MLB Player News

Irvin has been used only in relief so far this spring, but manager Dave Martinez said he will be a part of the starting rotation, Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports reports. Irvin gave up six earned runs on five hits and two walks in 1.2 innings during Friday's Grapefruit League game against Houston. "We've got to get him to relax a little bit. He's working on a bunch of different secondary pitches. I'm going to sit down and talk to him: His next outing, just get the ball in the zone and work ahead," Martinez said Friday.

The 27-year-old right-hander had allowed seven earned runs and seven hits in 3.2 innings through two spring outings, but it sounds like his manager isn't too worried. Still, Irvin's job can't be too secure after he had a 4.61 ERA with a mediocre 7.4 K/9 and troublesome 4.0 BB/9 last season in his first big-league action.

Freeland threw two perfect innings with one strikeout in Friday's Cactus League victory over Seattle.

Friday marked Freeland's first start this spring after he spent the offseason recovering from an oblique injury that put an early end to his 2023 campaign. Though his strong outing Friday was encouraging from a health perspective, Freeland is unlikely to be a reliable fantasy option in 2024 after posting a 5.03 ERA and 1.47 WHIP last year alongside a poor 5.4 K/9.

Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports Friday that Kershaw (shoulder) is with the Dodgers in camp and will be with the team until it heads to South Korea to open the 2024 season.

Kershaw underwent shoulder surgery in November to repair the gleno-humeral ligaments and capsule in his left shoulder. Plunkett notes that Kershaw is still in the early stages of his throwing program, and the veteran left-hander isn't expected to return to action until the summer. He's expected to return to Texas to continue his rehab once the Dodgers leave for South Korea.

Reds manager David Bell said Friday that Lodolo is still not 100 percent and will have his injured left leg "re-scanned," Gordon Wittenmyer of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

The southpaw missed much of the 2023 season with a stress reaction in his left tibia, and he's still having trouble getting past the injury. While Lodolo is able to throw without issue, he "still feels it" in his leg the day after, per Bell. Being ready for the beginning of the season is still possible if Lodolo can be game-ready by the end of next week, but that looks to be very much in question.

Webb (0-2) went three innings and struck out two while giving up one earned run on three hits and no walks in Thursday's 2-1 loss to Arizona. He was credited with the loss.

Webb finished second in the NL Cy Young race despite having a record of 11-13 last year. Webb's 216 innings pitched last season was more than anyone else in baseball, and he proved to be a workhouse for San Francisco despite getting 3.1 runs of support per game, the worst in baseball. The crafty right-hander will lead a pitching staff with lots of young raw talent, and he will look to build off his stellar 2023 campaign.

Walker experienced soreness in his right knee during a bullpen session Thursday and will rest for the next few days, Corey Seidman of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports.

The veteran right-hander was recently away from the Phillies' camp for a few days due to personal reasons, and he's dealing with some soreness upon his return. Manager Rob Thompson called it "normal spring training soreness," so Walker could seemingly be back on the mound soon.

Harrison threw two hitless innings Sunday versus the Rangers, striking out four and hitting a batsman. Harrison has used his cutter more after developing it in 2023 but used it on a limited basis, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Harrison relied on the cutter, which sat in the 90-91 mph range, to maintain an advantage over hitters when he got ahead in the count. The southpaw is expected to make a big leap in 2024 after making seven major-league starts with a 4.15 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 35:11 K:BB across 34.2 innings last season. With the Giants' rotation already hammered by injuries, Harrison is expected to be the No. 2 starter behind ace Logan Webb.

Brewers manager Pat Murphy said Friday that Miley has a 50-50 chance of being ready for the start of the season, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Murphy declined to go into specifics about what Miley is dealing with, adding only that the team should have a better idea on his status in about 10 days. The 37-year-old has dealt with elbow and shoulder injuries each of the last two seasons, but it's not clear whether his current issue is related to his pitching arm. Miley was limited to 23 starts in 2023 but finished the season healthy. Losing the veteran left-hander would be a blow to a Brewers rotation that's already lacking depth.

Corbin gave up three hits over three scoreless innings while striking out four in Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Cardinals.

Facing most of the Cards' Opening Day lineup, Corbin breezed through 41 pitches (32 strikes) and looked much sharper than he had in his first outing of the spring. The veteran southpaw also mixed in a new cutter, per Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports, throwing seven of them and getting swings and misses on three -- including strike three to Nolan Arenado in the first inning. Corbin's been primarily a fastball-slider pitcher throughout his career, so adding a reliable third pitch could boost a strikeout rate that sagged to 15.7 percent in 2023 -- the second-worst mark in MLB among pitchers who threw at least 150 innings, ahead of only Kyle Freeland's 13.9 percent. Even if the cutter does prove to be an effective weapon for Corbin, however, there's still little fantasy appeal in a pitcher who's posted a combined 5.75 ERA and 1.54 WHIP over the last three seasons.

Quintana gave up two runs on two hits and three walks over 1.2 innings in Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Astros. He struck out one.

It was an inauspicious start to the spring for Quintana, who was facing most of Houston's Opening Day lineup, and the damage could have been worse had he not coaxed a double-play grounder out of Yordan Alvarez after walking Jose Altuve to lead off the game. The veteran southpaw made only 13 starts in 2023 during his first season with the Mets due to a rib issue that required surgery, but his 3.57 ERA and 1.31 WHIP over 75.2 innings were respectable. With Kodai Senga (shoulder) set to miss a month or more to begin the 2024 campaign, New York needs Quintana to stay on the mound this time around.