MLB Player News

Gipson-Long was diagnosed with a left groin strain after undergoing an MRI last week, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

Gipson-Long sustained the injury in a bullpen session last week during the first week of spring training. The 26-year-old is completing daily rehab activities, but the Tigers have yet to offer a timeline for when the right-hander might be ready to make his Grapefruit League debut. Gipson-Long entered camp on the outside looking in for a spot in the Detroit rotation, and the groin injury won't help his case for making the Tigers' Opening Day roster.

Woodruff (shoulder) signed a two-year contract with the Brewers on Monday, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.

The financial details of the deal are not yet known. Woodruff was non-tendered by the Brewers earlier this offseason after he underwent surgery to repair the anterior capsule in his right shoulder. The veteran right-hander is expected to be sidelined for the duration of the 2024 campaign, with Milwaukee hoping it can get Woodruff back to ace-level production in 2025. Woodruff held a 2.28 ERA, 0.82 WHIP and 74:15 K:BB over 67 innings covering 11 starts in 2023.

Miller added a splitter to his repertoire this offseason, Brandon Gustafson of 710 ESPN Seattle reports.

Miller picked up some valuable experience last season beginning with his May 2 MLB debut, finishing the 2023 campaign with an 8-7 record, 4.32 ERA and 1.14 WHIP across 25 starts. The right-hander's fastball clocked in at an impressive 95.1 mph as well, and while he primarily relied on his four-seam fastball and a sinker/two-seamer as a rookie, he decided to add the splitter after seeing rotation mates Logan Gilbert and George Kirby enjoy plenty of success with it last season. "I thought it was something that would be really good for how I throw and for what I needed," Miller said. " ... It took me a month or two just to find a grip that I was comfortable with and one that I was able to get consistent shapes with."

Stripling has begun unveiling a new "Deathball" pitch that he worked on this offseason, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

The veteran right-hander was just acquired from the Giants on Feb. 2 and has already been deploying the pitch in front of his new coaches and teammates. Stripling admits he's still perfecting his use of the offering, which he's primarily used in bullpen sessions thus far and is described as a modified version of a slider that drops straight down late. Stripling plans to use his Cactus League appearances to experiment with it in game situations and decide if he'll be utilizing it in his arsenal when he opens the season as the Athletics' projected No. 3 starter.

Gonzales (forearm) is healthy to begin spring training, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.

Gonzales managed only 10 starts and 50 innings in 2023 before undergoing surgery to address a forearm issue. He was then traded twice this offseason but figures to settle into being either the second or third starting pitcher in Pittsburgh behind Mitch Keller and potentially Martin Perez. In addition to his rehab, Gonzales also went to Driveline during the offseason to work on regaining the feel on his cutter while attempting to pick up some added velocity.

Sale indicated Saturday that he'd been completely healthy this offseason for the first time since 2018, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.

The 34-year-old left-hander has dealt with a litany of injuries in the years since, and his typical winter during that time involved rehabbing from his latest issue rather than focusing on the upcoming campaign. A clean start to 2024 doesn't guarantee that Sale will be able to take 30-plus turns in the rotation for Atlanta, of course, but it does offer some reason for optimism that he'll top the 102.2 innings he threw for Boston last year. Sale still flashes premium stuff, posting a 29.4 percent strikeout rate last season with a 6.8 percent walk rate, and his 33.6 percent chase rate was in the 92nd percentile. If he can handle a bigger workload, he could produce 200 strikeouts for the first time since 2019.

The Tigers haven't discussed any specific workload restrictions on Mize for spring training or the regular season as he returns from Tommy John surgery, MLB.com reports.

Mize added that he hopes to throw "as much as they let me" in camp, though the Tigers will certainly take a cautious approach. Even if a specific innings limit isn't announced for the regular season, the team will surely be careful then as well, considering Mize last took an MLB mound in April of 2022. The righty's career high for innings in a season is 150.1, which he recorded back in 2021, and it would be safe to assume that somewhere around that number will end up being his maximum in 2024 if he's able to stay healthy. Mize can be an impact pitcher when on top of his game, but it might take him a little while to shake off some rust, so fantasy managers will need to be patient.

Pinto signed a minor-league contract with the Phillies on Sunday that includes an invitation to big-league camp, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.

Pinto spent the 2023 campaign playing in Mexico and Venezuela, and he posted a 4.12 ERA across 137.2 innings. The 30-year-old last pitched in affiliated ball at the Triple-A level in 2022 and had a 3.58 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and 39:13 K:BB over 32.2 innings.

Crawford is working on a split-finger fastball that he feels would complement his existing repertoire, Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe reports. "All my stuff is moving glove side, away from righties and into lefties. The splitter would open up the other side of the plate," Crawford said.

Crawford, who was projected as a rotation lock earlier last week by Abraham, got a thumbs-up Saturday from starting catcher Connor Wong, who served as a batter during the pitcher's live BP session. "As a catcher, I see a lot. But the perspective as a hitter is different because you get a real feel for the breaking pitches," Wong said. "Kutter brings so much to the table and it's getting better." The right-hander opened the 2023 season as part of the rotation, then moved to the bullpen before rejoining the starters in early June. Crawford had a 4.20 ERA (3.64 FIP) over 21 starts while limiting opponents to a .226 batting average and .679 OPS after re-entering the rotation.

Sandlin sustained an oblique strain in July last year that cut short his season, but he's fully recovered heading into spring training, Jen McCaffery of The Athletic reports.

The Red Sox acquired Sandlin from the Royals on Saturday, and the organization feels the right-hander is on the rise, per chief baseball officer Craig Breslow. "We've seen the stuff take a pretty big step forward," Breslow said. "It was a combination of raw stuff, projection and a chance to maybe tweak the usage a little bit and improve performance." Sandlin was sharp when healthy in 2023, posting a 3.38 ERA and 33 percent strikeout rate in Low-A before a promotion to High-A. He made two starts for Quad Cities before the oblique injury. Sandlin, who turns 23 on Wednesday, experienced a jump in velocity, going from the low-90s in college to sitting at 95-97 mph during his first professional season. His repertoire also includes a slider, curve and a changeup that some evaluators feel is his best pitch, according to Julian McWilliams of the Boston Globe.