MLB Player News

Steele will likely have added competition for the last spot in the Cubs' rotation after the team signed Steven Brault (lat) on Wednesday, per Jordan Bastian of MLB.com.

The team is looking to fill a rotation spot with Adbert Alzolay out at least two months due to a lat strain. Brault is still recovering from a lat strain of his own suffered last season, but the lefty gives Chicago a veteran option, as he's made 52 career starts across six seasons at the MLB level. Steele, meanwhile, has nine career starts, which all came last year. The latter pitched decently, recording a 4.26 ERA and 59 strikeouts across 57 innings in 2021, so he could definitely grab hold of the No. 5 role with an impressive spring training.

Canning (back) was placed on the 60-day injured list Wednesday, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

Canning was already ruled out for Opening Day after he sustained a setback in his recovery from a back injury a few weeks ago, and he'll now be unavailable for the first two months of the season. The 25-year-old was expected to compete for the No. 6 spot in the Angels' starting rotation, but he'll now need to build up in the minors once healthy. Reid Detmers and Jaime Barria are now the likely candidates to fill out the rotation.

Reds GM Nick Krall said Wednesday that Mahle is not on the trade block, Bobby Nightengale of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

The trades of Sonny Gray, Jesse Winker and Eugenio Suarez have led to speculation that other Reds players might get dealt, and Mahle and Luis Castillo both have trade currency and are starting to get more expensive - Castillo more so. However, for now, neither starter will be changing teams.

Wells may be moved into a multi-inning role this season, according to Tony Pente, an Orioles analyst.

Pente is not affiliated with a trusted news outlet, but he seems like he is plugged in with what is happening with the Orioles. Per his report, Wells will be stretched out to see if he can handle a piggyback role as either a starter or primary starter. Cole Sulser would seem to be the obvious candidate to get saves in this instance.

Reds GM Nick Krall said that Castillo will not be traded at this time, Bobby Nightengale of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Krall also said that fellow rotation-mate Tyler Mahle would stay put for the time being. We'll see if it's just a question of whether the Reds could find the right market for Castillo, or if they truly intend to hold on to him for a while.

Greinke signed a one-year, $13 million contract with the Royals on Wednesday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

Greinke began his major-league career with the Royals in 2005, and he'll return to the organization after spending two and a half years with the Astros. He made 30 appearances (29 starts) for Houston in 2021 and logged a 4.16 ERA and 1.17 WHIP in 171 innings. The Royals traded Mike Minor to the Reds on Wednesday, and Greinke figures to fill a prominent role in the team's starting rotation.

Verlander (elbow) will start Friday's Grapefruit League opener against the Cardinals, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Verlander threw two simulated innings during live batting practice Sunday, and he'll continue his ramp-up process by drawing the start for the Astros during their first spring game Friday. The right-hander underwent Tommy John surgery in October 2020 and hasn't pitched in a game since July of that shortened season as a result. Assuming Verlander continues to progress smoothly during spring training, he'll now shift his focus toward building up his workload ahead of a potential Opening Day start April 7 versus the Angels.

The Red Sox placed Paxton (elbow) on the 60-day injured list Wednesday, Bill Koch of The Providence Journal reports.

After undergoing Tommy John surgery in mid-April of last season, Paxton isn't expected to be ready to begin a rehab assignment until around the middle of the summer, so the move to the 60-day IL won't affect his recovery timeline. The transaction is merely a procedural move to open up a spot on the 40-man roster for newly-signed reliever Jake Diekman.

Nola is scheduled to start and throw around 35 pitches in Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Blue Jays, Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

The projected 35-pitch count signals that Nola is well on his way to getting stretched out for a starter's workload by the time the Phillies' April 8 regular-season opener versus the Athletics arrives. Nola is coming off a down 2021 fantasy season in which he submitted the second-worst ERA of his career (4.63), but most underlying indicators (3.37 xFIP, 3.26 SIERA, 24.6 K-BB%) point to him pitching just as effectively as he had in previous years. He likely won't come at a major discount at the draft table, but fantasy managers can invest in Nola with a good deal of confidence that his ERA will bounce back to some degree.

Atlanta placed Soroka (Achilles) on the 60-day injured list Wednesday, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.

Soroka's move to the 60-day IL clears a spot on the 40-man roster for outfielder Eddie Rosario, whom Atlanta re-signed Wednesday to a two-year, $18 million deal. Though Atlanta hasn't provided a definitive recovery timeline for Soroka's return after he underwent his second surgery in as many seasons last June to repair a torn right Achilles' tendon, he was never expected to be ready to go for the start of the upcoming season. To that end, Atlanta's decision to officially rule him out for the next two months comes as little surprise, but Soroka said Wednesday that he's optimistic he'll be ready to pitch at some point during the second half of the season, according to Mark Bowman of MLB.com. Soroka has since been cleared to resume running and throwing, but he has yet to get back on the mound.