MLB Player News

Fairchild started in center field and went 0-for-3 in Monday's spring game against the Giants.

Fairchild will help fill the void in center field created Saturday when TJ Friedl sustained a fractured wrist. The injury is expected keep him sidelined through the end of April. The right-handed hitting Fairchild and lefty Will Benson will be the primary fill-ins at the position, although it's not yet known if there will be a strict platoon. Benson started in center field Sunday against righty Shane Bieber, while Fairchild got his start against lefty Kyle Harrison. Fairchild has impressed thus far in spring training, batting .360 (9-for-25) with five extra-base hits and six RBI.

Nelson (groin) allowed one walk over a scoreless and hitless inning in Monday's spring game against Oakland.

Nelson was held back for eight days while dealing with a groin injury, but manager Torey Lovullo never deemed the injury serious enough to impact the pitcher's availability for Opening Day. Nelson is expected to fill a middle-relief role for the Diamondbacks, as he's done each of the last two seasons.

Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said Monday that Cecconi will pitch "bulk innings" in the minors but stopped short of saying he would be a starter, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports.

The Diamondbacks plan to have Cecconi, who was optioned to minor-league camp Monday, be as versatile as possible at Triple-A Reno. Whether that be as a piggyback starter or straight multi-inning reliever, the organization views him as someone that can help the parent club if needed. There were concerns last season about Cecconi going through an order a third time, which suggests his best fit going forward will be in a bulk-inning role.

Jarvis is still in the mix for the fifth starter job, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports.

Gilbert re-examined the competition for the No. 5 job after the Diamondbacks optioned Slade Cecconi to minor-league camp Monday. Cecconi was seen as part of a three-man grouping that also includes Tommy Henry and Ryne Nelson, but Jarvis has been building up innings despite not making a Cactus League start. The right-hander was up to 3.1 innings his last time out, when Jarvis allowed two hits and a walk while striking out five without ceding a run. The conventional thought is that Nelson is the leader at this stage of spring.

The Diamondbacks on Monday named Gallen the starter for Opening Day, Damon Allred of Arizona Sports reports.

Gallen was widely speculated to take the ball for Opening Day on March 28 at home against the Rockies, and now it's official. It will be the second straight Opening Day nod for the right-hander, who's coming off an All-Star season in 2023, when he posted a 3.47 ERA over 34 starts. Gallen, who logged 4.1 scoreless innings and 58 pitches in his previous outing Sunday, will make one more spring start before the regular season.

Moreno started at catcher and went 1-for-3 in Monday's spring game against the Athletics.

Moreno was back in the lineup after being scratched last Thursday due to lower back tightness. In all, it was his first Cactus League game in a week. He's locked in as the Diamondbacks' primary catcher.

Kelly allowed four hits and one walk while striking out seven over 3.1 innings in Monday's spring start against Oakland.

Kelly, on track to pitch the second game of the regular season, was pleased with the shape of his pitches in talking to Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports. "Everything was sharp, fastball is coming out of the hand well, really liking the progress of the slider, I saw some really good swings and misses and some good location on it today," Kelly said. A byproduct of his seven punchouts, however, was an elevated pitch count; Kelly needed 65 pitches to secure those 10 outs. The right-hander will have one more Cactus League start to get the pitches up to the point where he can throw five or six innings in his first start of the regular season.

Davis has impressed some on the Pirates' pitching staff with his defensive work this spring, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Davis entered spring training with some question marks surrounding his defensive ability behind the plate. However, he's drawn praise from both Mitch Keller and Jared Jones in recent days, and he also effectively blocked a pitch that was bounced by Martin Perez in Monday's game against the Phillies. Aiding Davis' cause is Yasmani Grandal's (foot) absence, a combination that seems likely to land him on the roster and in the lineup on Opening Day.

Perez has allowed one earned run across 12 innings with a 13:4 K:BB in Grapefruit League action.

There are a couple of vacancies at the back of the Pirates' rotation, but Perez will be locked in as a starter to begin the regular season. He built up to five innings in an outing against the Phillies on Monday, racking up eight strikeouts against two walks without allowing a run. Despite the strong form, there should be some skepticism about Perez's performance, as he's posted an ERA above 4.40 in six of his last seven campaigns.

Wall is now expected to begin the season in the majors, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

With the caveat that Atlanta could still add a player over the next week, Wall now appears in line to break camp with a reserve role after the team reassigned Luke Williams, David Fletcher and Eli White among others Monday afternoon. Wall has just one hit in his last five spring games, but he launched three homers early on in camp. The 28-year-old can back up all three outfield positions and provides a speed element off the bench that none of the team's other options could match.