MLB Player News

Strasburg (neck/shoulder) is scheduled to throw a live batting practice session Tuesday, Jessica Camerato of MLB.com reports.

Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo implied Sunday when he spoke to the media that Strasburg was on track for Opening Day, and the right-hander's upcoming throwing session is further evidence that he's feeling healthy again after his 2021 campaign was cut short by the thoracic outlet syndrome surgery he required last July. Washington may want to wait and see how Strasburg looks over multiple live throwing sessions before locking him into the Opening Day rotation, but by all accounts, the oft-injured hurler is progressing from surgery better than some may have anticipated, based on his history.

Finnegan signed a minor-league contract with the White Sox on Monday that includes an invite to major-league spring training.

Finnegan served as a non-roster invitee for the Reds in 2021 but spent the entire season at Triple-A Louisville. He made 40 appearances (one start) and logged a 5.53 ERA and 1.71 WHIP in 55.1 innings. The left-hander hasn't appeared in the majors since 2018 and appears likely to spent most of 2022 in the minors.

Brewers manager Craig Counsell confirmed Monday that Ashby will be stretched out for starting duty during spring training, Sophia Minnaert of Bally Sports Wisconsin reports.

Counsell didn't explicitly confirm that Ashby will open the season in a starting role, though he'll likely be the favorite for the final spot if the Brewers elect to run out a six-man rotation like they did for a large portion of the 2021 campaign. After enduring a rocky MLB debut last June against the Cubs, Ashby was highly effective in his subsequent 12 appearances (and three starts) the rest of the season, posting a 3.48 ERA (3.30 FIP) and a 24.4 K-BB% over 31 innings. He looks to be a high-upside dart throw in the later rounds of mixed-league drafts.

Manager Buck Showalter revealed Monday that Walker underwent a right knee procedure Jan. 14, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.

Walker is behind some of the Mets' other starting pitchers early in camp following his offseason surgery, but Showalter is hopeful that the right-hander still has a chance to be ready in time for Opening Day. In his first season with the Mets last year, Walker posted a 4.47 ERA and 1.18 WHIP in 30 appearances (29 starts). While any potential absence to begin the 2022 campaign would likely be a short-term one, Tylor Megill and David Peterson would be candidates to fill in if Walker is forced to miss time.

Manager Aaron Boone said Monday that German had some shoulder issues pop up in late January that delayed the start of the right-hander's throwing program, Brendan Kuty of The Newark Star-Ledger reports.

While German has now started his throwing program now that spring training is underway, his offseason preparation was slowed by his injury. It's not yet clear whether the delay will impact his ability to build up in time for the start of the regular season, especially since pitchers have an abbreviated spring training in 2022. If the right-hander isn't ready to join the starting rotation in time for Opening Day, Jameson Taillon (ankle) and Michael King are candidates to see starts early in the year.

Manager Aaron Boone said Monday that Taillon (ankle) is on target to start the season on time, Lindsey Adler of The Athletic reports.

Taillon underwent ankle surgery in late October, but he's made good progress during the offseason and resumed throwing in recent weeks. The right-hander will presumably work on building up his workload during spring training, and he'll benefit from having an extra week ahead of the regular season after Opening Day was pushed back by a week. Boone revealed that Domingo German has been dealing with some shoulder injuries since January, so Taillon should compete for a spot in the rotation to begin the regular season.

Singer (arm) threw a bullpen session Monday at the Royals' big-league camp, Alec Lewis of The Athletic reports.

Royals manager Mike Matheny hasn't mentioned that Singer will be subject to any restrictions early on during spring training, so the 25-year-old right-hander has seemingly made a full recovery from the right upper arm discomfort that cut his final start of the season short in late September. Though Singer noticed a downturn in both his ERA (4.91) and WHIP (1.55) in 2021 following an impressive 12-start debut in 2020, he was a victim of some bad luck (.350 BABIP, 67.8 percent strand rate). Singer still looks to be a promising rotation arm for the Royals, though as a pitcher who relies more on inducing groundballs (50.9 percent career rate) instead of strikeouts (22.6 career K%), his fantasy upside is somewhat capped.

Keller (lat) threw a bullpen session Monday at the Royals' big-league camp, Alec Lewis of The Athletic reports.

Since the lockout ended last week and players reported to camp, Royals manager Mike Matheny hasn't said that Keller will be subject to any restrictions at the start of the spring training. Keller's ability to complete a side session seemingly verifies that he's healthy again after a right lat strain kept him out for the final five weeks of the 2021 season. Before getting hurt, Keller had disappointed with a 5.39 ERA and 1.66 WHIP across 133.2 innings, but a big uptick in his strikeout rate from 2020 (from 16.3 percent to 19.6 percent) offers hope that he'll show improvement in his ratios during the upcoming season.

Estes was traded from Atlanta to Oakland along with Shea Langeliers, Cristian Pache and Ryan Cusick in exchange for Matt Olson on Monday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

A 6-foot-2, 20-year-old righty, Estes broke out last season at Low-A, logging a 2.91 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 127 strikeouts in 99 innings. That strikeout total oversells things a little, but he is still a promising starting pitching prospect with a competitive streak on the mound.

The Mariners plan to limit Dunn's (shoulder) activity during the early stages of spring training, but he hasn't been ruled out from making the Opening Day roster, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports.

After he was diagnosed with a strained right shoulder in mid-June, Dunn ultimately wasn't able to make it back from the injured list, though he advanced to facing hitters in simulated games in September before experiencing a setback. Seattle isn't shutting Dunn down to begin spring -- he was seen playing catch Sunday, according to Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times -- but he may still be several days away from facing hitters. Even if the shoulder presents no further problems for him this spring, Dunn's slow buildup program may work against him in his bid for a rotation spot.