MLB Player News

Urena (forearm) will start Sunday's spring game against the Blue Jays, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.

The 29-year-old arrived a couple days late to camp due to travel issues and will see his first game action of spring training Sunday. Urena joined Detroit on a one-year, $3.25 million deal after being non-tendered by Miami in December, and he's a likely bet to open the season in the starting rotation. The right-hander had a 5.40 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and 15:13 K:BB over 23.1 innings for the Marlins last season before fracturing his right forearm in the season finale.

Valdez is still holding out hope that he can avoid season-ending finger surgery, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports.

Valdez fractured the ring finger on his throwing hand when it was struck by a comebacker Tuesday. The initial news he heard from doctors was that he'd have to undergo a season-ending procedure, but that's apparently not quite a guarantee. Given that the surgery would knock him out for the entirety of the year but presumably wouldn't affect his 2022 campaign, it makes sense for him to first explore some alternative options, as going through with it in March or May would probably have the same ultimate outcome. In the meantime, the Astros signed Jake Odorizzi on Saturday to fill his spot in the rotation in the short term and possibly beyond.

Kaprielian fired two scoreless innings in a Cactus League loss to the Angels on Friday, allowing one hit and no walks while also hitting a batter and recording three strikeouts.

Kaprielian's plunking of Mike Trout in the first inning was one of the few blemishes on an impressive body of work against a talented Angels lineup. The 27-year-old had also fired a scoreless, two-hit frame versus the Dodgers on Sunday, getting his spring off to a strong start. Kaprielian got his first taste of the majors in 2020 in the form of a pair of relief appearances during which he posted a 7.36 ERA and 1.64 WHIP (3.2 innings).

Flexen, who pitched in the Korea Baseball Organization in 2020, impressed manager Scott Servais with his two-inning Cactus League debut against the White Sox on Friday, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports. "I really like what I saw," Servais said. "I think he does it a little bit differently. He's got the higher arm slot, and we saw all four pitches today."

The Mariners took a two-year, $4.75 million flyer on Flexen after he looked like a drastically improved pitcher with the Doosan Bears last season, and the right-hander seemingly carried over a lot of the positives into his first time facing MLB hitters since 2019. Flexen impressively worked through some of the White Sox's regulars in the outing, flashing an impressive pitch repertoire as well by complementing a sweeping curveball with a low-90s fastball and a cutter-changeup combination.

Hill allowed four runs (three earned) on three hits, two walks and a wild pitch across one inning in a Grapefruit League loss to the Red Sox on Friday.

The veteran southpaw threw 28 pitches overall and unsurprisingly was significantly dissatisfied with his performance, with Adam Berry of MLB.com reporting that Hill emphasized after the outing that he holds himself to a higher standard. Hill did say he felt "great" physically during his time on the mound, and although he blamed himself for leaving a lot of fastballs and curveballs up in the zone, he also labeled the issue a "simple fix." that he'll look to implement in his next start.

Boyd tossed two scoreless innings in Friday's Grapefruit League game against the Yankees. He walked two and struck out one.

Boyd made his Grapefruit League debut and was solid against a New York lineup that had most of its regulars. The lefty struggled with a 6.71 ERA and 1.48 WHIP last season, but he also acknowledged pitching through a hamstring injury and plantar fasciitis, which could have impacted his mechanics. If Boyd looks healthy and effective this spring, he could be primed for a bounceback 2021 campaign.

Kopech will be used in a multi-inning relief role to start the season, James Fegan of The Athletic reports.

Kopech has long been thought to have some relief risk, as fireballers with shaky command often wind up in the bullpen, especially if they have a history of injuries. He'll pitch in a relief role to start the year, but that appears to be primarily a way of managing his innings after Tommy John surgery cost him all of 2019 and an opt out took away his 2020 season. The fact that he'll be used in a multi-inning role seemingly indicates that the White Sox want him to be ready to start games at some point down the line this year, though a clear plan has not yet been provided by the team. Given his potential strikeout prowess, Kopech could still provide a fair amount of fantasy value in a multi-inning relief role.

Glasnow will no longer start Saturday's spring game against Atlanta after the game was canceled due to inclement weather, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Glasnow's fastball touched 100 mph multiple times during his Grapefruit League debut Monday, but his second start of spring training will be pushed back due to rain. It's not yet clear when the right-hander will make his next appearance.

Odorizzi signed a two-year contract with the Astros on Saturday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

Odorizzi held out in free agency until he found the right deal, and he'll join Houston's rotation with Framber Valdez's (finger) status up in the air in 2021. The financial terms of the deal aren't yet known, but the contract includes a player option for 2023. The right-hander spent the past three seasons with the Twins but only made four starts in 2020 while battling various injuries. Odorizzi made 34 starts for Minnesota across the past two years and posted a 3.75 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 190:56 K:BB over 172.2 innings. Whether he has enough time to build up ahead of Opening Day remains to be seen.

Williamson has been invited to major-league spring training, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

Williamson will join the team's major-league camp for the final few weeks of spring training, although he won't appear in any Cactus League games. He'll likely begin the regular season at the High-A or Double-A level after working with the big-league coaching staff this spring.