MLB Player News

Soroka is being held out of throwing due to hamstring tightness, Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

He suffered the injury prior to camp and alerted the training staff to it when he arrived, and his shutdown is viewed as precautionary. Still, Soroka can't afford to miss much time as he competes for the final spot in Atlanta's rotation. The 25-year-old hasn't pitched since 2020 and has missed most of the last three seasons due to a pair of Achilles tears.

Bello has been shut down after feeling soreness in his right forearm during his last bullpen session, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora said it's "nothing to alarm" and that there are no current plans to have imaging taken of Bello's arm. "We're very confident Monday he's back on his throwing program," Cora added. It's good to hear that the club is optimistic this isn't a long-term concern, but any arm-related issue obviously is a little worrisome. More should be known about Bello's status next week.

DeGrom (side) could resume throwing Sunday or Monday, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.

DeGrom's throwing program is on pause after he felt some tightness in his left side during a bullpen session earlier this week. The Rangers have downplayed the severity of the issue, suggesting the veteran right-hander would be pitching if it were the regular season. The injury isn't a concern at this point, but obviously deGrom will be watched closely over the next several days.

Marquez will no longer pitch for his native Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic after tweaking his left hamstring, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports.

The good news is that while Marquez will hold off throwing bullpen sessions for a bit, the injury is not expected to affect his availability for Opening Day. Marquez is coming off a disappointing 2022 season for the Rockies, having posted a 4.95 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 150:63 K:BB over 181.2 innings.

Turnbull (elbow) hit 94 mph during his first bullpen session of the spring Friday, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

That's right at where he was sitting prior to Tommy John surgery, but Turnbull was encouraged because he said he never throws that hard in bullpen sessions. The right-hander missed all of 2022 following his elbow operation in July 2021, but he'll enter 2023 with a clean bill of health. Expect the Tigers to be careful with Turnbull's workload, though, given that he threw just 50 innings in 2021 and 56.2 frames in 2020.

Gausman is working on eliminating the heel tap in his delivery from the stretch to avoid running afoul of MLB's new crackdowns on balks, Gregor Chisholm of The Toronto Star reports.

As part of the introduction of a pitch clock, the league has instructed umpires to make sure pitchers come to a complete stop before beginning their delivery, something Gausman hasn't really been doing for many years now. In fact, his delivery was used as an example of what not to allow in the video MLB released explaining the changes. The veteran right-hander doesn't seem concerned about the adjustment, however. "It's something that I will have to change, and the good thing is I have six weeks to mess with my delivery and figure out what's going to be new and comfortable to me," Gausman said Thursday. The 32-year-old took a step back statistically in 2022 thanks in part to an elevated .363 BABIP, but he still had a successful first season with Toronto that included a career-best 3.9 percent walk rate and 15.9 percent swinging strike rate.

Perez is expected to pitch in Grapefruit League games early in camp, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

The 19-year-old top prospect is a non-roster invitee, but with a number of rotation options for the Marlins participating in the WBC, there will be innings available in games for Perez and other younger arms. After striking out 106 batters in only 75 Double-A innings last season as a teenager, the sky's the limit on Perez's potential if the lanky 6-foot-8 hurler can keep his mechanics in synch, and a 2023 big-league debut is very much on the table.

Senga won't pitch for Japan in the World Baseball Classic in order to continue his adjustment to MLB, Abbey Mastracco of The New York Daily News reports.

Both the ball and the mound in MLB are different than the ones used in NPB, and the 30-year-old right-hander preferred to stay in Florida and get ready for his Mets debut rather than fly back to Japan to participate in the tournament's opening round. After signing a five-year, $75 million contract in the offseason, Senga is expected to fill a mid-rotation role for the Mets behind Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer.

Cortes (hamstring) is slated to throw a bullpen session Friday, Chris Kirschner of The Athletic reports.

Cortes had to pull out of the World Baseball Classic because of a strained right hamstring, but he's feeling much better and should be ready in time for Opening Day, barring any setback. The left-hander put up a superb 2.44 ERA over 28 starts for the Yankees last season.

Manager Dave Roberts said Thursday that Buehler (elbow) could return late in the 2023 season, Matthew Moreno of DodgerBlue.com reports.

Buehler was placed on the 60-day injured list Thursday, though Roberts relayed some optimism that the right-hander could take the mound late in the season. If Buehler were to return, it would likely come as a reliever or in starts with a low pitch-count. While that wouldn't be enough to make him fantasy relevant in most formats, it would provide some reassurance regarding the health of his arm heading into 2024.