MLB Player News

The Nationals selected Parker's contract from Triple-A Rochester on Tuesday, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reports.

Parker is now on the 40-man roster and protected from the Rule 5 Draft. The 24-year-old southpaw collected a 4.72 ERA and 150:61 K:BB over 124 innings between Double-A Harrisburg and Rochester in 2023. He'll likely return to Rochester to begin next season.

The Nationals selected Herz to their 40-man roster Tuesday.

Herz was acquired from the Cubs this past July as part of the Jeimer Candelario trade and is now protected from being plucked away from another organization in next month's Rule 5 Draft. The 22-year-old left-hander holds a career 3.64 ERA with a whopping 413 strikeouts in 281.2 total minor-league innings.

The Brewers selected Blalock to their 40-man roster Monday, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

The 22-year-old right-hander is likely at least a year away from putting himself in consideration for a spot in the big leagues, but the Brewers saw enough from Blalock following his Aug. 1 acquisition from the Red Sox to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft this winter. After missing most of the first two months of the past season season while finishing up his recovery from March 2022 Tommy John surgery, Blalock proceeded to turn in a 2.82 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 75:20 K:BB over 67 innings between stops at the Single-A and High-A levels.

Oviedo is dealing with a right elbow injury which could potentially require Tommy John surgery, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Oviedo didn't battle any known elbow issues during the regular season, so this news comes out of the blue. Mackey notes that while nothing has been decided yet in regards to how the injury will be treated, Tommy John surgery "has been discussed." Oviedo would be sidelined until 2025 if that procedure is ultimately required. The right-hander went through ups and downs with the Pirates in 2023 but had a fairly encouraging season overall in collecting a 4.31 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 158:83 K:BB over 177.2 innings. It was more than a 60-inning jump from his 2022 workload.

Kluber (shoulder) didn't commit to pitching in 2024 when asked about his plans Friday, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

Kluber missed the entire second half of the season due to shoulder inflammation, and he only posted a 7.04 ERA and 1.64 WHIP across 55 innings when healthy -- a far cry from his career 3.44 ERA and 1.13 WHIP. Given Kluber's health, recent performance and the fact he'll turn 38 in April, it's worth wondering if the two-time AL Cy Young Award winner will decide to hang up his cleats.

The Giants pulled Bednar from the Arizona Fall League due to recurring back discomfort, Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic reports.

Bednar made six appearances in the Fall League before being pulled, surrendering eight runs over 5.1 innings. This isn't the first time Bednar's back has been an issue, as he was limited to just four appearances in the Arizona Complex League this season and hasn't pitched in Single-A since 2022.

Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said this week that Manoah (arm) has "earned the right to have a strong leg up" for an Opening Day rotation spot in 2024, Kaitlyn McGrath of The Athletic reports.

The 25-year-old right-hander was demoted to the minors two different times in 2023 and finished the year in shutdown mode following multiple late-September injections to reduce inflammation and soreness in his throwing arm. He can now wipe the slate clean, though, and look to rediscover his early-career form leading into next season. A first-round selection in the 2019 MLB Draft, Manoah compiled a dominant 2.60 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 307:91 K:BB over his first 308.1 major-league innings between 2021-22.

Astros general manager Dana Brown said Tuesday that McCullers (forearm) might not be ready to pitch again until early July of 2024, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

McCullers required surgery this past June to repair a torn right flexor tendon and remove a bone spur from his right forearm. The 30-year-old hasn't appeared in a game at any level since the 2022 World Series and can apparently be ruled out for essentially the entire first half of the 2024 campaign.

Peterson underwent surgery Monday to repair the labrum in his left hip, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.

The Mets noted that the procedure usually takes 6-to-7 months to recover from, which means Peterson could miss roughly the first two months of next season. It's unclear how long the hip has been bothering Peterson, but it's possible it contributed to an up-and-down 2023 season which saw the lefty hold a 5.03 ERA and 128:50 K:BB over 111 innings. The Mets had already figured to be in the market for rotation help this offseason, and this news only reinforces that notion.

Severino (oblique) has progressed to throwing in his rehab process and is feeling good, Brendan Kuty of The Athletic reports.

A high-grade oblique strain forced Severino to miss the final month of the season. The 29-year-old free agent posted a 6.65 ERA and 1.65 WHIP through 89.1 frames in 2023, but his progress in rehab has apparently been encouraging enough to draw interest from a handful of teams.