MLB Player News

Mize has officially won a spot in the Tigers' rotation, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.

Mize didn't look particularly impressive in his seven-start debut last season, struggling to a 6.99 ERA while striking out a modest 19.5 percent of opposing batters and walking 9.8 percent. That shouldn't put too big of a dent in the excitement surrounding the 2018 first overall pick, though it does give reason to think he may not live up to his considerable potential right away. Michael Fulmer will open the season in the bullpen to clear a rotation spot for Mize.

Eovaldi has been named the new starter for Opening Day against the Orioles, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

Eduardo Rodriguez was previously given the honor, but his start to the season has been pushed back while he deals with a dead arm period. Eovaldi will instead receive the Opening Day nod rather than starting the second game of the season Saturday as previously expected. The 31-year-old is coming off a strong 2020 campaign in which he posted a 3.72 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 52:7 K:BB over 48.1 innings.

Rodriguez won't start Opening Day against Baltimore as previously scheduled after experiencing a "dead arm" period, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.

The 27-year-old battled his command during his last spring start Monday, and his struggles apparently stemmed from the dead arm issue. Rodriguez skipped his most recent bullpen session to get extra rest but may be able to retake the mound within the next couple days. The left-hander could slot into the back end of the rotation without actually missing a turn to open the season. Nathan Eovaldi will instead start Opening Day for Boston.

Perez allowed five runs (none earned) on five hits while striking out four in Thursday's spring game against Minnesota.

He was victimized by fielding errors from Michael Chavis and Rafael Devers, but pitchers are still expected to work around such things. Perez did manage to throw more strikes in this outing after the left-hander walked five during his previous Grapefruit League start. The southpaw will be Boston's No. 4 starter to begin the season, but inconsistency plus command and hard contact issues have bedeviled him since his MLB debut in 2012.

Bielak allowed two hits and two walks while striking out three over four scoreless innings in Thursday's game against the Cardinals.

This was likely Bielak's final appearance during Grapefruit League play. While he allowed eight runs over 16 spring innings, the right-hander finished strong with two runs allowed in nine innings across the last two outings. He's expected to help the Astros get through the first couple of turns of the rotation, as Jake Odorizzi, Luis Garcia and Cristian Javier are not stretched out enough to go deep into games.

Urquidy struck out four over five perfect innings in Thursday's spring game against the Cardinals.

There's not much more than can be written than "five perfect innings." While spring starts should be viewed in context, Urquidy was pleased with the outing, per Ryan Herrera of the Houston Chronicle reports. "My stuff was very good," the pitcher said. "Trying to command all my stuff on the corners, up in the zone, some offspeed on the floor, and I was very focused on doing that. I think this outing was very good for me." After giving up six runs and eight hits over his first eight Grapefruit League innings, Urquidy enters the regular season on a huge positive note. The right-hander is locked into the rotation and is one of three Houston starters stretched out heading into April. He joins Zack Greinke and Lance McCullers at the top of the rotation, while a mix of Bryan Abreu, Brandon Bielak, Luis Garcia and Cristian Javier is expected to get the team through the first two turns of the rotation.

Schmidt (elbow) is still experiencing discomfort and hasn't returned to throwing, Max Goodman of Sports Illustrated reports.

Schmidt is reportedly still not feeling 100 percent after being diagnosed with a common extensor strain in his right elbow, and the organization doesn't want him to begin a throwing program until he's completely asymptomatic. Manager Aaron Boone indicated Thursday that Schmidt's return to throwing could be "imminent," but a clearer picture of his timeframe has yet to be announced.

Mize allowed two runs across four innings in Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Blue Jays. He gave up five hits while striking out nine.

Mize had allowed 11 earned runs over his previous two spring outings, so this was a welcome change of pace, and the nine strikeouts point to the righty's considerable upside. The 23-year-old still has a high 8.36 ERA in Grapefruit League play, but he's in the mix for an Opening Day rotation spot and definitely has the talent to turn some heads this season, though he may struggle with consistency in only his second taste of the majors.

Dunn recorded seven strikeouts but gave up four earned runs on five hits and three walks over 3.1 innings in a Cactus League loss to the Cubs on Wednesday.

Half of the damage against Dunn came in the form of of solo home runs by Cameron Maybin and Jake Marisnick, yet he also exhibited some of his trademark control issues. Dunn walked nine batters overall in 11 Cactus League frames, but Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports he came away from the outing pleased with how his arsenal has come along this spring in his battle with Nick Margevicius for the No. 6 spot in the rotation. "I'm happy with where I'm at. ... Fastball velo is still here," Dunn said after [Wednesday's] start. "Honestly, it feels like it's ticked up. The slider feel sharp. I'm really happy with the curveball shape and happy with the differential between the two."

Montas (finger) will throw a sim game next week to determine his status to begin the season, Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Montas was removed from his appearance Thursday with a ripped cuticle. Manager Bob Melvin told reporters that the team will feel "okay" if Montas can reach 70 pitches in the sim game. That leaves his status for the team's opening series of the regular season uncertain.