MLB Player News

Gonsolin (illness) was reassigned to minor-league camp Friday, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

Gonsolin turned some heads in camp, firing nine scoreless innings, but he'll open the season in the minors to continue his development. The hard-throwing right-hander is viewed as a starter long term, though he could debut out of the bullpen in 2019 if he continues to impress on the farm.

Gonsolin was scratched from his scheduled start Friday against Arizona due to illness, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

Dennis Santana starts in his place. It's unclear how much time Gonsolin is expected to miss.

Mahle will be the Reds' fifth starter to open the season, Bobby Nightengale of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Mahle is expected to pitch the Reds' fifth game of the season, April 2 against the Brewers. His rotation stint may only be temporary, as Alex Wood (back) will be on the injured list to start the season but isn't expected to miss too much time.

Darvish (finger) completed a bullpen session Friday and is scheduled to pitch in a minor-league game Sunday, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports.

Darvish was originally expected to start Sunday's Cactus League game against the Padres, but he will instead throw in the minor-league game sporting a band-aid. Sunday's outing is still likely to be the determining factor in whether the 32-year-old will have his first start of the season pushed back.

Urias could begin the season in the starting rotation, Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times reports.

The Dodgers have maintained all spring that Urias was set for a bullpen role -- despite Clayton Kershaw's shoulder issues -- but with Rich Hill now headed for the injured list with an MCL strain there appears to be a change of plans. Both veteran left-handers are slated to begin the season on the IL and have no set return dates, forcing Ross Stripling and Urias into the starting mix, at least for the short term.

Hill has a sprained MCL in his left knee and expected to start the season on the injured list, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

Hill's issue was described as simply soreness earlier in the day, but it appears the injury is more serious than that. An MRI revealed no structural damage, but he's still expected to miss a couple weeks. Hyun-Jin Ryu will get the ball Opening Day, with Ross Stripling starting the second game of the season.

Wright didn't make it out of the first inning in Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Rays, allowing six runs on four hits -- including two home runs -- and two walks while striking out two in 0.2 innings.

Brandon Lowe and Nate Lowe both took the right-hander deep, the first two homers he's served up this spring. Wright had been outstanding in camp until this outing, as reflected in his 18:4 K:BB through 12.2 innings, but the timing won't help his chances of winning a spot in the Braves' rotation to begin the season.

Hill has a sore left knee, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

The issue is expected to prevent Hill from starting on Opening Day, though manager Dave Roberts said Thursday that Hill would likely start the second game of the season with Hyun-Jin Ryu getting the nod for the opener. It's unclear if Hill starting that game is still a possibility or if he'll need to be skipped the first time through the rotation.

Lyles (side) is scheduled to start Saturday's split-squad game against the Phillies, John Perrotto of DKPittsburghSports.com reports.

Lyles threw a four-inning, 60-pitch simulated game Monday, clearing the way for his return to Grapefruit League action. The 28-year-old is the leading candidate to begin the season as the Pirates' fifth starter, assuming all goes well Saturday.

Kelly allowed one run on three hits and one walk while striking out three over five innings Thursday against the Angels.

Kelly got his pitch count up to 71 in what was his third straight strong outing after a pair of disastrous ones to kick off the Cactus League. Spring-training results are not terribly important, but there's some value to be gleaned from outings in the final week of camp. That Kelly was effective against the Angels' best lineup is encouraging.