MLB Player News

Kelly allowed two runs on five hits and struck out four over three innings in Wednesday's spring start against the Rockies.

Kelly emptied the entire arsenal of pitches Wednesday, throwing 47 overall. He worked on his changeup leading up to his second Cactus League start, after featuring a developing slider the first time out. "I've thrown my changeup for a long time now, it's kind of been the pitch that I've gone to when I needed something," Kelly told Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports. "The slider is obviously something that I want to make more consistent and more into a usable pitch, so the emphasis coming into spring was on the slider and sometimes when you do that the feel for the rest of the pitches kind of isn't as sharp." Kelly will get two more starts to work up to 75-80 pitches before the regular season opens.

Paxton isn't expected to join the Dodgers for their season-opening two-game set against the Padres in South Korea, though he's physically fine, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.

Paxton isn't dealing with any sort of injury, but he wouldn't be pitching in any capacity for either of the two games in Seoul, so the Dodgers are opting to have him work on building up at home rather than making the long trip overseas. Though an unspecified health issue resulted in a reduction of the guaranteed portion of the contract Paxton signed with Los Angeles in January, the left-hander has looked healthy while getting in limited work this spring, allowing just one run on two hits with a 7:2 K:BB over four innings. Paxton is lined up for a spot at the back of the Dodgers' rotation for the upcoming campaign.

Contreras walked six batters across four innings of work in Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Blue Jays.

Contreras is in competition for a rotation spot but has had an unimpressive showing this spring. Across four outings and 10.2 innings, he has just a 4:10 K:BB while giving up nine earned runs. Assuming he fails to secure a rotation spot, Contreras's tenure in Pittsburgh may be over as he is out of minor-league options.

The White Sox traded Cease to the Padres on Wednesday in exchange for Drew Thorpe, Jairo Iriarte, Steven Wilson and Samuel Zavala, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

After recent pushes from the Rangers and Yankees to acquire Cease, the right-hander will ultimately end up in San Diego, giving a much-needed boost to a Padres rotation that lost Blake Snell, Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo during the offseason. Following his brilliant 2022 campaign, Cease took a big step back in 2023 with a 4.58 ERA and 1.42 WHIP across 33 starts, though he still was able to rack up 214 strikeouts in 177 innings. Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove have already been penciled in as the Padres' starters for their season-opening series versus the Dodgers in South Korea next week, but Cease could make his Friars debut when the team return to North America for its first domestic series with the Giants from March 28 through 31.

Garrett (shoulder) is expected to throw a live batting practice session as soon as this weekend, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

Garrett has been slowed since the beginning of camp with left shoulder soreness, but he threw an extended bullpen session Wednesday and is days away from live BP. It would be the first time he's faced hitters this spring. Garrett will begin the season on the injured list and it's unclear how much time he might miss, but he's trending in the right direction.

Senga (shoulder) will begin a throwing program on March 22, one week later than initially projected, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza insists the delay for Senga "doesn't mean he's having any setback" as he works his way back from a moderate posterior capsule strain in his right shoulder. Rather, the club just wants to make sure Senga is as strong as possible before he resumes throwing. It does slightly delay Senga's potential return, which had been roughly pegged for late April or early May.

The Mets announced Wednesday that Quintana will start the team's season opener March 28 versus the Brewers at Citi Field.

Quintana became the logical choice for the Opening Day nod after Kodai Senga (shoulder) went down with an injury earlier in spring training that will likely cost him at least the first month of the season. Though he'll be functioning as the de facto staff ace to begin the campaign, the 35-year-old Quintana profiles as more of a mid-rotation or back-end arm at this stage of his career. The southpaw missed all of the first half of the 2023 season with a fractured rib, but he was a dependable innings eater upon returning after the All-Star break, pitching to a 3.57 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 60:24 K:BB across 75.2 frames.

Gray (hamstring) will throw another bullpen session Thursday, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Depending on how Gray comes out of the session, he's expected to then advance to either live batting practice or a game. The veteran right-hander has made a quick recovery from his mild right hamstring strain and might have an outside shot to be ready for his first start of the season, though a short stint on the injured list still seems more likely than not.

Perez was pulled from Wednesday's start against the Nationals with an apparent recurrence of the broken nail on his right middle finger, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.

The nail has been an ongoing issue for Perez since the beginning of camp. While the potential for a long-term absence seems minimal, it's certainly a concern that the issue continues to linger. The Marlins should have more on Perez's condition following Wednesday's game.

The Reds optioned Phillips to Triple-A Louisville on Wednesday, Gordon Wittenmyer of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Phillips has a 5:3 K:BB over six scoreless innings this spring but nonetheless finds himself sent to minor-league camp. The talented 22-year-old could still wind up making a decent number of starts for the Reds this season, but there are currently others ahead of him in the pecking order.