MLB Player News

Dunning will pair with Wes Benjamin as tandem starters, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports.

Texas set its opening-week rotation and the Dunning/Benjamin tandem will throw the fifth game of the regular season, April 6, against Toronto. Dunning, a promising prospect, hasn't pitched much over the last two seasons due to injury, so his pitch count will be monitored. He's expected to open the game, then give way to Benjamin when reaching his pitch limit.

Texas manager Chris Woodward said Lyles is "close" to becoming a traditional starter, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports.

Lyles will operate in a tandem starter role along with Taylor Hearn and start the third game of the regular season, April 4, against the Royals. However, Woodward cited Lyles' strong spring as a motivating factor in a potential move to traditional starter. Lyles allowed four runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out 11 over 11 Cactus League innings.

Quintana tossed five innings in Tuesday's exhibition contest against the Dodgers, allowing six runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out seven.

Quintana struggled to keep the ball in the park, yielding a pair of home runs to Mookie Betts and four long balls overall. He threw 95 pitches and racked up seven strikeouts, so it wasn't a futile effort despite the end result. Quintana has pitched well overall this spring, securing a spot in the Angels' rotation. He's likely to make his first start of the regular season during the club's second series of the campaign, at home against Houston.

Flexen fired three scoreless innings during which he allowed just two hits and no walks in a Cactus League tie with the Reds on Monday. He struck out three.

The right-hander wrapped up Cactus League play with eight scoreless frames across his last two appearances, which is particularly encouraging because that pair of outings followed a six-earned-run hiccup versus the Dodgers on March 17. Flexen will open the 2021 campaign as the Mariners' No. 5 starter after revitalizing his career overseas in the KBO last season.

Cease allowed one run on six hits and struck out 11 over 5.1 innings in Tuesday's spring game against the Rockies.

Cease cruised in his final tune-up before the regular season, throwing 86 pitches (58 strikes) with a fastball touching the upper 90s in what was his finest Cactus League start. The lone blemish was a solo home run by C.J. Cron in the second inning. Cease leaves Arizona with a boost of confidence in preparation to start the fourth game of the season April 4 against the Angels in Los Angeles. He allowed just two runs over 17 innings this spring.

Mize allowed two earned runs on five hits and a walk across 4.2 innings in Tuesday's Grapefruit League game against the Rays. He struck out six.

It was a mostly positive final spring start for Mize, who wraps up the exhibition slate with a 7.23 ERA across 18.2 innings. Despite the struggles, the 23-year-old was able to earn an Opening Day rotation spot, and he has the talent and pedigree to take a step forward in his second MLB season. Mize is lined up to face the Twins on April 6 in his first start of the regular season.

Valdez's (finger) outlook remains positive, with Astros pitching coach Brent Strom saying Tuesday that the "news is very, very exciting and very good," Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Valdez was previously expected to require season-ending surgery to repair his fractured left ring finger, though that's since been ruled out. He still doesn't have a clear timeline, but it now looks as though those who drafted him before his injury may still get a fair number of starts out of him after all.

Houck appears to be lined up to start the second game of the season Saturday against Baltimore, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

Houck was optioned in mid-March, but the Red Sox may need a spot starter right away, as Eduardo Rodriguez has been held back by arm fatigue. The team hasn't made a final decision about whether Rodriguez will open the year on the injured list, but it seem to be leaning that way. Houck makes for an interesting streaming option since he'll be facing a weak offense and showed plenty of potential in his three-start debut last year, striking out 21 batters in 17 innings while allowing just one earned run.

Singer tossed five shutout innings Monday in the Royals' 5-4 exhibition win over Cleveland. He scattered two hits and one walk while striking out five.

Singer wrapped up a stellar spring with his best outing yet, finishing the Royals' Cactus League slate with a 2.65 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 20:5 K:BB In 17 innings. The right-hander will get a favorable draw for his 2021 debut, facing off Sunday against a Rangers offense that produced an MLB-worst -0.2 WAR in 2020. Coming off a solid debut season in the majors, Singer has some upside as a second-year breakout candidate.

Teheran (back) is scheduled to start the Tigers' second game of the season Saturday versus Cleveland, Evan Petzold of The Detroit Free Press reports.

Teheran battled back tightness in his fourth outing of the spring March 22, but he was able to quickly move past the injury to stay on schedule with his throwing progression. He made his final start over the weekend against the Phillies, giving up six runs in 3.2 innings. While he finished the spring with a 5.52 ERA, Teheran's 0.89 WHIP, .176 batting average allowed and 18:4 K:BB in 14.2 innings were better indicators of how well he pitched. He should be available to cover approximately five or six innings in his regular-season debut.