MLB Player News

Steele (elbow) faced live hitters Friday for the first time in 11 months as he continues his recovery from UCL revision surgery last April, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

Steele only threw 19 pitches, but it was still an important milestone in his long road back following surgery. The lefty has been ramping up his throwing during the winter and early spring, and he's tentatively targeting a May or June return to the majors. Steele was fairly sharp in his session Friday, recording three strikeouts and two flyball outs, and he said he felt good afterward. The team will surely be cautious with the southpaw, though it looks like he'll be able to help the rotation at some point this year.

Oviedo allowed two runs on three hits and three walks while striking out five over 3.1 innings in Friday's spring start against the Rays.

Oviedo was dynamic in the first inning when he struck out the side before a two-out walk in the third extended the inning and led to two runs. "The first inning was the highlight of his outing," Boston manager Alex Cora told Christopher Smith of MassLive.com. "His stuff is really good. We cannot deny that. And when we throw it over the heart of the plate, there's a lot of outs. So we've just gotta keep doing that consistently." Through four Grapefruit League starts, Oviedo has allowed two runs (1.59 ERA) on eight hits and six walks over 11.1 innings.

Mize allowed six runs on six hits and four walks across three innings in Friday's Grapefruit League contest against the Pirates. He struck out two.

This was easily Mize's worst start of the spring slate, as he came into the contest having allowed three total earned runs across 8.1 Grapefruit League innings. He said after the contest that his "mechanics are off," per Jason Beck of MLB.com, which is somewhat concerning at this point during spring training. The righty should still be locked into a regular-season rotation spot, though the Tigers did bolster their pitching staff in the offseason with the additions of Framber Valdez and Justin Verlander, so Mize may be knocked down the pecking order a bit. He stayed mostly healthy last year and posted a 3.87 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 139 strikeouts across 149 regular-season innings.

Cantillo allowed three runs on three hits and one walk while striking out six over 4.2 innings in Friday's spring start against the Angels.

Cantillo had a couple of shaky stretches but overall pitched well in his fourth Cactus League start. He opened the game by issuing a walk to Zach Neto and then balked him to second before the runner eventually scored. The lefty then retired the next eight batters before allowing a two-run home run in the fourth inning, which he followed by setting down the next five batters. He left the game after throwing 74 pitches (45 strikes). Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt is still evaluating Cantillo, Logan Allen, Slade Cecconi and Parker Messick for the final three spots in the rotation.

Kelly (back) said Friday that he expects to be on the injured list to open the regular season, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports.

Kelly spoke about his chances of making the Opening Day roster following his Cactus League debut Friday. "I won't go into depth on what the tentative plan is right now, but yeah, as of right now, not very good," the pitcher said. That's the bad news; the good news is that Kelly's back held up over 1.2 innings (36 pitches), which was the priority of the day. Stints on the IL can be backdated three days, which means Kelly would miss at least the first 12 days of the regular season. He would be eligible for activation in time for April 7 against the Mets.

Rodriguez allowed two hits and walked four batters while striking out five over 4.2 scoreless innings in a Cactus League start against Cleveland on Friday.

Rodriguez was a bit wild in issuing four free passes, but he kept the Guardians out of the score column thanks in part to a pair of double plays. Promisingly, he worked up to 85 pitches, and though his fastball velocity was a bit below its established norm at 94.3 mph, it's worth noting that the right-hander is still working his way back into full form after not pitching in any games beyond spring training last season. Rodriguez hasn't dropped jaws this spring, but he's looked healthy and has posted a tolerable 4.97 ERA with 12 punchouts (albeit alongside 10 walks) over 12.2 frames, so he looks to be headed toward a spot in the Angels' Opening Day rotation.

King allowed six runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out five batters over four innings in a Cactus League start against the Athletics on Friday.

King notched a nice strikeout total, but he was also pounded for three homers, which came on back-to-back-to-back A's blasts in the fourth inning. The right-hander began the Cactus League slate with a fine 2.2-inning, one-run outing against the Angels, but since then he's yielded 13 earned runs on 15 hits (including five long balls) over 10 frames spanning three starts. Spring training stats rarely carry much importance, and King is locked into a rotation spot for the Padres, but a bounce-back outing before the end of the exhibition slate could be useful to reset the hurler heading into the regular season.

The Nationals optioned Parker to Triple-A Rochester on Friday.

Parker lost his spot in the Nationals' rotation last season and didn't do enough this spring to get it back, collecting an uninspiring 3:5 K:BB over 3.2 innings during Grapefruit League action. The left-hander should open the season in the rotation at Rochester as he awaits another opportunity with the big club.

Woodruff (lat) said Friday that his status for Opening Day remains "up in the air," Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

Woodruff threw two innings in his Cactus League debut last weekend and tossed four frames in a simulated game Friday. The right-hander has been brought along slowly in Brewers camp after ending last season with a right lat strain, and while he's considered healthy, the buildup could continue after Opening Day. Woodruff also said that "maybe the majority" of his starts this season will be on five days' rest or more, and his "main goal" remains being healthy at the end of the season.

Winn allowed one hit and struck out one across one scoreless inning in Thursday's 3-3 Cactus League tie against the White Sox.

Winn entered in the sixth inning, throwing 10 of his 12 pitches for strikes while allowing just one single. The right-hander struggled at Triple-A Sacramento last season and made only seven appearances for the Giants, recording a 4.50 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and 9:2 K:BB across 10 innings in the majors. The competition for bullpen spots in San Francisco is wide open, and even if Winn doesn't make the Opening Day roster, he could emerge as a call-up candidate later in the campaign. Through five Cactus League outings this spring, he has allowed one earned run on four hits and two walks while striking out six in 6.1 innings.