MLB Player News

Morton will pitch in a minor-league game on the back fields rather than starting Saturday's Grapefruit League matchup against the Yankees, Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Morton was scheduled to make his final Grapefruit League start Saturday, but he'll pitch in a different setting due to the threat of inclement weather. Saturday's throwing session should serve as the final tune-up before Morton starts Atlanta's second game of the regular season against Cincinnati on April 8.

Luzardo gave up one run on four hits and two walks over 4.2 innings in Friday's Grapefruit League game against the Astros. He struck out three.

Jose Altuve took him deep to lead off the bottom of the first inning, but after that Luzardo shut down a Houston lineup that mostly featured Opening Day starters. It was the young southpaw's first run allowed this spring, and he heads into the regular season having posted a 0.77 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 10:3 K:BB through 11.2 innings in Grapefruit League play. Luzardo is now on to his third organization since being drafted in 2016, but he might finally be ready to deliver on the promise he showed in the minors.

Freeland has been named the starter for the Rockies' Opening Day matchup against the Dodgers on April 8, Patrick Lyons of TheDNVR.com reports.

Freeland started Friday's Cactus League game against the Mariners and gave up an unearned run on three hits and no walks while striking out two in 5.1 innings. The southpaw had been working on his changeup earlier in camp, but he gave up at least three runs in each of his first two spring starts while testing the pitch. Freehand made 23 starts for the Rockies last year and posted a 4.33 ERA and 1.42 WHIP in 120.2 innings.

Falter threw three scoreless innings in Friday's Grapefruit League game against the Orioles, striking out one batter while hitting another and allowing just a single hit.

Falter's last two spring outings have seen him throw three frames. He was a starter in just one of his 22 appearances in his major-league debut last season but spent nearly the entirety of his minor-league career in a starting role. He'll be a candidate for a spot start early in the season if Zack Wheeler (shoulder) has to miss a turn at the start of the year but should spend the early part of the season in a multi-inning relief role.

Megill has a clear path to a rotation spot again, as Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports that Jacob deGrom will miss an extended period to being the season due to a stress reaction in his right scapula.

Megill appeared to lose his starting role after Chris Bassett was acquired from the Athletics in mid-March, but as the sixth starter behind a group of old and injury-prone arms, he was always likely to have plenty of opportunities. Those opportunities should now be available from the start of the regular season, as deGrom won't even throw for at least a month. Megill's 4.52 ERA from his 18-start debut last year was nothing special, but his 26.1 percent strikeout rate and 7.1 percent walk rate provide reason for optimism.

DeGrom (shoulder) was diagnosed with a stress reaction in his right scapula and will be shut down from throwing for four weeks, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

The right-hander will obviously miss Opening Day and is set to be re-evaluated after a month. DeGrom appeared to enter spring training healthy after battling elbow issues last season, but the stress reaction will instead cost him a significant portion of the 2022 campaign. Even if the 33-year-old starts throwing again immediately after the four-week shutdown, he'll likely be sidelined for at least another month as he builds up his arm strength. Tylor Megill should be the favorite for the vacant rotation spot to begin the season, though David Peterson figures to also be in the mix.

Gibson has struggled to a 6.75 ERA and 2.00 WHIP through eight Grapefruit League innings.

While it's not the spring Gibson would have wanted, it's unwise to overreact and adjust his ranking significantly based on a small sample of exhibition innings. He doesn't have particularly high fantasy appeal as a 34-year-old pitch-to-contact starter in one of the league's most hitter-friendly parks, but he's a fine late-round option in deeper leagues after producing a 3.71 ERA last season, the second-best mark of his seven-year career.

Wood has allowed just two runs on seven hits and a walk with 10 strikeouts in 10 innings across three Cactus League starts.

Wood allowed his first runs of the spring in Thursday's 13-2 win over the Rockies. The right-hander enjoyed a bounce-back campaign in pitcher-friendly Oracle Park last season, going 10-4 with a 3.83 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 152:39 K:BB across 138.2 innings. He's still more likely to end up toward the back of the Giants' rotation, but he's a solid and budget-friendly source of strikeouts. Regression shouldn't be much of a factor -- his 3.47 FIP last season suggests he was slightly unlucky, and it was in line with his previous work before his two-year slump in 2019 and 2020. Wood should be fine as long as he can avoid injury absences.

Miley has been shut down for 10 days due to left elbow inflammation, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Miley was delayed to start camp, but the Cubs claimed that wasn't due to an injury but rather due to the team's program for veterans. As it turns out, he's dealing with an injury after all, as an MRI revealed inflammation after he complained of elbow soreness. He's expected to resume throwing once his 10-day shutdown period is over, but he'll still have to finish his spring build-up at that point, so he'll miss multiple weeks to begin the season even if he avoids further setbacks.

Kelly signed a two-year, $18 million extension with Arizona that includes a team option for a third season Friday.

Kelly hasn't been anything special since making his major-league debut at age 30 back in 2019, but he's been perfectly adequate rotation filler, posting a 4.27 ERA. His low 20.2 percent strikeout rate caps his fantasy upside, but his 6.6 percent walk rate has largely been able to offset that, allowing him to prevent runs at a roughly league-average rate. He's now 33 years old and will be 35 by the time his extension ends, but the Diamondbacks evidently feel that he could still have something to offer at that age.