MLB Player News

Flaherty allowed one run on two hits and two walks over three innings while striking out two in Thursday night's intrasquad game at Busch Stadium, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

The staff ace threw 43 pitches overall, and he got out of a particularly tight jam in the third after loading the bases with a walk to Justin Williams and back-to-back singles from Edmundo Sosa and Dexter Fowler. Flaherty ultimately only allowed one run on an RBI fielder's choice by Tommy Edman and was able to get in a solid amount of work, lending credence to the notion he could be ready for at least a five-inning workload in a July 24 Opening Day start against the Pirates.

Strasburg threw 52 pitches Friday, Jessica Camerato of MLB.com reports.

The individual workloads of starting pitchers in their first few outings this season could wind up being quite varied due to the abbreviated summer camp and the differing situations for players during the shutdown period. Strasburg will aim for 60 to 65 pitches in his next session. It's unclear if that will leave him room to build up to a full workload by the start of the season, with Opening Day less than two weeks away, but he should still be able to handle a fair number of innings in his season debut.

Kelly threw four innings and 67 pitches in an intrasquad game Wednesday, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports.

This was Kelly's second throwing session of summer camp as he works toward joining the rotation as a replacement for Mike Leake, who opted out of the season. He got knocked around, giving up three home runs during the session. The right-hander is competing with left-hander Alex Young as the main contenders for the No. 5 job.

Small was added to the Brewers' 60-man roster Thursday.

After serving as a non-roster invitee during spring training, Small will be able to develop among other top prospects within the organization at the team's alternate training site this year. The left-hander made two appearances in Cactus League play, allowing one earned run on one hit and three walks while striking out three over 1.2 innings.

Quantrill's swingman role will take on extra importance in the 60-game 2020 season, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

Though Quantrill is not expected to open the season in the starting rotation, his ability to make spot starts could be critical given the uncertainty of the upcoming campaign. Even if he is used strictly out of the bullpen, the 25-year-old could find himself pitching multiple relief innings if a starter is pulled early, a scenario made more likely by the urgency of each game and the presence of a designated hitter in the National League. Quantrill was used primarily as a starter in his first big-league stint last season, compiling 5.16 ERA and 1.30 WHIP over 103 total innings.

Hamels (shoulder) is not yet scheduled to begin throwing live batting practice, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

Hamels -- who is slowly working his way back from an offseason shoulder issue -- has thrown multiple bullpen sessions since reporting to summer camp, though it remains to be seen when he'll be cleared to face live hitters. At this point, even if the veteran left-hander assumes a spot near the back of Atlanta's rotation and pitches two or three innings in his first outing, he's running out of time to get ready for the start of the season, which is just over two weeks away.

Martinez looked sharp in his first bullpen session of summer camp Tuesday, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports. "Everybody was very pleased with how it came out, sharp, just very impressed by the whole way he went about it," manager Mike Shildt said. "Ball was coming out, secondary pitches, command -- very positive feedback."

Now that he's finally in summer camp after a delay of a few days, all eyes are on Martinez, whose role to start the season remains somewhat undefined for the moment. The veteran right-hander was seemingly on his way to securing a rotation spot at the time spring training was suspended, and he remained in excellent shape during the shutdown by throwing regularly. Martinez noted Tuesday he'd just thrown 95 pitches over the equivalent of seven innings in his last live batting practice in the Dominican Republic before flying to St. Louis, so his arm should be ready for a fairly healthy workload. However, the question remains whether his early season opportunities will come in the rotation or out of the bullpen, as there's a chance Martinez cedes the No. 5 starter role to Kwang-Hyun Kim and is temporarily deployed as the closer if Giovanny Gallegos continues to experience travel delays in Mexico for an extended period.

Liberatore was added to the Cardinals' 60-player roster pool Wednesday and was assigned to the alternate training site in Springfield, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

The young southpaw is one of the organization's top prospects, so it's not surprise to see it prioritizing his development in the 60-man pool. Liberatore spent 2019 at Low-A Bowling Green and delivered a 3.10 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 76:31 K:BB across 78.1 innings.

Gonsolin is taking part in workouts at the Dodgers' facility Wednesday, David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports reports.

The 26-year-old missed the first few days of summer training for unspecified reasons, but he'll now begin ramping up for the start of the season. David Price opted out of the 2020 season over the weekend, which could provide Gonsolin a chance to push for a rotation spot, assuming he can get built up to a starter's workload by Opening Day.

Peterson is expected to be the Mets' first depth option in the rotation should one of the team's five starters miss time, Tim Britton of The Athletic reports.

Not only would Peterson be the likely replacement this season if one of Jacob deGrom, Marcus Stroman, Rick Porcello, Steven Matz or Michael Wacha miss time, but he is also poised to be a part of the 2021 rotation, with Noah Sydergaard (elbow) expected to miss the first couple months and Stroman, Porcello and Wacha set to be free agents after this season. Peterson is often tabbed as a future back-end starter, but he has good command of a quality three-pitch mix and is excellent at generating groundballs, so he could outperform expectations. He has never pitched above Double-A, however, so it would be unwise to expect him to have success right away if he is forced into action this season.