Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Walker Buehler (elbow) said he felt good during his first live batting practice session of camp on Tuesday and that his fastball was sitting at 94-95 mph. Buehler said he will probably need another three to four live batting practice sessions before being ready for game action, but he sounded encouraged by his progress of late. The 29-year-old didn't pitch in the big leagues at all in 2023 while recovering from Tommy John surgery in 2022, and the Dodgers are slow-playing him at spring training. There's no timetable for when he'll make his 2024 season debut, and fantasy managers shouldn't be surprised if the Dodgers keep him out for the entire first month in order to help them manage his innings. Buehler is a risk coming off a lost season in 2023, but his track record before his elbow injury was solid enough to take a chance on him in all fantasy leagues.

The Colorado Rockies have claimed outfielder Sam Hilliard off waivers from the Baltimore Orioles. The O's had claimed him earlier in the offseason from the Atlanta Braves where he appeared in 40 games in the 2023 season, hitting .236 with three home runs and four stolen bases across just 78 trips to the plate. Now, the 30-year-old returns to the organization where he spent the first four seasons of his big-league career from 2019-2022. He appeared in 214 games with the Rockies, slugging a career-high 14 home runs in the 2021 season. His bat has largely been well below the league average in his career as he owns a .215 lifetime average with 32 homers, 19 steals, and a .718 OPS across 254 games, production that grades out 22% below the league average, as per his 78 wRC+.

Houston Astros infielder Dixon Machado left a Grapefruit League contest early on Wednesday after apparently injuring his knee coming into third base. He was unable to continue running towards home plate but walked off the field under his own power. The 32-year-old is on a minor-league deal with the Astros after most recently appearing in the big leagues with the San Francisco Giants in the 2022 season when he made just 17 trips to the plate. He has spent the bulk of his big-league time with the Tigers from 2015-2018 and is the owner of a career .226 average with two homers and three stolen bases across 522 plate appearances. He also spent two seasons in the KBO between 2020 and 2021.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have signed outfielder Dustin Peterson to a minor-league deal that presumably includes an invite to big-league spring training. The former second-round pick of the Padres has appeared in just 19 big-league games, 17 of which came with the Tigers in the 2019 season when he hit .227 and stole one base across 47 trips to the plate. More recently, he spent the 2023 season with Triple-A Lehigh Valley in the Phillies organization where he hit .244 with 19 home runs and a 10.6% BB% across 85 appearances. He should merely serve as minor-league outfielder depth for the Bucs in the 2024 campaign.

The San Diego Padres have signed veteran outfielder Tim Locastro to a minor-league deal that includes an invitation to big-league spring training. The 31-year-old has played sparingly throughout his big-league career as he has accumulated just 616 plate appearances across parts of seven MLB campaigns. In that time, he has hit .228 with nine home runs but has also swiped 45 bases and scored an even 100 runs. He spent the 2023 season with the Mets where he hit .232 with two HR, six SB, and a .731 OPS across 67 trips to the plate, production that graded out 9% superior to the league average, as per his 109 wRC+. Locastro doesn't offer much with his bat but his speed could land him a depth role with the Friars this season.