MLB Player News

German pitched 2.2 innings in a Grapefruit League game against the Tigers on Friday, allowing seven runs on nine hits and no walks while striking out one batter.

German was shelled by Detroit in the outing, and the hits against him were neither quiet nor lucky. The Tigers racked up five extra-base knocks against the right-hander, including four home runs. German also hit two batters, as he clearly struggled to command his pitches. This was easily his worst outing of the spring, as he had allowed just three runs (and no homers) over 7.2 innings before the blow-up. With that in mind, German is still expected to have a spot in the rotation when the season begins, especially with Carlos Rodon (forearm) expected to miss multiple starts.

Valdez is likely to start for the Astros on Opening Day, Matt Young of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Manager Dusty Baker hasn't made an official announcement, but he did tell reporters Saturday that Valdez will "probably" take the mound on Opening Day. Valdez also drew the assignment in 2022, and he delivered throughout the season by posting an exceptional 2.82 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 194:67 K:BB across 201.1 innings. Even if another Astros starter gets the call for the first game, Valdez will almost certainly start at some point during the team's opening series against the White Sox.

Gil (elbow) recently began throwing bullpen sessions, Randy Miller of NJ Advance Media reports.

Gil underwent Tommy John surgery in May of last year and is about 10 months into his rehab. He hasn't yet faced hitters, but the fact that he's tossing bullpens suggests that the right-hander hasn't had any setbacks. Gil isn't expected to be ready to return to game action until at least July.

Paxton (hamstring) threw 25 pitches off the mound Saturday in a bullpen session, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.

Paxton told Browne after the session that he felt good, and wasn't thinking about his hamstring at all. It's a positive sign for the southpaw, who has not been able to pitch this spring while recovering from a right hamstring strain. The next step for Paxton is to face live hitting, and then hopefully the 34-year-old will get a chance to pitch in a Grapefruit League game before the exhibition season ends. It's still very likely Paxton will open the season on the injured list.

Manning tossed 3.2 scoreless innings in Friday's Grapefruit League game against the Yankees. He allowed four hits and a walk while striking out four.

Manning has mostly struggled this spring with a 9.00 ERA across 10 innings, but he looked better Friday. The righty should still begin the year in Detroit's rotation, likely as the team's fourth starter. He had a solid 3.43 ERA and 1.17 WHIP across 63 innings last season, though he only struck out 48 batters, and his inability to miss bats could limit his fantasy ceiling.

Rodriguez was charged for five runs -- two earned -- over 3.2 innings of work Saturday in a Grapefruit League start against the Red Sox.

Rodriguez wasn't helped by his defense, but he allowed six hits and two walks to go along with three strikeouts. The 22-year-old now has a 5.56 ERA in spring training, but Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com reports the Orioles very much want Rodriguez to be a part of their Opening Day rotation. With his ability to miss bats, fantasy managers should still be interested in making him a part of their roster.

Cortes allowed five runs in 3.2 innings of work Saturday in his Grapefruit League debut against the Blue Jays.

Cortes allowed three walks and three hits while striking out four. He allowed two homers in the contest, and he threw 35 of 52 pitches for strikes. The line is unimpressive, but the big takeaway is that Cortes was able to get back on the bump after missing the first few weeks of the Grapefruit League because of a Grade 2 hamstring strain. He'll likely pitch again next week, and he appears to be well on his way to being a part of the Opening Day rotation.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters Saturday that Rodon (forearm) is feeling good after throwing, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

Rodon was able to throw Friday, and he continues to make strong progress from the forearm muscle strain he was diagnosed with March 9. The left-hander is still a lock to begin the 2023 campaign on the injured list, but there's a good chance he'll only miss two-to-three starts, which would be a major win for fantasy players and for a Yankees team that has dealt with significant injury concerns during the Grapefruit League season.

Civale allowed three runs on five hits and a walk while striking out four over 3.2 innings in Friday's Cactus League loss to the Reds.

Civale has given up six runs over 9.2 innings across four spring starts, but he's also posted a respectable 11:3 K:BB. Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports Civale was able to stay in Friday's game after taking a liner off of his right foot, so that shouldn't be a concern going forward. He posted a career-worst 4.92 ERA over 20 starts (97 innings) in 2022, but there's been no indication that he's at risk of losing his place in the rotation yet, though he will be at the back end of the starting list for the Guardians.

Kikuchi gave up two runs on one hit and three walks over 3.1 innings in Friday's split-squad game against the Phillies. He struck out three.

The southpaw got stretched out to 76 pitches, but only 46 of them went for strikes. Kikuchi looked good early in camp but his control has begun to desert him again with Opening Day growing closer, and he now has a 16:9 K:BB through 13 spring innings despite a superficially strong 1.38 ERA and 1.15 WHIP. The 31-year-old has a career 5.02 ERA and 3.67 BB/9 since coming to MLB in 2019, and there's been no real sign this spring he's going to be any more reliable in 2023.