MLB Player News

Wrobleski pitched three perfect innings, striking out two batters in a Cactus League contest against the Athletics on Sunday.

Wrobleski allowed just two balls to leave the infield, as he induced five groundouts to go along with his two punchouts. The southpaw contributed six starts among eight regular-season appearances in his first taste of the majors last year and posted a 5.70 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and 26:16 K:BB over 36.1 innings. Wrobleski's opportunities with the big club in 2024 were precipitated by a rash of injuries to the team's pitching staff, and he's likely to begin 2025 at Triple-A.

Winn threw a scoreless inning with a strikeout and a walk in his spring debut in Sunday's win over the Angels.

Winn began last season in the starting rotation but managed only 12 starts before undergoing season-ending ulnar transposition surgery in late July. It looks like he's back to full speed, but his role for 2025 isn't clear. He'll compete for a rotation spot but appears to be a long shot, so he could begin the season in the bullpen or the minors.

Boyd allowed three runs on four hits and a walk across 2.1 innings in Sunday's Cactus League game against the Reds. He struck out four.

After a scoreless spring debut covering two innings Monday, Boyd was less effective in his second appearance. The veteran did continue to rack up strikeouts at a solid clip at least, as he now has six of them through 4.1 Cactus League innings. Boyd figures to slot in as the Cubs' No. 4 starter to begin the year, and after a few injury-ravaged seasons, the lefty is a bounceback candidate if he can stay healthy, though Chicago will probably monitor his workload closely all year.

With Javier Assad (oblique) set to miss the beginning of the regular season, Rea may be the next player up to fill the Cubs' final rotation spot, Cole Bradley of MLB.com reports.

Chicago figures to break camp with Shota Imanaga, Justin Steele, Jameson Taillon and Matthew Boyd entrenched in the rotation, and Assad had the early inside track on the No. 5 spot, but he won't be ready for Opening Day due to an oblique strain. The veteran Rea makes for a steady plug-and-play option, though youngsters Ben Brown and Jordan Wicks are also competing for the spot. The latter two players may offer a bit more upside in the long run, but Rea's MLB experience as a starter could give manager Craig Counsell some comfort to start the year. Rea offers some potential streaming appeal for however long he's in Chicago's rotation.

Duran was reassigned to minor-league camp by the Dodgers on Sunday.

Duran will head to minor-league camp after appearing in two games with the Dodgers this spring, surrendering one run on two hits while striking out two batters over two innings. The right-hander spent the majority of the 2024 campaign with Double-A Tulsa, producing a 3.02 ERA and 1.60 WHIP with 52 strikeouts over 41.2 innings in 12 starts. It's unclear if Duran will begin the year with Double-A Tulsa or Triple-A Oklahoma, but either way, he'll look to impress in order to potentially get a shot at making his major-league debut in 2025.

Frasso was optioned to minor-league camp by the Dodgers on Sunday.

Frasso is fully recovered from the shoulder and hip issues that forced him to miss the entirety of the 2024 campaign. The right-hander appeared in two games this spring with Los Angeles, including a start, pitching two scoreless innings while allowing two walks and striking out two batters. He'll look to impress with Triple-A Oklahoma City in order to earn a shot with the big-league roster down the road in 2025.

Anderson walked two batters without a strikeout over three scoreless, no-hit innings during Friday's Grapefruit league game against the Marlins.

The right-hander tossed 16 of 28 pitches for strikes against a Miami lineup that included a number of likely Opening Day starters, including Jesus Sanchez, Kyle Stowers and Connor Norby. Anderson is out of minor-league options, making him a favorite to secure a spot at the back of the Atlanta rotation this spring, but his 1:5 K:BB through 4.2 innings to begin the exhibition schedule isn't especially encouraging, even if it comes with a 1.93 ERA. On the bright side, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports that Anderson's fastball topped out at 94.9 mph Friday, and he appears close to consistently regaining the velocity that saw him average 94.6 mph with his heater over a 24-start stint for Atlanta in 2021 during which he posted a 3.58 ERA and 1.23 WHIP.

Abbott (shoulder) expressed optimism Sunday that he'll be ready for Opening Day after he recently tossed his first live batting practice session of the spring, Gordon Wittenmyer of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports. "Big step, big checkmark," Abbott said. "I feel really confident where we are."

Just two days earlier, manager Terry Francona suggested that Abbott's availability for Opening Day was more of a question mark, but the southpaw's ability to face hitters is a big step in a positive direction. Abbott is likely to throw live BP sessions on at least a couple more occasions before the Reds include him in the Cactus League pitching schedule. He should still have enough time to get stretched out for starting duty before the Reds open their season March 27, but any minor snags in the buildup process would likely make him a candidate for a stint on the injured list.

Soroka walked one and struck out three over three scoreless, no-hit innings during Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Cardinals.

Facing a St. Louis lineup that featured a number of likely Opening Day starters, Soroka got Willson Contreras to ground into a double play to end the first inning before including Nolan Gorman and Pedro Pages among his strikeout victims over his final two frames. Soroka is attempting to prove he can still be an effective big-league starting pitcher after finishing 2024 in the bullpen for the White Sox, signing a one-year, $9 million prove-it deal with the Nats in December. The double-play grounder might have been a better sign on that front than the Ks -- during his one outstanding campaign in 2019 with Atlanta, Soroka recorded a 51.2 percent groundball rate, a mark that sunk to 40.3 percent last season.

Cease allowed one run on two hits and one walk while striking out two batters over 2.2 innings in a Cactus League start against Cincinnati on Saturday.

Cease tossed 43 pitches -- 32 of which were four-seam fastballs and sliders -- in his first appearance this spring. The veteran righty gave up a solo home run to Christian Encarnacion-Strand in the second frame but otherwise kept the Reds from crossing the plate. The Padres have not yet announced their Opening Day starter, but Cease is probably the leading candidate after posting a 3.47 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 224:65 K:BB in 189.1 regular-season innings last year.