MLB Player News

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.

Buehler struck out four and allowed one hit and no walks across two innings during Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the Mets.

The right-hander was excellent in his first start of spring training as he pounded the zone, throwing 19 of his 25 pitches for strikes. Buehler struggled in his return from Tommy John surgery last year and had a 5.38 ERA in 16 regular-season starts for the Dodgers, though he turned in a 3.60 ERA across 15 innings during the playoffs. The 30-year-old joined Boston on a one-year, $21.05 million deal for 2025 and is a good rebound candidate if he can stay healthy.

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.

Giolito (elbow) is tracking toward making his first Grapefruit League start March 11 versus the Phillies, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.

After spending the entire 2024 season on the shelf while recovering from an internal brace procedure, Giolito has been behind Boston's healthy starters in spring training but has been active throughout camp. He's been able to complete multiple simulated games and will face hitters once more in a controlled setting Thursday before making his spring debut the following week. Barring any setbacks while building up during spring training, Giolito should have an inside track on an Opening Day rotation spot.

Tidwell struck out five batters over two perfect innings and recorded an immaculate inning in Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Rays.

The 23-year-old right-hander needed nine pitches to strike out Josh Lowe, Eloy Jimenez and Jose Caballero in his second frame, after fanning Brandon Lowe and Christopher Morel to close out the first inning. Tidwell's prospect status tumbled last season when he was beset by control issues at Triple-A, but he posted a 2.41 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 44:11 K:BB over 37.1 innings at Double-A prior to that to earn the promotion. If Tidwell has corrected the issues that were preventing him from finding the plate consistently, he could be a factor in the Mets' big-league rotation at some point during the 2025 campaign. Per Adam Berry of MLB.com, Tidwell has trimmed his arsenal back to five pitches -- four-seam and two-seam fastballs, a changeup, a slider and a sweeper -- in an effort to put last year's stumble behind him.

Mena (forearm) tossed a 1-2-3 ninth inning in Friday's 6-1 win over the Royals in Cactus League play.

Mena didn't pitch after July 25 and finished last season on Triple-A Reno's injured list due to a forearm strain, but the 22-year-old right-hander looks to be healthy again for spring training. Before getting hurt last season, Mena got the chance to make his MLB debut with the Diamondbacks on July 3 and gave up four earned runs over three innings in a spot start versus the Dodgers. The right-hander is expected to remain on a starter's development track, but he doesn't appear to be a serious candidate for Arizona's Opening Day roster and will likely begin the season in the rotation at Reno.