MLB Player News

Keller will start the Pirates' Grapefruit League opener Saturday against the Blue Jays, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.

Keller also figures to get the nod for Pittsburgh on Opening Day of the regular season. The 26-year-old right-hander experienced a lot of ups and downs during the 2022 campaign but ultimately delivered an overall 3.91 ERA with 138 strikeouts in 159 innings. He had a shiny 2.20 ERA in his final 41 frames.

Reds manager David Bell said Thursday that Dunn (shoulder) will miss a significant portion of spring training, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

Dunn had to essentially sit out a full calendar year between the summer of 2021 and the summer of 2022 because of a right shoulder injury, and that area began barking again last week in Reds camp. The 27-year-old can comfortably be ruled out for the beginning of the 2023 regular season, and he's currently without a clear return timeline.

Allard will start Atlanta's Grapefruit League opener Saturday against the Red Sox, Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Allard is currently buried on the rotation depth chart for the reigning NL East champions, but he can do his best to try to change that with a strong showing this spring. The 25-year-old former top prospect will lug a rough-looking 6.07 career major-league ERA into the 2023 campaign.

Davis will start the Rockies' Cactus League opener Saturday against the Diamondbacks, Danielle Allentuck of the Denver Gazette reports.

Davis made his MLB debut in relief last season, but he has operated as a starter throughout the minor leagues and is being built up as an emergency rotation option this spring. The 25-year-old right-hander mostly split the 2022 campaign between Double-A Hartford and Triple-A Albuquerque, and he struggled to a combined 5.41 ERA in 138 frames.

Shuster could pitch his way into an early call-up to the majors this season, MLB Pipeline reports.

Given the lingering uncertainty around Mike Soroka (Achilles/hamstring) and Ian Anderson (5.00 ERA last year), there may indeed be a path for Shuster to make his MLB debut with Atlanta in the first half of the 2023 campaign. The 24-year-old left-hander went 25th overall in the 2020 MLB Draft out of Wake Forest and worked to a 3.29 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 145:38 K:BB in 139.1 innings last summer between Double-A Mississippi and Triple-A Gwinnett.

Wright (shoulder) is on track to throw a bullpen session Friday, Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Wright threw off a mound earlier this week with the catcher moved up closer. That went well, so he's been cleared to throw a regular bullpen session Friday. Wright received a cortisone injection for his pitching shoulder in January, which has put him behind schedule to begin camp. It's not clear when he might be ready for spring games, but at this point Atlanta is hopeful he'll be part of its Opening Day rotation.

Sanchez (shoulder) said Thursday he's hopeful to throw a bullpen session next week, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

Sanchez told reporters earlier this month that he'd already been throwing off a mound, but next week could be his first official bullpen session of the spring. Making his way back from a second shoulder surgery, Sanchez lost upwards of 40 pounds over the offseason and is hoping to be part of the Marlins' Opening Day roster. More likely, he'll begin the season at Triple-A Jacksonville as he tries to make up for lost time.

Musgrove had four wisdom teeth removed Tuesday but still threw a bullpen session Wednesday, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

The tooth extractions apparently went smoothly given Musgrove's ability to stay on schedule with his bullpen session the following day. The right-hander also received a platelet-rich plasma injection to treat a lingering left knee issue in the offseason, per Acee, but the hurler appears to be healthy as he prepares to take up the No. 2 spot in San Diego's rotation behind Yu Darvish.

Dunn is currently limited in Reds camp due to unspecified discomfort, Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Dunn threw a bullpen session last week, but he has yet to return to the mound at the Reds' spring training complex in Goodyear, Arizona. This is concerning news for a pitcher who logged only 81.1 total major-league innings (18 starts) between the 2021 and 2022 campaigns due to right shoulder troubles. He has presumably been sent for tests, and it might already be safe to rule him out for a potential spot in Cincinnati's season-opening rotation.

Strider retired all three batters he faced Wednesday while throwing his first simulated game of spring training, Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

After an outstanding rookie season, Strider appears to be picking up right where he left off to kick off spring training, with Toscano noted that the right-hander's 15-pitch outing included strikeouts of Ronald Acuna and Ozzie Albies. Heading into his age-24 season, Strider will likely face a soft innings cap compared to some of the game's top-tier starters, but he proved as a rookie that he doesn't need big volume to turn in brilliant fantasy production. He was one of only 11 pitchers to finish with 200-plus strikeouts in 2022, despite covering 30 fewer innings than any of those other 10 hurlers.