MLB Player News

Martinez drew the start for the Cardinals Blue team in Saturday night's intrasquad scrimmage and recorded four strikeouts across two innings, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

The right-hander was facing many of the Cardinals' regulars in the outing, so his effectiveness was particularly impressive. One of Martinez's four whiffs was a swinging strikeout of Paul Goldschmidt, and he never allowed a hit over his 28 pitches, 18 which found the strike zone. "I thought he looked sharp, especially the offspeed stuff, which is safe to say he's definitely been working on his stuff while he's been away," catcher Matt Wieters said. "The offspeed stuff normally takes awhile to come back, but it was sharp from the get go today, which a good sign."

Lauer landed on the injured list for undisclosed reasons Saturday, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

Clubs across the league have provided minimal details on several injured-list assignments due to privacy issues concerning COVID-19, though Lauer was reportedly battling a non-coronavirus illness earlier in camp. The lefty, who was acquired in a trade with the Padres back in November, is battling for a spot in the back of the Brewers' rotation, though his lost time could lead to him opening the season in the bullpen.

Eflin is considered day-to-day due to back spasms, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.

The issue doesn't appear to be serious, but it's prevented Eflin from facing hitters in any of the Phillies' intrasquad games. WIth Opening Day less than two weeks away, it's quite possible Eflin misses a turn in the rotation or is at least on a fairly low pitch count early on. With Zack Wheeler also set to miss time early due to the birth of his first child, there's a good chance both Vince Velasquez and Nick Pivetta are in the Phillies' rotation to start the year. Highly-rated prospect Spencer Howard could even get a chance right away, as well, despite the fact that he's yet to reach Triple-A.

Toussaint (illness) has been placed on the COVID-19 injured list.

The Braves confirmed July 4 that Toussaint tested positive for COVID-19, and he'll be on the COVID-19 injured list as a result. The 24-year-old is reportedly asymptomatic, but under MLB protocol, he'll need to test negative twice before he's allowed to rejoin the team. Toussaint was already a bit of a longshot to crack the Opening Day roster, but it's unclear whether he'll be physically ready to play by the start of the regular season.

Urena tossed four scoreless innings during Friday's intrasquad game, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports.

While the Marlins have yet to officially announce their rotation, Urena is considered a near lock for one of the spots despite finishing last season in the bullpen, and his workload in camp supports that notion. The 28-year-old posted a 5.21 ERA and 4.73 FIP with a 62:26 K:BB over 84.2 innings in 2019.

Lopez tossed five innings and allowed two runs in an intrasquad game Friday, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports.

While the Marlins have yet to officially announce their rotation, Lopez is considered a near lock for one of the spots, and his workload in camp supports that notion. The 24-year-old posted a 5.09 ERA (with a more palatable 4.27 FIP) and a 95:27 K:BB over 111.1 innings last year.

Hamels (shoulder) didn't throw his scheduled side session Saturday after experiencing triceps tendinitis, 680 The Fan Atlanta reports.

Hamels has yet to face live hitters during camp while battling a shoulder issue, and he missed his session Saturday with triceps tendinitis. The 36-year-old emphasized that the issues he's been experiencing have been similar to the soreness that he'd encounter during spring training, but time is running out for Hamels to get ready for the regular season with Opening Day just under two weeks away. The Braves could move him back in the rotation and limit his usage early on, but it's becoming more unlikely that he'll be available to begin the season, even with the potential precautionary measures.

Ray tossed five no-hit innings in Friday's intrasquad game, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports.

Ray got up to 76 pitches with his fastball regularly hitting the mid-90s. "The stuff was overpowering at times and the secondary stuff was together," Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. "I couldn't be more happy with what he did." The manager's comments echo what catcher Steven Vogt said earlier in the week when asked by Steve Gilbert of MLB.com about the most impressive pitchers in camp. Vogt didn't hesitate in raving about Ray.

Flaherty allowed one run on two hits and two walks over three innings while striking out two in Thursday night's intrasquad game at Busch Stadium, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

The staff ace threw 43 pitches overall, and he got out of a particularly tight jam in the third after loading the bases with a walk to Justin Williams and back-to-back singles from Edmundo Sosa and Dexter Fowler. Flaherty ultimately only allowed one run on an RBI fielder's choice by Tommy Edman and was able to get in a solid amount of work, lending credence to the notion he could be ready for at least a five-inning workload in a July 24 Opening Day start against the Pirates.

Strasburg threw 52 pitches Friday, Jessica Camerato of MLB.com reports.

The individual workloads of starting pitchers in their first few outings this season could wind up being quite varied due to the abbreviated summer camp and the differing situations for players during the shutdown period. Strasburg will aim for 60 to 65 pitches in his next session. It's unclear if that will leave him room to build up to a full workload by the start of the season, with Opening Day less than two weeks away, but he should still be able to handle a fair number of innings in his season debut.