MLB Player News

Jansen was scratched from Friday's scheduled appearance due to hamstring tightness. He is expected to take the mound for a minor-league game Monday, Andy McCullough of The Los Angeles Times reports.

Jansen was tabbed to pitch an inning during Friday's contest following a bout with a nasty illness that worked its way through the Dodger's clubhouse, but now it's evident that the right-hander failed to appear because of a tweaked hamstring that he suffered during warmups. On a positive note, the team didn't believe it was serious enough to warrant an MRI. If all goes well during Monday's outing, expect him back on the mound in a Cactus League contest by the end of next week.

Jansen (illness) will not take the mound during Friday's spring game as previously scheduled, Eric Stephen of True Blue LA reports.

The Dodgers didn't specify why Jansen wouldn't take the mound but it likely has something to do with an illness that he continues to recover from. Barring an unexpected injury of some sort, there shouldn't be much concern for Jansen's availability moving forward as he's likely to pitch in the coming days.

Hernandez has been optioned to Triple-A Louisville, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic Cincinnati reports.

Hernandez reached the majors for the first time in 2017 and struggled to a 5.18 ERA in 24.1 innings. The 26-year-old struck out a solid 26.9 percent of batters but walked far too many at 20.4 percent. He'll return to Triple-A Louisville, where he struggled similarly, walking as many batters as he struck out (19) in 17 innings. He won't be a significant part of a major-league bullpen until he can improve his control.

Hader has struck out four batters and allowed zero runs through three innings this spring.

In three separate one-inning appearances, Hader has been lights out, striking out four of the nine batters he has faced while allowing zero hits. He will begin the year out of the bullpen in a setup role in front of closer Corey Knebel, and will look to build off of his 2.08 ERA and 68 strikeouts from 2017.

Mantiply had Tommy John surgery Friday, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic Cincinnati reports.

Mantiply has been in camp with the Reds as a non-roster invitee. The 27-year-old lefty has just 2.2 major-league innings to his name, back in 2016, though he posted a solid 2.83 ERA in 70 innings for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in the Yankees' system in last year. The typical Tommy John recovery timeline will see Mantiply miss the entire 2018 season and a good chunk of 2019, and it could be hard for a guy in his late 20s with no real track record to find work coming off such a serious injury.

Stephenson had his best outing of the spring Thursday against the Rockies, throwing three scoreless innings while allowing one hit and no walks, striking out three. He remains in the starting rotation picture for the Reds, MLB.com's Mark Sheldon reports.

Stephenson did his work mostly against minor leaguers, coming into the game in the sixth inning, but this was nonetheless an encouraging outing. "He was really good, especially because he threw a lot more fastballs," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "He was more acute with the location of his fastball. That was a good thing to see. He had a good slider and split [fingered fastball], but his fastball command did a good job."

Okert allowed one walk while striking out two over a scoreless inning in Thursday's spring win over Seattle.

Okert is on the outside looking in when it comes to the Giants' projected Opening Day bullpen. The southpaw has looked sharp in his first four spring appearances, but he will have to build off this momentum to overtake fellow lefty Josh Osich to earn one of the club's final bullpen jobs.

Strahm surrendered four runs on three hits and two walks while striking out two over 1.1 innings in Thursday's spring loss to the Cubs.

While the results have been great early on, the Padres are still looking to build Strahm's workload this spring as he competes for a rotation spot, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports. The key for the southpaw will be proving that he can handle a starter's workload after missing the majority of the 2017 season with a knee injury. The one advantage the 26-year-old has over his competition is his handedness, as he would be the second lefty in the rotation along with Clayton Richard should he win the battle. If Strahm doesn't crack the rotation, he would likely stick on the 25-man roster due to the Padres' lack of left-handed middle relievers.

Boxberger (arm) threw a scoreless inning in Thursday's Cactus League game against the Brewers, Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reports.

Boxberger missed some time this spring with general soreness in his throwing arm but was able to throw an effective bullpen session earlier this week and ultimately made his return to the field Thursday. The reliever's fastball was reportedly sitting in the 91-to-93 mph range, which is roughly in line with his average velocity from last season. The 29-year-old is firmly in the mix for the Diamondbacks' closer role heading into the season.

Manager Dave Roberts is slow-playing Fields (arm) this spring, J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles Daily News reports.

Roberts reported Fields is healthy after battling arm soreness early in camp. That said, the Dodgers are in no rush to get Fields into a spring game, as he doesn't require as much time as other pitchers to get up to speed given he's a one-inning reliever. While he doesn't have a specific date for his debut set, it sounds like it will come sooner rather than later. Either way, barring any setbacks throughout the remainder of camp, Fields should be healthy for the start of the season; he's expected to serve as one of the Dodgers' top setup options in front of Jansen.