MLB Player News

Anderson is throwing long toss from 120 feet, and he's on schedule in his recovery from Tommy John surgery, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.

The 25-year-old right-hander underwent surgery in April 2023 and is targeting a midseason return to the mound. Atlanta may not have room for him in its big-league rotation once he's ready for game action however, especially if Anderson can't regain the form that saw him produce a 3.58 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 124:53 K:BB through 128.1 innings in 2021, before a rough 2022 may have provided an early signal that his elbow wasn't 100 percent. Anderson still has a minor-league option remaining, so it wouldn't be surprising if he spent the second half of 2024 at Triple-A Gwinnett.

Ynoa has resumed long-toss after being shut down for a bit with right elbow soreness, Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Ynoa is coming back from Tommy John surgery and had been throwing bullpen sessions early on in camp before the elbow soreness cropped up. Atlanta doesn't appear overly concerned about the righty, as Ynoa could resume mound work in a few days. Ynoa already had seemed likely to begin the season back in the minors as he knocks some rust off, and this setback should cinch that.

Wheeler signed a three-year, $126 million contract extension with the Phillies on Monday, Buster Olney of ESPN reports.

Wheeler had been in line to reach free agency after the upcoming season, but now he'll remain in Philadelphia for a while longer. The average annual value of the deal is a Phillies record and also the largest-ever AAV for a contract extension. The veteran right-hander has collected a 3.06 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 21.3 K-BB% across 101 starts during his time with the Phillies and will turn 34 in May.

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.