MLB Player News

Teheran tossed 6.2 scoreless innings in Monday's Grapefruit League game against the Blue Jays, allowing four hits and a walk while striking out five.

The 27-year-old has been stingy all spring when it comes to runs, but it's reassuring to see him miss some bats as well -- Teheran now has a 12:5 K:BB through 20.2 innings. The Braves' Opening Day starter is looking to rebound from his worst full season in the majors, a campaign that included a career-low 7.2 K/9, and he'll likely need to find some of those lost strikeouts if he's going to bring down his 4.49 ERA.

Matz allowed two runs on five hits over six innings while striking out nine in Monday's Grapefruit League game against the Astros.

Jason Vargas' broken hand has ended the competition for the fifth starter spot between Matz and Zack Wheeler, as both will now make the rotation to begin the season, but the lefty is still pitching like he's fighting for a job. After a few rough outings to begin the spring, Matz has a 16:4 K:BB over his last 14.1 innings. He still needs to prove that he can be effective in the regular season without relying on his slider -- or prove that his elbow can hold up if he does lean on it as an out pitch.

The Marlins optioned Alcantara to Triple-A New Orleans on Tuesday, Craig Davis of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports.

Alcantara had been in the mix for one of the three openings in the Miami rotation, but his dismissal leaves Odrisamer Despaigne, Justin Nicolino, Caleb Smith, Jacob Turner and Elieser Hernandez (mouth) to vie for those roles. The right-hander seemed to do enough to earn a rotation spot after compiling a 3.38 ERA and 1.19 WHIP over five spring outings, but the Marlins evidently felt he could use more development time at Triple-A. Since none of the remaining candidates seem destined to have much longevity in the rotation, Alcantara should have a starting spot waiting for him once the Marlins determine he's ready for the big leagues.

Castillo has rejoined the Reds following the birth of his daughter and threw a bullpen session Sunday, MLB.com's Mark Sheldon reports.

Castillo is scheduled to pitch in a minor league game Tuesday and remains on target to be ready for the start of the season. His absence created an opportunity for Cody Reed to pick up a spare start Saturday.

Ray looks like the top candidate to start the Diamondbacks' season opener March 29 against the Rockies, Owen Perkins of MLB.com reports.

Ray is certainly a worthy candidate for the Opening Day nod after making his first All-Star team and posting a 2.89 ERA and 1.15 WHIP over 162 frames last season, but the expected assignment is due in large part to Zack Greinke (groin) remaining slightly behind schedule in his preparation for the start of the season. With Greinke having been limited to just two Cactus League outing to date, he's not expected to be ready to handle a starter's workload until the Diamondbacks' third game of the season, thus making Ray the most logical candidate to start the opener. Ray has already conceded four home runs in 11 frames this spring, but his issues with the long ball aren't expected to loom quite as large at Chase Field in 2018 with a humidor having been installed at the park over the offseason and expected to dramatically reduce power output.

Greinke (groin) indicated that he felt good after completing a 40-pitch bullpen session Sunday, Owen Perkins of MLB.com reports. "If I felt this good every day for the rest of my career, it would be amazing," Greinke said following the session. "I'll definitely be making the next outing. I felt healthy and the pitches were pretty good. Hopefully that continues. It should; it was a good day."

Greinke nor manager Torey Lovullo were willing to say when the right-hander's next spring start would come, but the successful bullpen session nonetheless qualifies as good news after the groin injury limited Greinke to just 19 pitches in his last outing March 14 against the Rockies. The side session was about two times the length of a typical one for Greinke and should help him make up for the abbreviated start last week. Greinke's current schedule of rest days, bullpen sessions and starts keeps him just off the pace to be ready for Opening Day, but if he experiences no setbacks over the remainder of spring training, he would line up to start the third game of the Diamondbacks' season-opening series versus Colorado.

Syndergaard gave up one run on eight hits over seven innings while striking out five in Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the Orioles.

It seems safe to say the right-hander is ready for his Opening Day assignment. Syndergaard has posted a 23:6 K:BB in 20 innings this spring, and if he stays healthy in 2018 he's more than capable of putting up Cy Young Award-worthy numbers.

Teheran will start on the mound for the Braves in their season opener against the Phillies.

The move is hardly a surprise, as it will be the fifth Opening Day start for the 27-year-old righty. He may be the best pitcher on the Braves, but he wouldn't receive that designation on many other teams, as he posted a 4.49 ERA last year and an even worse 4.95 FIP. His strikeout, walk and groundball rates were all worse than the league average. He also may not be Atlanta's best pitcher for long, as the organization has a stable of pitching prospects in the high minors ready to challenge him for that crown. Still, he's the best they have for now and has a very stable rotation spot as a result, despite last year's struggles.

Martinez stretched out to 100 pitches in a minor-league game on the back fields Sunday, Joe Trezza of MLB.com reports.

Considering the level of competition, it wasn't exactly the smoothest of outings for the Opening Day starter, as he allowed six runs over six innings. However, the most important takeaway for the Cardinals and Martinez was his ability to continue boosting his endurance in anticipation of his March 29 season-opening matchup against the Mets. Manager Mike Matheny is likely to keep some members of the projected starting rotation "shielded" from Grapefruit League exposure during the last 10 days of spring training, especially considering that St. Louis plays three of its final eight exhibitions versus the same New York squad they'll open 2018 against.

Maeda was officially named as the Dodgers' third starter to kick off the regular season, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

The club had been increasing the veteran's workload all spring in anticipation to start, but there was always the risk that one of the back-end starters could get bumped in favor of the promising Walker Buehler. That scenario was put to rest when the rookie was sent to the minors earlier this week, officially securing a rotation spot for Maeda. The 29-year-old took a step back from his solid rookie season in 2017, posting a 4.22 ERA and receiving a brief demotion to the bullpen. Despite his struggles, he posted a strong 4.1 K/BB ratio, giving him value when he was being used as a starter. The Dodgers' starting pitcher options have dwindled from last year's 10-man pool, but Maeda will still have to carryover his success from the playoffs last season in order to preserve his spot in the rotation once Buehler gets called up.