MLB Player News

Greene allowed five runs on three hits and two walks while striking out two over two innings in Friday's spring start against the Athletics.

Greene's second Cactus League outing started fine but ended poorly. He retired the first four batters and five of the first six before it all went sideways. Despite the result, Greene told Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer that his body felt good enough to throw five or six innings.

Nelson allowed one hit and two walks while striking out one over two scoreless innings in Friday's spring game against Kansas City.

Nelson, making his Cactus League debut, followed starter Merrill Kelly, pitching the third and fourth innings. Nelson was a mainstay in the rotation the last two seasons -- and showed improvement in 2024 -- but he enters the spring in a battle for a rotation spot for a third consecutive season. His scoreless outing follows a similar one Thursday from Brandon Pfaadt, who is also competing for the same rotation spot along with Jordan Montgomery.

Kelly allowed one hit and one walk while striking out two over two innings in Friday's spring start against the Royals.

This was Kelly's first appearance in Cactus League action, and the 36-year-old right-hander showed extra juice on his fastball. He averaged 92 mph on his two- and four-seamers in 2024 but threw a number of fastballs at 94-plus Friday. The uptick in velo is an encouraging sign for Kelly, who missed a large part of 2024 due to a shoulder injury.

Alvarez said Saturday that his left wrist is feeling better and believes he can return to game action within the next couple of days, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

Alvarez tweaked his wrist after striking out swinging during the first inning of Thursday's contest, but he doesn't seem to be dealing with anything serious. The 21-year-old infielder is battling for a spot on Atlatna's bench after slashing .297/.398/.463 with 42 RBI and 10 steals across 64 Triple-A games last season.

Machado has been scratched from Friday's spring training game against the Mariners due to back tightness, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

The injury isn't considered serious, and Acee relays that Machado's removal from Friday's lineup is purely precautionary. It's possible that the 32-year-old Machado will be held out of the Padres' next couple of games to truly manage the injury. Eguy Rosario will take Machado's place at third base and bat eighth.

Sproat threw two perfect innings against the Nationals on Friday in his Grapefruit League debut, striking out one batter.

The 24-year-old right-hander retired all six batters he faced and reached 99 mph on a swinging strikeout of Robert Hassell. Widely considered the Mets' top pitching prospect, Sproat is knocking on the door of the rotation for a team that is already down Sean Manaea (oblique) and Frankie Montas (lat) to begin the season. Sproat will almost certainly return to Triple-A Syracuse to begin the year, as he's not yet on the 40-man roster, but manager Carlos Mendoza noted after Friday's exhibition that the Mets will need arms to get through the season and Sproat is "one they will be monitoring," Mike Puma of the New York Post reports.

Manager Dave Roberts confirmed Friday that Sasaki will make his Cactus League debut Tuesday against the Reds, David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports reports.

Roberts noted that although Sasaki will be making his first spring appearance Tuesday, the start will be given to Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Sasaki pitched three innings in a simulated game earlier this week, and the plan is for him to pitch at least that much in his Cactus League debut.

Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said earlier this month that Puk being left-handed "wouldn't be an issue for me" when considering his options for the ninth inning, Jack Sommers of Arizona Diamondbacks on SI reports.

The other two Arizona closer candidates -- Justin Martinez and Kevin Ginkel -- are both righties, which is the handedness managers often prefer in the role. However, it does not appear that will factor into Lovullo's decision. Puk was dominant for the Diamondbacks last season after being acquired from the Marlins, posting a 1.32 ERA, 0.73 WHIP and 43:5 K:BB over 27.1 innings.

Manager Terry Francona indicated Friday that Abbott's availability for the start of the regular season remains up in the air as he works his way back from a shoulder issue, Gordon Wittenmyer of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

The left-hander finished last season on the injured list due to a shoulder strain, so he's had a slower, more deliberate buildup early in spring training. A bout with the flu slowed Abbott's progress this week, and Francona doesn't expect the 25-year-old to be built up to 100 pitches by the start of the regular season. He could still begin the season in the starting rotation if he can handle about five innings, otherwise Graham Ashcraft or Carson Spiers could get a turn or two before Abbott steps in as the No. 5 starter.

New Reds manager Terry Francona doesn't intend to use Stephenson as a first baseman on days he's not catching, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Stephenson will still get some reps at DH when Jose Trevino is behind the plate, but Francona wants to keep Stephenson off the field when he's not catching. The practical consequence of this is that Stephenson could get fewer plate appearances, especially with the Reds carrying a legitimate backup in Trevino.