MLB Player News

Greinke was named the Diamondbacks' Opening Day starter versus the Dodgers.

The announcement comes as little surprise as Greinke receives the team's Opening Day nod for the third time in four years. The 35-year-old had a subpar 4.37 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 7.6 K/9 during his first year in Arizona in 2016, but has since posted a 3.20 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 9.1 K/9 across the past two seasons.

Hill has a 3.27 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 11 strikeouts against no walks through 11 innings in Cactus League play this spring.

Hill has historically struggled in spring training during his career, but he's been solid in the Cactus League this spring and looks to be healthy ahead of the regular season. He had a 3.66 ERA and 1.12 WHIP over 132.2 innings last year, and the 39-year-old has emerged as a candidate to start Opening Day for the Dodgers with staff ace Clayton Kershaw (shoulder) confirmed to be sidelined. As long as he stays healthy and part of the rotation, Hill is a good candidate to act as a ratio stabilizer, although he shouldn't be considered likely to log a high number of innings given his age and injury history.

Nix was diagnosed with torn UCL in his right elbow Tuesday and will visit Dr. Neal ElAttrache to determine whether to undergo surgery, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Nix was shut down Thursday after experiencing arm soreness and the underlying injury could end up costing him a significant chunk of time. The 23-year-old made his MLB debut last season and made nine starts with a 7.02 ERA and 1.54 WHIP and was competing for a spot in the starting rotation this spring. Pending Dr. ElAttrache's opinion, Nix could return to throwing in 6-to-8 weeks as the initial diagnosis was a low-grade strain, according to AJ Cassavell of MLB.com.

Manager Dave Roberts confirmed Kershaw (shoulder) will open the season on the injured list, Pedro Moura of The Athletic reports.

Kershaw has already been ruled out for Opening Day, so this isn't all too surprising. The southpaw is scheduled to face live hitters Wednesday, after which a more concrete return date will hopefully come into focus. He isn't expected to pitch in the team's exhibition Freeway Series next week, as this would allow the Dodgers to backdate his IL move three days, making him eligible to return April 5 against the Rockies, if all goes as planned. It's still unclear who will start in place of Kershaw on Opening Day.

Darvish isn't worried about the blister that forced him to prematurely exit Tuesday's game against the Mariners, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Darvish said he didn't feel the blister until his final pitch. The right-hander said the issue will be treated with laser therapy and cream, and he doesn't believe it will force him to miss a start. If all goes as planned, Darvish is hoping to play catch Wednesday before throwing a bullpen session Friday. It remains a situation to monitor with Opening Day rapidly approaching.

Darvish was removed from Tuesday's game against the Royals due to a blister on his right ring finger, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports.

The severity of the issue remains unknown at the moment, but it's worth noting that Darvish looked to be in good spirits as he exited the field. With Opening Day less than two weeks away, this will be a situation to monitor.

Darvish left his start Tuesday against the Royals after just 3.2 innings with a team trainer, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports.

The nature of the injury is unclear, but the trainers and manager Joe Maddon were looking at Darvish's fingers, suggesting a potential blister. The good news is Darvish didn't look too concerned as he left the field, but a clearer picture should emerge soon.

Anderson has given up 11 hits and seven earned runs over eight innings of work in Cactus League play this spring.

It's been tough sledding in the Cactus League thus far for the left-hander, who is sporting a 7.88 ERA and 1.75 WHIP. He maintained a firm grasp on a role at the back end of Colorado's rotation last year, but the 4.55 ERA that he posted over 176 innings was also subpar, so the 29-year-old is difficult to trust for the time being.

Nolasco was assigned to minor-league camp Tuesday.

Nolasco was always a long shot to break camp with the team, and his three earned runs in 3.2 spring innings didn't help his case. The 36-year-old isn't a great bet to make a big-league impact this year, as he last pitched back in 2017 and had a 4.92 ERA in that season.

Gausman threw 58 pitches in a minor-league game Tuesday but will need to get up to 90 pitches before he's considered ready to go, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

Gausman is behind schedule due to a minor shoulder issue which delayed him earlier in camp. He's not yet a lock for the Opening Day roster. The Braves have two off days in the first six days of the season, so they can afford to skip his turn once if he's only slightly behind.