MLB Player News

Brewers manager Pat Murphy said Friday that he views Ross primarily as a starting pitcher, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

He didn't confirm Ross would be in the Brewers' starting rotation for Opening Day, but Murphy's statement does suggest that Ross will be sent to Triple-A Nashville and stay stretched out rather than begin the year in Milwaukee's bullpen should the 30-year-old righty lose out on a big-league rotation job. Ross hasn't pitched in the majors since 2021 and has surrendered five runs across seven innings so far this spring with a 9:6 K:BB.

Lucchesi was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse on Friday, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

The 30-year-old appeared to have a decent chance of making the Mets' Opening Day rotation after Kodai Senga (shoulder) was shut down, but Lucchesi came into camp behind most of the organization's pitchers and sat below 90 mph with his fastball during his lone game appearance of spring training. The left-hander pitched to a 2.89 ERA in nine starts for the Mets last season but is poised to open 2024 at Triple-A.

Cabrera (shoulder) is playing catch Friday, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

The 25-year-old was diagnosed with a right shoulder impingement earlier this week but was able to get back to throwing within a few days. Cabrera is likely to miss Opening Day as he ramps his throwing program back up, but he could make an early-season return if he's able to avoid any further issues.

Garrett (shoulder) is scheduled to throw live batting practice Sunday, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

The left-hander is poised to begin the season on the injured list due to left shoulder soreness, but he's ramping up his throwing program and will progress to facing live batters this weekend. It's possible Garrett will be ready to join the Marlins sometime in mid-April.

Perez (finger) will be shut down from throwing for 3-to-4 days, Craig Mish of the Miami Herald reports.

Perez had to be removed from his last Grapefruit League outing after just 14 pitches due to complications with a fingernail issue on his right middle finger. The right-hander had previously expressed optimism that he could still ramp back up in time for Opening Day, but this shutdown period, while relatively brief, makes a start during the opening weekend of the season unlikely. Perez was already in line to have his workload monitored this season, so it might make sense for the Marlins to push back his debut until at least the second turn through the rotation. The Marlins are already juggling injuries to other starters like Braxton Garrett (shoulder) and Edward Cabrera (shoulder), however, and the fact that Miami plays eight straight games to begin the campaign before its first off day could also push the team to try and get Perez ready to go as soon as possible.

Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said Friday that Senga (shoulder) will not begin a throwing program for another 7-to-10 days, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.

It was reported earlier this week that Senga's throwing would be delayed one week, and it appears he might be held back even longer than that. The righty will undergo more imaging after resuming throwing before the club determines the next steps in his recovery. Stearns indicated that Senga has not had a setback with the moderate posterior capsule strain in his right shoulder, but rather the team's "internal pacing" points to a longer pause. An early May return for Senga now looks like it might be the best-case scenario.

Davies allowed two runs on seven hits and a walk over five innings in Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Astros. He struck out five.

Facing most of Houston's likely Opening Day lineup, Davies kept the ball in the yard and counted Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman and Kyle Tucker among his strikeout victims. The 31-year-old right-hander is in camp with the Nationals on an NRI, so he isn't even guaranteed a roster spot, but the rebuilding team can use innings-eaters at the back of the rotation, and Davies still seems capable of doing at least that much. He stumbled to a woeful 7.00 ERA, 1.66 WHIP and 19.1 percent strikeout rate over 82.1 innings for Arizona in 2023, but per Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports, Davies built up to 89 pitches Thursday, and over 10.1 innings this spring he has an encouraging 13:5 K:BB.

Cobb (hip) will throw two innings in a minor-league game Saturday, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.

The Giants had left open the possibility that Cobb would make his Cactus League debut that day, but they've elected to have him pitch in a more controlled environment instead. Cobb has made a rapid recovery from hip surgery and looks to be on track to rejoin the Giants' rotation sometime in April.

Sale allowed two runs on three hits and a walk over 3.1 innings in Thursday's Grapefruit League game against Tampa Bay. He struck out six.

After a great beginning to his first spring with Atlanta, Sale has given up five runs over his last seven innings, albeit with a still-sharp 8:2 K:BB. The 34-year-old southpaw has been healthy though, which is the most important thing for a pitcher who hasn't thrown more than 102.2 innings in a season since 2019. Sale is on track for a mid-rotation spot to begin the year, and the reigning NL East champs can afford to go easy on his workload in 2024 given their pitching depth. Expecting more than 25 starts from Sale this season might be asking too much, but he should still be good for plenty of whiffs when he's on the mound after posting a 29.4 percent strikeout rate for Boston last year.

Henry allowed five runs on six hits and two walks while striking out one over 2.2 innings in Thursday's spring start against the Royals.

Henry's spring started hopeful, but it's gone the other way over his last three appearances. The left-hander allowed 13 runs on 22 hits and four walks over his last 8.2 innings, blowing up his ERA to 8.56. His primary competition for the final rotation spot, Ryne Nelson, has a 3.09 ERA over 11.2 innings. Arizona manager Torey Lovullo hasn't yet officially named Nelson the No. 5 starter, but that announcement should be coming soon.