MLB Player News

Cease allowed one run on six hits and struck out 11 over 5.1 innings in Tuesday's spring game against the Rockies.

Cease cruised in his final tune-up before the regular season, throwing 86 pitches (58 strikes) with a fastball touching the upper 90s in what was his finest Cactus League start. The lone blemish was a solo home run by C.J. Cron in the second inning. Cease leaves Arizona with a boost of confidence in preparation to start the fourth game of the season April 4 against the Angels in Los Angeles. He allowed just two runs over 17 innings this spring.

Mize allowed two earned runs on five hits and a walk across 4.2 innings in Tuesday's Grapefruit League game against the Rays. He struck out six.

It was a mostly positive final spring start for Mize, who wraps up the exhibition slate with a 7.23 ERA across 18.2 innings. Despite the struggles, the 23-year-old was able to earn an Opening Day rotation spot, and he has the talent and pedigree to take a step forward in his second MLB season. Mize is lined up to face the Twins on April 6 in his first start of the regular season.

Valdez's (finger) outlook remains positive, with Astros pitching coach Brent Strom saying Tuesday that the "news is very, very exciting and very good," Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Valdez was previously expected to require season-ending surgery to repair his fractured left ring finger, though that's since been ruled out. He still doesn't have a clear timeline, but it now looks as though those who drafted him before his injury may still get a fair number of starts out of him after all.

Houck appears to be lined up to start the second game of the season Saturday against Baltimore, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

Houck was optioned in mid-March, but the Red Sox may need a spot starter right away, as Eduardo Rodriguez has been held back by arm fatigue. The team hasn't made a final decision about whether Rodriguez will open the year on the injured list, but it seem to be leaning that way. Houck makes for an interesting streaming option since he'll be facing a weak offense and showed plenty of potential in his three-start debut last year, striking out 21 batters in 17 innings while allowing just one earned run.

Singer tossed five shutout innings Monday in the Royals' 5-4 exhibition win over Cleveland. He scattered two hits and one walk while striking out five.

Singer wrapped up a stellar spring with his best outing yet, finishing the Royals' Cactus League slate with a 2.65 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 20:5 K:BB In 17 innings. The right-hander will get a favorable draw for his 2021 debut, facing off Sunday against a Rangers offense that produced an MLB-worst -0.2 WAR in 2020. Coming off a solid debut season in the majors, Singer has some upside as a second-year breakout candidate.

Teheran (back) is scheduled to start the Tigers' second game of the season Saturday versus Cleveland, Evan Petzold of The Detroit Free Press reports.

Teheran battled back tightness in his fourth outing of the spring March 22, but he was able to quickly move past the injury to stay on schedule with his throwing progression. He made his final start over the weekend against the Phillies, giving up six runs in 3.2 innings. While he finished the spring with a 5.52 ERA, Teheran's 0.89 WHIP, .176 batting average allowed and 18:4 K:BB in 14.2 innings were better indicators of how well he pitched. He should be available to cover approximately five or six innings in his regular-season debut.

McKenzie won't be asked to start before April 13 and may not be a true starter that day, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

Previous reports indicated that McKenzie and Logan Allen had beaten out Cal Quantrill for Cleveland's final two rotation spots, but with three off days in the first eight days of April, the situation will be less than entirely clear at the start of the season. Allen is expected to make his season debut Monday against Kansas City, but McKenzie could be used as an opener in that contest. McKenzie might not even get the April 13 start, as that could go to Quantrill instead or to a combination of the two pitchers. McKenzie should still spend a portion of the season as a true starter, but his early usage may be emblematic of how cautiously he'll be used this season. That caution seems sensible, as McKenzie missed all of 2019 and a fair portion of 2018 with injuries, and he only threw 33.1 innings in last year's shortened season. His workload will undoubtedly be carefully monitored this year.

Manager Alex Cora said Tuesday that Rodriguez (arm) has a "pretty good chance" of opening the season on the 10-day injured list, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.

Boston had previously pushed Rodriguez off the Opening Day start after he experienced a case of dead arm late in camp, and though the lefty has since thrown a pair of bullpen sessions over the past three days, he doesn't look as though he'll be ready to go by the time the team first requires a fifth starter in next week's series with the Rays. Rodriguez doesn't seem to have experienced any setbacks in his recovery, but the Red Sox want him to face hitters in live batting practice or a simulated game before clearing him for his season debut. Even if he lands on the IL, Rodriguez shouldn't be sidelined for much longer than the 10-day minimum.

Houck allowed two hits and one walk while striking out six over 4.1 scoreless innings in Monday's spring game against Atlanta.

Houck, who was optioned to minor-league camp two weeks ago, may have been motivated by the news that he could open the regular season in Boston's rotation. He's had encouraging outings, like Monday's, along with a pair of walk-fests in which he permitted nine free passes in 3.1 innings. Those command issues led to his demotion, but circumstances have changed for the young right-hander. Eduardo Rodriguez's dead arm scratched him from an Opening Day nod while projected starter Garrett Richards and swingman Matt Andriese were quarantining. Now that Matt Barnes' positive result for COVID has been deemed a false positive, both Richards and Andriese are back with the team. If Richards is ready to go for his projected start Saturday, the possibility exists that Houck could take Rodriguez's first turn through the rotation.

Hill, who threw 63 pitches in a Grapefruit League win over the Orioles on Monday, will make his first regular-season start Saturday against the Marlins but work in tandem with Chris Archer, Adam Berry of MLB.com reports.

Hill allowed three earned runs on five hits, two walks and a hit batsman during Monday's outing, but he came away pleased after seeing an increase in his fastball velocity and getting some swings and misses on his curve as well during his five frames. The veteran southpaw and Archer are likely to be separated and make conventional starts their second turns through the rotation according to manager Kevin Cash, but the tandem arrangement for Saturday's game could certainly affect Hill's ability to pitch long enough to qualify for a potential win.