The San Diego Padres assigned top prospects Ethan Salas, Jairo Iriarte and Robby Snelling to minor-league camp on Sunday. The most notable cut might have been Iriarte, who seemed to be in contention for a spot on the Opening Day pitching staff. Although Salas is considered one of the top catching prospects in the game already, he's only 17 years old, so it's no surprise that he won't break camp with the team. In his Cactus League action, he went 2-for-7. Salas will begin the 2024 season at Double-A San Antonio and probably won't be a realistic catching option for the Friars for another couple years. Iriarte, meanwhile, will begin at Triple-A El Paso despite giving up just one unearned run over three innings in big-league camp. Expect the 22-year-old to receive a promotion to the majors at some point this year.

Despite the fact that the Atlanta Braves optioned right-hander Ian Anderson (elbow) to Triple-A Gwinnett on Monday, the 25-year-old remains on track in his recovery from Tommy John surgery last April and has been throwing long toss from 120 feet in camp. He's hoping to be an option for Atlanta's starting rotation around the All-Star break. The former first-rounder in 2016 went 12-7 with a 3.25 ERA and 1.20 WHIP with 165 K's in 30 starts in 2020-21 before recording a 5.00 ERA in 2022 and being sent to the minors, where he injured his oblique. It remains to be seen if Anderson can return to his pre-injury level, when he was named the team's organizational Pitcher of the Year in 2019 with 172 K's in 135 2/3 innings. Anderson has slightly altered his straight over-the-top pitching motion and is using his legs more to put less stress on his arm.

Baltimore Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said it was a precautionary move for the team to remove outfielder Cedric Mullins (hamstring) from the Grapefruit League game on Monday against the Minnesota Twins, and the outfielder will not undergo an MRI exam. Mullins received treatment on his right hamstring and will see how he feels on Tuesday morning. He's considered day-to-day for now. It sounds like the 29-year-old dodged a bullet and should be fine for the start of the 2024 regular season. Groin injuries landed him on the injured list twice last year, and he just hasn't been able to replicate his 2021 breakout in the last two years. Most of Mullins' fantasy value as a No. 3 outfielder comes from being an everyday player in a strong Baltimore lineup, but his fly-ball heavy approach the last two years has really put a strain on his batting average.

St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Sonny Gray (hamstring) left his Grapefruit League start early on Monday against the Washington Nationals early with right-hamstring tightness, according to a team spokesperson. Gray threw only 20 pitches over 1 2/3 innings before being pulled due to the injury, and he'll now undergo an MRI exam on Monday night to determine the severity of the ailment. The 34-year-old is expected to be St. Louis' ace in 2024 after signing a three-year, $75 million deal in November, so losing him to begin the season would be really bad news for the Cardinals' rotation. Matthew Liberatore and Zack Thompson would be the obvious candidates to round out the team's rotation if Gray is forced to open the year on the injured list. Two of the three times Gray landed on the IL in 2022 were due to hamstring issues.

Chicago Cubs corner infielder Patrick Wisdom (quadriceps) is no longer scheduled to play in the team's Cactus League game on Tuesday. Wisdom remains day-to-day after having a setback with his right quadriceps muscle in camp last week and will be held out for another day. There's still time for the 32-year-old right-handed slugger to be ready in time for Opening Day on March 28. When healthy, Wisdom provides modest 20-homer power from the corner-infield spots in Chicago, but he's likely only to be in the Cubs' lineup when they are facing left-handed pitching. He's had at least 23 home runs in each of the last three years, including a career-high 28 in 2021, but it's come with a .214 career batting average and .298 on-base percentage in six major-league seasons.