MLB Player News

Woodruff won't make his scheduled start during Wednesday's Cactus League game versus the Diamondbacks due to wet field conditions, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

There's a good chance the game will be rained out anyhow, but either way, Woodruff will get his work in on the side. If the contest is played, Matt Bush will serve as an opener and be followed by Gus Varland and Hoby Milner.

Montgomery will pitch in a simulated game on a back field Thursday, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

Montgomery has struggled to begin spring training, allowing six earned runs on eight hits and a walk with six strikeouts over seven innings. Despite the early issues, the southpaw is in no danger of falling out of the Cardinals' rotation. He's on a one-year, $10 million contract this season, and he figures to slot in behind Jack Flaherty at the top end of the rotation.

Peterson walked one and struck out five over four scoreless, no-hit innings in Tuesday's Grapefruit League game against the Nationals.

With Jose Quintana (ribs) projected to be out until around the All-Star break, there's an opening in the Mets' rotation, and the competition for it is fierce. Tylor Megill fired four scoreless innings against the Marlins on Monday with three strikeouts, but Peterson topped that Tuesday with a brilliant performance over 68 pitches (41 strikes) against a Washington lineup that contained a handful of Opening Day starters, including CJ Abrams, Keibert Ruiz and Corey Dickerson. Peterson might have the edge over Megill right now simply by virtue of the fact that he'd be the only southpaw in the New York rotation, but this battle could come right down to the wire.

The Pirates named Keller their starting pitcher for their Opening Day game March 30 in Cincinnati, Justice delos Santos of MLB.com reports.

Keller will be rewarded with the Opening Day nod after he overcame a rough start to the 2022 campaign to sharpen his command and control from about mid-May onward, finishing the season with a 3.22 ERA over his final 120.1 innings. He's carried over that success through his first four appearances of the Grapefruit League slate (4.09 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 13:1 K:BB in 11 innings) while also incorporating a new slider/cutter hybrid into his repertoire. Wins will likely still be hard to come by for Keller while he's pitching for a Pirates squad that remains in rebuilding mode, but the right-hander could prove to be a solid contributor in the ratio categories during his fifth season in the majors.

Henry allowed four runs on three hits and three walks while striking out six over 3.1 innings in Tuesday's spring start against the Giants.

Henry told Steve Gilbert of MLB.com that he made a wrong decision on a 2-2 pitch that resulted in J.D. Davis' three-run home run. The left-hander, who is vying for the No. 5 starter job with Drey Jameson, Ryne Nelson and Brandon Pfaadt, regretted throwing a fastball hitter one fastball too many. "Just threw a good fastball hitter too many fastballs in one at-bat," Henry said. "I saw some things that would have suggested to throw other pitches and I still threw the heater." Henry had worked three scoreless frames before running into trouble in the fourth.

Gallen threw 70 pitches during his second spring start Monday against the Rangers, Steve Stockmar of MLB.com reports.

In what has been a normal pattern for Arizona starters this spring, Gallen was removed during an inning before re-entering an inning later. He initially worked 3.2 innings then faced one batter in the fifth. "Just get my body used to sitting down and getting up again for a fifth time," Gallen said. "I would say maybe that's just as important if not more important than getting the pitch count." Gallen is lined up to start Opening Day, March 30, against the Dodgers.

Ashcraft (calf) is listed as Cincinnati's probable starter for Friday's spring game against the Guardians.

The 25-year-old was removed from his most recent start Sunday with calf cramps, but it appears the issue won't affect his next turn through the rotation. Ashcraft got his fastball up over 100 mph prior to his exit from that outing, though he'll need more than just velocity to take a step forward in 2023 after he posted a 4.89 ERA and 71:30 K:BB across 105 innings as a rookie last year.

Snell has pitched in two Cactus League contests for the Padres, allowing three runs on four hits while posting a 6:2 K:BB over seven innings.

Snell has allowed just six baserunners through his first seven innings, but he's been stung by two long balls against him. Homers weren't a big problem for the lefty last season -- he gave up 11 over 128 frames -- so there's no reason to draw any implications from the small spring sample. Snell historically doesn't go deep into games and tends to issue too many walks, but he can pile up strikeouts and pitched well enough last season (3.38 ERA, 2.79 FIP, 1.20 WHIP) to justify a selection in the first third of fantasy drafts.

Marquez allowed two hits and struck out seven with no walks across four scoreless innings in Tuesday's Cactus League game against the Cubs.

The outing was Marquez's second start of the spring, and he managed to double his workload. He now has thrown six scoreless innings while racking up an impressive 9:1 K:BB during the exhibition season. Marquez struggled to an ugly 4.90 ERA and 1.37 WHIP across 181.2 innings in 2022, but he's still a lock for the Colorado rotation and should account for plenty of innings if he can remain healthy.

Dodd is one of the finalists to be the fifth starter for Atlanta to open the 2023 season, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.

Dodd appears to be one of the final two options for Atlanta to open as the fifth starter after Atlanta sent down both Ian Anderson and Bryce Elder. The left-hander has impressed this spring with an 11:0 K:BB and 0.00 ERA over 8.1 innings in three appearances, and registered a 3.36 ERA over 142 innings at three different levels in 2022. Dodd may not win the job over Jared Shuster to open the year, but there's every reason to believe he'll make starts for Atlanta before 2023 comes to a conclusion if he doesn't.