MLB Player News

The Padres named Darvish their starting pitcher for the April 7 season opener in Arizona.

Darvish and Joe Musgrove were in the mix to take the mound Opening Day, but Darvish will ultimately get the nod after allowing a run on five hits and no walks while striking out 10 in seven innings across his first two spring starts. After a career year with the Cubs in 2020, the right-hander struggled during his first season with the Padres, finishing the 2021 campaign with a 4.22 ERA and 1.09 WHIP in 166.1 innings across 30 starts.

Senzatela (0-1) allowed five runs on three hits and three walks while striking out three in four innings to take the loss in Tuesday's Cactus League matchup against the Angels.

Senzatela made his spring debut Tuesday, and he issued a pair of two-out walks in the outing while also giving up two homers with two outs in the top of the fourth inning. The right-hander has said this spring he's focused on limiting his mistakes after he posted a 4.42 ERA and 1.34 WHIP in 156.2 innings across 28 starts last year. While Tuesday's results weren't encouraging, he doesn't appear to be in danger of losing his rotation spot ahead of the regular season.

Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said Wednesday that Morton will start the team's second game of the season April 8 against the Reds, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.

Morton's availability for the start of the season initially appeared iffy after he suffered a fractured fibula in the World Series, but he made a speedier recovery than anticipated and reported to spring training at close to 100 percent. He proved his health in his Grapefruit League debut last weekend against the Rays, striking out five over 4.2 scoreless frames. According to O'Brien, Morton is scheduled to make another spring start Saturday against the Yankees in what will be his final tune-up outing prior to Opening Day.

Gallen (shoulder) allowed one hit and struck out two over 2.2 scoreless innings in Wednesday's spring training start against the Rockies.

Gallen, whose shoulder inflammation delayed his Cactus League debut until Wednesday, impressed in his first game action. He routinely hit 94-95 mph, threw 36 pitches, then another nine in the bullpen, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. "It was coming out pretty good. Delivery felt pretty good. Everything was kind of there for strikes," the right-hander said. That he threw 45 pitches puts him on a track where he could pitch during the first week of the regular season. Gallen will make one more Cactus League start, presumably next Monday, in which he could get up to the four-inning/60-pitch range, setting him up to log five innings in his first regular-season start.

Atlanta announced Wednesday that Fried will start its April 7 season opener versus the Reds.

The decision for the Opening Day nod came down to Fried and Charlie Morton, with manager Brian Snitker ultimately favoring the former while the latter gears up for a return from the fractured leg he suffered in the World Series. After ranking among MLB's ERA leaders with a 2.25 mark during the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign, Fried took only a marginal step back in 2021 (3.04) over a much larger sample of 165.2 innings. The lefty also delivered a 1.09 WHIP for the second year in a row, struck out nearly a batter per inning (8.6 K/9) and rolled to 14 wins. With an excellent offense backing him as he heads into his age-28 season, Fried should remain a strong four-category contributor in 2022. He looks like a solid No. 2 or 3 starter for the majority of fantasy squads.

Wheeler (shoulder) will start Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Blue Jays, Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Wheeler threw 42 pitches in a bullpen session last week and will make his appearance in a spring game Saturday. While the right-hander was slightly delayed early in spring training due to shoulder soreness, he'll have a chance to avoid a stint on the injured list to begin the regular season as long as Saturday's Grapefruit League appearance goes well.

Lodolo appears to be the leading candidate to start the Reds' sixth game of the season April 13 against the Guardians in Cincinnati, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

While addressing the media Wednesday, manager David Bell laid out his pitching plans for the start of the season. With both Luis Castillo (shoulder) and Mike Minor (shoulder) opening the year on the injured list, the skipper said that Tyler Mahle will get the Opening Day nod April 7 in Atlanta, while Reiver Sanmartin, Vladimir Gutierrez and Hunter Greene will follow Mahle in succession for the remaining three games of the series. After an off day April 11, Mahle will start the Reds' home opener a day later against Cleveland, but Bell is leaving the door open for a fifth starter to enter the mix April 13. Since neither Castillo nor Minor will be available by then, Lodolo looks like the most logical choice for the fifth and final spot in the rotation, assuming the Reds elect not to play service-time games with him. How long he sticks in Cincinnati's rotation will likely be dictated by how he performs in his initial big-league action, but Lodolo's dominance in the upper levels of the minors in 2021 provides reason to be optimistic that he'll find success. Over 13 starts between Double-A Chattanooga and Triple-A Louisville, the 6-foot-6 lefty turned in a 2.31 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and 78:11 K:BB across 50.2 innings while holding opposing hitters to a .207 average.

Manager David Bell said Wednesday that Greene will start the Reds' fourth game of the season April 10 in Atlanta, Bobby Nightengale of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Though Greene and fellow young pitchers Nick Lodolo, Reiver Sanmartin and Vladimir Gutierrez were expected to battle for two available rotation spots entering spring training, the Reds will likely have room for all four since Luis Castillo (shoulder) and Mike Minor (shoulder) are set to begin the season on the injured list. Because the Reds have an off day April 11, there was some risk of Greene heading to the minors until a fifth starter was first needed in the second week of the season, but Lodolo looks to be the pitcher that will temporarily find himself as the odd man out. The 22-year-old Greene didn't seem to be hampered by losing two consecutive seasons of development time to Tommy John surgery and the COVID-19 pandemic, as he turned in a 3.30 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 139:39 K:BB across 106.1 innings between Triple-A Louisville and Double-A Chattanooga in 2021. Greene's workload will likely be monitored carefully throughout his rookie season, but his triple-digit fastball and hard slider should allow him to deliver strong strikeout totals on a per-inning basis as he makes the jump to the majors.

Manager David Bell said Wednesday that Gutierrez will start the Reds' third game of the season April 9 in Atlanta, Bobby Nightengale of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Coming into the spring, Gutierrez was expected to battle prospects Reiver Sanmartin, Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo in the Opening Day rotation, but the Reds will have room for all four pitchers with Luis Castillo (shoulder) and Mike Minor (shoulder) both set to begin the season on the injured list. Though he wasn't a heralded prospect entering the 2021 campaign, Gutierrez fared well following an early-season call-up from Triple-A Louisville and ended up sticking in the rotation for much of the year. Gutierrez wasn't especially interesting from a fantasy standpoint, however, as he finished with a 4.74 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and 8.5 K-BB% in 114 innings with the Reds. His low strikeout rate (17.7 percent) makes him a lower-upside fantasy target than all of Sanmartin, Greene and Lodolo, even though he may have greater job security than all of the prospects.

Urena's contract was selected by the Brewers on Wednesday, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Urena signed a minor-league deal with Milwaukee on Tuesday and will be added to the 40-man roster a day later. He made 26 appearances (18 starts) for the Tigers last year and posted a 5.81 ERA and 1.60 WHIP in 100.2 innings. The right-hander should serve as a long reliever for the Brewers and will be available to serve as a spot starter, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.