MLB Player News

Wood allowed one hit and struck out six over five scoreless innings in Tuesday's Cactus League win over the Dodgers.

Wood faced a lineup that consisted of about half major-leaguers. This was Wood's longest and sharpest start of the spring -- he has a 3.72 ERA, 0.72 WHIP and 13:3 K:BB across 9.2 innings through three appearances. He'll open the season near the back of the Giants' rotation, but Tuesday's outing suggests he's ready for the regular season. He may get one more tune-up during the exhibition slate before lining up to make his regular-season debut versus the White Sox.

Atlanta manager Brian Snitker told reporters that Soroka (hamstring) is likely to go a couple of innings during Wednesday's Grapefruit League start against the Tigers, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.

Soroka is making his spring debut after missing the first three-plus weeks of Grapefruit League games while recovering from a right hamstring strain. The right-hander will likely throw only a pair of innings in this outing, and Snitker cautioned that there is no timetable for when he'll be ready to return to the mound with Atlanta taking a start-by-start approach with the hurler until he's built up to handle a starting role. Soroka showed great promise in the beginning of his career, but managers should take a wait-and-see approach with Soroka in redraft formats.

Davies allowed five runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out six over 3.2 innings in Tuesday's spring start against the Angels.

Davies was knocked around for a second consecutive Cactus League start, and as he did after the previous outing, the right-hander downplayed the results, per Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. Davies said he was throwing pitches he wouldn't normally deploy in certain situations during the regular season, citing the curveball that Jo Adell sent 430 feet to left field for a home run. "Felt pretty good," Davies said. "Still kinda working on things but at the same time, we're getting down to crunch time." He was pleased with his fastball and changeup, which helped him to record the strikeouts. Davies is slotted in as the No. 4 starter.

Pepiot (side) is listed as the Dodgers' probable starter for Wednesday's spring game against the Mariners.

The right-hander exited his previous Cactus League start Friday due to side discomfort but will make his next turn through the rotation Wednesday. Pepiot made his big-league debut last season and had a 3.47 ERA across 36.1 frames in nine outings (seven starts), and he's making a strong push for a rotation spot to open 2023 with just two runs allowed and a 13:3 K:BB over nine innings during spring training.

Urias is likely to be the Opening Day starter for the Dodgers, Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times reports.

It's not a big surprise, as Urias was the best pitcher on the Dodgers in 2022 with a 17-7 record, 2.16 ERA and 0.96 WHIP over 175 innings. The left-hander will start Friday's Cactus League game after returning from the World Baseball Classic while pitching for Team Mexico, which lines him up to pitch on normal rest Thursday against the Diamondbacks. Even without elite strikeout totals, Urias is deserving of a high draft pick in all formats.

The Dodgers reassigned Stone to minor-league camp Tuesday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Stone has thrown 6.2 scoreless frames with a 14:2 K:BB across four Cactus League appearances with the Dodgers. The right-handed prospect is coming off a 2022 season in which he posted a 1.16 ERA in Triple-A, and he'll almost certainly make his way to the big leagues in 2023.

Syndergaard said he was bothered by a hand blister during his Cactus League start Tuesday against the Giants, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Syndergaard also said he struggled to find his footing on what was a rainy afternoon in Arizona, which led to inconsistent velocity readings. He gave up six earned runs on six hits and a walk over 4.1 innings of work as his spring ERA ballooned from 0.96 to 4.61. The 30-year-old right-hander has battled this blister off and on for the last few months and it seems unlikely to alter his readiness for his first scheduled turn in the Dodgers' season-opening rotation.

Walker will start Friday's Grapefruit League contest for the Phillies, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.

Walker would have started Tuesday's finale against Team USA had Team Mexico beaten Japan on Monday, but instead the right-hander will return to the Phillies to make a spring start. The right-hander pitched well in his previous outing in the WBC with eight strikeouts and four scoreless innings. He's projected to be the third starter for the Phillies in 2023, and if he can stay healthy, he has a chance to be a solid -- if unspectacular -- fantasy option.

Ortiz was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis by the Pirates on Tuesday.

Ortiz gave up seven earned runs on 12 hits and three walks over six innings this spring in the Grapefruit League, and he also spent some time away from Pirates camp while representing the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic. The 24-year-old should get an extended look in Pittsburgh at some point in the first half of the 2023 season.

Liberatore was optioned to Triple-A Memphis by the Cardinals on Tuesday.

St. Louis has enjoyed a fairly healthy spring, which means that Liberatore will head back to the minors to work on his craft. Adam Wainwright, Miles Mikolas, Jordan Montgomery, Jack Flaherty and Steven Matz will make up the season-opening starting rotation for the reigning NL Central champs.