MLB Player News

Darvish is competing with Kyle Hendricks to start Chicago's regular-season opener against the Brewers, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

Chicago manager David Ross is not ready to commit to an Opening Day starter this early in spring training. Darvish will be making his first Cactus League start Wednesday against the Padres after battling an illness early in camp. The 33-year-old posted a 3.98 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and accumulated 229 strikeouts across 178.2 innings (31 starts) for the Cubs in 2019.

Peterson was reassigned to minor-league spring training Wednesday.

The 24-year-old starting pitcher was unlikely to find a spot on New York's Opening Day roster, but he was able to spend time with the major-league coaching staff to begin spring training. Peterson spent the entire 2019 season with Double-A Binghamton, recording a 4.19 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and a 122:37 K:BB across 116 innings (24 starts). The southpaw has developed into one of the Mets' top pitching prospects and is expected continue to climb the minor-league ladder at an efficient pace.

Flaherty fired three scoreless innings in a Grapefruit League win over the Red Sox on Tuesday, allowing three hits and two walks while recording five strikeouts.

The right-hander lowered his spring ERA to 3.09 in what was his fourth start of Grapefruit League play, but Zachary Silver of MLB.com reports the right-hander was actually frustrated with allowing five runners to reach base during the 68-pitch outing. The biggest source of Flaherty's ire was the second inning, when he surrendered two singles and a walk before snuffing out the threat with an impressive strikeout of Andrew Benintendi. Flaherty is likely to push his pitch count into the 75-80 range at minimum in his next spring start, projected for Sunday or Monday if he remains on his normal schedule.

Anderson struck out two over three perfect innings in Tuesday's split-squad game against the Orioles.

Facing what could well be Baltimore's Opening Day lineup, the 21-year-old right-hander was dominant in his first Grapefruit League start, fanning Chris Davis and Dwight Smith along the way. Anderson has a 1.59 ERA and 6:2 K:BB through 5.2 innings this spring, and while he's set to begin the season at Triple-A Gwinnett, a fast start could put Atlanta's No. 5 fantasy prospect in the team's rotation plans over the summer.

Soroka allowed one hit and three walks over four scoreless innings in Tuesday's split-squad game against the Astros. He struck out two.

The young right-hander hasn't quite been in midseason form this spring -- he has a 7:5 K:BB through 8.2 innings -- but Soroka continues to get stretched out and remains on pace to handle the Opening Day assignment for Atlanta.

Woodruff allowed one earned run over four innings in Tuesday's spring game against the Royals. He gave up two hits and posted a 5:2 K:BB in the outing.

Woodruff has steadily built up his stamina this spring and has had good results, posting a 1.80 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, and 8:3 K:BB over 10 innings. That strikeout rate is a bit lower than what he is capable of, but he has been working on some pitches this spring, and he did have his best day in that department Tuesday. The Brewers have not yet named an Opening Day starter, but Woodruff is the favorite to get the nod.

Lorenzen (knee) threw a scoreless inning in Tuesday's split-squad game against the Diamondbacks, despite allowing two hits and a walk, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports. "I have some patellar tendinitis that we're getting over," Lorenzen said Tuesday. "It's doing a lot better. I was cleared to hit [Monday]. It's never bothered me hitting anyway. They just wanted to take the workload off of it. It doesn't bother me other than a full-on sprint. We just want to make sure that it's fully taken care of, which it's getting there."

While Lorenzen has been restricted from hitting and outfield work this spring, he's still been able to pitch, and has a 1.50 ERA over six innings so far.

Manager Gabe Kapler said Cueto is "definitely in line to start the first game of the season" March 26 against the Dodgers, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Kapler neglected to officially name Cueto his Opening Day starter, but things certainly appear to be trending in that direction. The veteran right-hander missed most of the 2019 campaign while recovering from Tommy John surgery, though he did return for four starts in September. Cueto posted a 3.23 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 38:13 K:BB over 53 innings during 2018 before going down with the injury.

Nola (illness) is expected to throw a bullpen session Thursday, Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Philadelphia manager Joe Girardi mentioned that Nola felt better Tuesday and that the plan is for his right-hander to pitch a simulated game Saturday if things continue to trend upward. A flu bug was responsible for the 26-year-old having to skip his last turn in the rotation against the Yankees on Monday. Nola has made three starts (lasting a total of eight innings) thus far this spring and is on pace to gather two more starts before Opening Day arrives.

Lauer has a left shoulder impingement that is considered minor but will rule him out for the start of the regular season, Will Sammon of The Athletic reports.

Lauer had seemed to have a good chance to break camp in the Brewers' rotation but now won't get he chance to do so. He'll resume playing catch later this week, so he shouldn't wind up missing too much time, but he's expected to head to the injured list to open the season. That leaves Freddy Peralta and Corbin Burnes as the primary contestants for the fifth starter spot in Milwaukee, though Lauer could get the chance to claim the job once healthy.