MLB Player News

Taillon (back) threw a 10-pitch, touch-and-feel bullpen session Wednesday, Andy Martinez of Marquee Sports Network reports.

Taillon is finally ready to ease back into mound work after a lower-back issue cropped up nearly two weeks ago. The right-hander has not made any official game appearances this spring and it seems unlikely that he'll be ready for one before the Cactus League schedule runs out. He will begin the season on the injured list, with a potential timetable available later on as he continues to ramp back up.

Sykora has been sitting 96-97 mph with his fastball in camp, Sam Dykstra of MLB.com reports.

The 6-foot-6 right-hander got an over-slot bonus after being selected 71st overall in the 2023 First-Year Player Draft, and it's beginning to look like the Nationals made a very wise investment in buying him out of a commitment to the University of Texas. The extension he gets on his pitches makes him tough for batters to pick up, and he's shown improvement with his slider in camp while also having a potentially plus split-finger pitch in his arsenal. Sykora won't turn 20 years old until late April, but he could move through multiple levels of the system this year in his pro debut if his control and command can keep up with his raw stuff.

Cabrera (shoulder) threw a 20-pitch bullpen session Wednesday, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

He threw all fastballs in what was his first time throwing off the mound since he was diagnosed with a right shoulder impingement just over a week ago. Cabrera figures to need another bullpen session or two before progressing to facing hitters and eventually games. There is no timetable for him rejoining the Marlins' rotation, but he's made relatively quick progress given the nature of the injury.

Severino threw five innings and about 85 pitches in a minor-league game Tuesday, Tim Britton of The Athletic reports.

The right-hander has avoided arm trouble this spring, and he says it's the first time he's felt fully healthy in camp since 2018. Severino allowed just one run on a solo shot over nine Grapefruit League innings with an 8:0 K:BB. Severino is on track to start the Mets' second game of the season, following Jose Quintana in the rotation, and while his ugly numbers for the Yankees last year give fantasy GMs plenty of reason to be nervous about rostering him, he has significant bounce-back potential -- the 30-year-old delivered a 3.18 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 27.7 percent strikeout rate against a 7.4 percent walk rate over 102 innings in 2022.

Snell said Wednesday that he will not be ready for Opening Day, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Snell said he got stretched out to 60 pitches while throwing on his own, but that's without the adrenaline of facing major-league hitters. The left-hander will throw a bullpen session Thursday and the Giants will set up a schedule for Snell after that. While the reigning National League Cy Young winner figures to be ready to make his first regular season start early on, a more specific timetable will be available following Thursday's mound session.

Snell said Wednesday that he will throw a bullpen session Thursday and expects to pitch in a game soon, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

The Giants, understandably, are not ready to commit to when Snell might be ready to pitch for them, but it sounds like he could get in a Cactus League start before the schedule runs out. Whether that would be sufficient enough for him to be ready to take a turn when the regular season begins isn't clear at this juncture, but more will be known about Snell's timeline in the coming days.

Lyles could be trailing Alec Marsh in the fifth starter competition for the Royals, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

Not only has Marsh out-pitched Lyles by a wide margin, but the latter has also been plagued by a lower-back issue this spring that has limited him to just five innings. Lyles will make another start Thursday, but he might not be stretched out sufficiently enough to open the year in the rotation. The Royals could opt to put Lyles on the injured list to begin the season, allowing him to build up his stamina while giving Marsh a shot in the rotation to see what he can do.

Fried gave up four runs (three earned) on six hits and a walk over six inning in Monday's Grapefruit League start against the Rays. He struck out four.

The lefty blanked Tampa Bay for five innings before running into trouble in the sixth with a minor-league defense behind him, getting tagged for three straight singles to begin the frame. Fried's spring numbers don't stand out, but he built up to nearly 90 pitches Monday and looks ready for the regular season to begin. Atlanta's No. 2 starter made only 14 trips to the mound in 2023 due to a variety of injuries, but he posted a 2.55 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 80:18 K:BB through 77.2 innings.

Gausman (shoulder) felt good after a 36-pitch simulated game Wednesday, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.careports.

The right-hander continues to ramp up his workload after a bout of shoulder fatigue slowed him down in early March. The next step for Gausman is to get into a game, with the goal being to progress to 60-to-65 pitches across three innings early next week. The 33-year-old won't be ready for Opening Day, but at this rate he should be able to join Toronto's rotation within the first couple weeks of the season.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza announced Wednesday that Megill made the club's season-opening rotation, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.

The 28-year-old entered camp in competition to be the Mets' No. 5 starter with Kodai Senga (shoulder) set to begin the season on the injured list, and Megill delivered a solid showing during spring training with a 3.45 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 16:4 K:BB in 15.2 frames to win the job. The right-hander got stretched out to 76 pitches in his previous Grapefruit League start over the weekend and should begin the campaign with a full starter's workload. Megill made 25 starts for New York last season and had a 4.70 ERA 1.58 WHIP and 105:58 K:BB over 126.1 innings.