MLB Player News

Alcantara is among the 15 Miami players who has recently tested positive for COVID-19 amid a team-wide outbreak, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports.

Along with Alcantara, Garrett Cooper, Jose Urena, Miguel Rojas, Harold Ramirez and Jorge Alfaro are the other known players to have tested positive for the coronavirus in the wake of the team's season-opening series in Philadelphia last weekend. Major League Baseball has since canceled all Marlins games this week, but Alcantara can't be considered a lock to be cleared to play when Miami returns to action Aug. 4 versus the Phillies. Alcantara previously submitted a dominant outing in his season debut in Philadelphia last Friday, covering 6.2 innings and allowing just two runs (one earned) on three hits and two walks while whiffing seven.

Davies (1-0) was charged with three runs (two earned) on five hits over five innings in a win over the Giants on Tuesday. He struck out five and did not issue a walk.

After five seasons in Milwaukee, Davies joined the Padres this past winter as part of the Trent Grisham-Luis Urias deal. He pitched well enough to get the win in his team debut, though the Giants' lineup is one of the worst in baseball and this was in San Francisco, so it's hard to get too excited about this performance. Davies is a finesse pitcher who throws 88 mph with a career K/9 a little over 6.0; he will need to be at the very top of his game if he's to achieve a similar result this weekend in Colorado.

Senzatela (1-0) allowed two runs on six hits and three walks while striking out three over five innings in a win over the A's on Tuesday.

There was some talk in summer camp of Senzatela simplifying his delivery and impressing with sharper secondary stuff. He was not a completely new pitcher in his 2020 debut -- Senzatela only induced five swinging strikes on 86 pitches -- but a road win in Oakland qualifies as a step in the right direction after he had a 6.71 ERA last season. We'll see what Senzatela can do this weekend at home against the Padres.

Kim will remain in the closer role for the time being irrespective of the vacancy in the starting rotation created by the forearm injury to Miles Mikolas, and despite Giovanny Gallegos' activation Tuesday, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports. "We made a move to put [Kim] in the back end of the bullpen," manager Mike Shildt said. "We did that because we have confidence in him, and [Daniel] Ponce [de Leon] is built up and ready to take that responsibility. So there's a number of factors into it, but that's the way we went."

Kim had been a finalist for the fifth starter's spot that went to Carlos Martinez, but even with Mikolas now out for the season, the first-year Cardinal will remain in a relief role, and the highest-leverage one at that despite Gallegos' availability. The southpaw has been used just once this season, converting a save chance Opening Night against the Pirates despite allowing an earned run on two hits. Despite the commitment to Kim for the moment, Shildt also reminded reporters that everything in the baseball world is "literally day by day right now" and that he therefore couldn't be certain how the team's starting rotation would evolve in coming weeks.

Buehler didn't factor into the decision in Tuesday's 5-2 win over the Astros, allowing two runs on three hits and a walk over 3.2 innings. He struck out three.

As expected, the right-hander was held to a limited workload and fired only 56 pitches (40 strikes) before exiting the game. Buehler was actually headed for a loss, but the Dodgers erupted for five runs in the fifth inning to take him off the hook. Look for Buehler to be stretched out into the 70-80 pitch range in his next outing, giving him a better chance at a decision.

Lorenzen allowed a two-run homer to Javier Baez in Tuesday's loss to the Cubs, giving him three homers allowed in three games. His ERA has now climbed to 16.88.

Lorenzen's fastball velocity is actually up so far this season, but in this instance Lorenzen got beat on an 86-mph slider, according to Baseball Savant. Baez crushed it, too, with an exit velocity of 105.1 mph.

Kershaw (back) completed a bullpen session Tuesday and is scheduled for another session Thursday, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

Manager Dave Roberts previously indicated there was a chance the veteran southpaw could step into the rotation Friday at Arizona, but he'll instead throw another bullpen. Kershaw threw 32 pitches during Tuesday's session and another 25 pitches in an up-and-down, so he should continue building from there Thursday. The 32-year-old could rejoin the Dodgers early next week if the next time on the mound goes as planned.

Kelly (1-0) notched the win in Tuesday's 4-1 victory over the Rangers, giving up one run on three hits and a walk over 7.2 innings. He struck out seven.

The right-hander took a no-hitter into the seventh inning before Rougned Odor connected on a solo shot to ruin Kelly's bid for history. If there's a note of concern with an otherwise stellar performance, it's that Kelly threw a whopping 104 pitches (71 strikes) -- a huge number for a first start, given the chaotic nature of the preparations for the campaign -- and that could encourage manager Torey Lovullo to find an extra day of rest for Kelly before his next outing. On the other hand, it's hard to argue with the results.

Wright (0-1) took the loss Tuesday against the Rays after surrendering five runs on four hits and three walks over 2.2 innings. He had three strikeouts.

The 24-year-old didn't give up any extra-base hits, but he had a difficult time keeping Tampa Bay off the basepaths before his early exit. Wright will look for a rebound performance at home against the Mets on Sunday.

Martinez (0-1) took the loss Tuesday as the Cardinals were dropped 6-3 by the Twins, surrendering six runs on seven hits and a walk over 3.2 innings. He struck out two.

Two of the hits off Martinez left the yard, including the Josh Donaldson blast in the fourth inning that chased him from the game. The right-hander threw 73 pitches (49 strikes), so he at least got a decent workload in, but the performance wasn't exactly a mark of confidence in the decision to keep Martinez in the rotation rather than move him back into the bullpen.