MLB Player News

Smyly threw five scoreless innings in Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Rays, allowing only one hit and one walk while striking out six.

The veteran southpaw lowered his spring ERA to 5.00 with the outing, but Smyly's 12:2 K:BB over nine innings offers a better indication of how he's pitched. He's expected to begin the season as Atlanta's No. 4 starter following a dazzling 2020 campaign with the Giants that saw him post a 3.42 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 35.2 percent strikeout rate over 26.1 innings.

Liberatore was reassigned to minor-league camp Thursday.

Liberatore was with the big-league club this spring to gain experience and build up his workload. He threw a total of six innings and tallied a 5:6 K:BB. Liberatore is likely to begin the season at Double-A Springfield.

Oviedo was optioned to minor-league camp Thursday.

Oviedo made his major-league debut in 2020 as the Cardinals faced a multitude of doubleheaders that stretched their starting rotation thin. However, he made only one appearance in Grapefruit League action and will likely to continue stretching out at the alternate site to begin the season.

Martinez fired six scoreless innings in a Grapefruit League win over the Mets on Wednesday, allowing four hits, two walks and hitting a batter while recording five strikeouts.

Martinez presumably entered Wednesday's outing with some serious ground to make up on John Gant for a spot in the starting rotation, and he impressively met the moment with his best performance of the spring. Zachary Silver of MLB.com reports Martinez was able to deploy all five of his pitches with success, and manager Mike Shildt remarked that there's a "really good chance" the veteran right-hander opens the regular season as the No. 3 starter, although the status of Kwang Hyun Kim (back) for his first scheduled turn through the rotation is expected to play an integral role in whether that comes to fruition.

Sanchez will throw on Tuesday with the hopes of increasing his workload enough to begin the season in the rotation, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

Sanchez threw 61 pitches in his final official spring outing Thursday, his highest total of the exhibition season. However, manager Don Mattingly said he wants Sanchez to be able to throw five innings and a minimum of 75 pitches before making his first start of the season. Regardless of when Sanchez first takes the mound in regular season action, the Marlins figure to monitor his workload very carefully throughout the campaign.

Mikolas (shoulder) is expected to throw a bullpen session before spring training ends, but he likely won't face live hitters until he arrives at the team's alternate training site, Zachary Silver of MLB.com reports.

The veteran right-hander has been able to resume playing catch without setbacks, but the team is clearly adopting a cautious approach with him after Mikolas recently conceded his current shoulder troubles stem from having overthrown his first time facing hitters. President of baseball operations John Mozeliak noted Wednesday that a firmer timeline for the righty's regular-season debut won't be determined until the team sees how he responds to the upcoming increase in activity level.

Darvish has been named the Opening Day starter for the Padres, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

Darvish finished second in NL Cy Young voting with the Cubs in 2020 and had a strong spring showing. He tossed five scoreless innings while striking out seven in two Cactus League starts and will take the mound for the Padres against Arizona on April 1 as a result.

Peralta has been named the Brewers' fifth starter to begin the regular season, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

Peralta made just one start for the Brewers last year, but he'll begin the year in the rotation after a strong spring performance. The right-hander has made three Cactus League appearances (one start), allowing one run on eight hits and three walks while striking out 15 in 8.1 innings.

Freeland (shoulder) will be sidelined for at least a month, Nick Groke of The Athletic reports.

Freeland exited Tuesday's spring game against Oakland with a left shoulder strain, and manager Bud Black announced Thursday that the southpaw will miss at least a month. The team initially feared that Freeland's injury was worse, but the Rockies were encouraged by the results of his imaging. Chi Chi Gonzalez, Dereck Rodriguez or Ryan Rolison could now be in the mix to start for the Rockies during the first month of the regular season.

Gray allowed seven runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out one over 2.1 innings in Wednesday's spring win over the Brewers. He didn't factor into the decision.

Gray gave up a solo home run to Kolten Wong in the first inning, and Wong also hit a liner off Gray's right hand in the third inning before he gave up six more runs in the frame. Gray said that he'll be sore for a few days, but he didn't sound too concerned about the hand, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports. The right-hander has posted a 9.90 ERA with 10 strikeouts in 10 innings across three spring starts.