MLB Player News

Corbin threw four scoreless innings in Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Marlins, allowing three hits and no walks while striking out four.

It was a strong effort from the veteran southpaw, although it came against a Miami lineup with only a handful of big-league regulars in the lineup. Corbin tossed 57 pitches in the outing, and as Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post notes, he's now lined up to get the Opening Day start for the Nationals, although manager Dave Martinez has so far declined to name who will get that assignment. Corbin is looking to rebound from a rough 2021 in which he posted a career-worst 5.82 ERA with a 1.47 WHIP and an ugly 11.0 percent K-BB%.

Strasburg (neck) may not make his season debut until some time in May, Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post reports.

Nationals manager Dave Martinez dropped a couple breadcrumbs Wednesday regarding the team's plans for Strasburg, saying both that he wanted the right-hander to stay in the rotation once he joins it this season, and that he's expecting 20-25 starts from him. The high end of that range would suggest Strasburg will be making his 2022 debut in mid-May, although he could also make his first start sooner than that and get extra rest between turns over the summer to meet Martinez's target. Even that big a workload might be optimistic, however, as Strasburg has tossed only 26.2 big-league innings over the last two years and is coming back from thoracic outlet surgery, a procedure which so far has had a very spotty track record when it comes to pitchers regaining their prior form.

Kelly did not allow a hit and struck out eight over three scoreless innings in Wednesday's spring training game against the Giants.

Kelly mowed down mostly regulars in the San Francisco lineup, allowing one batter to make contact in fair territory. The right-hander was Arizona's most consistent starter in 2021 -- only a bout with COVID-19 interrupted his season. Kelly's velocity was up a tick as well, touching 94 and 95 mph. More than the results and velocity, Kelly was most pleased with his changeup, a pitch he worked on during the offseason, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports. "Mechanical tweaks, grips, just trying not to do too much with it. Just focus on throwing it and not trying to manipulate it," Kelly said. "I think I got a little too focused on trying to be too fine with it just because it wasn't doing what I thought it should do." Kelly started 27 games and went 7-11 with a 4.44 earned run average in 2021. Those aren't the best numbers he's had during his career, but the Diamondbacks did have the worst record in the majors last year, finishing 52-110.

Gore pitched three scoreless innings against the Angels in a Cactus League game Wednesday, allowing one hit while striking out five.

Gore was dominant in his second outing of the spring, giving up just a third-inning double to Orlando Martinez. The left-handed hurler has now pitched five scoreless Cactus League innings, giving up just one hit and no walks while whiffing seven. Gore's star faded a bit over the past two seasons, yet he has superb stuff and could still emerge as a top MLB pitcher. It remains to be seen whether the Padres would entertain the thought of allowing him to take an up-for-grabs rotation spot, but continued spring dominance could at least force the organization to give that scenario considerable thought.

Either Musgrove or Yu Darvish will start against the Braves on Opening Day, according to manager Bob Melvin, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Musgrove was statistically the Padres' best pitcher last season, posting career-best marks with 203 strikeouts, a 3.18 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. Meanwhile, Darvish enjoyed a strong start to his Padres tenure but faded in the second half, at least partly due to back and hip issues. The hurlers are expected to top the team's rotation again this season, and both are strong fantasy targets as third-or-fourth-tier starters.

Padres manager Bob Melvin said Tuesday that either Darvish or Joe Musgrove will start Opening Day against the Braves, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Darvish and Musgrove were San Diego's top starters last season, though back and hip issues contributed to a rough second half for Darvish. The veteran right-hander finished the campaign with a 4.22 ERA, yet his 1.09 WHIP was his best mark in a non-shortened season since 2013. Darvish is 35 years old, but he still has excellent strikeout stuff and could rebound from his post-July numbers last season if he can stay healthy.

Stroman gave up two runs on three hits across two innings in Wednesday's Cactus League game against the Athletics. He walked two and struck out three.

Stroman wasn't as sharp as he was in his first start of the spring Friday, when he logged two perfect innings with three strikeouts. The numbers don't matter much at this point, of course, as the righty is simply trying to gear up for the regular season. He figures to be a strong fantasy asset in his first year with the Cubs.

Manager Craig Counsell said Wednesday that Lauer (groin) is "full go" after being scratched from his scheduled Cactus League start against the White Sox on Tuesday, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

The Brewers considered Lauer's groin injury to be minor, and he was able to throw a side session Wednesday. The southpaw should be able to make his next turn through the rotation, and it's unlikely that his groin issue will impact his availability for Opening Day.

Manager David Bell named Mahle as the starter for Cincinnati's season opener against Atlanta on April 7, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

Sonny Gray was recently traded to the Twins and Luis Castillo is down with a shoulder injury, so Mahle will start Opening Day for the Reds. The 27-year-old entrenched himself in Cincinnati's rotation last season with a 3.75 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 210:64 K:BB across 180 innings (33 starts).

Paddack and the Padres agreed Tuesday on a one-year deal to avoid arbitration.

Though Paddack is officially on the books for 2022, his role heading into the season is in question. After turning in a 3.33 ERA and 0.98 WHIP over 140.2 innings as a rookie in 2019, Paddack's performance has dropped off considerably the past two years, with his lack of reliable offerings beyond his fastball and changeup largely contributing to his demise. While he once seemed like a long-term linchpin in the rotation, Paddack may find himself without a starting role to begin the season with Mike Clevinger (elbow) returning from Tommy John surgery and with the Padres adding Nick Martinez on a four-year, $25.5 million deal in free agency. Paddack's shallow repertoire would likely present fewer issues for him as a reliever and could even make him a valuable multi-inning weapon out of the bullpen, though the lack of a full-time starting role would make him less useful for fantasy purposes.