MLB Player News

Montas allowed two earned runs on four hits and a walk across three innings in a Cactus League loss to the Cubs on Friday. He struck out four.

Montas' biggest mistake resulted in a solo home run by Willson Contreras in the second inning, but he was otherwise encouragingly sharp for the second time in as many spring starts. The right-hander has posted an impressive 6:1 K:BB across six Cactus League frames, and Shayna Rubin of The Mercury News reports Montas was able to hit 96-98 mph with his fastball/sinker while also using his splitter effectively and crossing the 50-pitch threshold Friday.

Hill allowed three earned runs on five hits over 2.2 innings in a Grapefruit League loss to the Red Sox on Friday. He struck out three.

The left-hander stretched out to 58 pitches while getting tagged for multiple earned runs for the second time in three spring starts. Despite some of the struggles, Hill has managed to avoid the long ball thus far through 6.2 Grapefruit League innings, continuing his career-long trend of doing a good job keeping the ball in the park. He lines up for at least one more start before the regular season commences.

Lynn allowed three runs on six hits and one walk while striking out five over 3.2 innings in Friday's spring game against the Mariners.

Lynn threw 85 pitches to get those 11 outs, so from an efficiency perspective, it wasn't a great outing. But in terms of getting ready to throw six or seven innings in the regular season, Lynn is right on schedule. The right-hander said his velocity remained high into the later innings, and that he will keep locking in his command, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports. Lynn will have two more spring starts to up his count to 90-plus pitches before game-planning for his first regular-season start April 3.

Schmidt (elbow) has not yet resumed throwing but is "getting close," Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

Schmidt has been out since late February after suffering an extensor strain in his right elbow. Though the injury is believed to be minor, the right-hander remains on the shelf and is no longer in the running for an Opening Day rotation spot. He has, however, reportedly been making progress and appears likely to start a throwing program soon.

Sandoval is among a group of pitchers vying for a spot on the Opening Day roster in a relief role, Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times reports.

The Angels are dealing with a number of injury concerns in the bullpen, potentially opening the door for Sandoval -- or another pitcher currently on the roster bubble -- to secure a spot on the Opening Day roster. Sandoval has been used as a starter in 15 of his 19 big-league appearances, but with the team's starting rotation essentially set, his best path to major-league innings early in the campaign is likely out of the bullpen. Sandoval has struggled with his control this spring, yielding eight walks in 10 innings, but he has also struck out 13 and given up only five hits.

Mize allowed five runs on eight hits and a walk across 3.2 innings in Friday's Grapefruit League game against the Blue Jays. He struck out five.

The five strikeouts are about the only silver lining here, as Mize otherwise had another poor performance after allowing six runs in his previous start, and his spring ERA is up to 9.90. The 23-year-old should still have a bright future in the majors, but he might benefit from starting the season at Triple-A and building up some confidence first.

Dunn started Thursday's Cactus League win over the Giants and allowed three earned runs on a hit, three walks and a wild pitch over 2.2 innings. He struck out three.

Locked in a battle with Nick Margevicius for the sixth and final spot in the Mariners' starting rotation, Dunn may have damaged his case some with his control issues Thursday. The location problems sprung up suddenly, as Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports the right-hander retired the first seven batters he faced while striking out Tommy La Stella and Evan Longoria before unraveling. "I'm taking the learning lesson," Dunn said. "I'd rather have it happen now. [I need] to be able to speed that up and not have three walks and be able to get the next hitter right after the first one."

Means was officially named the Orioles' Opening Day starter Friday, Joe Trezza of MLB.com reports.

Means will face Eduardo Rodriguez and the Red Sox at Fenway Park on April 1, lining him up to face the Yankees at Yankee Stadium for his second outing. The lefty was expected to start on Opening Day last season but wound up missing his chance due to arm fatigue. He'll be the Orioles' sixth Opening Day starter in the last six seasons.

Gilbert won't pitch in any more Cactus League games this spring as the Mariners seek to manage his innings, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

It's possible Gilbert is already one of the Mariners' top six starters, as he posted a 2.13 ERA and a 31.7 percent strikeout rate in 26 starts across three levels of the minors in 2019, topping out at Double-A. He could make his big-league debut fairly early in the season, but the Mariners have no incentive to give him credit for a full year of service time in 2021, so a promotion likely won't happen until late April at the earliest.

Odorizzi doesn't expect to be built up enough to take his first turn in the rotation but expects to be ready to debut during the Astros' first homestand, which runs from April 8-14, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Odorizzi didn't sign with the Astros until March 6, giving him less than a month to get ready for Opening Day. That's not quite enough time, but he should be ready to go without missing more than one start. The Astros do have six games in six days to start the season, however, so they'll need to turn to a spot starter for one of those. If Odorizzi's prediction about his timeline is accurate, he'll make his Astros debut against the Athletics or Tigers.