MLB Player News

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.

Wheeler (shoulder) completed a 42-pitch bullpen session Wednesday, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.

Wheeler is healthy again after a bout with shoulder soreness earlier in the offseason, but because the injury delayed him in his throwing progression, he's well behind the Phillies' other starting pitchers in spring training. After the extended bullpen session, Wheeler will advance to facing hitters in live batting practice, perhaps as soon as this weekend. If all goes well, Wheeler could make a Grapefruit League start next week, but he still doesn't look as though he'll be stretched out enough to start the Phillies' April 8 season opener versus the Athletics. Provided his shoulder provides no complications in his buildup program, Wheeler likely won't miss more than one turn through the rotation to begin the season.

Atlanta optioned Toussaint to Triple-A Gwinnett on Wednesday.

According to Jeff Schultz of The Athletic, manager Brian Snitker said that Atlanta didn't have enough innings available for Toussaint at the big-league level, so the right-hander will continue to stay stretched out at Gwinnett to begin the season. He'll likely be one of Atlanta's top internal candidates to step into the MLB rotation should the club lose a starter to injury.

May (elbow) began throwing off the slope of a mound Tuesday and is expected to throw his first post-Tommy John surgery bullpen session April 1, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

Considering May underwent the elbow procedure May 12 of last year, his recovery program is expected to extend deep into the 2022 campaign. The Dodgers already possessed ample rotation depth before May suffered the UCL tear last year, and the offseason pickups of Andrew Heaney and Tyler Anderson plus the potential return of Trevor Bauer from administrative leave lessens the need for Los Angeles to rush the 24-year-old back to action. If May makes enough progress to eventually rejoin the Dodgers in 2022, he may have to settle for a bullpen role.

The Marlins optioned Sanchez (shoulder) to Triple-A Jacksonville on Wednesday, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

Sanchez has yet to resume a throwing program since he was shut down earlier this month after experiencing continued discomfort in his surgically repaired right shoulder. At this stage, the Marlins aren't expecting him to be available until around midseason at the soonest, so the decision to remove him from the active roster doesn't come as a major surprise. Because Sanchez will likely be placed on Jacksonville's injured list rather than the Marlins', fantasy managers may not have the luxury of stashing the 23-year-old in a reserve slot during what's expected to be a prolonged absence to begin the season.

Heaney pitched 2.1 innings against the Reds in a Cactus League game Tuesday, allowing five runs on five hits and no walks while striking out two.

Heaney's first appearance of the spring got off to a disastrous start, as he allowed five sixth-inning runs, including three on a long ball off the bat of Kyle Farmer. He retired just one batter in that frame before he was pulled for a reliever, but thanks to modified spring training rules, Heaney was able to return to the game in the following inning. The left-hander recovered from there, completing two scoreless frames during which he gave up only one hit, yet he still ended up with an ugly line in the box score. Heaney will likely need to pitch much better moving forward this spring to beat out his competition for a starting spot in the Dodgers' rotation.