MLB Player News

Davies allowed three runs on two hits and one walk while striking out three over three innings in Tuesday's spring training start against the Cubs.

Davies made his Cactus League debut after the Diamondbacks signed him one week ago and started against the team for which he made 32 starts in 2021. There's enough time in spring training for one more start, so the right-hander may not build up enough pitches for the first turn of the rotation in the regular season, although he could be used as a game opener or in a piggyback role. Davies is the leading candidate to claim the No. 5 starter job.

Steele allowed two runs on three hits across 2.2 innings in Tuesday's Cactus League game against the Diamondbacks. He walked four and struck out one.

It was an uneven performance for Steele, who is vying for a spot in the back part of the Cubs' rotation to begin the season. Wade Miley (neck) may not be ready to go to start the year. Steele has a solid 2.70 ERA this spring, but his seven walks in 6.2 innings of work are obviously a bit concerning. The lefty will need to exhibit better control if he wants to have any sustained success this year.

Urena signed a minor-league contract with the Brewers on Tuesday, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Urena spent last season in Detroit and appeared in 26 games (18 starts) with a 5.81 ERA, 1.60 WHIP and 67:42 K:BB over 100.2 innings. The right-hander should report to big-league camp for the final stages of spring training, but he'll likely open the season at Triple-A Nashville since the Brewers have an established rotation.

Gallen (shoulder) will make his Cactus League debut Wednesday against the Rockies, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports.

Gallen has been behind since the start of camp after battling shoulder bursitis over the offseason. He's not all that far behind, however, as been throwing off a mound for two weeks. He's unlikely to be built up to a full starter's workload by Opening Day given his late start, but it's unclear if that means the Diamondbacks will send him to the injured list or simply have him finish ramping up while on the active roster.

Lucchesi (elbow) was placed on the 60-day injured list Tuesday, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

The move has no impact on Lucchesi's availability, as he'll miss a substantial portion of the season while recovering from Tommy John surgery, a procedure he underwent last June. The transaction clears space on the 40-man roster for the Mets to add Yoan Lopez, who was claimed off waivers from the Marlins.

Lively was reassigned to minor-league camp Tuesday.

Lively was merely in camp as a non-roster invitee but reportedly had a chance to win at least a temporary rotation spot, with both Luis Castillo and Mike Minor expected to miss the start of the season with shoulder injuries. He's no longer in the competition, which isn't too much of a surprise given that he spent the last three seasons producing a merely decent 4.14 ERA in the KBO.

Manager Craig Counsell confirmed Tuesday that Burnes will start the Brewers' Opening Day game April 7 against the Cubs in Chicago, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

Though rotation mate Brandon Woodruff (2.56 ERA, 0.96 WHIP in 179.1 innings in 2021) would be a quality Opening Day starter for just about any other team, Burnes was the obvious top choice to take the hill for the Brewers' season opener fresh off winning his first Cy Young Award. While Milwaukee may choose to implement a six-man rotation for portions of the season in an effort to keep all of its starters fresh, Burnes should once again rank among the best pitchers in the league on a per-outing basis. He led all qualified starters in 2021 with a 30.4 K-BB%, with his ability to make bats miss, limit walks and suppress home runs helping him finish with a 1.63 FIP, 2.00 xERA and 2.30 xFIP. Those underlying numbers suggest he was even more dominant than his elite 2.43 ERA over 167 innings would indicate.

Clevinger (elbow) is scheduled to start Tuesday's Cactus League game against the Giants.

Clevinger's upcoming appearance will mark his first official game action since the 2020 postseason, when he aggravated an elbow injury that eventually required Tommy John surgery. Now more than 16 months removed from the elbow procedure, Clevinger appears on track to be part of the Padres' Opening Day rotation, provided he doesn't experience any setbacks in his buildup program leading up to the start of the regular season. Though he'll be making his Cactus League debut Tuesday, Clevinger has been steadily upping his pitch count by facing hitters in live batting practice and pitching in a minor-league game on the back fields at spring training.

Cabrera tossed three scoreless, no-hit innings against the Nationals in his 2022 spring training debut Monday, allowing one walk and striking out three. He also worked a new sinker into his arsenal, Jordan McPherson of The Miami Herald reports.

The power sinker is sitting in the high 90s, and Cabrera feels it will play well off his plus slider, which he used to fan Nelson Cruz on Monday. "It's something that I'm applying to the game," Cabrera said after the outing. "I'm throwing a 98 [mph] sinker and then it's something that I want to surprise some of the batters with an 88 [mph] slider, especially if it's breaking like it was today. I can apply it and have some success here." The 23-year-old right-hander struggled in his big-league debut last year after dominating in the high minors, but he still posted a solid 23.3 percent strikeout rate over 26.1 innings for Miami. The Marlins are hoping he can make the same kind of leap forward in 2022 that Trevor Rogers did in 2021.

Miley (neck) could be skipped in the Cubs' rotation to begin the season, potentially not making his debut until April 16 at Colorado, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

Miley profiles as the team's No. 3 starter as the season moves along, but he could operate as the fifth starter in the early going due to his delayed start to camp. That could mean the veteran sticks in Arizona to get in some extra work while his teammates head to Chicago for the first series of the year, where a No. 5 pitcher won't be needed. The 35-year-old would then join up with them for the first road trip. This would allow Miley extra time to ramp up before potentially starting April 16 at Coors Field.