MLB Player News

DeGrom (side) will make his Cactus League debut Sunday against the Mariners, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports.

DeGrom looked good in a start against minor leaguers earlier this week, striking out five while allowing one run over two innings. He figures to be ready for three innings Sunday as he ramps up for the start of the regular season. Manager Bruce Bochy has said that deGrom will likely be on a 75-80 pitch count at the beginning of the regular season after missing so much time this spring with side tightness.

Blackburn (finger) will begin the season on the injured list, Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Blackburn is dealing with a fingernail avulsion on his pitching hand. He is still able to play catch but has to wait for the injury to heal to do anything else, and evidently the Athletics anticipate that taking awhile. It's not clear at this point how long Blackburn might be sidelined.

Gray allowed two hits and one walk while striking out four over four scoreless innings in Thursday's spring start against the Dodgers.

After being scratched from his second scheduled Cactus League start due to back tightness, Gray has put together seven scoreless innings over two starts. He's yet to allow a run over nine spring innings. The 31-year-old right-hander will not be tasked with being the team's ace, as he was in 2022, which could work in his favor.

Schmidt tossed five perfect innings against Pittsburgh in a Grapefruit League game Thursday, striking out seven batters.

Schmidt needed just 50 pitches to complete five frames in the exhibition contest, throwing 36 strikes while not allowing any baserunners. He mixed in four different pitches -- including his recently developed cutter -- as he furthered his case to be part of the Yankees' rotation this season. Schmidt is expected to be in the rotation for at least the start of the campaign while Carlos Rodon (forearm) works his way back, and the 27-year-old Schmidt could stick as a starter permanently if he gets off to a strong start.

Ray has a 1.13 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 12:3 K:BB across eight innings in three Cactus League starts.

Ray worked up to 28 pitches in his most recent start Monday against the Angels, and although he's pitched to some contact (seven hits), he' s impressively limited the damage. Ray scuffled to a 12-12 record in Mariners debut campaign in 2022, yet he still generated an impressive 3.71 ERA and respectable 1.19 WHIP across 32 starts. Although the veteran southpaw's strikeout rate did drop from 2021's 32.1 percent in Toronto to 27.4 percent, early returns this spring underscore Ray's ability to miss bats at an above-average clip.

Turnbull allowed three runs on six hits across three innings in Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Phillies. He struck out four.

Turnbull allowed only three total hits across his first two spring starts, but he was much more hittable Thursday. On a positive note, the righty continued to rack up strikeouts, and he now has nine across 7.1 Grapefruit League innings. Turnbull is making his return from Tommy John surgery this year, so there likely will be some ups and downs, but he could be a streaming option in the right matchups.

Jobe was diagnosed Thursday with lumbar spine inflammation and will be sidelined 3-to-6 months, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

Jobe battled back discomfort down the stretch last year at High-A West Michigan, and he apparently aggravated the issue in Tigers camp this spring. The 20-year-old right-hander is in danger of missing most of the 2023 minor-league season. He was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft out of a high school in Oklahoma City.

Bassitt has tinkered with his positioning on the rubber this spring in order to offer hitters different angles on his already deep repertoire, Eno Sarris of The Athletic reports.

"Technically I have eight," Bassitt said last week when counting up his pitches. "I have two different changeups. To lefties, it's more of a split-change, and to righties, I have a true change." By moving around on the rubber, the veteran right-hander can give hitters more things to think about. "We're learning right now that if I slide more to the third base side it improves my slider, because I have more plate to work with," he said. "From the third base side, I can throw it straight and let it break, like how Max Scherzer does it - he's hard third base side and crossfires sliders down and away." Bassitt's secret strength since becoming a full-time starter in 2019 has been his ability to lessen the third time through the order penalty thanks to having so many pitches he trusts, and after recording a career-high 19 quality starts last season with the Mets, the 34-year-old might just top that number for the Blue Jays in 2023.

Gausman allowed two hits and two walks over 3.1 scoreless innings while striking out seven in Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Pirates.

The veteran righty fired 43 of 65 pitches for strikes as he continues to gear up ahead of Opening Day. Gausman has yet to give up an earned run this spring while posting a 12:3 K:BB through 8.2 innings, and the tweaks he made this offseason to his mechanics to avoid running afoul of MLB's balk crackdown don't seem to have impacted his performance at all.

Manager Bruce Bochy indicated Wednesday that deGrom (side) is likely to be on a pitch count to start the season, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports.

Bocy said both deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi (side) may be restricted to 75-to-80 pitches to begin the season while coming off their respective injuries. That means guys like Dane Dunning, Glenn Otto or Cole Ragans could be paired with the starters. DeGrom recently threw two innings in a minor-league game and is ramping up for the regular season.