MLB Player News

Whitley has been told by a doctor that he'll need Tommy John surgery, Mark Berman of KRIV Fox 26 reports.

Whitley experienced some arm soreness during a recent simulated game and has since been diagnosed with a right UCL sprain, per Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. It's the latest in a long line of setbacks for the talented 23-year-old, who's thrown just 86 innings since the start of the 2018 season due to a suspension and multiple injuries. It had looked as though he was on the doorstep of making his big-league debut, especially after Framber Valdez fractured his finger, but it now looks as if he won't pitch in any capacity until the middle of next year. He'll get a second opinion, the results of which should be known within a few days, before going through with the procedure.

Taillon started and tossed two scoreless innings against the Pirates in Saturday's Grapefruit League game, allowing two hits and one walk while striking out four.

Taillon was originally scheduled to pitch behind Gerrit Cole in the exhibition contest, but the Yankees instead opted to have Cole throwing a live batting practice session in Tampa while Taillon got the start against Pittsburgh. Taillon breezed through the first inning before allowing a pair of singles and a walk in the second frame, but he was able to escape without allowing any runs thanks to an inning-ending strikeout. The right-hander has now completed three scoreless innings this spring as he ramps up for the third-starter spot in the Yankees' regular-season rotation.

Greinke allowed one run on two hits while striking out one and did not walk a batter across one inning in Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Mets.

Greinke made his spring debut Saturday and shrugged off the middling results, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports. "As long as I'm ready when the season comes, that's really all that matters," the right-hander said. "I could have thrown all balls today and it still wouldn't matter. I just have to get better by the next month, that's the goal." He threw 20 pitches and experimented with elevating his fastball. Greinke thought his fastball command was pedestrian but reported no other issues.

Rodon threw three innings of live batting practice Saturday, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Rodon, who was re-signed by the White Sox after the left-hander battled elbow and shoulder injuries the last two seasons, is projected to be Chicago's fifth starter but has not yet appeared in Cactus League competition. Saturday's batting-practice session came on the same day that Reynaldo Lopez, who is being stretched out and has starting experience, pitched two perfect innings as a starter against the Indians. If Rodon falters this spring or during the regular season, Lopez is on hand to take on a spot in the rotation.

Quintana pitched a pair of scoreless and hitless innings against Colorado in a Cactus League contest Saturday, allowing one walk and striking out four.

Quintana allowed only a second-inning walk to Sam Hilliard and was otherwise dazzling, racking up four strikeouts in the short outing. He has now pitched three scoreless innings this spring and appears set for a role at the back end of the Angels' rotation this season.

Urena (forearm) will start Sunday's spring game against the Blue Jays, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.

The 29-year-old arrived a couple days late to camp due to travel issues and will see his first game action of spring training Sunday. Urena joined Detroit on a one-year, $3.25 million deal after being non-tendered by Miami in December, and he's a likely bet to open the season in the starting rotation. The right-hander had a 5.40 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and 15:13 K:BB over 23.1 innings for the Marlins last season before fracturing his right forearm in the season finale.

Valdez is still holding out hope that he can avoid season-ending finger surgery, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports.

Valdez fractured the ring finger on his throwing hand when it was struck by a comebacker Tuesday. The initial news he heard from doctors was that he'd have to undergo a season-ending procedure, but that's apparently not quite a guarantee. Given that the surgery would knock him out for the entirety of the year but presumably wouldn't affect his 2022 campaign, it makes sense for him to first explore some alternative options, as going through with it in March or May would probably have the same ultimate outcome. In the meantime, the Astros signed Jake Odorizzi on Saturday to fill his spot in the rotation in the short term and possibly beyond.

Kaprielian fired two scoreless innings in a Cactus League loss to the Angels on Friday, allowing one hit and no walks while also hitting a batter and recording three strikeouts.

Kaprielian's plunking of Mike Trout in the first inning was one of the few blemishes on an impressive body of work against a talented Angels lineup. The 27-year-old had also fired a scoreless, two-hit frame versus the Dodgers on Sunday, getting his spring off to a strong start. Kaprielian got his first taste of the majors in 2020 in the form of a pair of relief appearances during which he posted a 7.36 ERA and 1.64 WHIP (3.2 innings).

Flexen, who pitched in the Korea Baseball Organization in 2020, impressed manager Scott Servais with his two-inning Cactus League debut against the White Sox on Friday, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports. "I really like what I saw," Servais said. "I think he does it a little bit differently. He's got the higher arm slot, and we saw all four pitches today."

The Mariners took a two-year, $4.75 million flyer on Flexen after he looked like a drastically improved pitcher with the Doosan Bears last season, and the right-hander seemingly carried over a lot of the positives into his first time facing MLB hitters since 2019. Flexen impressively worked through some of the White Sox's regulars in the outing, flashing an impressive pitch repertoire as well by complementing a sweeping curveball with a low-90s fastball and a cutter-changeup combination.

Hill allowed four runs (three earned) on three hits, two walks and a wild pitch across one inning in a Grapefruit League loss to the Red Sox on Friday.

The veteran southpaw threw 28 pitches overall and unsurprisingly was significantly dissatisfied with his performance, with Adam Berry of MLB.com reporting that Hill emphasized after the outing that he holds himself to a higher standard. Hill did say he felt "great" physically during his time on the mound, and although he blamed himself for leaving a lot of fastballs and curveballs up in the zone, he also labeled the issue a "simple fix." that he'll look to implement in his next start.