MLB Player News

The Yankees are planning on Cole throwing 200 innings this season, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

Last year's shortened season is bound to affect pitchers' workloads this year, though it sounds as though the Yankees don't plan on doing things differently. Cole threw 73.0 innings last season during the regular season and 18.1 more in the playoffs, so jumping to 200 frames this year would be quite the leap. It's possible Cole won't be able to meet that goal, though there's no particular reason why he would be any less likely to do so than any other starter.

Matz threw 74 pitches (53 strikes) over five innings in Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Phillies, allowing one run on five hits. He struck out six without walking a batter.

The southpaw continued a very impressive spring that has seen him post a 0.90 ERA and 12:0 K:BB over 10 innings. Command, rather than control, has been Matz's downfall in the past -- he surrendered 14 homers over 30.2 innings in 2020 despite a 36:10 K:BB -- but so far he's been locating the ball well within the zone and hasn't given up a long ball yet this spring. Matz will begin the year in the Jays' rotation, and his ability to avoid loud contact will determine if he keeps the job.

Turnbull remains away from the rest of his teammates due to COVID-19 protocols and may miss most of the rest of camp, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.

Manager A.J. Hinch expressed pessimism Sunday that Turnbull would be able to do much before the end of camp. He built up to four innings in his most recent spring appearance, but the delay may still cause him to miss a turn or two in the rotation to start the year.

Perez allowed five runs on six hits and five walks while striking out three over five innings in Saturday's spring start against Atlanta.

Perez had a couple of quality Grapefruit League starts before experiencing adversity in his third outing Saturday. He told Ian Browne of MLB.com that he was rushing his mechanics, but that he felt strong. Perez will get two more spring starts to correct Saturday's issues.

Bielak allowed two runs on two hits and two walks while striking out six over five innings in Saturday's spring game against the Cardinals.

Since he allowed four runs in the first inning of his first Grapefruit League outing, Bielak has made an impressive bid for a roster spot. In 11 subsequent innings, Bielak has allowed four runs on six hits and two walks while striking out 11. The right-hander upped his pitch count to 70 (44 strikes) while St. Louis batters flailed away at this slider (nine swing-and-misses), a pitch he spent considerable work on during the offseason, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports. If he breaks camp with the club, Bielak could be a traditional starter until Jake Odorizzi is ready, or he can work in a multi-inning relief role behind Cristian Javier and/or Luis Garcia, a pair of starters who are not stretched out due to quarantine periods for health and safety protocols.

Cease allowed three hits and three walks while striking out three over 3.2 innings in Saturday's spring game against Cleveland.

This was Cease's second Cactus League outing, but he's thrown simulated games and bullpens, so his pitch count (73 pitches, 45 strikes) is right where it needs to be at this stage of the spring. Despite the free passes allowed, Cease told Scott Merkin of MLB.com that he was pleased with the outing. His fastball topped out at 99 MPH, and he feels the slider was locked in. The right-hander lamented his curveball, but Cease managed to come out of the outing unscathed. Limiting damage with a lot of traffic on the bases is something that should be taken as a positive as Cease prepares for the time when games count.

Quantrill gave up six runs on six hits over 2.2 innings with three strikeouts in Saturday's spring training loss to the White Sox. He's given up 12 earned runs in 11 innings (9.82 ERA) this spring. However, manager Terry Francona downplayed his struggles. "This kid is going to be fine," Francona told MLB.com.

Quantrill is battling Logan Allen for the fifth starter role and at least statistically he's falling far behind. Quantrill has nine walks and nine strikeouts in 11 innings. Allen has allowed one earned run in nine innings this spring. Francona's comments appear to say the race is closer than the numbers, but it's hard to feel confident about Quantrill making the rotation at this point. Still, Cleveland may not make a decision until the final week of spring training.

Gonzales allowed five earned runs on nine hits, a walk and a hit batsman across 4.2 innings in a Cactus League win over the White Sox on Friday. He struck out one.

The right-hander fell just short of his five-inning goal, yet he did actually reach the 75-pitch threshold. The majority of his troubles came over the first two frames, but Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports Gonzales was able to finish on a positive note with a scoreless effort when he came back out for the third inning.

Irvin, who has a 1.50 ERA and 8:1 K:BB across 12 spring innings, is making a case for the Athletics' expected season-opening rotation vacancy, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports. "We're still stretching him out to be a starter, so nothing has been decided there," manager Bob Melvin said. "Depending on Mike [Fiers], we know we have four starters. It's the fifth spot that is still up for grabs at this point. [Irvin's] sinker is terrific, and he uses his breaking ball just enough. He's still competing."

Irvin logged three starts in 16 appearances for the Phillies as a rookie back in 2019, but he's opened a pair of games this spring and worked four scoreless, two-hit innings in relief during Friday's Cactus League loss to the Cubs. Gallegos notes that caliber of performance is making Irvin a surprise candidate to potentially fill in for Mike Fiers (hip) early in the season, and that even if that fails to come to fruition, the southpaw has strengthened his case to make the Opening Day roster in some capacity.

Keller will start Opening Day against the Rangers on April 1, Josh Vernier of 610 Sports reports.

Keller avoided arbitration with the Royals in January, and he'll take the mound for Kansas City to begin the regular season in the second Opening Day start of his career. The right-hander has made three Cactus League starts this spring, allowing eight runs (six earned) on 15 hits and seven walks while striking out six over 9.1 innings.