MLB Player News

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Severino threw two innings of live batting practice Tuesday and is probably the "most ready" pitcher in big-league camp for the upcoming season, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

Boone's comments are certainly eyebrow-raising, given that Severino hasn't been completely healthy for a spring training since 2018 and has made just seven combined regular-season appearances at the big-league level across the past three year due to lat and shoulder injuries in addition to his February 2020 Tommy John surgery. While Severino looks like he'll be part of the Opening Day rotation, the Yankees could still look to monitor his workloads carefully to some degree in 2022, given his light innings counts in recent years. That being said, if Severino is anywhere close to the pitcher he was during his last healthy season in 2018, he and ace Gerrit Cole would form one of the best top-of-the-rotation duos in the American League. Expect Severino's average draft position to continue climbing if he remains healthy and continues to draw raves from the coaching staff and reporters during his throwing sessions and Grapefruit League outings.

Castillo (personal) arrived at camp Tuesday, Bobby Nightengale of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Castillo's arrival was delayed slightly by a family issue. The delay probably wasn't significant enough to meaningfully affect his preparation for the season.

May (elbow) said Monday that he hopes to resume throwing bullpen sessions next month before potentially making a return to the Dodgers' active roster at some point over the final third of the season, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

May was cleared to play catch shortly after the Dodgers were eliminated from the postseason last fall, and he's since been gradually expanding his throwing distance and the intensity of his workouts over the winter. Once he's cleared for mound work, he'll likely need to complete several bullpen sessions, and then several live batting practice sessions and simulated games before he's sent out on a minor-league rehab assignment, which would mark the final phase of his recovery from the Tommy John surgery he underwent last May. If May is able to start his rehab assignment at some point around the All-Star break, he would theoretically have time to ramp up for starting duty, though it's unclear if the Dodgers would be interested in bringing him back in that capacity down the stretch. A multi-inning relief role may be the preferred way for the Dodgers to manage his workload coming off surgery, as well as extracting better results from him.

Gomber said Tuesday that he's back to full health after missing the final month of the 2021 due to a stress fracture in his back, Patrick Lyons of TheDNVR.com reports. "I've been pretty much 100 percent healthy since about mid-October," Gomber said. "Had a fairly normal offseason when it comes to build up and workouts."

Assuming his back doesn't present any further problems over the course of his ramp-up program at spring camp, Gomber should be in strong position to crack the Rockies' Opening Day rotation, after he turned in a respectable 4.53 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 113:41 K:BB in 115.1 innings over 23 starts a season ago. Of course, pitching his home games at elevation in Coors Field will likely continue to limit his upside in the two ratio categories, and a middle-of-the-road strikeout rate may not make him a must-start option in pitcher-friendly road venues either.

Walker (knee) said Tuesday that he believes he's about a week or two behind the Mets' other starting pitchers, but he's not yet willing to rule himself out from being part of the Opening Day rotation, Tim Britton of The Athletic reports.

Though Walker has thrown off a mound since reporting to big-league camp at the conclusion of the lockout, he doesn't appear to have as many bullpen sessions under his belt as his fellow starters at this point in the spring. He underwent a debridement procedure on his right knee Jan. 14, and though he's since made a recovery from that injury, he wasn't able to do his typical offseason buildup program while he was on the mend from surgery. Walker noted that he won't try to rush to be ready for the start of the season, so at this point, it seems more likely than not that he won't break camp with the big club. If Walker ends up on the injured list to begin the season, Tylor Megill and David Peterson would likely represent the top candidates to step in as the Mets' temporary No. 5 starter.

Carrasco said Tuesday that he feels fully healthy and in good shape after undergoing surgery in October to remove a bone fragment in his right elbow, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Carrasco noted that his improved health has been apparent in his initial bullpen sessions at spring training; his fastball reached 92 miles per hour during Tuesday's session, whereas the right-hander said his velocity typically sits at around 86-to-88 mph at this stage of camp. The 34-year-old's first season in Flushing was delayed until late July after he dealt with a significant hamstring injury, and he never seemed to look right over the course of 12 starts, posting a 6.04 ERA and 1.43 WHIP. A healthy spring training coupled with his past track record of excellence could be enough to make Carrasco an intriguing flier in the later rounds of fantasy drafts.

Clevinger (elbow) said Tuesday that he expects to be ready for Opening Day, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports. "I feel healthier than I have in my entire career," Clevinger said.

After being acquired from Cleveland on Aug. 31, 2020, Clevinger made just five starts -- four in the regular season and one in the playoffs -- for the Padres before developing an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery in November of that year. The right-hander didn't pitch at all in 2021, but he advanced to throwing off flat ground by season's end and now looks to be on track for the start of the 2022 campaign now that he's approximately 16 months removed from surgery. San Diego could still look to ease Clevinger along slowly during the spring, but barring any setbacks during his buildup program in camp, he should be part of the team's season-opening rotation. Over his last four active seasons from 2017 through 2020, Clevinger has pitched at a borderline-ace level, producing a 2.96 ERA (3.39 FIP), a 19.0 K-BB%, and a 1.15 WHIP across 82 starts.

Kaprielian is dealing with AC joint irritation and will be a couple weeks behind schedule this spring, Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Injuries have been a major part of the story of Kaprielian's career thus far, as he's only thrown 225 total professional innings since being drafted back in 2015. Over half of those came in 2021, including 119.1 at the major-league level, during which he posted a 4.07 ERA. Assuming his current issue only winds up delaying him by a few weeks, he's in line to be a key member of the Athletics' rotation.

Eflin (knee) threw a couple of simulated innings in a bullpen session Tuesday and looks to be trending toward being ready to go for Opening Day, Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

When he underwent surgery in early September to address patellar tendon damage to his right knee, Eflin was given a loose 6-to-8-month recovery timeline. Given where he currently stands in his recovery in the early stages of spring training, Eflin appears on pace to return at the short end of that timeline, which would be a major boon for the Phillies with the availability of ace Zack Wheeler (shoulder) for Opening Day uncertain due to his slow buildup during the offseason. Before picking up the knee injury in September, Eflin submitted a 4.17 ERA and 1.25 WHIP while striking out 99 over 105.2 innings.

McCullers said Tuesday that he's not dealing with any UCL damage to his right forearm and is instead recovering from a flexor tendon strain, Jake Kaplan of The Athletic reports.

McCullers said that he sought multiple medical opinions on the forearm injury he sustained in the ALCS last fall, with all of his doctors concluding that he wasn't dealing with a UCL issue. While that offers hope that McCullers won't need surgery on his elbow, he still hasn't recovered from the flexor strain as quickly as he or the Astros anticipated. McCullers won't be ready to go for the start of the season as a result, and until he's cleared to resume throwing again, the Astros likely won't offer a potential target date for his 2022 debut. McCullers' absence to begin the season should allow Jake Odorizzi to reclaim a starting role, after Odorizzi had previously lost hold of a rotation spot during the Astros' postseason run.