MLB Player News

Alzolay (side) will begin his season doing rehab work in Arizona and won't join the Triple-A Iowa rotation right away, Tommy Birch of the Des Moines Register reports.

Alzolay has been dealing with a side injury since February, and the Cubs will proceed cautiously with one of their top pitching prospects. Jaron Madison, Chicago's director of player development, said Alzolay is "just a couple of weeks behind" and should be able to join the Iowa rotation in late April or early May.

Jansen struck out one in a perfect ninth inning during Friday's 5-4 extra-innings loss to the Diamondbacks.

With the score tied 4-4 and a save situation off the table at home, Jansen worked the top of the ninth and rang up Alex Avila for his first strikeout of the season. The right-hander looked healthy this spring and, assuming his heart issues are behind him, Jansen should once again be one of the top closers in baseball.

Andriese (1-0) picked up the win in Friday's 5-4 extra-innings victory over the Dodgers, walking four batters in 2.1 scoreless innings.

He nearly blew the game in the 10th inning -- entering with a runner on first and two outs, Andriese loaded the bases on a wild pitch, a HBP and a walk before making a great defensive play to snag an A.J. Pollock comebacker and escape the jam -- but the right-hander suffered no damage from his control issues and was rewarded when Carson Kelly's double in the top of the 13th broke a 4-4 tie. Andriese is used to his current long-relief role from his time in Tampa Bay, but from a fantasy perspective offers little other than iffy ratios and bulk strikeouts.

Yates posted his second save of the young season Friday, recording two strikeouts while allowing a hit and a walk in a scoreless inning during a 4-1 victory over the Giants.

The Padres closer entered after Evan Longoria started the inning with a solo homer. The Giants made things interesting, loading the bases with a single, walk and hit by pitch, but Yates struck out the final two batters to seal the win. The right-hander has converted his last nine save chances dating back to Aug. 28, and he has four strikeouts in his first two appearances of 2019.

Richards didn't factor into the decision in Friday's 6-1 loss to the Rockies, giving up one run on four hits and two walks over six innings while striking out four.

The right-hander threw 52 of 81 pitches for strikes before being lifted for a pinch hitter in a 1-1 game. This could be a common game script for Richards in 2019, as he pitched well enough to win but failed to get enough run support from an anemic Marlins offense, so give his fantasy value a slight boost in formats that use quality starts instead of wins. Richards will next take the mound at home April 3 against the Mets.

Nelson (shoulder) played catch Friday and is expected to pitch once or twice more in Arizona prior to joining Triple-A San Antonio, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

Nelson took some time off from throwing after experiencing some soreness in his elbow, but it turned out to be just a minor setback. He won't join Milwaukee's Triple-A affiliate in time for the season opener but it shouldn't be more than a week or two until Nelson is in San Antonio, barring any further setbacks.

Jackson allowed four runs on two hits and two walks over one inning in Thursday's loss to the Phillies.

The Atlanta bullpen was mostly a disaster Opening Day -- Shane Carle served up a three-run homer to Maikel Franco in the sixth inning, after which Jackson said "Hold my Gatorade" and surrendered a grand slam to Rhys Hoskins in the seventh. The right-hander was already ticketed for low-leverage work this season, but he could be the first reliever to lose his spot entirely if the front office decides to start churning arms.

Robertson allowed a run on two hits and a walk in Thursday's win over the Braves.

Robertson may still need a bit of a tune-up after throwing just 3.2 innings in spring training. He was poor in his first outing in Philadelphia, walking Josh Donaldson and allowing singles to Freddie Freeman and Ronald Acuna before getting his first out. It's potentially significant that he threw with a seven-run lead while Seranthony Dominguez remained in the bullpen, but with an off day Friday the Phillies may have simply been trying to let Robertson get some work in.

Neris allowed two runs on two hits in his one inning of work Thursday against the Braves.

Neris generated three groundouts but also allowed a Dansby Swanson double followed by a Matt Joyce homer. It's a disconcerting start for a pitcher who endured a very rough first half of 2018 and finished the year with a 5.10 ERA. For those attempting to read into Gabe Kapler's pitcher usage, it's potentially significant that both Neris and David Robertson pitched with big leads in Thursday's game, while Seranthony Dominguez went unused. The Phillies have an off day Friday, though, so perhaps Kapler was simply trying to get that pair some work.

Leone fired a scoreless sixth inning in which he recorded a strikeout during a season-opening loss to the Brewers on Thursday.

Leone labored some during his sole frame, needing 22 pitches to get his three outs. The 27-year-old was limited to 24 innings across 29 appearances last season due to a biceps injury, finishing with a 4.50 ERA and 1.46 WHIP. Leone can miss some bats with a fastball that clocks in the mid-90s, so he could be in for some setup work this season ahead of projected closers Jordan Hicks and Andrew Miller if his health endures.