MLB Player News

Soroka threw a live batting practice session Friday, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.

The team will begin intrasquad scrimmages next week, but until then sessions like this will have to make do for the pitching staff. Soroka is likely to be among the Atlanta arms on limited pitch counts to begin the season, but his control and ability to generate weak contact could allow him to last five innings and qualify for wins even if he isn't ready for a full workload.

Corbin threw a bullpen session Friday, Jessica Camerato of MLB.com reports.

The Nats' top three starters (Corbin, Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg) all got in work Friday as the club tries to quickly ramp up before Opening Day later this month. There was no indication of how many pitches Corbin was able to throw, however, so while GM Mike Rizzo described him as being in "full bullpen mode," how close he is to being ready for the regular season is still unclear.

Strasburg threw a bullpen session Friday, Jessica Camerato of MLB.com reports.

The Nats' top three starters (Strasburg, Max Scherzer and Patrick Corbin) all got in work Friday as the club tries to quickly ramp up before Opening Day later this month. There was no indication of how many pitches Strasburg was able to throw, however, so while GM Mike Rizzo described him as being in "full bullpen mode," how close he is to being ready for the regular season is still unclear.

Flaherty received praise for his work during the Cardinals' first summer camp workout at Busch Stadium on Friday, Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

The staff ace and projected Opening Day starter wasted no time getting back into the thick of things, facing several of his teammates in live batting practice. Pitching coach Mike Maddux described Flaherty as being in midseason form to manager Mike Shildt, certainly an encouraging sign given the right-hander's importance to the team's fortunes.

Gomber, who posted an impressive 2.25 ERA over eight spring frames, worked the equivalent of three innings while facing hitters during the Cardinals' first summer camp workout Friday, Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Gomber's ability to fill a variety of roles for manager Mike Shildt seemingly gives the 26-year-old southpaw a solid chance of making the expanded 30-man Opening Day roster. Gomber earned the boss's praise for his work Friday, giving the young hurler a solid start to the ramp-up period for the regular season.

Kershaw hopes to build up to "near 100 pitches" by the start of the season, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

Kershaw indicated that he has already tossed simulated games of three and four innings and plans to hit the five-inning mark Monday. That could make his 100-pitch goal realistic, though an earlier report by MLB Network's Jon Morosi suggested that Dodgers pitchers are unlikely to throw beyond four innings in their first turn through the rotation. Observers shouldn't have to wait long to see if Kershaw's plan wins out as the southpaw is expected to be the team's Opening Day pitcher for the ninth time in his career.

Martinez was unable to participate in Friday's opening day of summer camp because of a pending COVID-19 test, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

The veteran right-hander was one of four players -- Genesis Cabrera, Ivan Herrera and Elehuris Montero being the other three -- that had been in the Dominican Republic during the shutdown and was awaiting the results of his test. Martinez and the rest of the group were tested Thursday morning, approximately a day later than originally planned because of a flight delay. Assuming a clean bill of health, Martinez may have his test results back in time to participate in Saturday's workout. If that happens, he'll begin his quest to tighten his grip on a rotation spot.

Mikolas, who has been deemed fully recovered from a flexor tendon strain in his right forearm, was able to work up to approximately 40 pitches in a Friday bullpen session at Busch Stadium, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports. "It was pretty sore [in March] and I was just getting started on the rehab program," Mikolas said. "Now, full-go bullpens. Looking forward to my first live BP coming up, and ready to go."

Much like teammate Paul Goldschmidt, the veteran right-hander was able to utilize the nearly four months off from official baseball activities and games to overcome an injury that was projected to have him miss the originally scheduled Opening Day. Mikolas' activity level Friday seems to corroborate that his arm is back to full health, and he'll take another step toward his regular-season readiness when he faces teammates in live batting practice over the coming days.

Kelly faced batters Friday for what amounted to three innings of work, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports.

Kelly threw a total of 50 pitches and looked "very crisp," according to manager Torey Lovullo. The right-hander is the presumed front-runner to claim the No. 5 starting job, a spot that was slated for Mike Leake before the veteran opted out for the 2020 season.

Stroman wasn't participating in the Mets' workouts Friday, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports.

The team didn't provide any specifics as to why Stroman and teammate Amed Rosario didn't work out with the team Friday, and it's unclear whether they were at the facility. It's unclear when Stroman is expected to take the field.