MLB Player News

Sanchez will be on an innings limit this season, Jordan McPherson of The Miami Herald reports. "We're gonna have to put an inning cap on his workload," Marlins pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr. said Tuesday. "We've sat down and we have a plan for that."

The right-hander had a delayed beginning to his spring training and may not be fully ramped up by Opening Day, but Miami does have the option of skipping Sanchez entirely through the first two turns of the rotation thanks to a couple early off days. That likely wouldn't be the end of the team's attempts to limit his workload, however, as the focus will be on having Sanchez available for starts in September, not April and May. The 22-year-old threw 47 innings in 2020 between the regular season and playoffs after tossing only 114 frames between High-A and Double-A in 2019, and the Marlins do have plenty of options to make spot starts in order to give Sanchez, and the rest of their young rotation, extra rest over the summer.

Fried will make his first start of the spring Wednesday against the Red Sox, Gabriel Burns of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Potential exposure to someone with COVID-19 forced him into the league's protocols for a few days, delaying his prep for the regular season, but Fried got cleared over the weekend and is ready for his first Grapefruit League action. The 27-year-old will still be able to make four spring starts, giving him enough time to ramp up before Opening Day.

Strasburg threw 38 pitches over 1.2 innings Tuesday in his first game action of the spring, topping out at 93 mph with his fastball, Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post reports. "We're going to keep a close eye on him for sure, just like I do with anybody else," Nationals manager Dave Martinez said afterwards. "But for me, he looks as normal as normal can be."

The right-hander had another abbreviated season in 2020 due to a hand issue that eventually required surgery, but Strasburg looked healthy in this outing, painting the corners with his fastball and giving his changeup a workout. The 33-year-old showed what he's still capable of in an injury-free season back in 2019, making 33 starts, striking out 251 batters over 209 innings, and capping things off with a World Series MVP Award.

Houser allowed one earned run over 1.2 innings in Tuesday's spring game against the Giants. He gave up three hits and posted a 4:0 K:BB in the contest.

Houser was not particularly sharp Tuesday, and he was removed from the game in the first inning after reaching his pitch limit. Due to the revised rules, though, he re-entered in the second inning and struck out the side after allowing a home run to the first batter in the frame. Houser has held his own up to this point of the spring, which gives him up a leg up in the competition for the fifth spot in the Brewers' starting rotation.

Manager David Ross said Williams and a handful of other pitchers could shift between the rotation and the bullpen in an effort to manage workloads this season, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

Kyle Hendricks, Jake Arrieta and Zach Davies are expected to lead the Chicago rotation, but beyond that trio, the roles are less clear. Ross said it's too early to say Williams is a full-time starter. Instead, the veteran righty could potentially work in more of a swing role, along with the likes of Adbert Alzolay and Alec Mills, as the team goes from 60 games to 162. "I don't want to put anybody in certain boxes," Ross said. "Let's continue to just see how that pans out and how guys are throwing, because like I've said a number of times, I think it's going to take a number of guys to get through this season." Williams last pitched out of the bullpen back in 2017, when he made 25 starts and six relief appearances.

Gray was scratched from his spring training start Tuesday, instead throwing 40 pitches in a bullpen session, Bobby Nightengale of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Gray said last week that he wanted to tinker with some of his pitch repertoire. "There are a few things I'd like to work on and continue to spend some time on, especially now, because if it can help down the road, I'd like to be able to do that," he said. The Reds noted back in February that they wanted to monitor Gray's workload early on, and this decision serves both purposes. The good news here is that there isn't an injury.

Carrasco won't make his spring debut this weekend as previously reported but will continue to ramp up in live batting practice sessions instead, Justin Toscano of The Bergen Record reports.

Carrasco missed the start of camp for undisclosed, non-injury-related reasons. He's seemingly behind the rest of the Mets' staff, but it appears as though the decision to ramp him up behind the scenes is a simple change of plans that isn't related to any sort of injury setback. Assuming no reports of an injury pop up, Carrasco should have no issues getting ready for Opening Day.

Mikolas won't throw his scheduled bullpen Wednesday, as his shoulder soreness isn't progressing as the Cardinals hoped, Justin Toscano of The Bergen Record reports.

A forearm injury cost Mikolas all of last season, but it's a shoulder problem that's bothering him so far this year. The issue has so far been characterized as mere stiffness or soreness, but this latest setback indicates that there could be something worse going on. The Cardinals should find that out after Mikolas undergoes further tests. This delay is already casting his readiness for Opening Day in some doubt, and it's possible he winds up being forced to miss an extended period.

Kim allowed four earned runs on six hits and a walk over 2.1 innings in a Grapefruit League tie with the Marlins on Monday. He struck out two.

The 32-year-old southpaw threw 27 pitches in a difficult first inning before getting the hook with two outs. However, Zachary Silver of MLB.com reports Kim was much more settled upon returning for the second frame and part of the third, needing only 21 more offerings to record five efficient outs. "The second inning, my velo and my balance was like last season," Kim said. "[Thinking about last season] really helped me in the second inning. ... With that, I think I'll be better for the next game."

Woodruff made his spring debut Monday and allowed two earned runs over two innings against the Angels. He struck out one batter, walked none and served up two home runs.

Woodruff was slowed by a back injury this spring. He was sharp in his first inning, retiring all three batters he faced -- including punching out Mike Trout. However, he ran into trouble in his second frame, serving up long balls to Anthony Rendon and Justin Upton. The Angels certainly didn't send their B team out there Monday, so the long balls shouldn't be cause for concern at this point. Woodruff will have plenty of time to get ready for Opening Day; barring any setbacks, he will almost certainly take the ball that day against the Twins.