-high 3.88 ERA in 116 innings and eventually getting shut down with an elbow injury. The injury reportedly didn't involve any ligament damage, but it remains a risk factor going forward.

Wheeler (elbow) agreed to a one-year, $800,000 deal with the Mets on Wednesday, avoiding arbitration, FanRag Sports' Jon Heyman reports.

He hasn't pitched since 2014, hence the low dollar sum, and has been shut down until spring training after trying and failing to make a late-season return in 2016. It is far from a guarantee that Wheeler will be ready to go for Opening Day, and with the emergence of Robert Gsellman, the Mets can afford to continue with a cautious approach to getting him back on the mound.

Nuno agreed to a one-year, $1.125 million deal with the Dodgers on Tuesday, avoiding arbitration, FanRag Sports' Jon Heyman reports.

While he represents important left-handed bullpen depth, Nuno is not guaranteed a spot on the 25-man roster out of camp. Grant Dayton, Alex Wood and Luis Avilan may all be ahead of him in the pecking order of lefty relievers entering spring training.