MLB Player News

Eflin was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Monday.

Eflin was battling for the fifth starter role with Ben Lively but ended up losing out. Eflin's spring ERA was 5.79 compared to 3.13 for Lively. He'll return to the minors and will need to find a way to add more strikeouts to his game if he's to be a successful starter in the big leagues, as he's struck out just 12 percent of batters in 127.2 career major-league innings. The 23-year-old still has time to improve and could make some starts for the Phillies later this season, but he'll be further down the starter depth chart once Jerad Eickhoff (lat) and Mark Leiter Jr. (forearm) recover from their injuries.

Musgrove is on course to open the regular season in Pittsburgh's rotation after limiting Toronto to one run in five innings Sunday, DK Pittsburgh Sports reports.

Musgrove, who made only three spring starts because of right shoulder discomfort, faces one final test -- he's expected to pitch six innings Saturday against minor leaguers. Provided he suffers no setbacks with his shoulder in that outing, he could debut April 8 at home against Cincinnati. "Considering the circumstances, how it's gone for me and how it was scheduled out, yeah, this is where I want to be," Musgrove noted. "For the most part, I think I'm in a good spot right now."

Ray will start the Diamondbacks' second game of the season Friday against the Rockies, Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reports.

Ray received consideration for the Opening Day nod after it became apparent that Zack Greinke (groin) wouldn't be ready to make his debut until the Diamondbacks' third game, but manager Torey Lovullo opted to go with Patrick Corbin for the first game of the season in order to keep Ray on his normal pitching schedule. Since Ray made his final start of the spring Sunday in a minor-league game -- striking out 12 batters over 6.1 innings -- he'll be able to pitch Friday on his typical four days' rest.

Rea (lat) resumed throwing off flat ground Thursday, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

After sitting out the entire 2017 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery, Rea received a clean bill of health heading into spring training, but the right-hander never ended up making a single appearance after experiencing shoulder issues in early March. The Padres later diagnosed Rea with a strained right lat, which had prevented him from throwing for nearly three weeks before his activity Thursday. It appears Rea will have to essentially go through an individual spring training all over again to build up to a starter's workload, which could take more than a month. San Diego may elect to move Rea to the 60-day disabled list in an attempt to gain some roster flexibility, as it's unlikely the 27-year-old would be called upon to join the big-league rotation anyway in the season's first two months.

Strasburg racked up 10 strikeouts and allowed two runs on three hits and three walks across 5.2 innings in his final Grapefruit League start Sunday against the Cardinals.

Strasburg's command suffered in the sixth inning, but he otherwise befuddled the Cardinals' "A" lineup during the 96-pitch outing, allowing him to enter the regular season on a high note. The right-hander is slated to follow Max Scherzer in the rotation and start the Nationals' second game of the season Saturday in Cincinnati.

Lucchesi will be discussed as an option to fill in as the Padres' fifth starter while Dinelson Lamet (elbow) is out, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Manager Andy Green said he was "fairly certain" Lucchesi would be discussed in addition to Chris Young and Robbie Erlin as a potential fifth starter with Lamet out indefinitely with elbow soreness. Lucchesi was sent to minor-league camp Saturday but may not be there for long. Young or Erlin may get the nod over Lucchesi initially, as the latter has logged 60.1 innings at Double-A and zero innings at Triple-A. However, it sounds like Lucchesi is definitely on the fast track and should get a first-half look in the big-league rotation as long as he carries over just a modicum of his success from 2017 (2.20 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 148 strikeouts in 139 innings across High-A and Double-A). Scouting reports suggest that those numbers are a bit misleading, as Lucchesi, who turns 25 in June, projects as more of a No. 4 starter.

Lorenzen (shoulder) is set to open the season on the disabled list, John Fay of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Lorenzen hasn't resumed throwing since being shut down Monday with a right shoulder strain and the Reds won't rush him back to action with Opening Day creeping closer. The right-hander had been competing for a starting spot in spring training, but once he's healthy, Lorenzen will likely head back to the bullpen, where he'll fill a key setup role in front of closer Raisel Iglesias.

DeSclafani (oblique) is slated to open the season the disabled list, John Fay of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

DeSclafani hasn't pitched since coming out of his Cactus League start March 9 with a strained left oblique, so his move to the DL isn't a surprising one. There remains no definitive timetable for when DeSclafani will resume throwing, so there's a good chance he misses multiple turns through the Cincinnati rotation.

Nicolino was claimed off waivers by the Reds on Sunday.

Nicolino was recently designated for assignment by the rebuilding Marlins after posting a 5.23 ERA and 1.84 WHIP over 10.1 spring training innings. It's unclear if he'll be used in a starter or long-reliever capacity for the Reds at this point, so that's certainly remains something worth monitoring. The 26-year-old is not a strikeout pitcher (11.4 percent in 2017) and is coming off a 2017 season in which he put up a 5.06 ERA and 26:20 K:BB in 48 innings with the Marlins.

Davies will start the Brewers' home opener Monday, April 2 against the Padres.

Davies will throw once more before the exhibition season comes to a close, but it has already been a successful spring for him outside of a brief hiccup with an oblique injury. Davies has shown no ill effects from the injury, giving up just one earned run in 8.1 innings over two outings since returning to game action. While his first regular-season start will not come until the Brewers' fourth game, he was pushed back intentionally to give him the honor of starting the first game in Milwaukee in 2018. He's locked into the starting rotation as long as he stays healthy.