MLB Player News

Strider retired all three batters he faced Wednesday while throwing his first simulated game of spring training, Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

After an outstanding rookie season, Strider appears to be picking up right where he left off to kick off spring training, with Toscano noted that the right-hander's 15-pitch outing included strikeouts of Ronald Acuna and Ozzie Albies. Heading into his age-24 season, Strider will likely face a soft innings cap compared to some of the game's top-tier starters, but he proved as a rookie that he doesn't need big volume to turn in brilliant fantasy production. He was one of only 11 pitchers to finish with 200-plus strikeouts in 2022, despite covering 30 fewer innings than any of those other 10 hurlers.

Manager Craig Counsell said Wednesday that Small is competing for a spot in the Brewers' Opening Day bullpen as a long reliever, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Though Aaron Ashby is expected to be sidelined until at least mid-May due to a shoulder injury, Small isn't being viewed as a candidate to replace him in the rotation, at least not to begin the season. Small was roughed up in his first two big-league starts in 2022 (7.11 ERA, 2.53 WHIP, 7:8 K:BB in 6.1 innings), but Counsell believes the southpaw can find more success working as a multi-inning reliever. Hoby Milner and Justin Wilson are the only other lefty relievers on the 40-man roster at the moment, which could work in Small's favor as he aims to secure a spot in the bullpen.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone confirmed that Montas (shoulder) underwent arthroscopic surgery on his labrum Wednesday, Brendan Kuty of The Athletic reports.

With Boone relaying that Montas experienced no complications with his surgery, the right-hander will now spend at least the next 12 weeks in recovery mode before he's potentially cleared to resume throwing in late May or early June. Given that Montas will require a prolonged ramp-up period even if his rehab goes according to plan, he may not be a realistic option to make his season debut until around the All-Star break. Expect the Yankees to move Montas to the 60-day injured list as soon as the organization needs to open a spot on the 40-man roster for another player.

The Reds placed Gutierrez (elbow) on the 60-day injured list Wednesday, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

The move is simply a procedural one to clear a 40-man roster spot, as Gutierrez underwent Tommy John surgery last July and will miss most, if not all, of 2023. If he does return, it would likely be for just a couple of appearances in September.

The Pirates don't expect Malone (shoulder) to face any restrictions at minor-league camp during spring training, Justice delos Santos of MLB.com reports.

Malone has been beset by a series of injuries since entering the professional ranks in 2019 as a first-round pick of the Pirates, tossing just 27 innings over the past four seasons. He underwent surgery in mid-August to address a labral issue in his right shoulder, but the 22-year-old has apparently recovered well from the procedure and looks as though he'll be ready to go for the start of the minor-league season. Expect him to begin the campaign with one of the Pirates' lower-level minor-league affiliates.

Kremer will get into one of the Orioles' early Grapefruit League games before he goes to pitch for Israel at the World Baseball Classic, Nathan Ruiz of The Baltimore Sun reports.

Kremer is in the mix for a spot in the middle of the Orioles' rotation, but he'll be out of camp for at least part of the spring. Manager Brandon Hyde will get at least one look at the right-hander before he leaves for international play. Kremer started 21 of his 22 appearances last season and looked solid with a 3.23 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 87:34 K:BB across 125.1 innings, and he finished the year strong, so he should have an inside edge for a starting role in 2023.

Brown appears on track to begin the season as the Astros' fifth starter after Lance McCullers (forearm) acknowledged Wednesday that he won't be ready to go for Opening Day, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

In a show of faith to Brown and as a testament to the organization's starting pitching depth as a whole, the Astros didn't sign any replacements this offseason for staff ace and reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander, who bolted for the Mets in free agency. The Astros could still look to add another veteran arm on a low-cost MLB or minor-league deal, but at least for the time being, McCullers' absence to begin the campaign clears the way for the 24-year-old Brown to break camp as a member of the rotation. After dazzling at Triple-A Sugar Land for the first five months of the past season, Brown joined Houston as a September call-up and provided a glimpse of his immense potential, logging a 0.89 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 22:7 K:BB across 20.1 innings over seven appearances (two starts). Expect Houston to be somewhat conservative with Brown's workload this season, but even if his innings are capped and he doesn't hold a full-time rotation spot when/if the Astros pitching staff is at full strength, the elite strikeout rates he's posted in the minors and in his limited sample in the majors give him a chance at making a major splash in fantasy.

Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said deGrom (side) will throw his first bullpen session of spring training Thursday, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.

DeGrom will wind up having his spring throwing progression pushed back about a week on account of left side tightness, after the minor injury coupled with cold weather in Arizona prompted the Rangers to scratch him from his previously scheduled bullpen session last Wednesday. The two-time Cy Young Award winner was able to resume throwing and fielding drills Sunday, and after experiencing no setbacks while working out for the past few days, deGrom will step back on the mound Thursday. He's not expected to be included in the pitching schedule for the Rangers' first week of Cactus League games, but deGrom nonetheless looks to be on track to be fully ramped up well in advance of Opening Day.

McCullers (forearm) said Wednesday that he won't be ready to pitch at the start of the regular season after he underwent an MRI on Tuesday that revealed a "small muscle strain," Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Fortunately for McCullers, his MRI showed no structural damage to his forearm/elbow, but he'll still be shut down for at least the next couple of weeks on account of the muscle strain. The right-hander still believes that he'll be able to reach 150 innings this season, but his delayed start in making his 2023 debut means that he'll likely need to avoid any further setbacks with the elbow in addition to any other injury concerns in the months to come. With the depature of Justin Verlander this offseason via free agency, the depth of the Astros' rotation will be tested early in the campaign, though Houston has plenty of talented young arms to turn to in McCullers' stead. Hunter Brown is the most likely candidate to replace McCullers in the starting rotation early in the campaign, having produced a 0.89 ERA and 1.08 WHIP with 22 punchouts over 20.1 innings in seven appearances (including two starts) in his first major-league action last season. A clearer timeline for McCullers' season debut should come once he resumes throwing and starts facing hitters again, something that could happen late in spring training.

Grove (knee) is scheduled to start the Dodgers' Cactus League opener Friday versus the Brewers, David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports reports.

Grove closed the 2022 campaign on the 15-day injured list with a bruised knee, but the Dodgers never provided any indication that the injury was anything that would limit him heading into spring training. While his starting assignment for the first spring game supports that notion, Grove is still likely to find himself on the outside looking in for a spot in the Dodgers' Opening Day rotation if all of the team's other starting options are healthy. Though the 26-year-old Grove has little left to prove in the high minors, the fact that he has two minor-league options remaining works against him in securing an Opening Day role with the big club.