MLB Player News

The Phillies optioned Johnson to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Monday, Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

The move comes after Johnson tossed two scoreless frames and picked up a win in Monday's Grapefruit League contest against the Twins. Johnson is projected to begin the season in the rotation at Lehigh Valley.

Irvin gave up six runs (one earned) on four hits and three walks over 3.1 innings during Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the Mets. He struck out three.

Some shaky defense behind the right-hander got Irvin off the hook for some earned runs during a six-run first inning by New York, but most of the damage came on homers by Mark Vientos and Jakson Reetz. Irvin was still able to build up to 81 pitches (48 strikes), and the 28-year-old remains on track to begin the season in the Nationals' rotation despite his disconcerting 5:6 K:BB through 10.2 spring innings.

Holmes struck out eight over 3.2 scoreless innings in Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the Nationals. He gave up one hit and walked three.

The right-hander built up to 67 pitches (38 strikes) and was absolutely dominant against a Washington lineup that featured CJ Abrams, James Wood, Nathaniel Lowe and other likely Opening Day starters. Holmes has worked to expand his pitch mix this spring as he transitions from closing to a rotation job, and so far the results have been impressive as he has a 13:4 K:BB through 9.2 spring innings with a 0.00 ERA.

The Diamondbacks optioned Mena to Triple-A Reno on Monday, Alex Weiner of ArizonaSports.com reports.

Mena missed much of the 2024 season with a forearm injury, but he was healthy this spring and threw three scoreless innings during Cactus League play. However, the 22-year-old will head back to Reno for now and work to find the strike zone more often.

The Diamondbacks optioned Diaz to Triple-A Reno on Monday, Alex Weiner of ArizonaSports.com reports.

Diaz has tossed 3.2 innings this spring, but he's far down in the Arizona rotation pecking order. The 24-year-old has some of the best stuff among Diamondbacks pitching prospects, but whether or not he'll be able to remain a starting pitcher will depend on his ability to throw enough strikes.

The Brewers optioned Rodriguez to Triple-A Nashville on Monday, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

Rodriguez might not have made the Opening Day roster no matter how well he pitched this spring, but he didn't do himself any favors in getting touched up for eight runs over 4.2 frames in Cactus League action. The 23-year-old will represent rotation depth at Nashville.

The Brewers optioned Henderson to Triple-A Nashville on Monday, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

Henderson has been excellent this spring, boasting an 8:1 K:BB over 5.2 scoreless innings. However, there's not room for him on the major-league roster at this point, so he'll join the Nashville rotation for now. Henderson has a chance to make some starts for the Brewers later on this season.

Cortes gave up one earned run over 2.2 innings in Sunday's spring game. He allowed four hits, struck out two batters and walked one.

Cortes joined the Brewers over the offseason in the trade that sent Devin Williams to the Yankees, and he got into his first game with his new club Sunday. Cortes averaged under a strikeout per inning in 2024, but he posted a respectable 3.77 ERA over a career-best 174.1 regular-season innings, so expect him to occupy a rotation spot when the regular season gets underway.

The Reds optioned Phillips to Triple-A Louisville on Monday.

Phillips reached the big leagues for the first time in 2023 and made five starts for the Reds, but he appears to have since been passed up by other arms on the organizational pitching depth chart. Though he closed the 2024 campaign on a high note with a 2.49 ERA and 24 strikeouts over 21.2 innings in his final five outings, his season-long ratios at Triple-A were still unsightly (8.01 ERA, 2.03 ERA, 4.3 K-BB% in 78.2 innings). Phillips' control problems once again cropped up this spring, as he had walked six of the 19 batters he faced in Cactus League play. He'll likely need to have a sustained run of success at Triple-A before garnering consideration for a return to the big leagues.

The Reds optioned Zulueta to Triple-A Louisville on Monday.

The hard-throwing Zulueta struck out 20 batters over 16.1 innings in relief in his first taste of the big leagues in 2024, but a 10.1 percent walk rate prevented him from gaining much traction in higher-leverage spots. Spotty command had been an issue again for Zulueta in his limited sample of innings this spring, so the Reds will send the 27-year-old to Louisville to work out the kinks. He'll likely rank near the top of the list for a promotion whenever Cincinnati requires a fresh arm out of the bullpen.