MLB Player News

Kershaw spent time at the Driveline Baseball academy in the offseason, Pedro Moura of The Athletic reports.

While Kershaw enjoyed another All-Star season in 2019, he posted a 3.03 ERA -- his highest since his rookie campaign. Kershaw still holds a place among baseball's top pitchers, and the Dodgers and fantasy managers should be optimistic about the knowledge he gathered at Driveline considering the program's esteemed reputation. Any tangible improvement could vault the southpaw back into the top 10 among fantasy starters.

Darvish, who is slated to make his spring training debut Saturday, is a likely candidate to start Opening Day, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

After Darvish pitches in a Cactus League game Saturday, he'll line up well for the March 26 opener in Milwaukee. The Japanese righty struggled early in 2019 but finished the season with a flourish, and he could be ready to truly serve as the ace the Cubs thought they were getting when they doled out $126 million a few years ago, assuming he stays healthy.

Parsons will pitch as a starter this season after spending last season in a relief role, Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post reports.

All of Parsons' 33 big-league appearances to date have come out of the bullpen. He hasn't had much success, struggling to a 5.67 ERA and an awful 29:32 K:BB. It's hard to see him making much of an impact in the Rockies' rotation this season, and harder still to see a pitcher with his shaky track record becoming a viable fantasy option at Coors Field.

Quintana (illness) will throw a bullpen session Tuesday, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Quintana had been slowed by the flu in recent days, but he appears to be over the illness. He should have plenty of time to get ready for Opening Day.

Gallen retired all six batters faced, striking out one, in two scoreless innings of a spring game against the Giants on Monday.

Aside from an extended at-bat after starting 0-2 against San Francisco first baseman Brandon Belt, Gallen impressed in his Cactus League debut. It would be shocking if the right-hander opens anywhere other than Arizona's rotation. and he'll perhaps be slotted as high as third, but the Diamondbacks have not yet confirmed Gallen's role.

Martinez, who threw 34 pitches Sunday in a Grapefruit League tie against the Mets, emerged from the outing without any shoulder issues and played catch Monday, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

The right-hander is vying for a return to the starting rotation this spring, and with Miles Mikolas (forearm) slated to miss the start of the regular season, Martinez looks to have a clear path to his goal. The veteran's outing against New York was a mixed bag, with Martinez cruising through his first frame before surrendering a pair of walks that helped lead to two earned runs in the next inning. Manager Mike Shildt has emphasized that how Martinez recovers and prepares between outings will be of overriding importance in determining if he can reclaim a rotation spot this season. "I think games are going to matter, of course," Shildt said. "It's just really about what he does during the work and how he recovers in between the games that's really going to dictate as we try to ramp him up."

Gray (elbow) is scheduled to make his first start of the spring Wednesday against the Mariners, according to MLB.com.

Gray spent the offseason working his way back from elbow surgery, and it appears everything went off without a hitch. Barring any setbacks this spring, Gray figures to take the ball at some point during the Reds' season-opening series with the Cardinals.

Matz is focused on staying aggressive this spring after changing his approach following a brief demotion to the bullpen last season, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

The southpaw is battling with Rick Porcello and Michael Wacha for the final two spots in the Mets' rotation this spring, but the fact that he would be the only left-hander in the group, as well as his holdover status, would seem to give Matz the edge. Prior to his demotion to a relief role last July, he'd posted a 6.21 ERA in the first innings of his starts, but Matz then learned to be more aggressive attacking hitters rather than being overly concerned over which of his pitches were "working" on any given day. He posted a 3.52 ERA over his final 14 starts after rejoining the rotation, allowing only one first-inning run along the way. "Some days, you just feel like you don't have it," Matz said. "And so sometimes, you've got to just trust -- trust that what you have, all the work you put in, all the preparation that you put in, that it's going to be there, instead of, 'I don't feel like I have a good curveball today,' so you shy away from it or whatever. You put in all these hours of work, just trust it, go out and execute. That mentality, I think translates well for me."

Soroka (groin) tossed an inning of live batting practice Monday and noted afterward that he felt good during the workout, Gabe Burns of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

A sore groin prevented Soroka from toeing the rubber over the weekend as Atlanta opened its Grapefruit League schedule, but the right-hander looks like he'll be ready to make his spring debut later this week. Soroka could be in the mix for Atlanta's Opening Day assignment after posting a 2.68 ERA and 1.11 WHIP across 174.2 innings during his age-21 campaign in 2019.

Williams gave up four earned runs on four hits and a walk in two innings Sunday against the Phillies. He hit one batter, threw one wild pitch and finished with zero strikeouts.

Williams certainly didn't get off to a great Grapefruit League start, but he'll get plenty more chances as the team's third starter. The righty compiled an amazing second half in 2018 -- 1.29 ERA in 76.2 innings -- but he pitched closer to his expected numbers in 2019. His 5.38 ERA last summer nearly mirrored his xFIP of 5.25.