MLB Player News

Verlander (shoulder) threw a 60-pitch bullpen session Sunday that appeared to include some breaking balls, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

The 41-year-old continues to ramp up his throwing program, with the next step potentially being to face live hitters. Manager Joe Espada indicated Verlander could still be ready by Opening Day but also said "we're running out of days [in spring training]," per Kawahara.

Houck allowed one hit and one walk while striking out five over three scoreless innings in Saturday's spring game against the Nationals.

Houck followed starter Brayan Bello and easily navigated the fourth through sixth innings. This was his second Grapefruit League outing; he pitched two perfect innings in a start last Monday. So far, so good for Houck, who's thrown five scoreless frames in his competition with Garrett Whitlock and Josh Winckowski for the final rotation spot.

Bello allowed two runs on one hit and one walk while striking out two over three innings in Saturday's spring start against the Nationals. The right-hander also hit two batters.

Bello, making his second Grapefruit League start, sandwiched two perfect innings around a funky second in which he walked a batter and plunked two others. He admitted to Ian Browne of MLB.com that his mechanics went awry during the second frame. Bello has allowed just one hit through two spring outings as he makes a bid to be Boston's Opening Day starter.

Stripling (finger) is scheduled to make his Cactus League debut Sunday against the Rangers, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

Lefty JP Sears will draw the start for Oakland, but Stripling is likely to enter the contest behind him and pitch an inning or two. The Athletics have delayed Stripling's entry into the spring pitching schedule after he was scratched from a start last week due to a cut on his right index finger, but the minor injury shouldn't affect his readiness for Opening Day. Despite being deployed in relief Sunday, Stripling is still expected to occupy a spot in Oakland's rotation during the regular season.

Whitley (finger) is scheduled to play catch Tuesday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

The right-hander has been shut down for the past week due to middle finger inflammation, but he's poised to start up his throwing program again Tuesday. Whitley will need to build his arm back up after the shutdown period and is likely at least a couple weeks away from game action.

Bassitt gave up three runs on three hits over three innings in Saturday's Grapefruit League game against Atlanta. He struck out one without walking a batter.

Jordan Luplow got hold of a fastball that Bassitt left over the heart of the plate in the first inning and launched a two-run homer, but the veteran right-hander settled down after that. Bassitt tossed 32 of 46 pitches for strikes in his first start and second appearance of the spring, and he appears on track to be ready for Opening Day after working a career-high 200 innings in 2023, posting a 3.60 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 186:59 K:BB. The 35-year-old is being counted on for similar numbers this season as one of Toronto's mid-rotation stalwarts behind ace Kevin Gausman.

Gray allowed one hit and two walks while striking out four over three scoreless innings in Saturday's spring start against the White Sox.

Gray made his Cactus League debut after throwing two innings in an intrasquad game earlier in the week. He breezed through the first two innings, retiring all six batters faced, before pitching into a jam in the third. The right-hander managed to extricate himself from the one-out, bases-loaded situation. Gray told Matthew Postins of SI.com that he ran into trouble with the pitch clock, which contributed to the jam. He also noted the forearm issues that forced him to the injured list late last season are in the past. Gray engaged in an offseason workout program designed to strengthen his arm.

Soroka (forearm) is scheduled to start Monday's spring game against the Diamondbacks.

The right-hander has been throwing bullpen sessions early in camp and will now make his spring debut for the White Sox. Soroka was able to stay fairly healthy last season after being limited by injuries the previous few years, though he struggled when up in the majors for Atlanta with a 6.40 ERA over 32.1 innings.

Javier allowed two stolen bases and was slow to the plate during his Grapefruit League outing Saturday against the Cardinals, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Javier pitched well in some regards, as he didn't allow a hit while striking out three and walking two across three scoreless innings of work. However, manager Joe Espada has prioritized limiting stolen bases this spring, which Javier struggled to do last season when he surrendered 22 swiped bags. If he continues to struggle in that area, opposing teams could get even more aggressive on the basepaths in 2024.

Ober gave up one run with seven strikeouts and no walks over three innings in Saturday's spring training loss to Philadelphia. He reached a carer-high 94.8 mph with his fastball, and Ober said he hopes to gain more velocity from offseason workouts, MLB.com reports.

Ober, however, also reached 94 mph with his fastball last spring, according to the report, but averaged just 91.4 mph during the regular season. Still, his outing Saturday shows he's nearly in midseason form. While Ober may not have an overpowering fastball, it's offset by his outstanding control (5.0 percent walk rate) and above average off-speed pitches (slider, curve ball, change-up). He's set to be a vital part of Minnesota's rotation.