MLB Player News

Corbin covered five innings in Friday's 6-1 Cactus League loss to the Indians, surrendering three runs (two earned) on six hits and three walks. He struck out three of the 24 batters he faced.

Corbin had a little trouble with his control in his final spring outing with the three free passes and a wild pitch, but there were some positive takeaways. Aside from allowing a solo home run to Yonder Alonso on his final pitch of the day, Corbin generally excelled at inducing weak contact, recording nine outs on the ground. The Diamondbacks haven't outlined their rotation order for the start of the season, but Corbin and Zack Godley could be the top candidates for the Opening Day nod Thursday against the Rockies with Robbie Ray currently off schedule and Zack Greinke (groin) not on track to be available until the Diamondbacks' third game.

Lugo will open the 2018 season in the Mets' rotation, Matt Ehalt of NorthJersey.com reports.

Lugo capitalized on his last few spring training outings and will serve as the club's fifth starter heading into the regular season with Jason Vargas (hand) expected to land on the disabled list. The club also announced that Zack Wheeler was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas as he was unable to provide any sort of consistency throughout the Grapefruit League. During 19 appearances -- 18 starts -- last year, Lugo posted a 4.71 ERA and 1.37 WHIP with a 85:25 K:BB.

Wheeler was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas on Saturday, Matt Ehalt of NorthJersey.com reports.

Wheeler failed to impress the organization over the past couple weeks of spring training and will head back down to Triple-A to open up the 2018 campaign and grow more comfortable with some mechanical adjustments he's making, according to Kristie Ackert of The New York Daily News. With Jason Vargas (hand) expected to open the season on the disabled list, it seems likely that Seth Lugo will serve as the fifth starter in the Mets' rotation. During 17 outings in the majors last year, Wheeler logged a 5.21 ERA and 1.59 WHIP with a 81:40 K:BB. Expect to see him back with the big-league club in the near future if he's able to work through his problems in Las Vegas.

Glasnow will start the 2018 campaign in the Pirates' bullpen, Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic reports.

Glasnow turned in an impressive performance during Sunday's outing against Boston which seemingly secured his spot on the Opening Day roster. In 2017, he appeared in 15 big-league games -- starting 13 -- and posted a 7.69 ERA and 2.02 WHIP over 62 innings.

Mikolas (1-2) allowed two earned runs on four hits and a walk over six innings in Thursday's 8-2 Grapefruit League win over the Braves.

He heads into the regular season on a roll, as Thursday's quality start was a strong follow-up to a five-inning blanking of the Nationals last Friday. A key to his improvement over his first pair of rough spring starts has been his curveball, Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports, with pitching coach Mike Maddux noting how consistently Mikolas has been able to throw it for strikes. If he's able to maintain the same caliber of performance once the games begin counting next week, Mikolas will prove to be one of the more prudent offseason acquisitions across the majors.

Quintana allowed three runs on seven hits over six innings in Thursday's Cactus League loss to the Giants. He walked two and struck out four.

Quintana said after the game that he feels "really good" as the regular season approaches, Carrie Muskat of MLB.com reports. The lefty is scheduled to make one more spring training start on Tuesday against the Red Sox before slotting in as Chicago's No. 4 starter when camp breaks.

Walker surrendered three runs on eight hits and no walks across 5.2 innings in Thursday's 3-1 exhibition loss to the White Sox. He struck out seven batters in the 90-pitch outing.

Though he took the loss Thursday and yielded five extra-base hits -- including a Yoan Moncada home run -- in his final start of the Cactus League, Walker was encouraged by the outing and specifically noted that he was pleased with how he located his fastball, per Fabian Ardaya of MLB.com. Walker is expected to start the Diamondbacks' final exhibition against the Indians on Tuesday at Chase Field, giving fantasy owners a glimpse of how he might benefit from the humidor that was installed at the ballpark in February. Since he has already built up to 90 pitches, Walker may be in store for an abbreviated outing Tuesday as he prepares for his first start of the regular season, which will likely come April 2 against the Dodgers.

Solis is one of four left-handed relievers competing for two open spots in the Nationals' bullpen, Chelsea Janes of The Washington Post reports.

Matt Grace, Enny Romero and Tim Collins are also in the mix, although the Nats have some roster flexibility to keep more than two of them to begin the regular season with Koda Glover (shoulder) and Joaquin Benoit (forearm) both expected to land on the DL. Solis has had a brilliant spring, posting a 14:1 K:BB in nine innings, but he's also the only one of the four lefties with a minor-league option remaining. If the Nats are squeezed for spots on the 25-man roster, that factor alone may cause Solis to begin the year at Triple-A Syracuse, but more likely he will slot into a setup role, where he could be a useful source of holds.

Wheeler may no longer be a lock for a spot in the Mets' Opening Day rotation after another rough outing Thursday, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Wheeler seemed to be a logical fit in the rotation with Jason Vargas (hand) on the mend, but he has struggled mightily in his last two outings. He was tagged for five runs (three earned) on seven hits over 2.0 innings against the Nationals on Thursday. Per DiComo, Wheeler's poor showing was followed by a lights-out performance from Seth Lugo, who struck out five batters over 4.0 scoreless innings. Wheeler may still retain his spot in the rotation, but there are also real possibilities that he gets moved to the bullpen or even starts the year at extended spring training. Look for Wheeler's situation -- along with Lugo's -- to come into focus over the weekend.

Lugo is a candidate for a rotation spot, Matt Ehalt of The Bergen Record reports. "He could (start). He can go five innings or 75-85 pitches in five days and be an option if we want to go that route," manager Mickey Callaway said Thursday.

Callaway's comments come on the heels of an impressive outing from Lugo that coincided with Zack Wheeler's shaky showing against the Nationals in a Grapefruit League game. Wheeler got the start but gave up seven hits and three earned runs over two innings. Lugo relieved him and delivered four scoreless innings to go with five strikeouts. Considering that Wheeler's inconsistency continues to be an issue this close to Opening Day, it makes sense that the Mets would at least reevaluate its fifth spot in the rotation, and Lugo would be a logical fill-in if Callaway ultimately opts to go that route. Look for more clarity on this situation in the coming days as the Mets gear up for Opening Day against the Cardinals.