MLB Player News

Darvish pitched 2.2 innings in a Cactus League contest against Cleveland on Saturday, allowing two runs on four hits and one walk while striking out three batters.

Darvish allowed a double and issued a walk in the first frame but emerged unscathed on the scoreboard. He breezed through a 1-2-3 second inning but struggled in the third, yielding three singles and hitting a batter with a pitch to allow two runs to score before being lifted with two outs. Despite Darvish's unimpressive results, the Padres were likely pleased with his outing, as he tossed 57 pitches, induced seven whiffs and averaged 94.3 mph on his fastball -- up from the 93.9 mph he averaged last year -- in his first game action of the exhibition slate. The veteran right-hander is slated to work as San Diego's No. 3 starter this season.

Glasnow pitched three innings in a Cactus League contest against the White Sox on Saturday, allowing one run on two hits and one walk while striking out six batters.

Glasnow pushed his pitched count up to 53 pitches (33 strikes) in the outing while averaging 96.4 mph with his fastball. The only run he allowed came on a solo homer by Miguel Vargas in the second inning. Through three Cactus League starts, Glasnow has given up three runs on six hits while posting a 10:1 K:BB over six innings.

The Marlins optioned Fulton to Double-A Pensacola on Saturday, Daniel Alvarez-Montes of ElExtraBase.com reports.

Fulton missed all of 2024 while recovering from his second career Tommy John surgery. His return to a competitive setting yielded promising results, as he'll finish the spring with two strikeouts over three scoreless innings. Once he proves he can remain both effective and healthy for an extended period of time, he could receive his first promotion to Triple-A Jacksonville.

The Marlins optioned Mazur to Triple-A Jacksonville on Saturday, Daniel Alvarez-Montes of ElExtraBase.com reports.

Upon joining the Marlins organization at last year's trade deadline, Mazur registered a 5.21 ERA and 1.29 WHIP across 38 innings over eight starts at Jacksonville. He showed signs of improvement during Grapefruit League play, giving up one run in five frames while striking out three, but the Marlins will need to see more from him in the minors before giving him a spot in their big-league rotation.

Alcantara said Saturday that the team hasn't told him he will be under any inning restrictions this season, Craig Mish of the Miami Herald reports.

Alcantara's comments directly contradict a report from Jeff Passan of ESPN.com that states the 29-year-old righty will be on an innings limit early in the year. Amid all the uncertainty, the truth is more likely to come from the man himself, though he doesn't have full say over his deployment. It would make some sense for Alcantara to gradually build up his workload during the season after missing all of 2024 following Tommy John surgery.

Williams gave up a run on three hits and a walk over four innings in Friday's Grapefruit League game against the Mets. He struck out out.

The veteran right-hander looked sharp in his third appearance of the spring as he faced a New York lineup that included Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso, Mark Vientos and other likely Opening Day starters. Williams is locked into a rotation spot for the Nationals after a surprisingly effective 2024 campaign that saw him post a 2.03 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 59:18 K:BB over 66.2 regular-season innings.

Blackburn gave up three runs on five hits and two walks over 2.1 innings in Friday's Grapefruit League game against the Nationals. He failed to strike out a batter.

While his final line was sketchy, Blackburn blanked the Nats through two innings before running out of gas in the third and serving up homers to CJ Abrams and James Wood. The right-hander appears to be on the outside looking in for a spot on the Opening Day rotation even with Sean Manaea (oblique) and Frankie Montas (lat) sidelined to begin the season, but with the Mets planning to deploy a six-man rotation somewhat liberally in 2025, Blackburn should get starting opportunities over the summer.

Cabrera got tagged for six runs on four hits -- including three home runs -- and two walks over 1.2 innings in Friday's Grapefruit League game against the Red Sox. He struck out two.

Trevor Story took Cabrera deep twice, while Abraham Toro also touched him up for a long ball. The right-hander's ability to generate whiffs keeps earning him chances in the Marlins' rotation -- he's posted a strikeout rate north of 25 percent in the majors in each of the last three seasons -- but Cabrera's issues with command and control remain a significant hurdle between him and consistent fantasy production. Through 4.2 innings over three appearances this spring, he's stumbled to a 19.29 ERA with a 3:2 K:BB.

Meyer appears to be in the lead to win the fifth starter role to begin the season, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports.

There's no big surprise here, as the 25-year-old right-hander's main competition for the job, Valente Bellozo, lacks Meyer's pedigree or raw stuff. Meyer is being brought along carefully in camp after throwing 115 innings last season between Triple-A and the majors in his return from Tommy John surgery, and through three innings so far over two Grapefruit League appearances, he has yet to allow a run with a 2:1 K:BB.

Strider (elbow) threw 30 pitches in a live batting practice session Friday and used all his pitches, Ken Sugiura of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Facing the rehabbing Ronald Acuna (knee) as well as Ozzie Albies, Strider recorded four strikeouts over two simulated innings and drew a "that was nasty" comment from Albies after the second baseman flailed away at a breaking ball. Strider will begin the season on the IL as he completes his recovery from an internal brace procedure on his elbow performed early last year, and Atlanta has avoided providing any sort of target date for his 2025 debut, but the right-hander appears to be making excellent progress.