MLB Player News

Ynoa was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett by Atlanta on Monday.

Ynoa needs to rebuild his stamina after missing all of last season following Tommy John surgery. The right-hander flashed promise prior to getting hurt, but he looks to be fairly far down the organizational depth chart.

Atlanta optioned Elder to Triple-A Gwinnett on Monday.

Elder wound up being the odd man out for a spot in Atlanta's five-man rotation, with offseason pickup Reynaldo Lopez seemingly getting the first crack at serving as the team's No. 5 starter. If Lopez struggles in his transition from the bullpen to the rotation and is eventually moved back to a relief role, Elder could be an option for spot starts, but AJ Smith-Shawver is the more appealing fantasy stash due to his superior stuff and upside. Elder had an 8.25 ERA, 1.75 WHIP and 13 strikeouts in 12 innings during Grapefruit League play.

Jones allowed two hits and one walk while striking out four across four scoreless innings in Saturday's Grapefruit League game against Atlanta.

Jones entered the conversation for a rotation spot by flashing elite velocity early in the spring, and he's turned his stuff into results more effectively in his past two outings. The latest came while facing the vast majority of Atlanta's regular lineup, and he's now combined to post a 7:1 K:BB across his last 6.2 frames. Two spots in the Pittsburgh rotation remain unclaimed, and Jones could be in line to grab one.

Quantrill allowed four hits and one walk while striking out three across 4.2 scoreless innings in Sunday's Cactus League game against the Giants.

Quantrill made his longest appearance of the spring and tallied his first strikeout of the exhibition season. Despite the lack of swing and miss, he's been effective, allowing only three earned runs across 10.2 frames. Quantrill will be relied upon as a key part of the Rockies' rotation, though he's likely to find consistent success hard to come by given his contact-heavy approach at Coors Field.

Gallen allowed one hit and one walk while striking out four over 4.1 scoreless innings in Sunday's Cactus League start against the Angels.

Gallen threw 58 pitches (34 strikes) in his third Cactus League start and had to pitch into the fifth inning to get the count up that high. The right-hander said Sunday was the best he's felt this spring, per Steve Gilbert of MLB.com. Gallen will get one more spring start that should prepare him for the pitch-count range he'll need to be at for Opening Day.

Williamson left Sunday's spring training game against the Guardians with shoulder soreness, Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Manager David Bell revealed why Williamson had to leave the game early. The pitcher was taken out of the game due to soreness in his left shoulder. The Reds are hopeful that it is nothing serious. In three spring training appearances, the 25-year-old had allowed four earned runs with nine strikeouts and zero walks in 9.0 innings.

The Nationals optioned Rutledge to Triple-A Rochester on Sunday.

Rutledge allowed just three runs and struck out seven over seven frames in three Grapefruit League appearances, but he walked five batters. The 24-year-old made his MLB debut with four starts last season but struggled to a 6.75 ERA over 20 innings. He's likely to be one of the first options to start if the Nationals deal with rotation injuries.

Manager Rob Thomson announced Sunday that Wheeler will be Philadelphia's starter for Opening Day against Atlanta on March 28, Alex Coffey of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

The right-hander inked a three-year, $126 million extension with the Phillies in early March and will be their first pitcher to officially take the mound in 2024. Wheeler had a 3.61 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 212:39 K:BB across 192 innings last season, and he's looked like himself through three spring starts with two runs allowed and a 9:3 K:BB in nine frames.

Winn (elbow) is scheduled to pitch in Sunday's Cactus League game against the Rockies, Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Though Winn was able to get stretched out while pitching Wednesday in a minor-league spring training game, he'll be making his Cactus League debut Sunday after he moved through his throwing progression slowly earlier in camp due to a sore right elbow. Winn can't afford any setbacks in his recovery at this stage of spring training, but if he makes it through his appearance Sunday and another during the upcoming week unscathed, he should be ready to fill a spot in the Giants' Opening Day rotation.

Taillon said Sunday his back has responded well to rest and treatment, and he plans to throw off a mound Tuesday or Wednesday, Bruce Levine of 670TheScore.com reports.

The right-hander's back didn't initially respond well after he was scratched from his start March 9 due to back tightness, but his status has apparently improved significantly over the past few days. Taillon has yet to see game action this spring as he focused on his mechanics early in camp, so even if completely healthy he may not be fully ramped up for the start of the regular season.