MLB Player News

Greinke did not come out for the second inning of Wednesday's Cactus League game against the Reds due to right groin tightness.

Greinke was scheduled to go five innings Wednesday but was removed in favor of Albert Suarez after a 19-pitch first inning. The right-hander should be considered day-to-day until the team releases more information on his status in the coming hours/days.

Matz could be ahead of teammate Zack Wheeler in the battle for the Mets' fifth starter role due to the team seeing Wheeler as a better fit for a bullpen role, Matt Ehalt of The Bergen Record reports.

Both pitchers have significant injury histories and both were similarly ineffective in abbreviated 2017 seasons, with Matz posting a 5.05 FIP and Wheeler a 5.03 mark. Wheeler has a profile which looks more likely to play up in relief, as he throws harder with more strikeouts and walks. Matz is more of a sinker and control specialist, a profile which better fits as a back-end starter. That could be enough to decide the battle, as there's little else to differentiate the two pitchers. Matz will need a rotation spot if he's to have a significant amount of fantasy value this season, though he'll also need to throw a good deal better than he did in 2017.

Wheeler may be behind Steven Matz in the battle for the Mets' fifth starter job simply because he's viewed as the better potential reliever, Matt Ehalt of The Bergen Record reports.

Both pitchers have the sort of significant injuries histories which suggest that a move to the bullpen could be good for their health. Both struggled similarly in abbreviated 2017 seasons (with a 5.03 FIP for Wheeler and a 5.05 FIP for Matz), leaving neither as a particularly attractive rotation candidate. Wheeler had the higher strikeout and walk rates last year and has a higher fastball velocity, while Matz is more of a sinker and control specialist. The former profile would seem to be a better fit in the bullpen, so it's possible Wheeler begins the year there, though even then he'd likely be only one injury away from returning to the Mets' starting rotation.

The Mets optioned Flexen to their minor-league camp Wednesday, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

The report doesn't specify where Flexen will begin the 2018 campaign, but it's assumed the right-hander will fill a rotation spot at Triple-A Las Vegas. After the big-league rotation was ravaged by injury last season, Flexen made the jump from Double-A Binghamton to the Mets. Flexen did little to convince the Mets he was ready for a permanent assignment in the majors, finishing with a 7.88 ERA and 2.02 WHIP across 48 innings in his 14 appearances (nine starts).

Mets manager Mickey Callaway said after Lugo's relief appearance in Tuesday's 7-4 loss to the Nationals that the right-hander could return on short rest out of the bullpen for his next Grapefruit League outing, Tim Britton of The Athletic New York reports.

Lugo was expected to compete for a back-end rotation spot with the Mets this spring, but with none of the team's preferred starting contenders enduring major setbacks on the health front, getting the 28-year-old stretched out hasn't been a priority for the team. After starting in his Grapefruit League debut Feb. 24, Lugo has come out of the bullpen in each of his last three outings, tossing no more than 20 pitches in any of those games. Like Lugo, Robert Gsellman also began the spring vying for a starting role before emerging as a long-relief candidate, and it appears the two could be fighting for the same spot in the Opening Day bullpen. The loser of the job battle will likely be optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas and transition back to starting duty.

Castillo is away from the team while awaiting the birth of his first child, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

Castillo should be back at camp within the next few days following his child's birth. The right-hander is slated to begin the year as the top arm in Cincinnati's rotation after compiling a 3.12 ERA and 1.07 WHIP over 89.1 innings with the team in 2017.

Urena failed to escape the first inning in Tuesday's Grapefruit League game against the Cardinals, recording only one out and allowing six runs on six hits and two walks.

At least the out came on a strikeout, but otherwise there was nothing to like about this outing from Urena. It won't affect his assignment as the Marlins' Opening Day starter, but the right-hander now has a 7:6 K:BB through 7.1 spring innings, and he'll need to sharpen his control if he wants to avoid having last year's 3.82 ERA regress to something closer to his 5.24 FIP.

Syndergaard allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits and three walks over 4.2 innings while striking out five in Tuesday's split-squad game against the Astros.

He's now got an 18:6 K:BB through 13 spring innings, and Syndergaard looks just about ready to take the hill Opening Day for the Mets. The 25-year-old righty worked only 30.1 innings last season due to a variety of injuries, but if he can avoid the DL he should be able to regain the form that saw him post a 10.7 K/9 and 2.60 ERA in 2016.

Martinez (1-0) allowed four runs (three earned) on four hits and two walks over four innings in Tuesday's 11-4 Grapefruit League win over the Marlins. He struck out five.

It wasn't the smoothest of outings for the Cardinals' Opening Day starter, with a Derek Dietrich third-inning solo home run serving as his biggest blemish. Martinez allowed one other particularly hard-hit ball -- a double by Starlin Castro -- but managed to rack up a spring training-high number of strikeouts over his second straight four-inning outing. The right-hander has given up at least one run and issued multiple walks in each of his first three exhibition appearances, two aspects he'll look to improve on in a likely turn against the Nationals on Sunday.

Wheeler allowed five runs on seven hits and two walks over three innings while striking out three in Tuesday's Grapefruit League game against the Nationals.

Facing a Nats lineup missing only a couple of regulars, Wheeler gave up three runs in the first inning while having difficulty keeping runners close, as Trea Turner and Bryce Harper combined for three steals against him. The right-hander still has a strong 11:2 K:BB through eight innings this spring, but with Steven Matz showing improvement, Wheeler can't afford any more bad outings if he wants to break camp as the Mets' fifth starter.