MLB Player News

Matz could be used as the primary pitcher behind an opener this season, Mike Puma of The New York Post reports.

The Mets haven't yet embraced some of the new-fangled pitching strategies that are spreading around the league, so at this point the team having anything beyond five traditional starting pitchers is just speculative. Matz struggled in the first inning through the early part of last season, however, and if those issues return it could spur the organization to get creative, assuming he breaks camp in the rotation. For his part, the southpaw didn't seem terribly enthusiastic about the prospect. "It's definitely intriguing," Matz said, when asked about the idea of an opener. "But for me personally it's just my whole career I have never done that, so it's different. I am used to starting, warming up for the game, long tossing all that stuff. I think that [opener] stuff is more different. I don't know how they do it. We've never done it really in the big leagues with the Mets, so I don't know how it is, I don't know what it's like so I can't comment on it." Matz has had a solid start to his spring, allowing one run and posting a 2:0 K:BB through three innings, but he'll need to keep pitching well over the rest of the spring to secure a rotation spot.

Corbin got the start in Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Cardinals, allowing one run on one hit and two walks over two innings with one strikeout, Jessica Camerato of MLB.com reports.

The Nats have taken it very easy with most of their key arms to begin the spring, and Corbin was the last of the established starters to make his debut. Expect the southpaw to remain on a regular schedule from here on out, with plenty of time for him to get stretched out before Opening Day.

Rasmussen is pitching with the big-league club for the first time this spring and has thrown two scoreless innings thus far.

Rasmussen is one of the Brewers' more intriguing prospects, given that he was a first-round selection in 2017 -- he ultimately did not sign that year -- and throws a 99-mph fastball. He started in the minors last year, but he was limited to no more than 4.1 innings in a game coming off two Tommy John surgeries, so it remains to be seen if he will stick in that role. Should he end up in relief, though, his heater should be enough to get him a shot at the top level at some point.

Ray allowed three hits and struck out six over 2.1 scoreless innings in a "B" game against a Japanese college team Saturday, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports.

Instead of having him throw against the division rival Dodgers, the Diamondbacks moved Ray to the back fields to continue his spring progression. The left-hander is up to 44 pitches after two spring starts and has spun four scoreless innings after adjusting his mechanics during the offseason. He's currently pegged as Arizona's No. 2 starter behind ace Madison Bumgarner, although the Diamondbacks may want to change up the roster order to avoiding having two consecutive lefties in the rotation.

Quantrill is out of action while he recovers from the flu, Bill Center of FriarWire reports.

Manager Jayce Tingler described the ailment as "a 24-hour deal" and implied that Quantrill could throw again soon. The 24-year-old gave up one run in two innings while striking out four in his initial Cactus League appearance.

Mikolas (forearm) is slated to begin playing catch around March 11, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

Manager Mike Shildt made the announcement on the recovering right-hander, with the target date marking three weeks from when Mikolas received his second platelet-rich plasma injection. Assuming Mikolas is able to continue progressing through his rehab without setbacks, it appears he has a good chance of making his regular-season debut sometime in April.

Buehler pitched two perfect innings against Colorado in his Cactus League debut Saturday, striking out two batters. He touched 96 mph with his fastball, per Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register.

The velocity was in line with the 96.5-mph average Buehler registered on his fastball last season. Following his All-Star 2019 campaign, Buehler is expected to co-spearhead the Dodgers' staff this season along with future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw.

Castillo threw two innings in Saturday's spring training loss to the Padres, allowing a run on four hits, a wild pitch and a walk and striking out four in the process. In his first spring training outing Monday, he only got two outs while allowing three runs on three hits and two walks, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

Castillo's command isn't quite there yet. "Better," manager David Bell said of Castillo's outing Saturday. "I thought it was a good step. Still not where he needs to get to by the start of the season. Definitely a step in the right direction."

Mahle finally saw his first spring training action Saturday against the Padres, allowing two earned runs over 1.2 innings, allowing a two-run homer by Jason Vosler after a walk. He struck out four in the outing. He previously had thrown two live batting practice sessions, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

Mahle is stuck developing as a starter without a projected opening in the rotation, following the Reds' signing of Wade Miley. He's working on a slider to get him out of tricky situations after struggling last year. "I didn't have an out pitch," Mahle said. "A lot of times I got hurt, it was [with] two strikes. I would try to throw a breaking ball under the zone. I just didn't have that pitch, and it hurt me over and over again. I started throwing a slider for right now. I'm able to do that with a slider. Until the curve can get big enough to where it starts out on the same plane and goes under the zone, that's going to be my slider." Last year Mahle relied mostly on a four-seamer (57.1% of the time according to Statcast) and a curve (23.2%), and didn't throw a slider last year despite throwing it 20% of the time in 2018.

Soroka tossed two scoreless innings Friday in his Grapefruit League debut, allowing three hits and striking out three, Gabriel Burns of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Facing a Yankees split-squad lineup containing regulars like DJ LeMahieu, Gleyber Torres and Gio Urshela, Soroka didn't give up any hard contact and needed only 20 pitches (16 strikes) to complete his afternoon. After having his spring debut slightly delayed due to some tightness in his right adductor, the 22-year-old looked healthy and focused, and he remains on track to get the Opening Day nod for Atlanta.