MLB Player News

Tauchman underwent surgery Thursday to repair the torn meniscus in his left knee, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.

Tauchman is expected to miss the first six weeks of the season while he recovers from his operation. He'll report to Triple-A Syracuse once he's healthy but could be bumped up to Queens during the season if Carson Benge struggles during his first season in the bigs.

Birdsong underwent successful UCL reconstruction surgery on his right elbow Wednesday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Birdsong was diagnosed with a sprained UCL in mid-March and elected to go under the knife. The right-hander will miss the entirety of the 2026 campaign and likely at least the first couple months of 2027.

The Rockies reassigned Bellozo to minor-league camp Monday.

After compiling a 4.65 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 54:23 K:BB over 81.1 innings as a swingman for Miami in 2025, Bellozo didn't perform well enough in his first spring training with the Rockies to win a spot on the Opening Day roster as a starter or long reliever. He's expected to open the upcoming season at Triple-A Albuquerque.

Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said Thursday that Berrios (elbow) will throw off the mound before the end of this week, Mitch Bannon of The Athletic reports.

Berrios was diagnosed last week with a stress fracture in his right elbow, but he and the Blue Jays believe that the hurler will be able to pitch through the injury. The right-hander hasn't made a game appearance in three weeks, so even if things go smoothly with his elbow, Berrios will need time to get built up before Toronto considers him for its rotation.

Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins said Thursday that Bieber (elbow) will throw off a mound this week, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.

The right-hander has been limited to throwing on flat ground while working his way back from shoulder fatigue, so a return to mound work is a significant development in his rehab program. Bieber still has a lengthy road ahead of him while building up to face live batters and eventually embarking on a rehab assignment, but a return in early May still appears to be on the table.

Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said Thursday that Yesavage's (shoulder) velocity "bumped back up" during a "very effective" appearance in a minor-league game Wednesday, Mitch Bannon of The Athletic reports.

It's an encouraging step for Yesavage, who did not make any spring training appearances while battling a right shoulder impingement. A rehab assignment for the rookie right-hander would appear imminent, and he will likely require several rehab starts before he's ready to rejoin the Blue Jays' rotation.

Simpson is out of the lineup for Thursday's season opener versus the Cardinals, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Simpson closed out spring training with a six-game hitting streak and went 3-for-3 on steal attempts during that stretch, quelling most of the concerns about the left hamstring injury that had slowed him earlier in camp. He should be a fixture in the lineup against righties, but the Rays may be more selective in exposing the left-handed-hitting Simpson to same-handed pitching in 2026 after he produced a .299/.330/.299 slash line (79 wRC+) in 113 plate appearances versus lefties as a rookie. Simpson will cede left field to the right-handed-hitting Ryan Vilade while southpaw Matthew Liberatore takes the bump for St. Louis in the opener.

Milias will begin the season on the Nationals' 26-man roster, Jessica Camerato and Paige Leckie of MLB.com report.

The 28-year-old beat out Harry Ford and Riley Adams for the job of backing up Keibert Ruiz, giving the Nats a rare combo -- two switch-hitting catchers. Milias has seen brief action in the majors in each of the last three seasons but has never seen more than 62 plate appearances in a campaign, amassing a more-than-respectable .276/.340/.396 slash line with two homers and six steals in 49 games.

Wheeler (shoulder) is scheduled to throw three innings and/or 50 pitches in Saturday's rehab start with Triple-A Lehigh Valley, Corey Seidman of PHLY Sports reports.

It will be Wheeler's first official game action since last September's venous thoracic outlet syndrome surgery. The Phillies will likely want Wheeler to get his pitch count up to the 80-to-90 range before clearing him for his season debut, so the right-hander will likely make two additional rehab starts after Saturday before returning in mid-April if all goes well.

The Nationals announced Wednesday that Varland won a spot on the Opening Day roster.

The 29-year-old right-hander didn't pitch in the majors at all in 2025 and threw only 6.1 innings in the minors in the White Sox system, but Varland looked healthy this spring while posting a 5.23 ERA and 13:4 K:BB over 10.1 innings. The back of the Washington bullpen is unsettled, and Varland could work his way into a high-leverage role with a quick start to the campaign.