MLB Player News

Strider allowed four hits and a walk while striking out four over four scoreless innings during Tuesday's Grapefruit League game against the Tigers.

In his longest outing of the spring so far, Strider had little trouble dispatching a Detroit lineup led by Kerry Carpenter and top prospect Colt Keith. The 25-year-old right-hander has been dominant in Florida, posting a 0.00 ERA and 13:3 K:BB through nine innings as he looks to take another step forward after leading MLB with 281 strikeouts in 2023.

Morton gave up two hits and two walks over 2.2 scoreless innings during Tuesday's Grapefruit League game against Detroit. He struck out three.

The 40-year-old right-hander saw his first game action of the spring, taking the mound to begin the fifth inning, and he looked to be nearly ready for Opening Day. Morton's 1.43 WHIP last season was his highest mark in over a decade, but his 3.64 ERA and 25.6 percent strikeout rate over 163.1 innings indicate he still has plenty left in the tank. He's expected to begin the 2024 campaign as Atlanta's No. 4 starter.

Gray (hamstring) will play catch from 60 feet Thursday, Lynn Worthy of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Gray was diagnosed with a mild right hamstring strain earlier this week but is ready to ease back into baseball activities. The expectation is that he will likely require a stint on the injured list to begin the season, although the Cardinals seem optimistic that Gray's absence will be a short one.

Yamamoto was tagged for five runs on six hits and three walks over three innings Wednesday in Cactus League action versus the White Sox.

Yamamoto did notch four strikeouts, but on the whole it was a significant step back from his superb first spring start. Worth noting is that the Dodgers' infield defense behind the righty was pretty shaky, and if there's a weakness on the team that might be it, particularly the left side. Yamamoto is expected to start one of the Dodgers' games in their March 20-21 series in South Korea against the Padres, but he should have a couple more tune-ups before then.

Heaney allowed four runs on five hits and three walks while striking out four over three innings in Wednesday's spring start against the Rockies.

Heaney had an off first inning, giving up three runs on three hits and a walk but also struck out three. The left-hander didn't get settled in until a 1-2-3 third frame. He told Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News that he was mechanically off and acknowledged being a "slow starter" early in seasons. The outing was his second Cactus League start, but he's also thrown three innings during an intrasquad game.

Keller sat between 90-92 mph for much of his spring training outing Wednesday against the Orioles, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.

The decreased velocity is a red flag not only for his potential level of performance but also as a potential indication of injury. However, he completed four innings -- his longest outing of the spring -- and told reporters after the game that he wasn't worried and that his velocity would ramp back up as the intensity of games increased. Though his results were inconsistent, Keller is coming off a breakout season during which he struck out 210 batters across 194.1 innings, and he'll take the mound on Opening Day against the Marlins.

Bradley threw three scoreless innings while allowing two hits and striking out one in Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Yankees.

Bradley is expected to be in the Rays' Opening Day rotation, as Shane Baz (elbow/oblique) is expected to be brought along slowly. Bradley helped his cause with his spring debut, particularly because the Yankees had most of their projected starters in the lineup. In addition to posting three scoreless innings, Bradley touched 98 mph with his fastball and generated four swings-and-misses on 43 total pitches.

Spiers allowed three hits and struck out five over four scoreless relief innings in Wednesday's spring game against San Diego.

The Reds are focused on getting their projected rotation members ramped up, but Spiers will be stretched out as organizational starter depth. The 26-year-old right-hander, who is expected to open at Triple-A Louisville, has allowed two earned runs over 8.2 innings, striking out 11 and walking one.

Stoudt, who was claimed off waivers by the Mariners from the Reds in mid-February, is making a case to enter the rotation mix at some point this coming season, Steve Stockmar of MLB.com reports.

Stoudt is in his second stint with the Mariners organization, having originally entered professional baseball as Seattle's third-round pick in the First-Year Player Draft back in 2019. He was eventually dealt to the Reds in 2022 and got his first taste of the big leagues with Cincinnati last season, pitching to a 0-1 record, 9.58 ERA and 2.32 WHIP across the 10.1 innings covering his four appearances (two starts). However, Stoudt was impressive in his Cactus League debut Tuesday, allowing a hit and recording two strikeouts over two scoreless innings versus the Guardians while hitting 97 mph with his fastball and also deploying his slider and splitter effectively. Manager Scott Servais is optimistic about Stoudt's chances of eventually contributing as a starter in 2024, noting the need to have more than just five rotation members over the course of a season and adding "I do think he helps us at some point this year."

Miller is increasingly making a case to serve as the Athletics' closer with his Cactus League performances, despite manager Mark Kotsay previously stating he wasn't likely to use only one pitcher in that role to start the season, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

Miller has put together two perfect innings across his pair of appearances, recording five strikeouts along the way while getting his elite fastball up as high as 103 mph. Miller is also using his wipeout slider effectively, and Gallegos surmises Kotsay may have no choice but to eventually name Miller as his primary ninth-inning option if the rest of the flamethrower's spring unfolds in similar fashion.