MLB Player News

Corbin will make his first appearance of the spring Saturday against the Marlins, Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post reports.

The Nationals have brought along their veteran starting pitchers slowly to begin camp, but Corbin is now ready to go. The southpaw is coming off a disappointing 2020 campaign that saw his ERA, velocity and strikeout rates all regress, but he's still expected to open the season as the team's No. 3 starter.

Sanchez could make his spring debut next week, Craig Mish of SportsGrid.com reports.

Sanchez was delayed a few days with what was, according to manager Don Mattingly, a false positive test for COVID-19, but he is now back on schedule. Sanchez is expected to throw a live batting practice session in the coming days, and if all goes well he could appear in his first game of the spring a few days later.

Burnes tossed two scoreless innings and posted a 5:1 K:BB in Friday's exhibition game against the Rockies.

Burnes has punched out seven batters over three total innings this spring, and he hasn't even used his full arsenal yet, as per Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel he has not yet thrown a slider -- his second-most effective pitch in 2020. Burnes was one of the best pitchers in the league last sesaon, posting a 2.11 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 13.3 K/9 over 59.2 innings, and it's looking like he is ready to build upon that this year.

Musgrove tossed two perfect innings and struck out one batter during Friday's Cactus League contest versus San Francisco.

In his exhibition debut with his hometown team, Musgrove needed only 18 pitches to make quick work of six batters. The right-hander is slotted to fill a back-end spot in a Padres rotation that, on paper, looks to be among the best in the league heading into the season.

Kershaw completed two scoreless innings in a Cactus League contest against Kansas City on Friday, allowing two hits and striking out two.

Kershaw allowed a double to Whit Merrifield in the first inning and another to Michael Taylor in the second, but he otherwise clamped down and extended his spring scoreless streak to 30 innings dating back to 2017. According to Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times, Kershaw threw his fastball at 89-90 mph in the outing -- a touch below his average velocity last season, but not a major concern given the nature of the exhibition contest. Kershaw enters his 14th big-league season as the Dodgers' presumed ace despite the quality of arms that surround him in the team's starting rotation.

Gomber allowed one hit and no walks while striking out two over two scoreless innings in Friday's spring loss to the Brewers. He didn't factor into the decision.

Gomber mainly threw fastballs during Sunday's Cactus League opener, but he focused more on his off-speed pitches against Milwaukee on Friday. Even though he changed his approach Friday, the southpaw had similar success and only allowed one baserunner via a one-out single in the first inning. Gomber said that he wants to combine his fastball and off-speed command in future spring outings while building up his arm strength and pitch count. The 27-year-old has limited major-league experience, but he's impressed so far during spring training while competing for a back-end rotation spot with his new club.

Meyer won't see any Grapefruit League action this spring even though he's in big-league camp, Jordan McPherson of The Miami Herald reports. "We don't want Max coming over to a game and trying to throw 100," Marlins manager Don Mattingly said Thursday. "We want him to get ready to pitch this season, continue his development, and we think there's a real risk with those young guys kind of trying to impress and doing too much too early. It's a danger in camp and that's something we're gonna stay away from."

The No. 3 overall pick in the 2020 draft will still be able to soak up a big-league atmosphere, but his pro debut will have to wait until the minor-league season begins. With two plus pitches in his slider and fastball, Meyer could get a very aggressive assignment to the high minors and be on the fast track to the majors if he dominates as expected.

Rutledge struck out Jeff McNeil and Dominic Smith in a 1-2-3 third inning during Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Mets, Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports reports.

Brandon Nimmo reached base to begin the frame, but Rutledge picked him off before shutting down two of New York's best young hitters, getting McNeil with a 96 mph fastball and Smith with his slider. The tall right-hander was the Nats' first-round pick in 2019, and while it might take a rash of injuries to push him into the big leagues this season, Rutledge could be knocking on the door of a rotation spot in 2022.

Cavalli topped out at 98 mph with his fastball during his one inning of work in Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Mets, Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports reports.

The 22-year-old right-hander got himself into a jam, putting runners at first and third with one out, but Cavalli proceeded to fan Khalil Lee and Drew Ferguson to escape the inning. The Nats' first-round pick in 2020 and top fantasy prospect will make his pro debut this season, and Cavalli has the pure stuff to move quickly through the system if he stays healthy and refines his control and command.

Woodruff (back) is scheduled to start Monday's spring game against the Angels, Sophia Minnaert of Fox Sports Wisconsin reports.

The 28-year-old pitched against live hitters Thursday with no issues and is poised to make his spring debut Monday. Woodruff was originally scheduled to start last Tuesday, so the back stiffness only ended up pushing back his first outing of the spring by less than a week. Assuming he doesn't suffer any setbacks, the right-hander shouldn't have any issues being ready for Opening Day.