MLB Player News

Luzardo struck out three batters over two perfect innings in Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the Nationals.

The 26-year-old southpaw got his spring off to a flying start, tossing 17 of 23 pitches for strikes against a patchwork Washington lineup headlined by Joey Meneses and top prospect James Wood. Luzardo threw a career-high 178.2 innings last year, striking out 208 batters with a 3.58 ERA and 1.21 WHIP, and he heads into the 2024 campaign looking to establish himself as a reliable frontline starter.

Yamamoto is listed as the Dodgers' starting pitcher for Wednesday's Cactus League game against the Rangers, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

The Dodgers are expected to have both of their prized offseason acquisitions make their Cactus League debuts within the next two days, as Shohei Ohtani (elbow) is scheduled to serve as a designated hitter Tuesday versus the White Sox before Yamamoto takes the hill Wednesday. Since Yamamoto had been on a once-a-week pitching schedule in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball while winning Pacific League MVP Awards in each of the past three seasons, the Dodgers will move to a six-man rotation in 2024 to help ease the 25-year-old's transition to MLB. The Dodgers are already penciling Yamamoto in to make his first regular-season start during their two-game season-opening series in South Korea versus the Padres on March 20 and 21.

Lowder is scheduled to pitch in one of the Reds' split-squad games Monday, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

This marks the first time Lowder will throw to professional batters in game conditions. He threw during Fall Instructs, but the right-hander was already at his innings limit when Cincinnati selected him with the seventh overall pick in the 2023 Draft.

Greene allowed one hit and two walks while striking out four over 1.2 innings in a spring start Sunday against the Angels.

Greene busted out a curveball and split-finger fastball during the outing, adding two new offerings he worked on during the offseason to an arsenal that includes a four-seam fastball, slider and a rarely used changeup, per Mark Sheldon of MLB.com. "I tried to keep it simple," Greene said. "I feel like I had a good feel for everything. Curveball was a little iffy, but as far as spring I will continue to work on it." The right-hander was exuberant about the state of the new split and will continue to hone it for Opening Day and beyond. He had been scheduled to pitch two innings but reached his pitch limit thanks to a long first inning that included two walks and three strikeouts.

Cecconi walked one and struck out four over two hitless and scoreless innings in Sunday's spring start against the White Sox.

Cecconi, who made his spring debut, pitched as well as Tommy Henry and Ryne Nelson -- his main competitors for the final rotation spot -- did Friday and Saturday, respectively. Cecconi's main offseason focus was to refine his secondary offerings, which Arizona manager Torey Lovullo believes could lengthen the 24-year-old's outings. The right-hander appeared in seven games, four as a starter, for the Diamondbacks in 2023 and rarely faced batters a third time through. "Last year, I was very slider heavy," Cecconi said. "A lot of fastball/slider and the huge goal this offseason was to really develop a four pitch-mix," Cecconi said. Henry and Nelson are considered the leaders for the final rotation spot.

Gallen tossed a live batting-practice session Sunday, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports.

This was the first time facing batters this spring for Gallen, who is prepping for his scheduled Cactus League debut Friday. "I felt all right," the right-hander said. "I mean, I still feel a little rushed, but that's just a timing thing. I think that just comes with time of getting used to seeing hitters again." Gallen, who threw a career-high 243.2 innings combined between the regular season and playoffs in 2023, is being brought along slowly this spring but should be Arizona's Opening Day starter.

Peterson (hip) was placed on the 60-day injured list Sunday.

The left-hander is expected to miss the first two months of the season as he continues his rehab from November hip surgery, so it's not a surprise he'll begin the campaign on the injured list. Peterson had a 5.03 ERA in 27 appearances (21 starts) last season and likely won't be guaranteed a rotation spot once healthy.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Sunday that Sheehan hasn't been throwing the past few days due to general body soreness, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

It's not believed to be a serious concern, but the Dodgers are still exercising some caution with the young right-hander early in camp. Roberts doesn't expect the issue to affect Sheehan's availability for the start of the regular season. The 24-year-old could earn a spot in the Opening Day rotation due to Walker Buehler (elbow) having a delayed start to the campaign.

Williams reported to the Nationals' camp Sunday following the birth of his daughter, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.

The veteran right-hander wasn't with the team for the start of spring training since his wife was due to give birth, but he's now joined the Nationals after spending some time with his family. Williams threw to high schoolers at home in San Diego, so he was still able to get some work in before reporting to camp and shouldn't be significantly behind the other pitchers.

Spiers allowed three hits and struck out four over two scoreless innings in Saturday's spring start against the Guardians.

Spiers, who served dual roles as a starter and reliever in 2023, opened the Cactus League schedule for the Reds as a starter. The performance was an encouraging outing for Spiers, as two of his four punchouts came against players that rarely strike out -- Steven Kwan and Jose Ramirez. It would be a surprise if the right-hander wins a rotation spot, but a strong spring could keep Spiers on a starter's trajectory and put hm atop the list of depth starters.