MLB Player News

German is expected to be part of the Yankees' Opening Day rotation following the injury to Carlos Rodon (forearm), Erik Boland of Newsdayreports.

German was almost surely ticketed for the rotation anyway once Frankie Montas (shoulder) went down, but the Rodon injury cinches it. German will likely be joined by Clarke Schmidt. German held a 3.61 ERA over 15 appearances -- 14 starts -- for the Yankees last season, although that came with just 58 strikeouts over 72.1 innings. He's more of a streaming option for standard-sized fantasy leagues.

Schmidt is likely to open the season in the Yankees' rotation following the injury to Carlos Rodon (forearm), Erik Boland of Newsday reports.

The Yanks had already lost Frankie Montas to shoulder surgery and now will be without Rodon for at least most of April due to a forearm strain. It means an elevated role for Schmidt and also cements Domingo German as a member of the rotation, if he hadn't already been. Deivi Garcia is also a candidate to potentially see some starts. Schmidt was excellent last season while being used almost exclusively as a reliever, holding a 3.12 ERA and 56:23 K:BB over 57.2 innings. He has plenty of starting experience in the minors, of course, and has been stretched out this spring. The Yankees might also seek pitching help from outside the organization as their depth is tested.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman announced Thursday that Rodon has been diagnosed with a left forearm strain and will open the season on the injured list, Brendan Kuty of The Athletic reports.

Rodon will be in no-throw mode for at least the next 7-10 days and is seemingly in danger of being sidelined through all of April. The strain is being called mild, per Cashman, but this qualifies as another tough blow to a Yankees rotation which already lost Frankie Montas to shoulder surgery in February. Rodon joined New York on a blockbuster six-year, $162 million contract back in December. Clarke Schmidt seems likely to take Rodon's spot in the season-opening starting mix.

Gray allowed one hit and struck out one over three scoreless innings in Wednesday's spring start against the Diamondbacks.

Gray made his second Cactus League start and first since being scratched last Friday due to the tightness in his back. The right-hander was pleased with the outing but noted areas of improvement. "I still feel really slow to the plate and working on that," Gray told Jesus Cano of MLB.com. "But some things were good. I thought the fastball was doing pretty well. I'm mixing up a changeup for now, but the sweeping slider, there's still some stuff to manipulate with it." With three weeks left before Opening Day, Gray should get at least three more starts to work on his form.

Rodon was asked by the Yankees to keep his fastball velocity at around 92 mph during his spring debut Sunday against Atlanta, Greg Joyce of the New York Post reports.

Rodon was shelled by Atlanta in his first game (albeit an exhibition contest) in a Yankees uniform, giving up five runs on six hits and one walk over two-plus innings. It's rarely wise to read deeply into spring-training results, and that's especially true in this instance, as Rodon was tasked with keeping the velocity on his fastball in check as part of his build-up toward the regular season. Per Joyce, the left-hander touched 95 mph one time in the first inning of Sunday's game before manager Aaron Boone asked him to pull back following the frame. Rodon averaged 95.5 mph on his four-seamer last season and 95.4 mph on the pitch in 2021, so it's reasonable to expect that he'll get to around that number again this season -- and pitch to better results than he did Sunday -- once he is fully built up.

Cease allowed 11 earned runs on seven hits and four walks across two-thirds of an inning to take the loss Wednesday in a Cactus League matchup against the Royals.

Cease completed two scoreless innings in his Cactus League debut March 3, though his second outing was derailed early. He allowed the first five batters he faced to reach base, the last of which was a grand slam by Michael Massey. He was pulled after recording just one out in the first inning but reentered one frame later and didn't fare any better. Cease is coming off an excellent 2022 season, so it's too early to panic despite the incredibly poor outing.

Ober threw two scoreless innings with two strikeouts in Wednesday's spring training win over Toronto. Ober has averaged more than 93 mph with his fastball in both spring starts after averaging 91.5 mph during the 2022 regular season, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.

Ober has thrown three scoreless innings with five strikeouts and a walk in two spring starts. Ober is challenging for a spot in the rotation, but he's likely the sixth starter at the moment and thus could begin the season in the minors. It's also possible the Twins could opt for a six-man rotation as Kenta Maeda (elbow) works his way back from Tommy John surgery. Ober will make the decision difficult if he continues to pitch this well during spring training.

DeGrom (side) could make his Cactus League debut as soon as Monday, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Working his way back from left side tightness, deGrom sat at 98-99 mph during a 35-pitch live batting practice session Wednesday. As long as he rebounds from that throwing session with no issues, he should be cleared to return to game action. The two-time Cy Young winner remains on track for the start of the season, although it's probably not reasonable to expect a normal workload right out of the gate.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Wednesday that Cortes (hamstring) will throw one more live batting practice session before making his spring debut, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

Cortes threw a three-inning simulated game Wednesday, and Boone told reporters after the outing that the southpaw threw the ball well. The 28-year-old is set to face hitters once more in a controlled setting before likely making his Grapefruit League debut. Because of his hamstring injury, Cortes is expected to open the season as the Yankees' No. 5 starter, but it doesn't appear as though he'll lose out on any turns through the rotation as a result of the delayed start to his spring throwing progression.

Manager Alex Cora said Wednesday that Paxton (hamstring) hopes to resume throwing off a mound by the end of this week, Mike Monaco of ESPN reports.

Paxton played catch Wednesday without issue and could be ready to test things out from a mound in a few days. The left-hander has been trending in the right direction since suffering a Grade 1 right hamstring strain last Friday, although he's not expected to be ready in time for Opening Day.