MLB Player News

Nuno did not opt out of his contract after being assigned to Triple-A Fresno, Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post reports.

Nuno has a second opt-out on June 15 if he remains off the 25-man roster. That could give him a better chance at a promotion than most players who aren't on the 40-man roster.

Musgrove will lose his scheduled start Sunday against the Reds after Trevor Williams was bumped from Saturday to Sunday due to rain, Adam Berry of MLB.com reports.

Rather than pushing all their starters back a day, the Pirates will move Williams and keep the rest of the rotation on schedule. That means Musgrove will be skipped the first time through the rotation. The Pirates are probably happy to have him take things easy after a spring in which he was delayed while recovering from offseason abdominal surgery.

Urena (knee) is expected to start Tuesday against the Mets, Andre Fernandez of The Athletic reports.

Manager Don Mattingly said Saturday the swelling in Urena's left knee has gone down and as a result, he'll be able to make his next start as scheduled. Urena's left knee was hit by a line drive during Thursday's start, but he went through his normal post-start workout Friday without issue. After getting roughed up by the Rockies on Opening Day, the 27-year-old is expected to have an easier time against the Mets.

Gray will start Sunday's game against the Pirates after Saturday's contest was rained out, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

The Reds elected to simply push back all their starters one day, keeping Gray in the second spot in the rotation. He'll still face Trevor Williams, who was bumped back one day by the Pirates as well.

Williams will start Sunday against the Reds after his scheduled start Saturday was rained out, Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Chris Archer and Jameson Taillon will remain on schedule for next week's series against the Cardinals, with Joe Musgrove getting bumped Sunday in favor of Williams. That doesn't necessarily mean that Williams is viewed as ahead of Musgrove, however, as Musgrove's start to spring had been delayed due to recovery from abdominal surgery, so it's likely that the team was happy to give him a few extra days to build up.

Lyles (side) rejoined the Pirates on Saturday after completing a simulated game and light bullpen session at extended spring training Friday, Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Lyles covered six innings (92 pitches) in the simulated game, then threw eight more out of the bullpen to bring his count up to 100. That pitch count suggests Lyles is ready to handle a starter's workload, but the Pirates have yet to indicate when he'll come off the 10-day injured list. The team will first have a need for a fifth starter April 7 against the Reds, so Lyles could be lined up to pitch then.

Stripling didn't factor into the decision in Friday's 5-4 extra-innings loss to the Diamondbacks, giving up three hits and a walk over 5.1 scoreless innings while striking out five.

The right-hander only allowed one runner to get into scoring position all night, on singles by David Peralta and Jake Lamb in the fourth inning, but Striping promptly struck out Ketel Marte and got Nick Ahmed to hit a weak comebacker to end the threat. Striping fired 51 of 76 pitches for strikes before exiting with a 3-0 lead, and he'll look for better bullpen support in his next start April 3 at home against the Giants.

Ray didn't factor into the decision in Friday's 5-4 extra-innings win over the Dodgers, allowing three runs on three hits and five walks over five innings while striking out nine.

The southpaw's season debut was very much a mixed bag, but Ray was able to post a typically impressive strikeout rate even while throwing barely half his pitches (53 of 102) for strikes. Wins and quality starts will remain elusive if he can't tame the walks and last deeper into his outings, however. Ray will next take the mound April 3 on the road in San Diego.

Martinez (shoulder) has been playing "more aggressive, longer catch" on flat ground over the course of this week according to manager Mike Shildt, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports.

It's the latest positive news to emerge during Martinez's recovery process. The right-hander's next step will be to resume throwing off a mound, a step that could be imminent given the pace of Martinez's recent progress. Langosch also reports that the decision on whether the former ace will be prepared to fill a starting or relief role will be made in approximately mid-April.

Lucchesi (1-0) pitched 5.1 shutout innings with seven strikeouts and two walks to record the win in a 4-1 victory against the Giants on Friday.

The 25-year-old had a strong spring, and that carried over into his first 2019 start. Lucchesi induced 14 swinging strikes on his way to his seven punchouts. The 25-year-old posted seven or more strikeouts in four of his last 10 starts in 2018 on his way to 145 Ks in 130.0 innings. Lucchesi is a candidate to record a K/9 rate above 9.0 again this season.