MLB Player News

McCullers (forearm) said Monday that he's aiming to make his season debut in "late June, early July" Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

McCullers has been limited to flat-ground throwing during spring training after undergoing surgery June 13 to repair the flexor tendon in his right elbow and remove a bone spur. He noted that his procedure carries an estimated recovery timeline of 13-to-15 months, so his target return date of late June or early July would mark the short end of that timeframe. Whether McCullers will realistically be available at that point in the calendar won't become clear for several more months, as he'll still have multiple checkpoints to hit in his recovery before he's a realistic option for the Houston rotation. The Astros haven't indicated when McCullers might be ready to advance to tossing bullpen sessions, which represents the next phase of his throwing program.

Gray (hamstring) completed a 20-pitch light bullpen session Monday with no issues and is slated for a longer bullpen session Wednesday or Thursday, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.

Gray didn't throw at full effort Monday, but he topped out at 92 miles per hour on his final pitch and said afterward of his recovery that "it's been a good week." While being ready for Opening Day would still appear to be a lofty goal, Gray won't need to do a full ramp-up since the longest he went without throwing was two days. If Gray does need a stint on the injured list to begin the season, it's shaping up to be a brief one.

Sauer has allowed two runs (one earned) on seven hits and three walks while striking out eight over six innings across four Cactus League games.

Sauer was selected by the Royals from the Yankees in the Rule 5 Draft in December. As such, he has to be on the Royals' major-league roster all season or they will have to offer him back to the Yankees. Sauer hasn't pitched above Double-A yet in his career, but he had a 3.29 ERA and 1.15 WHIP with 83 strikeouts in 68.1 innings at that level last season. The Royals have plenty of candidates for rotation spots, but Sauer's pitched well enough in the spring to justify getting a bullpen spot in 2024.

The Giants optioned Teng (oblique) to Triple-A Sacramento on Monday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Teng didn't make any Cactus League appearances due to a left oblique strain, but he seems to be just about fully healthy at this point, as he's scheduled to pitch in a minor-league game Wednesday, according to Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com. The 25-year-old right-hander should open the season as a member of Sacramento's rotation.

Gaddis has allowed two runs on four hits, one walk and two hit batsmen while striking out seven over 5.2 innings across four Cactus League appearances.

Gaddis hasn't started any of his outings this spring, which suggests he's not in serious contention for a rotation spot. He's started nine of his 13 major-league appearances over the last two years, but the results have been mediocre at best. Gaddis doesn't have great strikeout numbers in the majors and his velocity sits around 93.5 mph, so he may be best suited for a long-relief role if he makes the big-league roster out of camp.

McDonald was optioned to minor-league camp by the Giants on Monday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

McDonald was added to the 40-man roster over the winter, but he was never going to make the club given that he's yet to advance past A-ball. The 23-year-old missed much of last season with arm issues but pitched very well when healthy, 0.96 ERA and 0.86 WHIP in 37.2 innings at High-A Eugene.

Musgrove is scheduled to start the Padres' second game of the regular season March 21 versus the Dodgers in Seoul, South Korea, MLB.com reports.

He'll be opposing Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the second contest of the two-game season-opening set in South Korea, while Yu Darvish gets the ball for the Friars in the March 20 opener and matches up against Tyler Glasnow. Musgrove finished the 2023 campaign on the shelf due to right shoulder inflammation, but he was fully cleared ahead of spring training. He's been roughed up for eight earned runs on five hits and two walks over 1.2 innings through his first two Cactus League starts, but he'll likely have one more tune-up outing in Arizona before he toes the rubber in Seoul. After the two-game series in South Korea, the Padres will hold their domestic opener March 28 versus the Giants at Petco Park. Manager Mike Shildt implied Monday that there's a good chance that Musgrove will get the nod ahead of Darvish for the first game in San Diego, per Dennis Lin of The Athletic.

Yamamoto is scheduled to start the Dodgers' second game of the regular season March 21 versus the Padres in Seoul, South Korea.

Manager Dave Roberts had previously announced earlier in spring training that Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow would both pick up starts during the two-game set in Seoul to open the season, but the Dodgers didn't disclose until Monday which order the two pitchers would take the bump. Glasnow will end up drawing the Opening Day assignment, while Yamamoto will take the hill for Game 2 in his MLB debut, matching up against Padres right-hander Joe Musgrove. After claiming Pacific League MVP awards in each of his final three seasons in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball before inking a lucrative long-term deal with the Dodgers this winter, Yamamoto has gotten off to a shaky start in spring training, as he's allowed five earned runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out seven in five innings. However, given Yamamoto's track record of elite production in Japan in addition to an impressive arsenal that includes a mid-90s fastball and two plus pitchers -- a high-to-low-90s splitter and an upper-70s curveball -- it shouldn't take long for him to find success in the big leagues.

The Padres announced Monday that Darvish will serve as the team's Opening Day starter March 20 against the Dodgers in Seoul, South Korea.

The Dodgers will counter with Tyler Glasnow in the first game, while Joe Musgrove opposes Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the second contest in Seoul on March 21. Darvish missed the final month of last season with a bone spur in his right elbow, but he's had no limitations this spring, permitting two runs with a 9:0 K:BB over 5.1 frames.

Glasnow will start the Dodgers' Opening Day game March 20 in Seoul, South Korea versus the Padres.

He will be opposed by Yu Darvish, while Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Joe Musgrove will start the second contest of the two-game set for the NL West rivals. Glasnow has looked sharp in his 4.2 innings so far this spring, allowing just one run with a 6:2 K:BB. The big right-hander remains one of the biggest health risks in the game, but he should be a safe bet to perform at a high level for as long as he can stay on the field.