Mike Montgomery Makes Tweak In Delivery

Chicago Cubs pitcher Mike Montgomery believes that a tweak in his delivery will make him better equipped to handle both starting and bullpen work. Montgomery has noticed that by taking a shorter stride in his delivery, he is seeing a sharper break on his curveball and other pitches. Montgomery will be the next man up […]

Giants Won’t Make Move For Greg Holland

Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic reports that the San Francisco Giants won’t be going after free-agent closer Greg Holland. It’s no surprise, as there has never been much talk about Holland being an option for the Giants. Baggarly also notes the Giants preference to keep compensatory picks as well as staying below the competitive-balance act. […]

Greg Holland Unlikely To Go To Royals

Former All-Star closer Greg Holland is unlikely to sign with the Kansas City Royals, according to Bob Nightengale. The Royals are already looking at a payroll of about $120 million, so although they're in the market for a reliever, Holland's price tag is expected to be outside their range. Holland continues to be hotly pursued […]

No Timetable For Colin Rea's Return

San Diego Padres manager Andy Green indicates there is no timetable for starting pitcher Colin Rea (shoulder, elbow) to resume throwing. The 27-year-old righty has been shut down since early March with a strained lat in his throwing shoulder. This likely rules out Rea, who missed all of 2017 recovering from Tommy John surgery, as […]

Chris Young Shines, Luis Perdomo Stumbles Again

Two San Diego Padres pitchers contending for starting gigs are moving in opposite directions. Starting Sunday, pitcher Luis Perdomo scuffled, allowing five earned runs and a 3.00 WHIP in three innings against the San Francisco Giants. Coming in relief, pitcher Chris Young fired four innings of shutout ball, retiring five via strikeout. Perdomo's edge heading […]

After Clean Inning, Kenley Jansen Will Pitch In Cactus League Game Thursday

Los Angeles Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen (hamstring) threw a clean 1-2-3 inning on Monday in the team's "B" game, striking out two. He said afterwards his hamstring and leg felt fine. His next appearance will be in a Cactus League game on Thursday. The Dodgers have been brining Jansen along slowly this spring. He's pitched […]

Yovani Gallardo Moving To Relief Role

Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Yovani Gallardo will move to a relief role, beginning with his next spring outing. The veteran right-hander posted a career-worst 5.72 ERA while posting a 1.52 WHIP and 6.5 K/9 in 28 games (22 starts) for Seattle last year, and he's become useless to fantasy owners, especially in a relief role. […]

Danny Salazar Will Throw a Weighted Baseball

Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Danny Salazar (shoulder) will progress to throwing a weighted baseball in his recovery from right rotator cuff inflammation. He'd been on a long-toss program, so the progression to a weighted ball is a step in the right direction. He's already been ruled out for Opening Day, but it's unclear just how far […]

Alex Reyes Pitches in an Intrasquad Game on Sunday

St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Alex Reyes (elbow) pitched in an intrasquad game on Sunday. It was the first game-like action for Reyes, who is returning from Tommy John Surgery. He's been throwing live batting practice for a few weeks now, but this was his first time back on a mound in a somewhat competitive […]

Francisco Liriano Will Be In Starting Rotation

Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Francisco Liriano entered camp fighting for a spot in the starting rotation. On Sunday, manager Ron Gardenhire told reporters that as long as the veteran lefty is healthy, he will have his spot. Liriano has a career 4.15 ERA and 1,642 strikeouts over 14 MLB seasons, but limped to a 5.66 […]

Using Sabermetrics For Fantasy Baseball Part 12 - Pitch Info

One of the most fundamental questions in fantasy sports is if a player's current performance is sustainable. More than any other sport, baseball has a slew of statistical measures that can be dissected numerous ways to analyze player performance. Pitch Info is a publicly available pitch tracking system that provides a lot of different data […]

Kelvin Herrera Is Settling Down

Kansas City Royals closer Kelvin Herrera started 2018 spring training right where he left off in 2017 by walking too many batters and laboring through innings he made difficult for himself. This week, he started to seem to get his timing right, though. Over the last nine days, Herrera has made three appearances and only […]

Adam Ottavino Still Struggles With Control

Colorado Rockies reliever Adam Ottavino almost made it to the big time. Sure, he's been in the majors for nearly a decade, but he was tagged for years as a closer of the future without ever really taking hold of the chance. Instead, his wildness always held him back. Colorado snaked him last year by […]

Wade Davis Gets Touched Up

Wade Davis, the new Colorado Rockies closer, made a couple of appearances this week and gave up a solo shot to Rangers prospect Drew Robinson. Davis wasn't being used in save situations or pressure spots, so it's not like he was truly in his element. However, all fantasy owners want their players to be on […]

Pat Neshek Tosses Another Scoreless Inning

Following his return to the Philadelphia Phillies after a trade-deadline move last season, relief pitcher Pat Neshek has made three appearances for the club this spring. The 37-year-old was rocked by the Yankees in his opening outing, allowing three runs in an inning. Since then, he’s tossed two more innings, with the most recent coming Saturday against […]

Matt Bush Heading Back to Bullpen

T.R. Sullivan reports that the Texas Rangers have informed pitcher Matt Bush that he will be returning to the bullpen to start the season and will not be used as a starter. The former first overall pick had been stretching out all spring, even going so far as to work on a third pitch, but […]

Randall Delgado Dealing With Left Oblique Injury

Arizona Diamondbacks reliever Randall Delgado is dealing with a left oblique injury that puts doubt on his availability for Opening Day. While manager Torey Luvullo is unsure of Delgado's status for Opening Day, he has said that Delgado's timeline has been pushed back due to the injury. Delgado was set to be a key part […]

Jim Johnson, Blake Parker will be Setup Guys

Both Los Angeles Angels relief pitchers Jim Johnson and Blake Parker are expected to start the season in setup roles, with Cam Bedrosian serving as the closer for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Bedrosian began last season as the closer as well, but injuries kept him off the field and allowed veteran Bud Norris to […]

Kyle Barraclough Dazzles On Sunday; Expected To Be Miami's Setup Man

Miami Marlins relief pitcher Kyle Barraclough should begin the season as Miami's setup man, paving the way for the veteran Brad Ziegler to close out games for the Marlins. Barraclough's 22 holds were eighth most among National League relievers last season, though he did blow four saves as well. He pitched extremely well in just one […]

A.J. Minter Having Strong Spring

Atlanta Braves relief pitcher A.J. Minter has not allowed a run in his four games so far. He's gone 4 1/3 innings, striking out six and walking none. That's a good line for the lefty and it helps manager Brian Snitker know that he's going to be handing the ball to someone who will likely […]

Ross Stripling To Start Wednesday

Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Ross Stripling will start for the team on Wednesday. He'll throw a bullpen session Sunday and should be fine after that. Stripling has had a quiet spring so far. He was one of the players hit by the virus that swept through the clubhouse a few weeks ago. He picked his […]

Corey Knebel Says He's Fine

Milwaukee Brewers closer Corey Knebel (knee) said he is fine and occasionally deals with tendinitis in his knee. He is not expecting to miss any time in spring training. Those that already own Knebel can take a sigh of relief for now. The hard-throwing right-hander posted an amazing 14.9 K/9 and 39 saves in a […]

David Robertson Makes Spring Debut

After dealing with a bout of food poisoning, New York Yankees reliever David Robertson finally made his spring training debut Saturday against the New York Mets. He faced just two batters and tossed just six pitches, but they were all strikes, resulting in two strikeouts. The 32-year-old appears very likely to be the club’s eighth-inning pitcher […]

Hector Neris Gives Up First Runs Of Spring

After a strong first four outings to start spring training, Philadelphia Phillies closer Hector Neris struggled Saturday against the Tampa Bay Rays, taking a loss. The 28-year-old allowed three runs on three hits, also striking out two during his brief outing. Prior to Saturday's loss, Neris appeared in four games, allowing just two hits and […]

Brad Ziegler Still On Track To Be Marlins Closer

Relief pitcher Brad Ziegler is still expected to be the Miami Marlins closer when the season starts, according to Joe Frisaro of MLB.com. The veteran Ziegler is close to 40 years old and is coming off one of the worst seasons he's ever had. In 2017, Ziegler finished with 10 saves but also blew five, […]

Greg Holland an Option for Rangers Closer?

In an article from Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports, it is reported that the Texas Rangers have considered signing free-agent reliever Greg Holland to bolster their bullpen ahead of the 2018 season. The move would make sense, as Texas has yet to name a closer. Currently, incumbent Alex Claudio is expected to start the season […]

Corey Knebel Tweaks Knee

Milwaukee Brewers closer Corey Knebel (knee) slipped on a wet mound in Cactus League action Saturday and slightly tweaked his left knee, according to manager Craig Counsell. However, Counsell said the injury wasn't serious, and they removed Knebel for "precautionary" reasons. It looks like Knebel dodged a bullet here, but it's something worth keeping an […]

Brad Brach Throws Clean Inning In Win Over Pirates

Baltimore Orioles relief pitcher Brad Brach, who is holding down the fort at closer until whenever Zach Britton returns from his Achilles injury, threw an inning on Saturday. He struck out two and gave up no hits or walks. Brach has done the job before as closer, so he'd be a good pick for early […]

Roenis Elias Vying For Reliever Spot On Roster

Boston Red Sox pitcher Roenis Elias is being used as a reliever in spring training. Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reported Elias is throwing sidearm to lefty hitters. Elias has long been a starting pitcher but despite being 29 years old, he has not had a successful career. The last year he was productive […]

Bud Norris To Start Season In Bullpen

St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Bud Norris has stated his desire to pitch out of the bullpen over starting. Norris is coming off of a solid season with the Angels and was their closer throughout part of the year. Norris is likely to be a swing man out of the bullpen for the Cardinals, but […]