MLB Player News

Rodriguez allowed three runs on five hits and two walks while striking out four over three innings in Sunday's spring start against Milwaukee.

The Brewers ambushed Rodriguez early, taking a 3-0 lead three batters into the game. The left-hander had base traffic in all three innings but managed to avoid further damage with the help of infield defense. The results look similar to his first Cactus League start, when he gave up four runs in an inning, but Rodriguez told Michael McDermott of SI.com that he felt better Sunday. "I threw three innings today, I feel great," Rodriguez said. "I feel I'm on a really good pace for the start of the season." While a 15.75 ERA over four innings might cause concern, it should be noted that spring games are less about results than for getting pitches in shape, working on command and building up pitch counts.

Darvish tossed 3.1 innings against Seattle in a Cactus League game Sunday, allowing two runs on four hits and no walks while striking out six batters.

Darvish served up a two-run homer to Cade Marlowe in the second inning, but he was otherwise pretty sharp, throwing 30 of 46 pitches for strikes and punching out six batters. All three of the hits he surrendered aside from the long ball were singles, one of which was a pop-up that was lost in the sun and another that didn't leave the infield. Darvish has fanned nine hitters without issuing a walk over 5.1 frames this spring, and he looks to be on track to face the Dodgers in one of two contests in South Korea that will open the MLB regular season March 20-21.

Frasso (shoulder) was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Sunday.

Frasso is still recovering from procedures on his shoulder and hip, and he's not expected to be ready to pitch until late in the season. Once healthy, he'll likely return to the mound with Oklahoma City, where he produced a 3.26 ERA and 1.36 WHIP with 13 strikeouts over 19.1 innings in four starts last season.

Knack was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Sunday.

Knack made two appearances, including one start, this spring, allowing two earned runs on one hit and a walk while striking out seven batters over four innings. The right-hander produced a 2.93 ERA with 38 strikeouts over 43 frames in 10 starts with Oklahoma City last year, and if he repeats that production, he'll likely earn a shot in the majors sooner rather than later.

Sanchez is introducing a cutter to his repertoire this spring, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.

Sanchez debuted back in 2021 but got his first extended run in the rotation in 2023, finishing with a 3.44 ERA and 1.05 WHIP in 18 starts and one relief appearance. Backing up those marks was a strong set of peripherals, as his strikeout rate (24.2 percent), walk rate (4.0 percent) and groundball rate (57.0 percent) all beat league average by a wide margin in the latter two cases. He lines up as the Phillies' fifth starter (barring a potential late free-agent addition) and will look to maintain or improve on those numbers of a full-season workload. Given that he threw only three pitches (sinker, changeup and slider) last season, the addition of a fourth weapon could help him do just that, particularly as it could make the Phillies more comfortable asking him to go deeper into games.

Gibson allowed three runs on three hits and struck out two over two innings in his first Grapefruit League appearance of the season.

Gibson was tagged for two home runs in his first spring start. The veteran starter had a 4.73 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and 157:55 K:BB over 192 innings for the Orioles last season before signing a one-year deal with the Cardinals in November. Gibson can still eat innings to an extent, but the results are likely to be mediocre -- his ERA has been over 4.50 in four of the last five seasons.

Rom allowed a walk and struck out one over two scoreless and hitless innings in his first Grapefruit League appearance.

Rom was projected to pitch Sunday versus the Marlins, but that game was rained out. The 24-year-old lefty has long odds to make the Cardinals' rotation, even if the team begins the year with six starters. Rom should be expected to open the year at Triple-A Memphis, and he'll likely stay stretched out should the Cardinals need reinforcements in the summer.

Giants GM Farhan Zaidi said Sunday that Cobb (hip) could be available "relatively soon into the year," Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

It's not exactly an explicit return timeline, but it's still a major improvement on the mid-summer return that was the previous expectation. Cobb underwent surgery on his left hip in late October, and his recovery has apparently gone better than anticipated. The 36-year-old has already resumed throwing off a mound and could soon be cleared to face live hitters.

Ashby (shoulder) retired one of the six batters he faced and gave up four runs (three earned) on two hits and one walk Saturday in the Brewers' 11-3 loss to the Dodgers in Cactus League play.

Ashby is getting the chance to compete for a spot in the Brewers' Opening Day rotation after he missed the entire 2023 season while recovering from the left shoulder surgery he underwent last April. Though he was deployed in relief in his spring debut, Ashby still saw a healthy workload Saturday, as he tossed 24 pitches (12 strikes) while facing six hitters. Unsurprisingly, Ashby looked rusty while pitching in a competitive setting for the first time since October 2022, but the Brewers are hoping that he'll be able to iron out the kinks over his subsequent spring appearances. Ashby still has two minor-league options remaining, so the Brewers could send him to Triple-A Nashville to begin the 2024 campaign if they're not confident that he's ready to pitch effectively at the big-league level by late March.

Lodolo is throwing a bullpen session Sunday and will see a specialist Monday for testing on his left tibia, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

It's an interesting situation for Lodolo, who continues to throw off a mound despite ongoing discomfort around his left tibia, where a stress reaction caused him to miss much of last season. The 26-year-old's outlook for Opening Day should receive some clarity once the results of Monday's testing are announced.