MLB Player News

Strasburg (neck) is scheduled to pitch a two-inning simulated game this week at the Nationals' spring training facility in Florida, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.

Manager Dave Martinez said Sunday that he wants Strasburg to build up his pitch count a bit more before beginning a minor-league rehab assignment, so the 33-year-old seems likely to remain in Florida for at least another week. The Nationals have been bringing Strasburg along slowly as he works his way back from thoracic outlet syndrome surgery, which cut short his 2021 season. Since he'll presumably require multiple rehab starts before returning from the 10-day injured list, Strasburg appears unlikely to make his 2022 Nationals debut until June.

Steele will start Sunday's game against the Dodgers, Andy Martinez of Marquee Sports Network reports.

The 26-year-old was originally scheduled to start Saturday before having his outing pushed to Monday, but he'll now take the mound Sunday after Marcus Stroman (undisclosed) was a late addition to the injured list. Steele has struggled through his first five starts of 2022 with a 5.50 ERA, 1.89 WHIP and 16:1 K:BB over 18 innings.

Stroman (undisclosed) was placed on the injured list Sunday, Andy Martinez of Marquee Sports Network reports.

The move doesn't include an injury designation, which likely means Stroman's absence is related to COVID-19. Assuming that's the case, the 31-year-old can be activated as soon as he clears the MLB's testing protocols. He was scheduled to start Sunday against the Dodgers, but Justin Steele will instead take the mound for the Cubs.

Woodford allowed an unearned run on two hits and a walk with two strikeouts in 3.1 innings in Saturday's 13-7 loss to the Giants.

Woodford was again called upon for a multi-inning assignment after Steven Matz yielded eight runs in two innings. Woodford proceeded to turn in a quality relief appearance. The right-hander continues to see mostly mop-up duty, but he's pitched to a 2.25 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 8:4 K:BB across 12 innings in his six appearances.

Castillo (shoulder) will be activated from the 10-day injured list to start Monday against the Brewers, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

The 29-year-old made his final rehab start with Triple-A Louisville on Wednesday, and he'll remain on a five-day pitching schedule while coming off the injured list. Castillo threw 76 pitches across 4.1 frames in that outing, so any workload limitations should be minor despite it being his first start of 2022.

Burnes (1-2) suffered the loss against Atlanta on Saturday, pitching six innings and allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits and one walk while striking out seven.

Burnes' bad fortune continued Saturday, as he registered his fifth straight quality start but has only one win to his ledger over that span. The right-hander was impressive in racking up 20 swinging strikes among his 98 pitches, and the lone earned run he allowed came on a solo homer off the bat of Ronald Acuna in the fifth inning. Despite recording only one victory on the campaign, Burnes has been arguably more dominant than last season, compiling a 1.86 ERA, 0.80 WHIP and 50:8 K:BB across 38.2 innings. He's expected to make his next start in Miami next weekend.

Fried (4-2) earned the win over Milwaukee on Saturday, hurling seven innings during which he gave up one run on four hits and one walk while striking out eight.

Fried kept the Brewers off the scoreboard for six frames before Hunter Renfroe got to him for a solo shot in the seventh. That was the only blemish of the southpaw's outing, and the ace tied a season high with eight punchouts while racking up 15 swinging strikes. Fried started the season by giving up five runs in his first start, but he has been on a tear since then, registering a 1.72 ERA across his subsequent five outings covering 31.1 innings. He has finished with a quality start in four straight appearances.

Matz (3-2) suffered the loss against San Francisco on Saturday, allowing eight runs on five hits and three walks over two innings. He struck out three.

The left-hander's outing got off to an ominous start when the first three batters reached base via two walks and an infield single. Wilmer Flores ensured that the Giants took advantage of the situation, belting a grand slam to clear the bases. Matz gave up two more homers -- both of the two-run variety -- in the second frame and didn't come out for the third. It was the first time this season that Matz has given up multiple long balls in a contest, and it unsurprisingly resulted in the veteran yielding a season-worst eight runs. He'll try to bounce back in his next start, which is tentatively scheduled for Thursday at home versus Baltimore.

Wheeler (undisclosed) was placed on the COVID-19 injured list Sunday, Alex Coffey of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

The 31-year-old will join fellow starting pitcher Zach Eflin (undisclosed), who was previously scheduled to start Game 2 of Sunday's doubleheader, on the COVID-19 injured list. Wheeler lined up to start during the three-game series in Seattle this week, which begins Monday, but it's now unclear when he'll next take the mound. He'll remain away from the team until he clears MLB's COVID protocols.

Webb (4-1) earned the win over St. Louis on Saturday, completing five innings and allowing four runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out seven.

This was far from Webb's best outing of the season -- he allowed a season-high four runs and needed 84 pitches to get through five frames. However, the Giants racked up nine runs in the first four innings, allowing the right-hander to pitch with limited stress and enabling him to pick up his fourth victory. Promisingly, Webb tied his season high with seven strikeouts after punching out just three batters in his previous outing. He'll carry a 3.82 ERA into his next start, which lines up to be a rematch against the Cardinals -- this time in St. Louis -- on Friday.