MLB Player News

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts informed Stone on Monday that he'll open the season as the team's No. 5 starter, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

Stone was told he officially won the job after he struck out eight of the 11 batters he faced during an exhibition appearance versus the Korean national team Monday in Seoul. The young right-hander also impressed during Cactus League action, allowing just one run with a 9:1 K:BB over 9.2 innings of work. Stone struggled mightily during his time with the big club last season, but a 32.6 percent strikeout rate in the minors points to his upside. He'll be available out of the bullpen for Los Angeles' two-game, season-opening set with the Padres in Seoul on Wednesday and Thursday, but his first start will likely come at home versus the Giants in the Dodgers' first series of April.

Ynoa was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett by Atlanta on Monday.

Ynoa needs to rebuild his stamina after missing all of last season following Tommy John surgery. The right-hander flashed promise prior to getting hurt, but he looks to be fairly far down the organizational depth chart.

Atlanta optioned Elder to Triple-A Gwinnett on Monday.

Elder wound up being the odd man out for a spot in Atlanta's five-man rotation, with offseason pickup Reynaldo Lopez seemingly getting the first crack at serving as the team's No. 5 starter. If Lopez struggles in his transition from the bullpen to the rotation and is eventually moved back to a relief role, Elder could be an option for spot starts, but AJ Smith-Shawver is the more appealing fantasy stash due to his superior stuff and upside. Elder had an 8.25 ERA, 1.75 WHIP and 13 strikeouts in 12 innings during Grapefruit League play.

Jones allowed two hits and one walk while striking out four across four scoreless innings in Saturday's Grapefruit League game against Atlanta.

Jones entered the conversation for a rotation spot by flashing elite velocity early in the spring, and he's turned his stuff into results more effectively in his past two outings. The latest came while facing the vast majority of Atlanta's regular lineup, and he's now combined to post a 7:1 K:BB across his last 6.2 frames. Two spots in the Pittsburgh rotation remain unclaimed, and Jones could be in line to grab one.

Nastrini allowed three hits and two walks while striking out two across four scoreless innings in Sunday's Cactus League game against the Athletics.

Nastrini has moved into the rotation picture due to a combination of his strong performances this spring and Dylan Cease being dealt away. He's yet to make his big-league debut but did close the 2023 campaign at Triple-A Charlotte, where he managed a 23:10 K:BB across 19.2 innings. Nastrini has continued to turn heads in the exhibition season, maintaining a 0.82 ERA and 0.82 WHIP with an 11:4 K:BB across 11 frames.

Quantrill allowed four hits and one walk while striking out three across 4.2 scoreless innings in Sunday's Cactus League game against the Giants.

Quantrill made his longest appearance of the spring and tallied his first strikeout of the exhibition season. Despite the lack of swing and miss, he's been effective, allowing only three earned runs across 10.2 frames. Quantrill will be relied upon as a key part of the Rockies' rotation, though he's likely to find consistent success hard to come by given his contact-heavy approach at Coors Field.

Javier will start the second game of the regular season against the Yankees, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Justin Verlander (shoulder) will begin the season on the injured list, forcing each of Houston's pitchers to move one slot up in the rotation. That leaves Framber Valdez in line to start Opening Day with Javier to follow one game later. Javier will be looking to bounce back from a subpar 2023 campaign during which he posted a 4.56 ERA and 1.27 WHIP across 162 innings.

Gallen allowed one hit and one walk while striking out four over 4.1 scoreless innings in Sunday's Cactus League start against the Angels.

Gallen threw 58 pitches (34 strikes) in his third Cactus League start and had to pitch into the fifth inning to get the count up that high. The right-hander said Sunday was the best he's felt this spring, per Steve Gilbert of MLB.com. Gallen will get one more spring start that should prepare him for the pitch-count range he'll need to be at for Opening Day.

Williamson left Sunday's spring training game against the Guardians with shoulder soreness, Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Manager David Bell revealed why Williamson had to leave the game early. The pitcher was taken out of the game due to soreness in his left shoulder. The Reds are hopeful that it is nothing serious. In three spring training appearances, the 25-year-old had allowed four earned runs with nine strikeouts and zero walks in 9.0 innings.

The Nationals optioned Rutledge to Triple-A Rochester on Sunday.

Rutledge allowed just three runs and struck out seven over seven frames in three Grapefruit League appearances, but he walked five batters. The 24-year-old made his MLB debut with four starts last season but struggled to a 6.75 ERA over 20 innings. He's likely to be one of the first options to start if the Nationals deal with rotation injuries.