MLB Player News

Thomas was reassigned to minor-league camp Monday, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

Thomas was sharp this spring, pitching four scoreless innings while surrendering just one hit while striking out two, but he will begin the 2022 season with Triple-A Memphis. The 23-year-old will likely be on the Cardinal's radar for a potential call-up at any point this season. He spent most of 2021 with Memphis, making 14 starts and appearing in 22 total contests while compiling a 3.10 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and striking out 92 batters over 101.2 innings.

The Cardinals placed Flaherty (shoulder) on the 10-day injured list Monday, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.

Flaherty's absence is expected to extend into May, at which point he will likely revert from the 10-day IL to the 15-day IL. Since receiving a platelet-rich plasma injection March 18 to calm down the inflammation in his right shoulder, Flaherty has been cleared to participate in plyometric drills. He could begin a throwing program within the next few days, but he'll require multiple weeks to build up for starting duty after essentially missing all of spring training.

Matz is set to start the Cardinals' third game of the season April 10 versus the Pirates, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Matz hasn't had a great spring, allowing six runs on nine hits with five strikeouts across 3.2 innings. He'll likely get one more tuneup in Grapefruit League action before the team breaks camp. Matz was never in any real doubt for a rotation spot, but he has some work to do to get back into the form that allowed him to post a 14-7 record, 3.82 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 144:43 K:BB in 150.2 innings last season with Toronto.

Manager Derek Shelton said Sunday that Brubaker will start the Pirates' season opener April 7 in St. Louis, Justice delos Santos of MLB.com reports.

Scheduling more than anything may have factored into Brubaker getting the Opening Day nod, as Jose Quintana is the most accomplished starter on the roster, while Mitch Keller (0.93 ERA in 9.2 innings) has been the staff's top performer this spring. Brubaker has been serviceable in his own right through three Grapefruit League outings, and that coupled with his experience as a full-time member of the rotation when healthy a season ago was enough for him to earn the Opening Day assignment. Brubaker turned in a respectable 4.47 ERA and 88:19 K:BB in 88.2 first-half innings in 2021, but things fell apart following the All-Star break. Over his 35.2 innings after the break, Brubaker pitched to a 7.57 ERA and 1.65 WHIP while noticing huge spikes in his walk (11.4 percent) and home-run (2.52 HR/9) rates in comparison to the first half (1.83 and 5.4%, respectively).

Rockies manager Bud Black said that Senzatela has been scratched ahead of his scheduled Cactus League start Sunday against the White Sox due to a lower-leg issue, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports.

The skipper said the Rockies are just being "super cautious" with Senzatela, who is still expected to make his final start of the Cactus League slate either Monday against the Brewers or Tuesday against the Guardians. Kyle Freeland has been named as the Rockies' starter for the Opening Day game Friday against the Dodgers at Coors Field, while Senzatela and German Marquez are in line to start the final two games of next weekend in some order.

Clevinger was scratched from his scheduled Cactus League start Sunday against the Athletics due to a sore right knee and is expected to begin the season on the injured list, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports. "It felt like we were kind of in a rush job with him to begin with," Padres manager Bob Melvin said, in reference to getting Clevinger ready for Opening Day during a compressed spring training. "So [placing him on the IL] allows us to kind of smooth things out, slow it down."

If there's a positive takeaway from Clevinger and his fantasy investors, it's that he's not dealing with an arm-related injury as he makes his comeback from the Tommy John surgery he required in November 2020. The extent of Clevinger's injury isn't yet known, but even if his soreness proves to be only a minor concern, a brief IL stint looks to be in the forecast. San Diego added to its already robust collection of starting pitcher depth Sunday by acquiring Sean Manaea, who will make his Padres and Cactus League debut against his former Athletics squad just hours after being traded.

Strider is set to make Atlanta's Opening Day roster, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.

Barring any late roster additions, Strider, Tucker Davidson and William Contreras will be in the majors to open the season. Strider was competing for a rotation spot but will begin the campaign as a bullpen option, though he could also see some work as a sixth starter. The 23-year-old righty made his big-league debut with two appearances last season and spent most of the year at Double-A Mississippi, where he had a 4.71 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 94:29 K:BB over 63 innings.

Kelly allowed one run (none earned) on one hit and struck out five over four innings in Saturday's spring training start against the White Sox.

Kelly, the recipient of a contract extension earlier this week, fulfilled the organization's faith with a strong final Cactus League outing. He threw 62 pitches and was slated for a pitch count in the 70s, but the right-hander was removed because Arizona's offense had a long bottom of the fourth inning, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.

Atlanta optioned Muller to Triple-A Gwinnett on Sunday.

Muller's demotion likely leaves Tucker Davidson as Atlanta's No. 6 starter, should the club elect to expand beyond the five-man rotation setup it ran out for most of 2021. As a rookie last season, Muller made nine appearances (eight starts) for Atlanta, posting a 4.25 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 37:20 K:BB in 36.2 innings.

Reds manager David Bell said that Castillo (shoulder) will be aiming to return by mid-to-late April, Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Bell further said that Castillo will probably be limited to 3-to-4 innings when he ultimately returns. The same holds true for teammate Mike Minor. That means that for our purposes, Castillo will be difficult to activate until May.