MLB Player News

Manager Aaron Boone said Sunday that Taillon won't start until the Yankees' sixth game of the season April 7 against the Orioles, Pete Caldera of The Bergen Record reports.

Taillon will head into Opening Day as the team's nominal fifth starter, with Boone noting that he wants to "slow play" the right-hander as he returns from his second career Tommy John procedure, which he underwent in August 2019. Expect the Yankees to monitor Taillon's workload carefully to begin the season, while also building in extra days of rest for the 29-year-old whenever possible. Taillon has allowed only one run while striking out 14 over 8.1 innings this spring, but he's also walked four while yielding a .257 batting average against.

Bielak or Luis Garcia will start the fifth game of the regular season, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Bielak, who's been a fill-in starter for the Astros during spring training, will have a multi-inning role to start the regular season. It's just comes down to whether that will be as a starter or out of the bullpen. The No. 5 starter job will eventually belong to Jake Odorizzi once he's built up innings and pitch count. Until then, Bielak or Garcia will serve in that role, and whichever one doesn't start will be part of the bullpen.

Garcia or Brandon Bielak will start the fifth game of the regular season, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Houston manager Dusty Baker mapped out the starters for the first four games but left the fifth slot unfilled. The plan is for Jake Odorizzi to eventually fill the role, but he needs time to build up innings and pitch count. That leaves Garcia and Bielak, a pair of stretched-out relievers who could receive meaningful usage early in the regular season. Whichever one does not serve as the No. 5 starter will be part of the bullpen.

Giolito allowed two hits and three walks while striking out nine over 5.2 scoreless innings in Saturday's spring game against the Rockies.

Giolito finished off a dominant Cactus League, during which he posted a 1.17 ERA and 0.87 WHIP over 23 innings. The right-hander focused on his slider and improved its shape, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Giolito will take the ball Opening Day on the road against the Angels.

Manager Scott Servais announced Saturday that Dunn will open the season as Seattle's No. 6 starter, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

The 25-year-old was competing with Nick Margevicius for the sixth spot in the rotation and showed enough during spring training to earn the job. Dunn made 10 starts for Seattle last season and had a 4.34 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and 38:31 K:BB over 45.2 innings. Margevicius will begin the season in the bullpen for the Mariners.

Gonzales allowed six earned runs on nine hits and two walks over five innings in a Cactus League loss to the Padres on Friday. He struck out four.

Gonzales won't exactly head into his projected Opening Day start against the Giants on Thursday with much momentum, as he gave up a combined 11 earned runs on 18 hits, three walks and a hit batsman over his last two Cactus League starts. The left-hander did provide glimpses of his customary form in his first two trips to the mound this spring (six scoreless innings), so the hope is he was simply working through some kinks in these last two outings.

Irvin recorded 10 strikeouts and allowed just a hit and two walks over six innings in a Cactus League win over the Dodgers on Friday.

Irvin, who already came into the outing with a 1.50 ERA, was masterful while facing a Dodgers lineup replete with regulars, taking a no-hitter into the sixth inning. His dominance couldn't have been more timely, considering the Athletics announced Friday that Mike Fiers (hip) will start the season on the injured list. The southpaw is still competing with the similarly impressive Daulton Jefferies and A.J. Puk for the vacancy that absence creates, but Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com reports Irvin's candidacy is unsurprisingly strong in the eyes of his boss. "I know it's just a spring training game, but when you're coming down to the end and you're fighting for a spot, and you run up against the lineup like this and pitch in a fashion that he did, that carries a lot of weight," manager Bob Melvin said.

Ray (elbow) won't make his first start of the season, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.

Ray suffered a bruised elbow after falling down some stairs early in the week, and he'll miss at least one turn through the rotation while he recovers. The Blue Jays haven't determined who will start in his place, but it's unlikely that Ray's injury will force him to miss significant time.

Quantrill appears to have lost his bid for a rotation spot, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

Quantrill and Logan Allen are competing for Cleveland's final rotation role, and their respective usage Friday against the Rockies suggests Allen has won the job. Allen started and threw five innings, while Quantrill appeared in relief for just a single frame. The team hasn't officially announced the winner of the job, but that usage wouldn't make much sense if Quantrill was still in the mix to start. The two contestants' respective spring numbers seemingly made this a rather easy choice, as Allen owns a 18:3 K:BB in 14 innings, allowing just one run, while Quantrill has struggled to a 10:9 K:BB while allowing 12 runs in 12 frames.

Schmidt (elbow) was placed on the 60-day injured list Saturday.

Schmidt suffered an extensor strain in his right elbow in late February and has yet to resume throwing. While manager Aaron Boone said Thursday that Schmidt's return to throwing could be "imminent," the right-hander will miss extended time to begin the regular season while he builds back up.