MLB Player News

Nix has been working on his slider, Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports.

Along with his improved slider, Nix believes improved health -- he underwent sports hernia surgery in the offseason -- will lead to a more consistent sophomore season. The right-hander relied primarily on a fastball, curveball and changeup in his rookie season, going 2-5 with a 7.02 ERA and 21:13 K:BB across nine starts (42.1 innings). Nix, who is competing for a rotation spot in camp, has allowed one run with a 3:3 K:BB through two spring appearances (4.2 innings).

Kershaw (shoulder) played catch Friday and told manager Dave Roberts afterwards that he felt good, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports. "We're pretty encouraged," Roberts said.

Kershaw played catch without issue for a second consecutive day, throwing at about 80 percent from 60 feet in Friday's session. According to Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times, the southpaw is expected to ramp things up "in length and intensity" Saturday. Kershaw remains day-to-day, though he's certainly trending in the right direction.

Ryu is working on adding a slider to his pitch mix, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

Ryu threw a slider early on in his career, though he phased the pitch out over the past two seasons in favor of a cutter. The southpaw is planning to reintroduce the pitch in 2019, adding it to a repertoire that already features a fastball, cutter, curveball and changeup. Ryu has yet to test the pitch out this spring, though that hasn't stopped him from impressing early on -- he fired another two scoreless innings in Friday's game against the Padres, allowing two hits while striking out two.

Quintana pitched two scoreless innings and picked up the win in Friday's Cactus League game against the Diamondbacks. He gave up one hit and struck out one.

Quintana is coming off a 2018 season in which he compiled a respectable 4.03 ERA and 1.32 WHIP across 174.1 innings. The Cubs are certainly hoping he comes closer to the numbers he posted in his last full season with the crosstown White Sox in 2016, however, when he produced a 3.20 ERA and 1.16 ERA across 208 innings to go along with 192 strikeouts. The 30-year-old lefty certainly has the skills to take a step forward statistically in 2019.

Burnes took the loss Friday against the Mariners, allowing five runs on six hits and one walk across 1.1 innings. He struck out one.

Burnes struggled in his second spring appearance after firing a scoreless inning in his Cactus League debut earlier in the week. Three of the six hits he allowed went for extra bases, including a pair of solo homers and a run-scoring double. The young right-hander did strike out Mitch Haniger on three pitches before exiting. Burnes will look to get back on track in his next outing as he competes for an Opening Day rotation spot.

Buehler continues to build up slowly in camp but is expected to be ready to go by Opening Day, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

The Dodgers appear to be treating Buehler very cautiously after his innings jumped from 98 to 177 (including the postseason) last year. With little reason to waste his likely still-limited innings on preseason games, Buehler still has two bullpen sessions and a live batting practice session to go before he gets into game action. The team's approach could foretell careful management throughout the season, but the fact that Buehler remains uninjured is still a positive.

Gausman (shoulder) expects to be able to take his first turn through the rotation in the regular season, Kevin McAlpin of 680 The Fan Atlanta reports.

Gausman is about a week behind the rest of the Braves' starters due to shoulder soreness, but both the team and the pitcher himself have seemed relatively unconcerned about the issue. That's good news for Atlanta, with Mike Foltynewicz (elbow), Mike Soroka (shoulder) and Luiz Gohara (shoulder) all banged up as well.

Toussaint gave up five runs on four hits and a walk in only one inning during Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Tigers. He struck out two.

The 22-year-old is one of the favorites to break camp as the Braves' fifth starter, with Max Fried as his primary competition at the moment, but Toussaint hasn't exactly put his best foot forward to begin the spring, posting a 21.00 ERA through his first three innings. He still has time to settle down, and his 4:1 K:BB is encouraging, but the organization has plenty of other young arms waiting in the wings if Toussaint flops.

Mikolas pitched three innings and didn't allow a run on five hits and a walk Thursday against the Mets.

Mikolas has yet to surrender a run through two starts, although he's surprisingly struck out just one batter through five frames. The punchouts will undoubtedly start to accumulate as he nears midseason form. The 30-year-old right-hander will be leaned on heavily by the Cardinals once again this season, and he should be highly motivated to build off a successful 2018 campaign after agreeing to a four-year, $68 million contract extension Tuesday.

Hendricks said using his curveball more often is a "point of emphasis" this spring, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

Hendricks relied mostly on his fastball, sinker and changeup last season, mixing in the curveball 7.6 percent of the time. However, the righty wants to work with it more in Cactus League action, which could carry over to the regular season if he finds success. "Just being able to see it, see where I can use it in spots, working with more confidence," Hendricks said. The 29-year-old has been consistently strong for the Cubs the past four seasons and will look to keep things rolling in 2019.