MLB Player News

Darvish's next start has been moved from Friday to Saturday, but will still be against the Brewers, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports.

Due to Tuesday's game against the Reds being postponed, the Cubs' rotation has been pushed back a day. Darvish will have an extra day to rest as he prepares for his upcoming matchup against Milwaukee and looks to improve on a rough season debut in which he allowed five runs on five hits and two walks over 4.1 innings.

Hendricks' next scheduled start has been moved to Friday against the Brewers, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports.

Hendricks had been scheduled to start Thursday's series opener versus Milwaukee. He'll still face the Brewers as planned, but will have an extra day to rest as Tuesday's game against the Reds was postponed, resulting in all of Chicago's starters being pushed back a day.

Nix (groin) will be delayed to start the year, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

It was previously reported that he was dealing with a lower-leg injury, but Sanders says it's a groin ailment. Look for Nix to be eased back in extended spring training before being assigned to Double-A. While he has good stuff, Nix has not been able to miss bats at a high clip thus far in pro ball, portending a possible relief role long term.

Paddack is expected to be assigned to an affiliate in late April, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

He is no longer injured, but after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2016 and missing all of 2017, Paddack will be on a strict innings limit this year, so there was no sense in rushing him out to an affiliate. Paddack is currently pitching in extended spring training. He has impressed evaluators with his stuff this spring, and could shoot up lists after he gets back in game action at either Low-A or High-A.

Gore, who will open the year at Low-A Fort Wayne, is being prepared for a fast track through the minor-league ranks, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports. "He's going to move fast enough to where we're going to need to put a lot of innings on him so that he's ready," farm director Sam Geaney said.

It sounds like Gore could be this season's Forrest Whitley -- a prep pitcher from the previous year's draft class who starts at Low-A and finishes the year at Double-A. Gore threw approximately 80 innings as a high school junior and roughly 100 innings last year between his final high school season and his pro debut in the AZL. It seems logical that he will approach 130 innings in 2018 if he stays healthy. Gore is a special left-handed pitching prospect who has frontline upside and should be owned in all dynasty leagues.

Manager Don Mattingly said Despaigne will shift to the bullpen, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports.

With the way their off days line up, the Marlins can afford to go with a four-man rotation for a little while, so Despaigne will shift to a relief role while Jose Urena, Caleb Smith, Dillon Peters and Trevor Richards hold down the rotation. The 30-year-old tossed a scoreless inning of relief in his first appearance of the year, but was tagged for five runs (four earned) across five innings in his first start. It's unclear if he'll rejoin the rotation when the Marlins need a fifth starter next.

Lopez will begin the season on the minor-league disabled list due to an arm injury, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports.

The pitching prospect was hit on his throwing arm by a comebacker a couple weeks ago, and it appears he's still building back up from that incident. The team doesn't think this issue is very serious, so don't expect Lopez to miss much time.

Ryu allowed three runs on five hits and five walks across 3.2 innings en route to a no-decision Monday against the D-Backs. He struck out two.

Ryu could hardly find the strike zone in this one, throwing just 53 percent of his pitches over the plate before leaving with an elevated pitch count. He was staked to an early lead but allowed the hosts to score in three different innings as they came roaring back before winning in extras. It was a difficult matchup for Ryu in his season debut, but the results did little to inspire confidence in him ahead of Sunday's outing against the Giants.

Walker didn't factor into the decision during Monday's start against the Dodgers, allowing three runs on eight hits and two walks across five innings. He struck out four.

All three runs on Walker's ledger came in the first inning, when he allowed an RBI single to Corey Seager before Yasmani Grandal launched a two-run home run to right. He settled down over the next four frames, however, and allowed his team to climb back into the game before winning in extra innings. It wasn't the best season debut for Walker, but he'll face a more favorable matchup against the Cardinals on the road in his next outing.

Mikolas (1-0) allowed four runs on seven hits with five strikeouts over 5.2 innings to pick up the victory Monday against Milwaukee.

Mikolas was touched for three home runs by the Brewers and was only spared from further damage by his control, as Mikolas didn't walk a single batter. Perhaps he needed to nibble a bit more, but the last homer came with the Cardinals nursing a six-run lead, a time when the command from the manager is to simply throw strikes. Mikolas was otherwise solid, as he induced 10 swinging strikes over 91 pitches, and it will be interesting to see what he does in a more tightly contested start.