MLB Player News

Ryu is scheduled to start Friday's Grapefruit League game against the Tigers, Hazel Mae of Sportsnet reports.

Though he'll be making his spring debut later than most of Toronto's healthy pitchers, Ryu shouldn't be too far behind them from a conditioning standpoint. Before he reported to spring training once the lockout ended, Ryu had been taking part in workouts in South Korea with the Doosan Bears of the Korea Baseball Organization. He contracted COVID-19 during his training program, but he was asymptomatic after testing positive for the virus and made a swift recovery. He'll head into his age-35 campaign coming off a down 2021 in which he finished with a 4.37 ERA, his worst mark in any of his seven MLB seasons where he made multiple starts.

The Tigers optioned Faedo (elbow) to High-A Lakeland on Tuesday, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.

On the comeback trail after his January 2021 Tommy John surgery, Faedo appears to be ready for game action. He started throwing bullpen sessions two months ago before throwing his first live batting practice session last week, according to Jason Beck of MLB.com. Though Faedo's last minor-league action came at Double-A Erie, the Tigers will have him drop down a level to begin the 2022 campaign so he can pitch in more favorable weather in Florida as he looks to shake off the rust following the lengthy layoff. He should report back to Erie or perhaps even Triple-A Toledo as the temperatures climb later in the spring.

Lauer (groin) and the Brewers agreed Tuesday on a one-year, $2.425 million contract to avoid arbitration, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.

The southpaw was one of nine arbitration-eligible Brewers to settle up on a deal for 2022 prior to Tuesday's filing deadline. With his contract situation now resolved, Lauer will turn his focus to moving past the groin issue that resulted in him being scratched from his scheduled Cactus League start Tuesday against the White Sox. According to Sophia Minnaert of Bally Sports Wisconsin, both Lauer and manager Craig Counsell described the injury as a minor concern, so the 26-year-old lefty still looks like he's on track to break camp as a member of the Milwaukee rotation.

Valdez signed one-year, $3 million contract with the Astros on Tuesday to avoid arbitration, Kiley McDaniel of ESPN.com reports.

It's a solid figure for Valdez's first year of arbitration eligibility, which isn't a major surprise given he delivered a 3.14 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 125:58 K:BB across 134.2 innings (22 starts) last season. The 28-year-old will once again be a major piece of Houston's starting rotation in 2022.

Montgomery signed a one-year, $6 million contract with the Yankees on Tuesday to avoid arbitration, Kiley McDaniel of ESPN.com reports.

Montgomery was a solid rotation piece for New York last season with a 3.83 ERA over a career-high 157.1 innings, and he'll receive a raise for his penultimate year of arbitration eligibility after making $2.13 million in 2021. The 29-year-old southpaw will be a key rotation piece again for the Yankees this year.

Manager David Bell said Tuesday that Dunn (shoulder) is expected to be sidelined a couple months, Bobby Nightengale of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Dunn was expected to compete for a spot in the starting rotation after being acquired from the Mariners last week, but he'll instead spent the first couple months of the campaign on the injured list. The right-hander suffered a shoulder strain last June and missed the rest of the season with Seattle, and the injury will also leave a significant mark on his 2022 campaign in Cincinnati.

Lucchesi (elbow) signed a one-year, $1.15 million contract with the Mets on Tuesday to avoid arbitration, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.

Lucchesi underwent Tommy John surgery last June, so he's likely to sit out most of the season for his first year of arbitration eligibility. It's unclear where he currently stands in his recovery, but the left-hander could return sometime after the All-Star break if all goes well during his rehab.

Allard did not allow a hit and struck out two over two scoreless innings in Tuesday's spring training start against the Diamondbacks.

Allard made his Cactus League debut as a starter and pounded the strike zone to the tune of 17 strikes among his 25 pitches. It's not certain the lefty will be a starter in 2022, but he was used as both a starter and reliever in 2021, often throwing multiple innings in a piggyback, bulk-inning role. Allard showed promise when he first entered the rotation last season, but a 10-start stretch in July and August, during which he yielded a 6.54 ERA, sent him back to the bullpen. The Rangers have several pitchers they'll try in the rotation ahead of Allard, who will build up innings as insurance and could be a multi-inning reliever when the regular season begins.

Lugo agreed to a one-year, $3.925 million contract with the Mets on Tuesday to avoid arbitration, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports.

Lugo will receive a $1 million raise from last season after recording one save and 13 holds with a 3.50 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 55:19 K:BB over 46.1 innings. The veteran right-hander figures to be a key bullpen piece again for the Mets in 2022.

Mahle agreed to a one-year, $5.2 million contract with the Reds on Tuesday to avoid arbitration, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Mahle will receive a $3 million raise for 2022 in his second year of arbitration eligibility. The 27-year-old apparently isn't on the trade block despite Cincinnati's recent trades, so he's a lock for the rotation after posting a 3.75 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 210:64 K:BB over 180 innings (33 starts) last season.