MLB Player News

Flaherty tossed four scoreless innings in Tuesday's Grapefruit League game against Atlanta. He walked two and struck out three.

Flaherty was just about flawless in his second spring outing. The Tigers gave him more than 10 days off between Grapefruit League starts, so it appears that the team is taking it easy on the righty before the season begins. Flaherty tossed a total of 162 innings for the Tigers and Dodgers last regular season, then saw another 22 innings in the postseason for Los Angeles as he helped lead the team to a World Series title. The 29-year-old will slot in behind staff ace Tarik Skubal to begin 2025.

Giolito (hamstring) is scheduled to undergo an MRI on Wednesday, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.

The 30-year-old said after departing Tuesday's spring game that he believed the hamstring tightness to be a "very minor" injury, but he's still headed for medical imaging. Giolito may not miss much time if the MRI comes back clean. If the MRI reveals anything concerning, Giolito would likely begin the season on the injured list.

Scherzer will no longer make his scheduled Grapefruit League start Thursday against the Orioles due to right thumb soreness, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.

The soreness came about following Scherzer's last outing Saturday versus the Tigers. Blue Jays manager John Schneider said that the Blue Jays are "just being extra careful" with Scherzer, and the skipper expects to know more about the veteran right-hander's status in the coming days. Scherzer has been terrific this spring, posting a 14:0 K:BB over nine Grapefruit League innings.

Mahle was scratched from Tuesday's scheduled start versus the Angels due to right forearm soreness, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.

The Rangers are saying the move was made out of an abundance of caution. Still, given that Mahle just returned from Tommy John surgery last season, the news is disconcerting. Jack Leiter will start in Mahle's place Tuesday and would be one of the candidates to fill his regular-season rotation spot if Mahle needs to miss time.

Giolito believes the left hamstring injury that forced him from Tuesday's outing against the Phillies to be "very minor," Mac Cerullo of the Boston Herald reports.

Giolito felt his hamstring tighten up on the first pitch of the game, but he remained in to complete one inning, allowing two runs on one hit and two walks. The righty has had hamstring problems in the past and said this one feels mild compared to the others, but it's not yet clear when he might be able to pitch again. Currently, Giolito is slated to make his season debut March 31 against the Orioles.

Giolito was lifted from Tuesday's Grapefruit League outing against the Phillies due to left hamstring tightness, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

Making his first start since last year's internal brace procedure, Giolito yielded two runs on one hit and two walks over his lone inning of work before departing. It's not clear at this point whether his removal was precautionary or if he might need to miss some time. Currently, Giolito is projected to make his regular-season/Red Sox debut March 31 against the Orioles.

The White Sox optioned Nastrini to Triple-A Charlotte on Tuesday.

Though Nastrini has pitched reasonably well this spring (3.52 ERA, 1.43 WHIP and 6:2 K:BB in 7.2 innings), his poor body of work at the big-league level last season likely played a significant part in the White Sox's decision to remove him from the competition for the Opening Day rotation. The 25-year-old righty turned in an ugly 7.07 ERA and 36:26 K:BB while allowing seven home runs over his 35.2 innings with the White Sox in 2024. He'll need to make stark improvement with his walk rate at Charlotte this season before he gets another look in the big-league rotation.

The Red Sox optioned Dobbins to minor-league camp Tuesday, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

Added to the 40-man roster this offseason, Dobbins allowed three runs (two earned) with a 3:1 K:BB over four innings during Grapefruit League play. The 25-year-old finished the 2024 season at Triple-A Worcester and will head back there to start the 2025 campaign as part of Boston's rotation depth.

The Astros optioned Gordon to Triple-A Sugar Land on Tuesday, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Gordon should get the opportunity to make his MLB debut at some point in 2025, but he'll begin the season in the minors after losing out in the spring competition for the Astros' No. 5 starter role. Hayden Wesneski now profiles as the leading candidate for the final spot in the Opening Day rotation, though Gordon made a decent push for the gig after giving up five runs (three earned) on seven hits and two walks while striking out seven over seven innings across his three Grapefruit League starts.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Tuesday that Crawford (knee) is feeling better but has not progressed with his baseball activities, Mac Cerullo of the Boston Herald reports.

Crawford will not be ready for Opening Day as he battles patellar tendon soreness and things look to be trending toward longer than a minimum stay on the 15-day injured list. Brayan Bello (shoulder) is also expected to begin the year on the IL but appears likely to rejoin Boston's rotation before Crawford.