MLB Player News

Ashcraft will start one of the Reds' split-squad games Saturday, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

Ashcraft was a rotation lock the last two spring trainings, but that's not the case in 2025. The right-hander was limited to 15 starts with a 5.24 ERA in 2024 and was shut down for the second half of the season with a Grade 1-2 ulnar collateral sprain in his right elbow. He was able to resume throwing in the fall and pitched in an instructional league game, after which Ashcraft had a normal offseason. Saturday's opportunity does give him a bit of a head start on two other rotation candidates, as both Andrew Abbott (shoulder) and Rhett Lowder (elbow) are being brought along slowly to begin spring training. The Reds have also considered Ashcraft as a potential arm for the bullpen.

Gore is no longer scheduled to start Saturday's Grapefruit League opener against the Astros, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.

Jake Irvin is now listed as the starter for the first game of the exhibition slate, but there is no reported injury to Gore. Instead, this is a matter of Gore preferring to build up to the point of potentially reaching two innings in his spring debut, and the Nationals accommodating the left-hander's request and keeping him on the side for an additional live batting practice session. Gore still seems like the frontrunner for the Opening Day nod in 2025.

Matz is scheduled to start the Cardinals' third spring training game Monday versus the Mets, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

Matz is coming off an unproductive 2024 season in which he turned in a 5.08 ERA and 1.44 WHIP over 44.1 frames, with recurring back problems playing a part in his deflated innings count. The veteran lefty was deployed out of the bullpen for much of September, but with Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn reaching free agency this winter and the Cardinals not making any major offseason additions to the pitching staff, Matz should be in good position to open the season as the club's No. 5 starter. Matz is entering the final season of a four-year, $44 million contract and likely won't have much job security if he emerges from camp with a rotation spot. St. Louis has a pair of intriguing young pitching prospects in Quinn Mathews and Michael McGreevy waiting in the wings to step in if Matz falters or gets injured.

Fedde is scheduled to start the Cardinals' Grapefruit League opener Saturday versus the Marlins, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

Fedde is unlikely to cover more than one or two innings Saturday, but he'll get gradually stretched out during spring training and should be ready to handle a typical starter's workload to begin the regular season After returning stateside with a revamped repertoire in 2024 following a one-year stint in Korea, Fedde emerged as a viable mid-rotation arm between stops with the White Sox and Cardinals. Over his 31 starts, the 31-year-old submitted a 3.30 ERA and 1.16 WHIP while punching out 154 batters over 177.1 innings.

Romero (forearm) threw a live batting practice session Wednesday, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

Romero closed the 2024 season on the injured list due to right forearm inflammation, but he began a throwing program in late October and appears to be facing no limitations in spring training. The 28-year-old southpaw should remain a key setup option in front of closer Ryan Helsley in 2025 after logging a 3.36 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 51:16 K:BB while gathering 30 holds, seven wins and one save over 59 innings a season ago.

Helsley appeared to make use of a cutter as part of his arsenal while throwing his first live batting practice of the spring Thursday, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Helsley already looks to be fully ramped up in the early stages of the spring; the hard-throwing righty uncorked fastballs clocked at 98 mph for his first three pitches of Thursday's session. He also utilized his curveball and slider as part of his core three-pitch mix and complemented those offerings with a cutter, a pitch he's thrown just six total times during his six-year MLB career, per FanGraphs.com. Helsley will likely continue to experiment with his cutter throughout the spring before determining if he can command the pitch well enough to make it a consistent part of his repertoire heading into the regular season. Whether or not he ultimately expands his arsenal, Hesley shapes up as an upper-tier fantasy closer, coming off a brilliant 2024 season in which he recorded an MLB-leading 49 saves to go with seven wins and a 2.04 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 21.1 K-BB%).

Ohtani (shoulder/elbow) has thrown mostly out of a windup during his first two bullpen sessions this spring and plans to continue to do so during games this season, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

When asked if he intends to use a windup during games this year, Ohtani responded, "That's my plan...With increasing the intensity, I do want to see how the body responds, how I respond to it. As of now, that's the plan." Using a windup is a shift from his previous norm, as the two-way star threw almost exclusively out of the stretch during his time on the mound with the Angels. A study published in 2024 concluded that there's no significant difference in velocity or injury risk for pro hurlers pitching out of the stretch versus out of a windup, so there may not be a tangible fantasy impact on Ohtani's decision to change his approach.

Jones has worked on a two-seam fastball this offseason and will test the pitch in spring training games, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.

Jones flashed his potential as a rookie last year with a 4.14 ERA in 22 starts, but his 1.3 HR/9 was a blemish in his skills profile. Like teammate Paul Skenes, Jones is working on a pitch with sinking action in an attempt to keep the ball in the yard more effectively. That could also hurt his potential strikeout upside, though he didn't commit to using that pitch in the regular season.

Gonsolin is scheduled to start Friday's Cactus League game against the Cubs, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

Gonsolin didn't pitch for the Dodgers in 2024 while spending most of the season recovering from the Tommy John surgery he underwent in September 2023, but he was cleared to make three rehab starts for Triple-A Oklahoma City this past September. Though he looked sharp at Triple-A, Gonsolin was never reinstated from the injured list during the Dodgers' run to the World Series, but that wasn't the result of him suffering any sort of setback. Despite having had a normal offseason in addition to owning a sterling 3.19 ERA and 1.05 WHIP over 375.2 career innings in the big leagues, Gonsolin will have to fight for a spot in a talent-laden Dodgers rotation that added Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki this offseason and also has Shohei Ohtani and Dustin May returning from Tommy John surgery. The Dodgers plan to open the season with a traditional five-man rotation before going to a six-man setup once Ohtani is fully stretched out for starting duty -- perhaps at some point in May -- so Gonsolin will be competing with Sasaki, May, Bobby Miller (concussion), Landon Knack and Justin Wrobleski for one of two spots. Gonsolin has a minor-league option remaining, but since he's 30 years old and has a strong track record in the majors, he would likely work out of the big-league bullpen if he misses out on a rotation spot.

Yamamoto pitched 1.2 scoreless innings in a Cactus League contest against the Cubs on Thursday, allowing three hits and no walks while striking out two batters.

Though he gave up three singles, Yamamoto avoided allowing any runs to cross the plate and threw 20 of his 27 pitches for strikes. The right-hander was on the mound for the opening of MLB's spring-training slate and could very well pitch in the first game of the regular season, as manager Dave Roberts said last week that he expects Yamamoto to start one of the Dodgers' two games against the Cubs in Tokyo, Japan on March 18-19. Yamamoto impressed in first taste of MLB last season, posting a 3.00 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 105:22 K:BB over 90 innings across 18 regular-season starts.