MLB Player News

Paxton, whose Wednesday spring start against the Cubs was rescheduled, pitched in a three-inning simulated game to catcher Tom Murphy instead and looked sharp, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports.

The veteran left-hander's start was rescheduled at his own request, as Paxton wanted additional time to refine his secondary pitches while creating more consistent direction and timing in the downhill portion of his delivery. Paxton noted he's specifically been trying to get his "explosion toward the plate" right and felt that he was able to improve on it the more he pitched to Murphy, with whom he's working on developing a rapport. Paxton anticipates he'll be ready to make his Cactus League debut early next week, potentially Monday against the Indians.

Gonzales allowed just an unearned run on two hits and a walk over two innings in his Cactus League debut against the Padres on Sunday.

The left-hander, already named Seattle's Opening Day starter, turned in a strong performance to kick off his spring. Encouragingly, he was efficient enough to get through multiple frames in his first outing. Despite the return of James Paxton to the Mariners this offseason, Gonzales is still rightfully considered the ace of the staff after following up the combined 29 wins he notched in 2018 and 2019 by posting a 7-2 record alongside career bests in ERA (3.10) and WHIP (0.95) across 69.2 innings in 2020.

Kikuchi, who made several offseason improvements, appeared to back up general manager Jerry Dipoto's recent proclamation that the left-hander is ready for a "breakout" during his first Cactus League start, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports. "Everything that he was doing [in 2020] suggested that he should be experiencing more success," Dipoto said. "I don't know that we had a single pitcher that was probably more unlucky than Yusei last year. I know it's been an inconsistent couple of years, albeit one truncated season. But we love his stuff."

Kikuchi threw 29 pitches across two innings against an Indians B squad Tuesday, allowing one earned run on a hit and walk while recording three strikeouts. The 29-year-old was able to hit 96 mph with his four-seam fastball and remained at 95 mph for the majority of his outing while also utilizing two of his secondary pitches for strikeouts. Kikuchi's velocity uptick was already evident during a 2020 season in which the gap between his expected ERA (3.51) and actual ERA (5.17) was the third largest among 108 qualified pitchers. He also reduced his HR/9 from 2019's 2.0 to 0.6 last season.

Keuchel is scheduled to start Monday against the Dodgers, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.

This will be Keuchel's first Cactus League start of 2021. The left-hander will be among the top three White Sox starters, joining Lucas Giolito and Lance Lynn.

Lynn allowed one walk and struck out three over two scoreless innings in Thursday's spring game against the Giants.

Lynn told Scott Merkin of MLB.com that he wanted to go out for a third inning. He'd thrown more pitches during batting practice than he threw Thursday. The veteran righty projects to be the No. 2 starter for his new team.

Garcia will be away from camp for "several days" due to the league's health and safety protocols, Jake Kaplan of The Athletic reports.

Garcia had been scheduled to pitch in Thursday's spring game behind Lance McCullers, but he'll no longer be able to do so. Once he's able to return, the right-hander should compete for a spot in the starting rotation after Framber Valdez suffered a fractured left ring finger Tuesday.

Valdez has been recommended for surgery to repair the fractured ring finger on his pitching hand, which would likely keep him out for the 2021 season, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports.

Valdez will receive a second opinion on the injury before a decision on surgery is made, but the Astros are bracing for the possibility of the 27-year-old being sidelined for the entirety of the upcoming campaign. Even if Valdez avoids surgery, he'll almost certainly open the season on the injured list while he waits for the fractured digit to fully heal. Valdez's absence -- however long it might be -- should improve the odds of youngsters Luis Garcia and Forrest Whitley getting early opportunities out of the Houston rotation.

Gilbert will start Sunday's Cactus League game against the Angels, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports.

The highly touted prospect will get his chance to face a formidable lineup that should include the likes of Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon, which should serve as a good litmus test for where he is in his development. Gilbert's last time on a mound in a live game also came against the Angels on March 10 of last year before spring training was shut down due to COVID-19, and the right-hander projects to get at least a couple more starting opportunities before likely beginning the season at Triple-A Tacoma.

Montas, who was cleared to join spring training Thursday after a bout with COVID-19, is still experiencing some light chest congestion but has been able to get through workouts without issue thus far, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

The right-hander also dealt with body aches and headaches while going through the virus, but he's been free of those since quarantining in his Arizona home for 14 days. Montas has been in the process of ramping back up after his late start, although he was throwing live bullpens before the diagnosis. The soon-to-be 28-year-old is trying to focus on having fun on the mound again in 2021 after a mostly miserable 2020 in which he produced a 5.60 ERA and 1.51 WHIP, and he's also looking to reincorporate a splitter that worked very effectively for him in 2019 after relying heavily on just his fastball and slider last season.

Berrios threw two scoreless innings with three strikeouts in his spring debut Thursday, reaching 95 mph on the radar gun. Berrios reduced the intensity of his early offseason workouts in an attempt to preserve his energy for a full 162-game season, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.

Berrios struggled in the second half of the 2018 and 2019 seasons, so he'll need to avoid fades in longer seasons to reach his stated goal of more than 200 innings. Either way, his outing Thursday showed he's in near regular-season form at this point.