MLB Player News

McKenzie gave up one run on three hits and one walk while striking out two in three innings in his most recent Cactus League outing against the Angels.

He has steadily built up this spring, throwing 1.2 innings in his first outing, then two innings and then three innings in his latest appearance. McKenzie and Cal Quantrill have been piggybacking in their appearances this spring. The assumption is that McKenzie will be the No. 4 starter, while Quantrill and Logan Allen vie for the final spot in the rotation, although Cleveland has not officially confirmed that McKenzie is locked into a spot.

Allard is one of several candidates that could be used as part of a piggyback tandem with another pitcher, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports. The left-hander was dominant Friday when he allowed one hit and one walk striking out six in a spring game against the White Sox.

Texas manager Chris Woodward talked about the need to be "creative" with his staff, which includes several young hurlers that do not have a track record of pitching a lot of innings in a season. There's also a strategic benefit, per the manager. "You've got to have opposite arms, obviously, with one guy throwing two-seamers this way and another guy throwing 97 this way. Just matching them up the best way possible. I think this is something we're definitely talking about." Allard has allowed three hits and one walk while striking out nine over six scoreless innings in Cactus League play.

Lyles allowed one run on two hits and a walk while striking out two over two innings in Friday's spring game against the White Sox.

Lyles is one of several Texas pitchers without a set role at this point, according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. He's been told that he won't be used as a traditional starter, news that didn't please him, and he could be used as part of tandem with another pitcher stretched out for multiple innings. "He's throwing the ball really well. Now, it's a question of how long can you do it? I don't know what the answer is. If he does [maintain his strength], then obviously he's a guy you would want starting," said manager Chris Woodward. The right-hander started nine games and made three relief appearances for the Rangers in 2020, posting a 7.02 ERA. Offensive numbers against him spiked after Lyles reached 45 pitches last season; between pitches 46-60, batters had a .982 OPS against him.

Dunning pitched 2.1 innings in a "B" game Friday against the White Sox.

Dunning got off to a shaky start but then settled in. After inducing a groundout to the first batter, he gave up singles to three straight batters, reached his pitch limit, and had the inning rolled. Dunning was better in his two full innings after that, giving up two hits and striking out four. Because he hasn't pitched much since 2018, the right-hander is expected to be part of a piggyback situation. The Rangers may have two sets of piggyback tandems among a group that includes Dunning, Taylor Hearn, Kyle Cody, Wes Benjamin and Kolby Allard, per Kennedi Landry of MLB.com.

Garica is throw in a "B" game Saturday against the Nationals, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Garcia is a potential starter, but he hasn't thrown an inning in a spring game. He recently cleared the league's health and safety protocols. That doesn't leave much time to build up pitches and innings in the lead up to Opening Day.

Odorizzi likely won't be ready for Opening Day because he'll need more time to build up his pitch count, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Odorizzi was recently signed after Framber Valdez suffered a broken left ring finger and has not yet pitched in a Grapefruit League game. He's expected to replace Valdez in the rotation, but if he's unavailable for a turn or two, Houston will need to turn to a diminishing stock of available starters. Cristian Javier hasn't pitched since May 2 and just returned from being in quarantine; it's a similar situation for Luis Garcia, who spent time in quarantine and has not yet pitched this spring. That could lead to early season starts for Brandon Bielak.

Giolito allowed two hits and one walk while striking out five over four scoreless innings in Friday's spring game against the Rangers.

Giolito keeps working toward what is expected to be an Opening Day start, even though manager Tony La Russa didn't commit to that, per Scott Merkin of MLB.com. Giolito expressed his desire to pitch the season opener, but he was more focused how well is slider behaved during the outing. He's allowed one run on three hits and two walks while striking out 11 over nine Cactus League innings.

Kopech threw a side session Friday rather than pitching in a spring game against the Rangers after experiencing calf tightness, James Fegan of The Athletic reports.

The fact the 24-year-old still had a throwing session indicates the calf issue is minor, though it's still somewhat worrying to have an injury crop up so close to Opening Day. Kopech should be considered day-to-day until he's able to return to game action.

Bieber will start Opening Day at Detroit on April 1, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.

The 25-year-old was the unanimous winner of the American League Cy Young in 2020, so it's no surprise he'll be starting things off for Cleveland this season. Bieber had a 1.63 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and 122:21 K:BB across 77.1 innings last season after establishing himself as a strong rotation piece with a 3.28 ERA in 2019.

Luzardo fired four scoreless innings in a Cactus League win over the Rangers on Thursday, allowing no hits and two walks while recording five strikeouts.

The Athletics have been deliberate about breaking in the members of their starting rotation this spring, so Thursday marked Luzardo's first outing. The final line certainly speaks to the left-hander's dominance, and Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports Luzardo unveiled a new looping 65 mph breaking ball that he got a called third strike on. "He's very understanding of what he needs to work on," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "He's worked this spring on throwing two different kinds of breaking balls to try to add a four-pitch mix, so if one isn't working then he still has three pitches."