MLB Player News

Eflin (knee) feels no pain and should be ready for spring training, Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Before his season ended due to knee surgery, the 22-year-old was inconsistent across 11 starts, posting a 5.45 ERA. Despite his shaky numbers, the righty flashed some serious big league potential, registering two complete games, one of which was a shutout. He will be vying for the fifth spot in the Phillies' rotation with the likes of Jake Thompson, Adam Morgan, Alec Asher, and Ben Lively.

Cole (elbow) is going through his normal offseason program, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune reports.

Cole was diagnosed with elbow inflammation last August and was eventually shut down for the season. However, it appears that his recovery is going well and he should be good to go when pitchers and catchers report to spring training in February.

Hill signed a three-year, $48 million contract with the Dodgers on Monday, Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports reports.

Hill will turn 37 years old before next season begins, but the Dodgers are confident he has a few good years left in him and decided to extend what was a brief stint with the club at the end of last season. It remains to be seen exactly where Hill will slot into what figures to be a deep Dodgers rotation in 2017, but -- if healthy -- he is seemingly the favorite to head into the year as the No. 2 starter behind ace Clayton Kershaw.

DeGrom (elbow) said Friday that his right arm feels great and he will begin throwing soon, the New York Times' James Wagner reports.

The discomfort that led to his ulnar nerve being operated on in late September is all gone, which is great news for owners considering him heading into 2017 drafts. DeGrom, who is arbitration eligible for the first time this winter, also noted that the Mets have not approached him about a contract extension.

Walker (ankle) may add a two-seam fastball to his pitch arsenal this coming season, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports.

The idea is that the two-seam fastball will help him keep the ball on the ground more, especially at Chase Field. Also of note, Walker revealed that 10 bone spurs were removed from his foot during his October surgery. As a consequence of pitching through said issue, his ability to push off the mound was significantly hindered and resulted in his four-seam fastball's average velocity dipping below 94 mph for the first time in his career. However, now that the ailment has been corrected, Arizona will hope that the flashes of promise its newest acquisition displayed in 2013 and 2014 will return this coming season.

The Rockies have agreed to terms with Lyles on a one-year contract and avoided arbitration.

Lyles has a career 5.17 ERA in 611.1 innings, and was even worse than that last year, posting a 5.83 ERA and 32:28 K:BB over 58.2 innings, mostly in relief. He has very minimal fantasy value as a starter, and essentially no value as a reliever, which will be his likely role in 2017.

Sampson was designated for assignment by the Reds on Monday.

The 25-year-old was forced into action at the major league level prematurely in 2015, but he wasn't able to right the ship during his second stint in Cincinnati, leading the Reds to hand his 40-man roster spot to a more worthy candidate. Sampson has shown some flashes of success, boasting an improved strikeout rate as a member of the Reds bullpen last season, although he'll likely spend 2017 as an organizational depth piece until he can show more command of his pitches.

Walker (ankle) was traded to the Diamondbacks as part of a five-player trade Wednesday night.

Walker has shown some promise in the past, but has struggled to put it all together in the last couple seasons. The 24-year-old hurler posted a 4.22 ERA and 4.99 FIP over 134.1 innings last season and struggled to keep the ball in the yard (1.81 HR/9). The move from Seattle to Arizona will only exacerbate those concerns, so the youngster will likely need to up his groundball rate to enjoy success. He's under team control for at least another four seasons, providing some time for him to develop with the Diamondbacks.

Ramirez signed a minor league contract with the Giants on Tuesday that includes an invitation to spring training, Jon Morosi of FOX Sports reports.

Ramirez spent 2016 as a member of three different bullpens, but saw little to no success in any of them. His strikeout rates have always been strong (career 10.1 K/9), but his lack of control and propensity to give up the long ball could keep him from landing a spot in San Francisco's bullpen if those woes carry over from last season.

Lively was added to the Phillies' 40-man roster Friday.

He was believed to be a candidate for a late-season promotion in 2016 but Lively never got the call, as it seems the Phillies were content with his workload (170.2 innings). The results were fantastic for Lively last season and he hardly missed a beat upon his promotion to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, although his strikeout rate did fall from 23.8 percent to 19.6 percent with the jump between levels.