MLB Player News

Morton struck out three and walked one over three scoreless innings during Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the Red Sox.

The veteran right-hander got his spring off to a flying start. Morton stumbled to a 4.74 ERA and 1.39 WHIP in an abbreviated 2020 campaign with some serious regression in his strikeout rate (23.0 percent, after a career-high 30.4 percent in 2019), but Atlanta is counting on him to rebound to something closer to his 3.45 FIP and shore up the middle of the team's rotation after signing him to a one-year deal this offseason.

Stroman threw 52 pitches Sunday in his second spring start and was touching 93 mph with his fastball, Deesha Thosar of The New York Daily News reports. "My velocity - I have never seen 93-94 this early in spring training, ever," he said after the game.

The right-hander credits a workout and stretching routine with Mets trainers for his early March velocity, but it remains to be seen whether that translates into another gear during the regular season. Stroman posted a 3.22 ERA and 1.31 WHIP in 2019 before opting out last year, and he'll look to solidify the middle of the Mets' rotation this season.

Buehler tossed three innings in Sunday's Cactus League contest versus Texas, allowing four runs on five hits while striking out one.

Buehler retired the first two batters he faced before running into trouble Sunday, allowing two-out first-inning home runs to Joey Gallo and Rougned Odor. The right-hander surrendered another run in the second frame before finishing his day with a 1-2-3 third. The good news is that Buehler doesn't appear to be having any lingering issues with the blister that hampered him in September last season, and he is ramping up more rapidly than he did during summer camp prior to last year's abbreviated campaign. He should be good to go as one of the game's premier starters when the regular season rolls around.

Marlins manager Don Mattingly suggested Monday that Sanchez may be limited to around 75 pitches in his first start of the season, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

Though he has yet to make his Grapefruit League debut while the Marlins are electing to bring him along more slowly this spring than the team's other projected starters, Sanchez still appears on track to be ready to go for Opening Day. He completed a bullpen session Sunday, and the Marlins plan for him to throw a live batting practice session later this week before potentially clearing him for Grapefruit League action by mid-March. Based on where he currently stands in his build-up program, Sanchez probably won't be able to take on a normal starter's workload in his 2021 debut, but he should only need one or two starts to get his arm equipped to handle 100-pitch outings.

Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said that Strasburg (hand) would start Tuesday's Grapefruit League game against the Astros, Matt Weyrich of NBC Sports Washington reports.

Strasburg has been eased along slowly in spring training following his August surgery to address carpal tunnel neuritis, but he's thus far experienced no issues during the ramp-up process. After completing a simulated game last week without incident, Strasburg will hit the reach the final benchmark in his recovery process by getting back on the mound in a game setting. Expect Strasburg to be limited to around two innings Tuesday, but he should be ready to handle a normal starter's workload by the time his first turn in the rotation in the regular season comes up in early April.

Kelly allowed three runs on four hits and one walk while striking out two over three innings in Sunday's spring game against the Cubs.

Kelly was tagged for a pair of home runs -- solo shot by Willson Contreras in the first inning and a two-run blast by Anthony Rizzo in the third. The issue wasn't throwing strikes -- 31 of his 44 pitches were in the zone -- but rather where some of those strikes landed. Three of the four hits went for extra bases. "Not the best," Kelly told Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. "I wasn't as sharp as I'd like to be. I kind of felt like I needed to force the ball to the plate more than usual." The one positive takeaway is the curveball, which produced several swings-and-misses.

Darvish tossed two scoreless innings against Kansas City in a Cactus League contest Sunday, allowing one hit and no walks while striking out four.

Darvish made quite a first impression in his first outing as a Padre, working around a single to strike out the side in the first inning. He then retired the first two batters he faced in the second before finishing his appearance with another strikeout. San Diego has yet to name its Opening Day starter, but Darvish figures to be the early favorite for the honor given his dominant campaign in 2020.

Marquez allowed three hits and one walk while striking out one over three scoreless innings in Sunday's spring win over the White Sox. He didn't factor into the decision.

Marquez made his spring debut against Chicago on Sunday and allowed baserunners in each of his three innings, but he didn't encounter many issues during his scoreless outing. The right-hander wants to focus on making his pitches from the stretch going forward this spring, but he had a strong start to Cactus League play Sunday. Assuming he continues to pitch well in spring training, Marquez will likely serve as the Opening Day starter for the Rockies.

Senzatela (hamstring) threw a light side session Sunday with no issues, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports.

Senzatela suffered a minor hamstring strain during conditioning drills Monday and is expected to miss two spring starts as a result. However, the team hasn't expressed much concern regarding the injury. If he continues to throw with no issues, the right-hander could be able to return to spring games in the near future.

Lorenzen is the leading candidate to win the Reds' fifth-starter job, Bobby Nightengale of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports. "(Lorenzen's) in a good position to earn a starting spot, but we have a long way to go," manager David Bell said Friday. "It's a question as what's best for our team, best for our pitching staff. A lot goes into that, it's not just about any one pitcher."

Tejay Antone turned a lot of heads with his first spring training performance, and Lorenzen struggled as he purposefully backed off his velocity a bit. With this battle, as with many other spring training job battles, it serves well to remember that Opening Day is a starting point, not the finish line. It's still possible for both Lorenzen and Antone to start in the long run, even if things don't begin that way.