MLB Player News

Fried will start for Atlanta on Opening Day versus the Nationals.

It's no surprise the southpaw gets the nod following a National League Cy Young runner-up campaign. Fried has been excellent this spring, tossing 11.1 scoreless innings while notching 14 strikeouts.

Corbin will start for the Nationals on Opening Day versus Atlanta.

Corbin is coming off a season which saw him hold a 6.31 ERA over 31 starts, but his bloated salary gets him the nod in an otherwise inexperienced Washington rotation. For what it's worth, the veteran lefty has pitched well this spring with a 3.86 ERA and 13:1 K:BB over 14 frames.

Marquez has been announced as the Rockies' Opening Day starter, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports.

Marquez will take the ball March 30 at Petco Park against the Padres. The right-hander is looking for a bounce-back showing in 2023 after he posted a disappointing 4.90 ERA and 1.37 WHIP across 181.2 innings in 2022.

Williamson gave up nine earned runs on eight hits and three walks against the Mariners on Thursday in his final spring training start.

Williamson made some good impressions early on in spring training, but he hasn't looked ready for prime time in his recent outings and is coming off a tough year at Triple-A in 2022. It wouldn't be a shock if he was ticketed for Louisville again to begin 2023.

Nelson allowed three runs on four hits and two walks while striking out three over 4.2 innings in Thursday's split-squad start against the Cubs.

Nelson set down the side in three of his four full innings before the Cubs knocked him around in the fifth, prompting his departure. It was an interesting day for those monitoring the battle for the No. 5 starter job in the Diamondbacks' rotation. Nelson's competition, Drey Jameson, was working the other split-squad game and he posted similar numbers. It looks like one more outing for each will be needed before manager Torey Lovullo makes a decision.

Musgrove (toe) threw three innings in a simulated game Wednesday, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

Musgrove threw to batters who weren't allowed to swing, as the pitcher is recovering from a fractured left toe and hasn't yet reached a point where the team is comfortable with him fielding his position. Nonetheless, this was a positive step for the right-hander. He'll almost certainly miss his first start of the campaign, but it's possible he could be ready to pitch by the second turn through the rotation.

Cobb (knee) might not be on the active roster on Opening Day, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Cobb took a comebacker off his knee March 11, though he didn't seem to be hindered by the injury after he threw five frames five days later. However, the issue has kept him off the mound since and manager Gabe Kapler remarked that Cobb's status for the start of the regular season is "iffy." Injuries have played a major role in Cobb's career, though he did manage to record 149.2 frames in 2022 while maintaining a 3.73 ERA and 1.30 WHIP with the Giants.

Julio Urias is likely to be named the Dodgers' Opening Day starter, with Kershaw following him in the rotation for the second game of the season, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

For the decade leading into last season, Kershaw and Opening Day went hand-in-hand, as the future Hall of Famer started every season opener in which he wasn't injured from 2011 to 2021. However, Walker Buehler was chosen as the team's first starter last season, and Urias appears to be in line for that honor this year. Nonetheless, Kershaw is coming off an excellent campaign during which he started the All Star game for the first time and finished with a 2.28 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 137:23 K:BB over 126.1 innings. The southpaw is about as much of a guarantee to put up strong ratios as any pitcher in baseball, but injuries have slowed his ability to put up big counting stats late in his career.

Soroka (hamstring) was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett on Thursday.

Slowed for most of camp by a right hamstring strain, Soroka just made his Grapefruit League debut Wednesday with an outing that lasted only 1.1 innings. He'll need to get stretched out on the farm before Atlanta can map out a plan for his first major-league appearance since 2020. The good news is that he seems to be over this latest physical setback.

Wesneski allowed just one unearned run with five strikeouts over five innings in a Cactus League start Thursday against the Diamondbacks.

Wesneski continues to charge toward the final spot in the Cubs' season-opening rotation, and he's now boasting a 2.12 ERA and 22:6 K:BB in 17 innings of Cactus League work. The 25-year-old right-hander looked great down the stretch with Chicago in 2022 and is shaping up as an attractive late-round grab in fantasy drafts for 2023.