MLB Player News

Ashcraft allowed five runs on eight hits and one walk with two strikeouts over 2.2 innings in Tuesday's split-squad start against the Rockies.

Both Ashcraft and manager Terry Francona believed the outing was better than the results indicate, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports. "I thought in the first inning, he was really good," Francona said after the game. "The entire time, the ball came out of his hand really well." All five runs came home in the second inning, when a couple of soft-hit singles and a dribbler down the line contributed to the rally. There was also some loud contact in there, but that he sandwiched two scoreless innings around one unlucky one was a positive. This was Ashcraft's third Cactus League start, and the right-hander bumped his pitch count to 59 (37 strikes).

Yamamoto tossed four innings in a Cactus League contest against Cincinnati on Tuesday, allowing two runs on four hits and no walks while striking out three batters.

Yamamoto had tossed four frames over his first two spring starts, and he equaled that total in his outing Tuesday. The right-hander hurled 47 pitches, 30 of which were strikes, and topped out at 96.9 mph on the radar gun. Yamamoto will likely make one more spring start before the Dodgers open the regular season with a two-game set against the Cubs in Tokyo, Japan on March 18-19, and he's expected to start in one of those two games.

Sasaki allowed two hits and a walk while striking out five batters over three scoreless innings during his Cactus League debut Tuesday against the Reds.

Sasaki averaged 98 mph on his fastball Tuesday and topped out at 99.3 mph, which manager Dave Roberts said he hadn't seen from him all spring, per Sonja Chen of MLB.com. While Sasaki's velocity was up, he had a bit of a tough time locating, throwing only 26 of his 46 pitches for strikes. Eight of those strikes were swings and misses, and seven of those were generated using his splitter. The Dodgers haven't yet confirmed when the 23-year-old's next appearance will be, but the team will likely look to get him at least one more outing in preparation for his major-league debut during the Tokyo Series.

Suarez hurled two scoreless innings in Tuesday's Grapefruit League appearance against the Yankees, allowing one hit while striking out two.

It was the first appearance of the spring for Suarez, who looked sharp in two frames of relief. The 29-year-old left-hander was a first-time All-Star in 2024 on the strength of a 1.83 ERA over his first 16 starts of the campaign, but he limped to the finish line with a 6.54 ERA across his last 11 regular-season starts. The poor second half has rendered Suarez more of a late-round draft selection in fantasy leagues, but he's in line to carry plenty of streaming appeal in 2025 as long as he remains a starter for a Phillies club that should offer plenty of run support.

Wheeler threw two innings during Tuesday's Grapefruit League start against the Yankees, allowing six runs (five earned) on eight hits with two strikeouts.

Wheeler wasn't at his best while taking the loss, and he now holds an 11.25 ERA and 2.25 WHIP with six punchouts over two starts during spring training. Although fantasy managers would like to see Wheeler sharpen things up ahead of the regular season, the star right-hander has proven to be a model of consistency throughout his Phillies career and shapes up as one of the safer pitching options in the early rounds of drafts. Wheeler has made at least 26 starts in each of the past four seasons, and he led the National League with a 0.95 WHIP a year ago.

The Mets reassigned Tidwell to minor-league camp Tuesday, Anthony DiComo of MLB.comreports.

Tidwell most recently threw two perfect innings -- one of which was an immaculate inning -- Saturday in a Grapefruit League game against the Rays. However, the 23-year-old righty finished last season with a 5.93 ERA and 1.56 WHIP over 85 innings in Triple-A, so the Mets will keep him in their farm system until he can demonstrate more consistent success over an extended period of time.

Sproat was reassigned to minor-league camp Tuesday, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Sproat made a good first impression, tossing a pair of clean innings while touching 99 mph in his first-ever Grapefruit League appearance last Friday. A second-round pick by the Mets in 2023, Sproat is now considered by many to be the top pitching prospect in the organization, though he struggled to a 7.85 ERA in seven starts with Triple-A Syracuse down the stretch last season. The right-hander will look to improve upon that number and earn his way onto the Mets' 40-man and 26-man rosters this summer.

Burnes focused on his breaking pitches during Monday's start against the Cubs, Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports reports.

Burnes, who elevated his pitch count to 47, made his third Cactus League start and used it to hone his offspeed stuff. The right-hander said he still has some work to do overall but was pleased at how well the breaking stuff played.

Kopech (forearm) is throwing a bullpen session Tuesday, Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times reports.

The right-hander has had a delayed start to spring training due to forearm inflammation but is ramping up his throwing program. Kopech is in danger of being unavailable for the season-opening series against the Cubs in Tokyo on March 18 and 19, with the Dodgers' domestic opener March 27 being a more realistic return target.

Manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday that Henriquez won't be ready for the start of the season due to a metatarsal injury in his left foot, Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Henriquez was seen in the Dodgers' clubhouse Tuesday with a walking boot on. Roberts didn't offer any additional information regarding the severity of Henriquez's injury, though it's apparently serious enough to warrant ruling him out for Opening Day already. The 22-year-old right-hander allowed one earned run in 3.1 regular-season innings with the Dodgers last year, and he had been a candidate to begin 2025 in Los Angeles' bullpen amid all the injuries to the team's pitching staff.