MLB Player News

McCarthy was noticeably absent from the Diamondbacks' projected Opening Day roster from Steve Gilbert of MLB.com.

McCarthy, who went 1-for-3 with two runs and one stolen base Friday, has been a contributor the last two seasons. He stole 23 bases in 2022 then 26 last season. The 25-year-old outfielder now appears to be on the roster bubble. The offseason additions of Joc Pederson and Randal Grichuk (ankle), plus the re-signing of Lourdes Gurriel, makes it a crowded outfield. Arizona can also use Jace Peterson (wrist) as a depth outfielder in a pinch.

Cecconi allowed two runs on five hits and one walk while striking out one over two innings in Friday's spring start against the Reds.

Cecconi, who is among the group battling for the fifth starter job, may have fallen behind his main competitors, Tommy Henry and Ryne Nelson. One so-so spring outing shouldn't be the deciding factor, but both Henry (five scoreless innings) and Nelson (one run, five innings, 10 strikeouts) have been impressive early.

Acuna (knee) has undergone an MRI, which showed irritation in his right meniscus, Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

After he was scratched from the lineup Friday, Acuna was examined and an MRI was recommended. The plan is for Acuna to see a doctor in Los Angeles to further assess the injury, though at this stage Atlanta still expects the superstar outfielder to be ready for Opening Day. Unless the injury turns out to be more serious than currently believed, he seems unlikely to fall off his perch as the consensus No. 1 pick in fantasy for 2024.

Nelson worked on his slider over the offseason, and it's looked sharp early in camp, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports.

Coming off Arizona's loss in the World Series, manager Torey Lovullo told Nelson that he needed to be able to throw his slider more and not be so fastball reliant. The right-hander focused on it and has looked good through two spring starts. Nelson threw two scoreless innings with five strikeouts in his first outing and followed that up with one run allowed and another five strikeouts over three innings Thursday. "It's a focus on trying to keep [opposing hitters] off balance, keep them guessing and make sure that they can't just key on the fastball," Nelson said. "When I'm just pumping heaters in there, it's pretty easy to lock in." The battle for the final spot in the rotation should come down to Nelson or Tommy Henry, who has also impressed through two Cactus League outings. Slade Cecconi is also in the mix but struggled Friday when he allowed two runs on five hits and a walk over two innings in his second appearance.

Estrada has gone 3-for-12 over four Cactus League games.

While the Giants' infield is getting crowded after Friday's signing of Matt Chapman, there's little reason to think Estrada is in danger of losing his starting job at the keystone. Estrada hit .271 with a .731 OPS, 14 home runs, 23 stolen bases, 49 RBI and 63 runs scored over 120 contests last year. With a little more pop in the Giants' lineup, his counting stats could rise if he stays in the top half of the order.

Grove entered with two outs in the third inning of Tuesday's Cactus League game against the White Sox, though he's still being built up as a starter, Eric Stephen of SB Nation reports.

It's not unusual for a starter to pitch in relief during spring training, but Grove's outing was noteworthy in that manager Dave Roberts indicated he wanted the right-hander to get more experience coming into the game in the middle of an inning, suggesting his role for the beginning of the campaign has yet to be decided. The Dodgers beefed up their rotation with the additions of Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and James Paxton in the offseason, so even with Walker Buehler (elbow) slated to begin the campaign on the injured list, there isn't a guaranteed spot in the Opening Day rotation for Grove. He made three late-September relief appearances last year and pitched five scoreless innings with a 6:1 K:BB, yielding just one hit in that span.

Irvin has been used only in relief so far this spring, but manager Dave Martinez said he will be a part of the starting rotation, Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports reports. Irvin gave up six earned runs on five hits and two walks in 1.2 innings during Friday's Grapefruit League game against Houston. "We've got to get him to relax a little bit. He's working on a bunch of different secondary pitches. I'm going to sit down and talk to him: His next outing, just get the ball in the zone and work ahead," Martinez said Friday.

The 27-year-old right-hander had allowed seven earned runs and seven hits in 3.2 innings through two spring outings, but it sounds like his manager isn't too worried. Still, Irvin's job can't be too secure after he had a 4.61 ERA with a mediocre 7.4 K/9 and troublesome 4.0 BB/9 last season in his first big-league action.

Freeland threw two perfect innings with one strikeout in Friday's Cactus League victory over Seattle.

Friday marked Freeland's first start this spring after he spent the offseason recovering from an oblique injury that put an early end to his 2023 campaign. Though his strong outing Friday was encouraging from a health perspective, Freeland is unlikely to be a reliable fantasy option in 2024 after posting a 5.03 ERA and 1.47 WHIP last year alongside a poor 5.4 K/9.

Chapman signed a three-year, $54 million contract with the Giants on Friday, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.

Chapman will make $20 million in 2024, $18 million in 2025 and $16 million in 2026, but he will have the ability to opt out of his deal after each of the first two seasons. The 30-year-old third baseman slashed .240/.330/.424 with 17 homers and 54 RBI across 581 plate appearances for the Blue Jays last year. In San Francisco, Chapman may not see quite as heavy a workload due to the presence of J.D. Davis on the roster, but he still figures to see the majority of the playing time.

Peterson experienced inflammation in his right wrist Friday, Alex Weiner of ArizonaSports.com reports.

Peterson had imaging done on his wrist that revealed no structural damage. He will be shut down for a few days, but manager Torey Lovullo said he's not worried about Peterson missing Opening Day.