MLB Player News

Gibson has allowed two earned runs on eight hits and no walks while striking out six over nine Grapefruit League innings.

Gibson has made three appearances in spring training, and he's performing just fine. The veteran right-hander signed a one-year deal with the Orioles in December, and he should be a lock for the rotation, especially given his encouraging outings so far. He struggled to a 5.05 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 144:48 K:BB across 167.2 innings with the Phillies last season, and at 35 years old, it's tough to imagine a significant improvement in his numbers this year.

Paxton (hamstring) played long toss and did some dry throwing from a mound Tuesday, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

More specifically, Paxton went through his throwing motion but didn't actually throw a ball when he stepped on the mound. Paxton is progressing slowly but surely from a right hamstring strain, but it's not clear when he might be ready to face hitters or pitch in a game. He's expected to open the season on the injured list.

McCullers revealed Tuesday that he's dealing with a "strain of the forearm muscle, very low grade," Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

McCullers added that doctors "were hesitant to even call it a strain." While a bit comforting that the right-hander's strain is minor, it's nonetheless worrisome that he's dealing with it again this spring after it bothered him for much of last season and during the playoffs in 2021. McCullers will play catch again at low intensity Wednesday as he's being ramped back up slowly. It seems a safe bet that he'll miss at least the first month or so of the season.

Waldichuk has allowed nine earned runs on nine hits and seven walks while recording four strikeouts across six innings over three Cactus League appearances (two starts).

Waldichuk has made a less than convincing case for a rotation spot this spring given his poor numbers. Two of the nine hits the southpaw has conceded have left the yard as well, but Waldichuk, who posted a 2-2 record, 4.93 ERA and 1.21 WHIP across his first seven big-league starts at the tail end of last season, should still have at least a couple more Cactus League opportunities to right the ship before Opening Day.

Zulueta was optioned Monday to minor-league camp by the Blue Jays, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.

Zulueta came up short in his bid to make the Toronto roster out of camp despite not allowing a run with a 3:2 K:BB in his three Grapefruit League appearances. The hard-throwing 25-year-old could be one of the first arms that the Blue Jays turn to early this season, as he's ranked as one of the top pitching prospects in their system.

Bradley was optioned to minor-league camp Monday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Bradley is the top pitching prospect in the Tampa Bay system, but the right-hander will open the season in the minors -- likely with Triple-A Durham. The 21-year-old can miss bats with multiple pitches and can locate them for strikes, so it's just a matter of time before he's helping the Rays' pitching staff.

Paxton (hamstring) played catch off flat ground Monday, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Though Paxton wasn't able to resume mound last week like the Red Sox had initially planned, the veteran southpaw hasn't experienced any apparent setbacks in his recovery from a right hamstring strain and should be able to throw a bullpen session in the coming days. Paxton looks as though he's still roughly on pace to resume facing hitters before the end of spring training, but because he won't have enough time to get fully ramped up to handle a starter's workload, he's a virtual lock to open the season on the injured list.

McCullers (forearm) threw in the batting cage Monday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Manager Dusty Baker said Monday that McCullers was once again throwing, his second throwing session in three days as he works back from the muscle strain he suffered in his right forearm last month. The right-hander is expected to miss the first couple weeks of the season, but is he keeps progressing, it's reasonable to expect him to return to the mound by the end of April. McCullers has struggled with the injury bug over the past couple seasons, only appearing in eight games in 2022 after nursing a forearm injury he sustained in the 2021 playoffs.

Crawford allowed three runs on five hits and one walk while striking out four over 3.2 innings during Sunday's spring start against Baltimore.

Crawford gave up his first spring runs in his third Grapefruit League start, and the right-hander appears to be ticketed for a rotation spot to the start the regular season. Boston has three projected starters at various stages of rehab, which puts Crawford in the mix for an April start or two, at least. Garrett Whitlock (hip), Brayan Bello (forearm) and James Paxton (hamstring) are candidates to open the season on the injured list. Crawford saw his first significant MLB action last year and had a 5.47 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 77:29 K:BB across 77.1 frames.

Houck allowed two runs on four hits and two walks while striking out four over 3.1 innings during Sunday's spring start against the Yankees.

Houck made his third spring start, and it's looking like he'll remain in that role for the beginning of the regular season. Both Brayan Bello (forearm) and James Paxton(hamstring) appear headed for the injured list to begin the campaign, which opens up a spot for Houck and another depth starter. Add in Garrett Whitlock (hip), who will make his spring debut this week, and there should be plenty of openings for Houck to stake his claim to the rotation.