MLB Player News

Miley exited Thursday's spring training game with an apparent left leg injury, Charlie Goldsmith of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Miley was seen pointing to his left leg upon exiting the game. He exited the ballpark with a trainer but was walking under his own strength without a limp. Miley was seemingly locked into a rotation role, though it's unclear whether the injury will affect his status for the regular season.

Hendricks allowed four runs on seven hits across three innings in Thursday's Cactus League game against the Rockies. He struck out five.

Hendricks, who skipped his last potential spring start and threw a bullpen session instead, tossed 53 pitches in his outing. "It felt good to just get the pitch count up, honestly," Hendricks said, according to Jordan Bastian of MLB.com. "I felt really strong at the end there, had plenty left." He's still in line to start for the Cubs on Opening Day, though the team has yet to formally name a starter for the April 1 tilt against the Pirates.

Carrasco (elbow) hopes to resume playing catch Sunday, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Carrasco has been shut down recently after reporting elbow soreness, but he hasn't sounded too concerned about the issue. Manager Luis Rojas said that he could resume throwing Sunday, and the Mets are hopeful that the right-hander will be able to face hitters next week. Even if he plays catch Sunday, Carrasco will still need time to build up ahead of Opening Day, so it's not yet clear whether he'll be available to begin the year.

Flaherty allowed two earned runs on two hits and a walk while recording four strikeouts over four innings in a Grapefruit League loss to the Nationals on Wednesday.

Facing off against Max Scherzer, Flaherty gave a solid accounting of himself for the second time in less than a week against the Nationals after having faced part of their squad in a "B" game Friday. The right-hander now has strong back-to-back outings under his belt following a forgettable spring debut, and he was able to stretch out to 64 pitches in Wednesday's start.

Velasquez is at real risk of losing not just his rotation spot but his roster spot as well, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.

Velasquez has continually failed to deliver on his potential, posting an ERA of 4.85 or worse in each of the last four seasons. The ERA estimators have been a bit kinder to him, with both xFIP and SIERA giving him a mark of 4.75 or better in each of those campaigns, but he may simply be someone who consistently underperforms those metrics. The Phillies brought in veterans Matt Moore and Chase Anderson on big-league deals this offseason, and the plan appears to be for them to start. Velasquez's career 4.78 ERA as a reliever is a near match for his 4.72 mark as a starter, so the Phillies could elect to give his roster spot to someone else if he can't win a rotation role.

Anderson surrendered five earned runs in three innings against the Yankees on Wednesday, allowing eight hits and no walks while striking out a pair.

The lefty, who gave up homers to both Giancarlo Stanton and Gleyber Torres, is expected to start 2021 as part of the team's rotation. His home field, PNC Park, is ideal for left-handed pitchers. At best, he may serve as a streaming option against weak-hitting squads at home.

Cardinals manager Mike Shildt said Thursday that recent imaging conducted on Mikolas' right shoulder revealed no structural damage, Rob Rains of StLSportsPage.com reports. "Early returns are favorable," Shildt said. "Nothing in the imaging that dictated anything invasive."

Fortunately for Mikolas, he looks to be dealing with nothing more than soreness in his shoulder, so the Cardinals will have him back off his throwing program for a bit with the hope that extra rest helps remedy the issue. Even though he's not expected to be shut down for an extended period, Mikolas looks unlikely to be built up for a starter's workload by the time Opening Day arrives. If Mikolas indeed opens the season on the injured list, Daniel Ponce de Leon, John Gant and Johan Oviedo would likely be the top candidates to fill his spot in the rotation.

Fried struck out three and didn't walk a batter over four innings Wednesday against the Red Sox in his first game action of the spring, Gabriel Burns of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

The southpaw tossed 51 pitches and was in attack mode from the jump, throwing first-pitch strikes to 12 of the 15 batters he faced. "For me, my first couple spring-training starts, I'm normally trying to shy away from contact and trying to miss bats," Fried said afterwards. "Today, I wanted to attack hitters early, get some early contact and get the guys working behind me." He remains a candidate, and perhaps the favorite, to get the Opening Day assignment for Atlanta.

Walker tossed 36 pitches in his first game action of the spring Tuesday, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

The right-hander breezed through the first inning before running into trouble in the second, but his workload was the most important takeaway. Walker has enough time to get stretched out to about 90 pitches before Opening Day, and he's expected to slot into the No. 4 spot in the Mets' rotation.

Martinez fired three scoreless innings in a Grapefruit League loss to the Mets on Tuesday, allowing two hits and two walks while regarding three strikeouts.

The right-hander's strong effort validated the confident tone he'd sounded after a disastrous spring debut against the Astros on Thursday. Martinez stretched out to 53 pitches in Tuesday's start, throwing 33 for strikes to stay in the thick of the race for the No. 5 job in the starting rotation.