MLB Player News

Gray is dealing with back tightness and was scratched from his scheduled start Friday versus the Giants.

Gray was set to make his second start of spring training, but he will now look to rest his back and be ready for his next opportunity. In his place, left-hander Taylor Hearn will take over on the mound and face San Francisco.

Paxton left Friday's spring training game against Minnesota in the second inning with an apparent leg injury, source reports.

The injury doesn't seem to be very serious, and he was likely removed from the game as a precaution. Paxton missed all of last season while recovering from Tommy John surgery, the latest setback in an injury-plagued career, but Boston is still expecting the 34-year-old to be part of its Opening Day rotation.

Watkins threw two perfect innings and struck out two in Thursday's Grapefruit League game versus the Tigers.

Watkins is somewhat of a forgotten man in the chase to fill out the back end of the Orioles' rotation. Grayson Rodriguez also pitched well Thursday, striking out one and walking one over two scoreless innings. Watkins and Rodriguez are in competition for spots, and the latter's prospect pedigree likely gives him the edge. Still, Watkins was serviceable in 2022 with a 4.70 ERA and 1.41 WHIP over 105.1 innings last season, making 20 of his 23 appearances as a starter, and the 30-year-old righty could be near the top of the O's list of spot starters if he doesn't win a spot in the rotation out of camp.

Baz (elbow) is on track to begin a throwing program in 3-4 weeks, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Baz reported to Rays camp this week as he continues the long road back from last September's Tommy John surgery. Obviously, he's not going to be an option for Tampa Bay this season, but the hope will be for him to be ready to roll by 2024.

Olson (abdomen) will throw a bullpen session Saturday, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.

Olson has dealt with abdominal soreness all spring, but a recent MRI came back clean and he's ready to test things out from the bump. The pitching prospect is in line to begin the season at Triple-A Toledo.

Gausman will make his Grapefruit League debut Friday against the Rays, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Gausman has been healthy all camp but with MLB cracking down on balks this season, he has been working on eliminating the heel tap in his delivery from the stretch. Evidently, he's happy with where he's at in that regard and is ready to test things out in game action.

Texas manager Bruce Bochy said Ragans was hitting 95-96 mph during his first Cactus League start last Sunday, Levi Weaver of The Athletic reports.

Ragans' fastball velocity was 92.1 mph in 2022, putting him in the 19th percentile among pitchers. The velocity increase is startling. "I went back and looked at (last year's) games when I came over, and watched him," Bochy said. "It was impressive, wasn't it? He was bumping 96 (mph). I didn't see that in (last year's) games." The left-hander said he was on a program at a place called Tread Athletics, which he credits with the added 3-4 mph velocity. He's not a projected member of the five-man rotation, but he could move up among the depth options if the uptick in velocity is sustainable.

Houck allowed four walks and struck out two over 1.2 scoreless innings in Thursday's spring game against the Phillies.

Houck, working as a starter, made his spring debut and looked rusty. It was the first game appearance in seven months for the right-hander, who missed the final seven weeks of 2022 with a back issue that eventually required surgery. Houck told Ian Browne of MLB.com that he was "leaving the arm hanging behind" and knows the adjustment he needs to make. Houck is projected to serve in a multi-inning relief role, but the club is stretching him out during the Grapefruit League. He could emerge as a rotation member early on if Garrett Whitlock (hip) or Brayan Bello (forearm) aren't ready for Opening Day.

Dunning allowed one run on three hits while striking out five over three innings in Thursday's spring game against the Brewers.

This was Dunning's first Cactus League start and second appearance. The right-hander was part of Texas' rotation in 2022 but is on the outside of the top five starters as the 2023 regular season approaches. Barring injury to members of the projected rotation, the 28-year-old will likely occupy a multi-inning relief role during the regular season. Dunning was rocked in his one relief effort this spring, ceding five runs on three hits and two walks over 1.1 innings following starter Nathan Eovaldi.

Heaney allowed two runs on three hits and two walks while striking out two over 1.2 innings in Wednesday's spring game against the Dodgers.

Heaney, making his spring and team debut after signing with the Rangers in the offseason, found himself in 2-0 hole against leadoff batter Mookie Betts, who drilled a middle-middle fastball over the fence in left field. "I don't want to start my first game of spring training going 3-0 on a guy or nibbling," Heaney told Kennedi Landry of MLB.com. "So I was like, 'I'm just gonna kind of throw it at him down the middle.' And he hit it out." The other run against him was a solo home run by Jason Heyward. Both the left-hander and Rangers manager Bruce Bochy looked beyond the results and understood early spring outings are for getting work in and staying healthy. Bochy noted Heaney threw his off-speed pitches well.