MLB Player News

Alcantara allowed one run on three hits and two walks over five innings in Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Yankees. He struck out four.

The right-hander appears to be on the right track heading towards Opening Day. After issuing seven free passes with only one strikeout in his first 3.2 spring innings, Alcantara has posted a more reasonable 7:4 K:BB through his last 8.1 frames.

Fried gave up two hits and five walks over 4.2 scoreless innings in Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Twins. He struck out three.

While the southpaw was able to escape with no damage, the five free passes are hard to ignore. Fried now has a 5:9 K:BB through 7.2 spring innings despite his seemingly respectable 3.52 ERA, but he still has a couple weeks to iron out the kinks before Opening Day.

DeGrom allowed one run on one hit over four innings while striking out three in Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Cardinals.

His 2-1 pitch to Matt Carpenter in the fourth inning caught too much of the plate and was blasted over the left-field wall, but otherwise deGrom was untouchable Wednesday. The perennial Cy Young candidate now has a 1.29 ERA, 0.29 WHIP and 5:0 K:BB through seven spring frames as he gears up for Opening Day.

Strasburg retired the first 12 batters he faced in Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Astros, finishing the outing having given up one run on two hits over five innings. He struck out four.

He'd last pitched in a bullpen session last Wednesday, so Strasburg was well rested heading into this one. The right-hander has a 7:1 K:BB through 6.1 spring innings, and if he remains on a five-day schedule from here on out, he'd be set up to take the hill against the Mets on Opening Day -- perhaps a sign the Nats don't feel Max Scherzer (side) will be ready for that assignment.

Nola (illness) completed a bullpen session Thursday consisting of around 35-to-40 pitches, Meghan Montemurro of The Athletic reports.

Nola was scratched ahead of his scheduled Grapefruit League start earlier this week after coming down with the stomach flu, but he's feeling better now and doesn't expect the missed outing to impact his readiness for Opening Day. The right-hander acknowledged he'll likely make one fewer spring start than initially planned, but he believes he'll need just one more Grapefruit League outing and a simulated game to get where he needs to be from a workload standpoint. The Phillies haven't officially named Nola their Opening Day starter, but there's little doubt he'll be on the bump March 26 against the Marlins if the coaching staff thinks he's ready to go.

Cueto was named the starting pitcher for San Francisco's Opening Day game against the Dodgers, Kerry Crowley of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

Jeff Samardzija will pitch the second game of the season against the Dodgers. Cueto allowed five runs on nine hits across 1.2 innings during Tuesday's 16-3 spring loss to the Cubs. The veteran right-hander missed a majority of the 2019 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. The 34-year-old returned to make four September starts and posted a 5.06 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and gathered 13 strikeouts across 16 innings.

Mikolas (forearm) was slated to play catch Wednesday for the first time since his second platelet-rich plasma injection, the Associated Press reports.

The right-hander had Wednesday set as his projected date to resume throwing, and it appears he'll hit the mark precisely. Mikolas remains on track to miss the start of the regular season, but if Wednesday's session and subsequent steps go off without setbacks, he could be ready for a debut sometime in April.

Hendricks is competing with Yu Darvish to start in Chicago's Opening Day game against the Brewers, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

Chicago skipper David Ross is refusing to commit to an Opening Day arm this early in spring training. Hendricks has been very sharp to begin camp, posting a dominant 1.00 ERA and 0.44 WHIP across nine innings. The 30-year-old has surpassed Jon Lester in the Cubs' starting rotation, but it has yet to be determined where teammate Yu Darvish will be slotted after dealing with an illness to begin spring. Hendricks sported a 3.46 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 150:32 K:BB across 177 innings (30 starts) for the Cubs in 2019.

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.