May yielded one hit and one walk over three scoreless frames in his Grapefruit League debut Thursday versus the Pirates.

The Cardinals had May work on the side and on the backfields early on in spring training to ease him into his buildup. May was sporting big velocity Thursday, averaging 97.8 mph with his four-seamer and topping out at 99.3 mph. It's a good sign after his velocity on the pitch dipped to a career-low 95.4 mph in 2025. May has some bounce-back potential after inking a one-year, $12.5 million contract with the Cardinals this winter.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Thursday that Yamamoto is slated to throw three innings for Team Japan in Friday's World Baseball Classic game versus Team Chinese Taipei, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Yamamoto also went three frames in his second Cactus League outing. The right-hander is scheduled for multiple turns for Team Japan and is tentatively penciled in to be the Dodgers' Opening Day starter March 26 against the Diamondbacks, though Roberts has held off on making that official.

Atlanta optioned Lara to minor-league camp Thursday.

Lara got a cup of coffee in the majors last season but didn't make an appearance. The 23-year-old was moved to a relief role in the minors in 2025 and will continue to work on throwing more strikes at Triple-A Gwinnett. The hard-throwing Lara struck out 104 over 68.2 frames between Double-A Columbus and Gwinnett last season but also issued 65 walks and held a 7.73 ERA.

Griffin gave up two hits and a walk over two scoreless innings in Wednesday's exhibition game against Team Venezuela. He struck out one.

Seeing his first game action of the spring, the 30-year-old left-hander tossed just 15 strikes on 29 pitches but avoided any damage against a star-studded lineup headlined by the likes of Ronald Acuna, Jackson Chourio and Salvador Perez. Griffin is expected to break camp in the Nationals' rotation after signing a one-year, $5.5 million deal to return to MLB from Japan, and the addition of a split-finger fastball to his low-velocity arsenal could allow him to handle a regular turn, or transition to a swingman role if Washington gets unexpected contributions from younger arms.

Peterson gave up one hit and two walks over three scoreless innings during Wednesday's exhibition game against Team Israel. He struck out four.

The Israeli WBC lineup doesn't have any big MLB names in it, and Peterson had little trouble navigating his three frames on 48 pitches (28 strikes). The southpaw is locked into a rotation spot for the Mets after throwing a career-high 168.2 innings in 2025, but his 4.22 ERA and 1.37 WHIP were significant downgrades from his 2024 numbers.

The Diamondbacks optioned Ray to minor-league camp Thursday, Alex Weiner of ArizonaSports.com reports.

Ray was added to Arizona's 40-man roster this offseason but never had a real chance to crack the Opening Day roster. The 24-year-old permitted four runs (two earned) with a 2:2 K:BB over 1.1 frames in his lone Cactus League appearance. Ray will open the 2026 season in the Triple-A Reno rotation.

The Diamondbacks optioned Diaz to minor-league camp Thursday, Alex Weiner of ArizonaSports.com reports.

Diaz was touched up for four runs on three hits and two walks over 1.2 innings this spring. The righty shifted to a relief role at Triple-A Reno last season and will have to harness his control (73 walks in 57 minor-league innings in 2025) before the Diamondbacks consider him for their bullpen.

Scott allowed two hits over 2.2 scoreless innings in Wednesday's exhibition game against Team Israel. He struck out five without walking a batter.

It was the first game action since July 2024 for the right-hander as he enters the final stages of his recovery from Tommy John surgery. Scott fired an impressive 40 of his 50 pitches for strikes after taking over from David Peterson to begin the fourth inning, and his fastball topped out at 96.8 mph. Scott will begin the season at Triple-A Syracuse barring a rash of injuries to the Mets' rotation, but he figures to be a factor for the big club some time this summer.

Drohan tossed three scoreless innings in Wednesday's spring game against the Cubs. He gave up one hit, struck out four batters and walked one.

Drohan tossed two scoreless innings in his late-February spring debut, and he one-upped himself in his next opportunity. The 27-year-old has never appeared in a major-league game, and given Milwaukee's starting pitching depth, it's likely his season will begin in the minors. However, he shined at the Triple-A level last season and is doing the same this spring, so he could be an option for the big club at some point.

Lowder allowed two hits and struck out three over three scoreless innings in Wednesday's spring start against Team Cuba.

Lowder had another strong effort in his third outing, mixing in all four of his pitches during the 43-pitch appearance. It was his second consecutive scoreless effort, and he's now recorded 21 consecutive outs. The right-hander is part of a group competing for the final rotation spot, but Lowder's addition to the starting staff appears to be a formality, especially now that No. 1 starter Hunter Greene left camp to get his elbow checked out.