MLB Player News

Rays manager Kevin Cash said Wednesday that Bradley (pectoral) will be shut down from throwing for at least two weeks, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Bradley is dealing with a right pectoral strain and could be facing a fairly lengthy absence since he'll have to be built back up following the shutdown period. Cash said the club will look internally for Bradley's rotation replacement. Topkin lists Jacob Lopez, Naoyuki Uwasawa, Jacob Waguespack, Tyler Alexander and Chris Devenski as possibilities to step in as Tampa Bay's No. 5 starter to begin the season.

Bradley has been diagnosed with a pectoral strain and his return to throwing will be determined on a day-to-day basis, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

His availability for the start of the season is still up in the air, but the news on Bradley seems to be mostly positive. He said that he was relieved to learn that it was not an arm or shoulder injury. Penciled in to serve as the Rays' No. 4 starter, Bradley will be working within a tight window to make Opening Day.

Ashcraft allowed five runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out four over four innings in Tuesday's spring start against the White Sox.

The good news is that Ashcraft worked four innings; the bad news is that he didn't have a feel for his slider, per Mark Sheldon of MLB.com. "It was either staying arm side or it was going down in the dirt on the left side," the right-hander said. Ashcraft has a 7.00 ERA over three Cactus League starts.

Bello allowed four runs on six hits and two walks while striking out one over three innings in Tuesday's spring start against the Cardinals.

Bello hit his goal for the day in throwing 65 pitches, but manager Alex Cora described the outing as "erratic" to Julian McWilliams of The Boston Globe. The 24-year-old right-hander has a 6.75 ERA over three Grapefruit League starts. One area of focus this spring is being better against lefties, who combined for an .883 OPS against him in 2023. To that end, he's implemented a cutter that should get in on their hands, and he's also sculpted a new four-seamer.

Houck allowed one run on two hits while striking out three over 3.1 innings in Tuesday's spring game against St. Louis.

Houck pitched the middle innings in what amounted to his fourth starter-length appearance; he's actually started one game and pitched middle innings in three others. There were some issues Tuesday, such as hitting a batter, spiking a pitch and leaving a pitch middle-middle that was crushed for a home run, but the right-hander didn't walk a batter. Throwing strikes consistently has been the focus this spring for Houck, who appears to have pitched well enough to claim a spot in the rotation. Through 11.1 Grapefruit League innings, the right-hander has given up two runs on six hits and two walks while striking out 12.

Miller allowed an earned run on four hits and two walks over 3.2 innings in a Cactus League loss to the Athletics on Tuesday. He struck out six.

The hard-throwing right-hander put together what may have been his most impressive outing of spring yet, recording his best strikeout total across three starts. Miller surrendered three earned runs on five hits and a walk over 4.1 innings while recording five strikeouts over his first two spring outings, making Tuesday's performance a step in the right direction. Miller gained valuable experience last season as a rookie, logging 131.1 innings across 25 starts. He'll slot into the No. 4 spot in a talented Mariners starting rotation to open the season while working on incorporating a splitter to complement his mid-90s fastball and sinker/two-seamer.

Gil could be considered for a spot in the Yankees' Opening Day rotation if Gerrit Cole (elbow) needs to miss time, Randy Miller of NJ Advance Media reports.

Gil was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on March 3, but he could potentially be brought back up if the Yankees need him to fill a spot on the big-league roster. Manager Aaron Boone acknowledged Monday that Cole, who has already undergone an MRI on his pitching elbow and is scheduled for more testing, isn't likely to be ready for Opening Day, per Erik Boland of Newsday, so the team is almost certain to need a fill-in starter for at least the short term. Gil looked great in his most recent Grapefruit League outing, striking out eight batters and allowing just one hit and no walks over 3.2 innings against the Phillies on Monday, and he's posted a 3.24 ERA, 0.84 WHIP and 14:3 K:BB overall through 8.1 spring frames. Other candidates to potentially step in for Cole include fellow youngsters Clayton Beeter and Will Warren, although Warren isn't on the 40-man roster.

Brewers manager Pat Murphy confirmed Tuesday that Rea will begin the season as part of the Brewers' starting rotation, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Rea accumulated a 4.55 ERA and 1.19 WHIP alongside a 110:38 K:BB across 124.2 innings last season, but the 33-year-old righty has looked much sharper this spring. Murphy's announcement comes immediately after Rea pitched four shutout innings against the Cubs while striking out seven batters and surrendering just one walk. With Rea officially claiming a rotation spot, DL Hall, Aaron Ashby, Jakob Junis and Joe Ross will compete with each other for the last two starting jobs in Milwaukee.

The Rangers and White Sox have engaged in trade discussions regarding Cease, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

With Jacob deGrom, Tyler Mahle and Max Scherzer all set to miss the first portion of the season, trading for Cease would go a long way in bolstering the Rangers' rotation depth to start the new campaign. The White Sox have reportedly sent numerous scouts to Rangers camp over the past week, indicating that trade discussions may be getting more serious, but Chicago may still opt to send Cease to the Yankees, who have checked in on his availability.

Heaney allowed five hits and one walk while striking out three over five scoreless innings in Tuesday's spring start against the Guardians.

Heaney busted out a curveball, throwing it four times (three for strikes), per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. Tuesday marked the first time he's thrown the curve in game conditions since 2021, when he scrapped it in favor of a slider. The left-hander plans to use both breaking pitches this season. Whatever he utilizes, Heaney will need to land it in the zone with more regularity than he did in 2023. Heaney's BB% jumped from 6.1 in 2022 to 9.4 in 2023, while his K% dropped from 35.5 to 23.6.