MLB Player News

Wainwright stretched out to 90 pitches against Mets minor leaguers on a back field Tuesday, Joe Trezza of MLB.com reports.

The right-hander is one of three members of the starting rotation -- Carlos Martinez and Luke Weaver being the others -- that are getting some work in against minor leaguers over the next several days instead of taking what would be their regularly scheduled turn against the Mets (the Cardinals' first opponent of the regular season). Wainwright will have one more opportunity to face major-league bats in Grapefruit League play, as he's slated to take the mound Sunday against the Nationals.

Ray is scheduled to pitch Sunday against the Rockies, which would prevent him from pitching Opening Day on normal rest, Zach Buchanan of The Athletic Arizona reports.

Although these plans could change, manager Torey Lovullo said that at this point in time, Ray will head to the mound for Sunday's Cactus League outing. Ray had a rough time in Tuesday's game against the Angels, as he gave up two runs on two hits and five walks across 2.1 innings. To this point, Ray has appeared in five games (13.1 innings) this spring, over which he's surrendered 10 runs.

Lorenzen was shut down from throwing after being diagnosed with a strained teres major muscle near his right shoulder Monday, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic Cincinnati reports.

At this point in time it's unclear if Lorenzen will open the year on the DL, as the Reds are still trying to determine the severity of his strain. However, manager Bryan Price indicated that although Lorenzen was seen as a candidate to open the year in Cincinnati's rotation, he'll head to the bullpen once healthy. Over four games (9.2 innings) this spring, Lorenzen had given up nine runs on 13 hits and six walks.

Marquez has been working on incorporating his changeup and slider more often during spring training, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post reports.

After Marquez's last outing, he noted that his changeup is close to being where he wants it to be for the regular season. Last year he relied primarily on his top two pitches, a 95-mph fastball and a curveball that serves as his swing-and-miss pitch. It's important to note that he is working on his changeup and slider for two reasons. First, the addition of a third quality pitch to his repertoire would obviously result in more success in 2018. Additionally, it also can help explain why he has been hit around so much this spring -- he's not relying on his top weapons. Marquez built up his pitch count to 71 in a game earlier this spring, so he should be set to go fairly deep into games early this season.

Eflin remains in the mix for a spot in the Phillies' Opening Day rotation with both Jerad Eickhoff (lat) and Mark Leiter (forearm) slated to begin the season on the disabled list, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.

It looked like Eflin was destined to open the season at Triple-A Lehigh Valley following the Phillies' signing of Jake Arrieta earlier this month, but the 23-year-old's fading roster hopes gained some life with the two injuries. With Arrieta, Aaron Nola, Vince Velasquez and Nick Pivetta on solid ground for rotation spots, it looks like the No. 5 role will come down to Eflin, Ben Lively and non-roster invitee Drew Hutchison. Eflin probably possesses more upside than either of his competitors, but he hasn't performed quite as well during Grapefruit League play, running up a 4.73 ERA over 13.1 innings in his four appearances.

Lively has a path to the Phillies' rotation with Jerad Eickhoff (lat) and Mark Leiter (forearm) out injured, MLB.com reports.

Lively had been in consideration for the Phillies' fifth starter job until the signing of Jake Arrieta apparently ended that competition. Now, Eickhoff is out 6-to-8 weeks with a lat strain and the swingman Leiter is out a few weeks with a flexor strain. That leaves Lively competing with Zach Eflin, Drew Hutchison and Tom Eshelman for the final rotation spot. Lively posted a 4.26 ERA in 15 starts for Philadelphia last year, though his 5.58 xFIP suggests that he got rather lucky. His 14 percent strikeout rate leaves him overly reliant on batted-ball luck and limits his fantasy value.

Greinke (groin) is slated to pitch in Wednesday's Cactus League game against the Giants, Zach Buchanan of The Athletic Arizona reports.

Greinke felt fine Monday, a day after his 40-pitch bullpen session, so the Diamondbacks will work the right-hander back into the pitching schedule for what will mark his penultimate spring start. After Wednesday's outing, Greinke is set to make his final exhibition appearance March 26 against the Indians at Chase Field. That will remove him from consideration for Opening Day nod March 29 against the Rockies, but Greinke is expected to be ready to take the hill for the Diamondbacks' third game of the season.

Freeland allowed three runs on five hits -- including a homer -- over 4.2 innings in a minor-league game Sunday, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports. He issued two walks and did not strike out a batter.

The goose egg in the strikeout category (against mostly Triple-A competition) highlights the lack of dominance with Freeland, who averaged just 6.2 K/9 in 156 innings last season. His groundball rate helps him survive in Coors Field, and Freeland should have a rotation spot with Jeff Hoffman down with a shoulder injury, but all that contact makes Freeland a risky roll on a start-by-start basis. Pick your spots carefully.

Musgrove (shoulder) will start Tuesday's Grapefruit League game against the Red Sox, Elizabeth Bloom of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Musgrove said he experienced some stiffness in his right shoulder coming out of his first start of the spring last week against the Yankees, but it won't be anything that delays his schedule as he attempts to solidify a spot in the Opening Day rotation. The right-hander covered 54 pitches in 2.2 innings during his previous turn, so it's expected that he'll approach the 75-pitch mark in what will likely be his penultimate start of the spring.

Hendricks was scratched from his scheduled minor-league appearance Tuesday with strep throat, Carrie Muskat of MLB.com reports.

Hendricks should be fine by the start of the season. The 28-year-old righty has been excellent so far this spring, striking out 21 batters while walking none in 15 innings.