MLB Player News

Yamamoto is listed as the Dodgers' starting pitcher for Wednesday's Cactus League game against the Rangers, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

The Dodgers are expected to have both of their prized offseason acquisitions make their Cactus League debuts within the next two days, as Shohei Ohtani (elbow) is scheduled to serve as a designated hitter Tuesday versus the White Sox before Yamamoto takes the hill Wednesday. Since Yamamoto had been on a once-a-week pitching schedule in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball while winning Pacific League MVP Awards in each of the past three seasons, the Dodgers will move to a six-man rotation in 2024 to help ease the 25-year-old's transition to MLB. The Dodgers are already penciling Yamamoto in to make his first regular-season start during their two-game season-opening series in South Korea versus the Padres on March 20 and 21.

Verlander (shoulder) will ramp up the intensity of his throwing during a bullpen session Tuesday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Verlander has thrown a few low-intensity bullpen sessions consisting of fastballs and has thus far come out of them well during spring training. The veteran right-hander is being ramped up slowly this spring after his right shoulder didn't bounce back well during his offseason throwing program. Verlander and the Astros aren't ruling him out from being ready for the start of the season, but the window is tight.

Lowder is scheduled to pitch in one of the Reds' split-squad games Monday, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

This marks the first time Lowder will throw to professional batters in game conditions. He threw during Fall Instructs, but the right-hander was already at his innings limit when Cincinnati selected him with the seventh overall pick in the 2023 Draft.

Stripling, who was due to start Monday's Cactus League game against the Diamondbacks, will see his turn pushed back at least "a couple of days" due to a minor cut on his right index finger, MLB.com reports.

Manager Mark Kotsay didn't imply the issue was too serious, and the fact Stripling is expected to make his delayed debut later in the week seems to bear that out. Mitch Spence, a Rule 5 pick this winter, will slide into Stripling's starting spot for Monday's game.

Heaney allowed one hit and one walk while striking out five over two scoreless innings in Sunday's spring start against the Giants.

Heaney's Cactus League debut got off to a rocky start, as the left-hander walked the first batter on four pitches and then hit a batter. He settled in after that, striking out two before inducing a groundout to avoid any damage. Heaney is expected to slot in third in the Rangers' rotation.

Greene allowed one hit and two walks while striking out four over 1.2 innings in a spring start Sunday against the Angels.

Greene busted out a curveball and split-finger fastball during the outing, adding two new offerings he worked on during the offseason to an arsenal that includes a four-seam fastball, slider and a rarely used changeup, per Mark Sheldon of MLB.com. "I tried to keep it simple," Greene said. "I feel like I had a good feel for everything. Curveball was a little iffy, but as far as spring I will continue to work on it." The right-hander was exuberant about the state of the new split and will continue to hone it for Opening Day and beyond. He had been scheduled to pitch two innings but reached his pitch limit thanks to a long first inning that included two walks and three strikeouts.

Cecconi walked one and struck out four over two hitless and scoreless innings in Sunday's spring start against the White Sox.

Cecconi, who made his spring debut, pitched as well as Tommy Henry and Ryne Nelson -- his main competitors for the final rotation spot -- did Friday and Saturday, respectively. Cecconi's main offseason focus was to refine his secondary offerings, which Arizona manager Torey Lovullo believes could lengthen the 24-year-old's outings. The right-hander appeared in seven games, four as a starter, for the Diamondbacks in 2023 and rarely faced batters a third time through. "Last year, I was very slider heavy," Cecconi said. "A lot of fastball/slider and the huge goal this offseason was to really develop a four pitch-mix," Cecconi said. Henry and Nelson are considered the leaders for the final rotation spot.

Gallen tossed a live batting-practice session Sunday, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports.

This was the first time facing batters this spring for Gallen, who is prepping for his scheduled Cactus League debut Friday. "I felt all right," the right-hander said. "I mean, I still feel a little rushed, but that's just a timing thing. I think that just comes with time of getting used to seeing hitters again." Gallen, who threw a career-high 243.2 innings combined between the regular season and playoffs in 2023, is being brought along slowly this spring but should be Arizona's Opening Day starter.

Giolito walked one and struck out one over two no-hit, scoreless innings in Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the Twins.

Giolito made his spring debut and broke out a new grip on a slider he's been working on since the start of camp, per Ian Browne of MLB.com. The right-hander, who threw 27 pitches (16 strikes) in Sunday's outing, said he still plans to use the changeup as a go-to off-speed offering. An up-and-coming starter with the White Sox between 2019 and 2021, Giolito had a difficult 2023, when he pitched for three teams and allowed 41 home runs.

Faedo allowed two runs on four hits across two innings in Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the Rays. He struck out three.

The strikeouts were nice, but Faedo was also too hittable, with the key blow being a home run by Yu Chang. Faedo appeared in 15 games for the Tigers in 2023, with 12 starts, but he's likely been pushed out of a rotation spot due to the offseason additions of Kenta Maeda and Jack Flaherty, and several other pitchers have gotten healthy. Faedo will instead look to snag a bullpen role coming out of spring training. The righty won't be on the fantasy radar as a middle reliever.