Leahy struck out five across four perfect innings in Saturday's Grapefruit League start against the Mets.

Leahy bounced back from a rough second spring training outing with a stellar effort Saturday, requiring only 47 pitches to cruise through his four frames. The right-hander remains a favorite to capture one of the final spots in the Cardinals' rotation, and that the club is considering opening the year with a six-man setup would only increase his chances.

The Pirates optioned Harbin (lat) to Triple-A Indianapolis on Sunday.

Harbin isn't expected to resume throwing until at least early April after he sustained a right teres major muscle tear early in camp, so his demotion to Triple-A was fully anticipated. Indianapolis is likely to place Harbin on its 7-day injured list shortly before the International League season gets underway.

O'Brien (calf) worked around a walk and a base hit to deliver a scoreless inning of relief Saturday in the Cardinals' 3-2 loss to the Mets in Grapefruit League play.

A mild right calf strain suffered early in camp was enough to prevent O'Brien from pitching for Team South Korea in the World Baseball Classic, but after delivering a scoreless inning in his spring debut Saturday, the 31-year-old righty looks like he'll be ready to go for the start of the regular season. After the Cardinals dealt away Ryan Helsley last July, O'Brien moved into a higher-leverage role and collected four of the team's final five save chances of the 2025 campaign. With St. Louis making no major additions to its bullpen over the winter, O'Brien could head into Opening Day as the Cardinals' top option to close games, though manager Oliver Marmol may prefer to take a committee approach to the ninth inning with JoJo Romero and potentially Matt Svanson also in the mix.

Nardi (finger) is slated to make his Grapefruit League debut Tuesday against the Nationals, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

Nardi didn't pitch at all in 2025 due to a lingering back problem, but it's a blood blister on his pitching hand that's been holding him back this spring. The southpaw has been deemed ready for game action after throwing multiple live batting practice sessions over the last few weeks. Though Nardi looks to be healthy again, the Marlins could still elect to option him to Triple-A Jacksonville to provide him with extra time to shake off any rust. Over 49.2 innings in 2024, Nardi posted a 5.07 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 70:18 K:BB while picking up 15 holds and three wins.

Bender (shin) is scheduled to make his Grapefruit League debut Tuesday versus the Nationals, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

The Marlins have been easing Bender along slowly this spring due to a shin injury, but after throwing multiple live batting practice sessions, he's been given the green light for game action. Despite being behind the Marlins' other healthy bullpen candidates, the right-hander should still have enough time to secure a spot in Miami's high-leverage crew, setting up new closer Pete Fairbanks. Bender collected 19 holds, three wins and four saves over 51 appearances in 2025 while pitching to a 2.16 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 42:21 K:BB across 50 innings.

Junk (ankle) struck out two batters and allowed one hit and no walks over a scoreless inning of relief in Saturday's 5-4 loss to the Astros in Grapefruit League play.

Junk went down with a Grade 1 right ankle sprain early in camp, but after advancing through his throwing program over the last few weeks, he was finally cleared to make his spring debut Saturday. The 30-year-old right-hander made 16 of his 21 appearances with the Marlins last season as a starter, but the ankle issue may have cost him whatever small chance he had at a spot in Miami's Opening Day rotation. Junk should still be in good shape to break camp with the big club as a long man out of the bullpen.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said that Waddell is dealing with shoulder discomfort and won't pitch in Monday's Grapefruit League game against the Marlins as planned, Laura Albanese of Newsday reports.

The severity of the shoulder issue isn't fully known, but Waddell will likely be shut down for at least a few days. The southpaw resurfaced in the majors last season for the first time since 2021, appearing in 11 games and posting a 3.45 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 22:11 K:BB over 31.1 innings with the Mets. Waddell no longer occupies a spot on the 40-man roster and is expected to open the season as a swingman at Triple-A Syracuse.

The Marlins optioned White to Triple-A Jacksonville on Sunday.

While he wasn't able to secure a spot on the Marlins' Opening Day roster, White could be a candidate to pitch in high-leverage spots out of the big-league bullpen at some point later this season if he can continue to carry over his success from 2025. Between stops with Jacksonville and Double-A Pensacola last season, the 25-year-old righty was one of the more dominant relief arms in the upper minors thanks to a deceptive high arm slot, finishing with a collective 1.86 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 107:23 K:BB in 67.2 innings.

Paddack gave up two hits over three scoreless innings in Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Astros. He struck out two without walking a batter.

The 30-year-old right-hander built up to 40 pitches (27 strikes) against a patchwork lineup headlined by Christian Walker and Isaac Paredes. Paddack's fastball topped out at 95.8 mph, and through six spring innings he has yet to allow a run while posting a 6:1 K:BB. Given his injury-plagued career and 5.22 ERA over 246.1 innings the last two seasons between the Twins and Tigers, however, simply taking a regular turn for the Marlins in 2026 would be an accomplishment.

Holmes gave up two hits and three walks over 2.2 scoreless innings in Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Orioles. He struck out three.

Facing a mostly young split-squad Baltimore lineup that included Samuel Basallo and Dylan Beavers, Holmes built up to 58 pitches, but only 31 of them were strikes. The 29-year-old right-hander sports a 7:5 K:BB through 7.1 spring innings, and while he hasn't given up a run yet, Holmes' inability to find the strike zone consistently is a little worrying for an Atlanta rotation that can't afford any more attrition with Spencer Schwellenbach (elbow), Hurston Waldrep (elbow) and AJ Smith-Shawver (elbow) all set to miss significant time.