MLB Player News

Woodruff was officially announced as a member of the Brewers' rotation Thursday, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Woodruff will be rewarded for a strong spring during which he's recorded a 1.84 ERA while striking out 20 batters in 14.2 innings. He turned in a 3.61 ERA with an even better 3.30 FIP in 42.1 innings last season. Chase Anderson will be the odd man out in the Brewers' rotation competition.

Manager Craig Counsell said Anderson will open the season in the bullpen, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

After taking a step back in 2018 (3.93 ERA, 5.22 FIP), Anderson stumbled to a 7.07 ERA and 1.43 WHIP through 14 innings this spring, prompting the Brewers to turn to their younger arms -- Brandon Woodruff, Corbin Burnes, Freddy Peralta and Zach Davies -- to round out the rotation behind Jhoulys Chacin. "It's time for those young guys to start," Counsell said. The manager acknowledged that Anderson will get a chance to start at some point in 2019, but he'll work primarily in relief moving forward.

Woodruff allowed three earned runs over 5.2 innings in a spring start Wednesday against the Padres. He allowed four hits and posted an 8:1 K:BB in the outing.

Woodruff was tagged for two runs on a homer by Manny Machado and another on a Wil Myers homer after he had exited the game, but he was otherwise effective, limiting baserunners and missing plenty of bats. Woodruff has been exceptional this spring, allowing just the three earned runs over 14.2 innings (1.84 ERA) while allowing just 12 runners to reach base (0.82 WHIP) and piling up an impressive 20 strikeouts. He has not officially been given a spot in the Brewers' rotation, but given the way he has pitched this spring, he is seemingly on track to snag one.

Hamels allowed four runs on seven hits over six innings of work in Wednesday's Cactus League game against the Dodgers. He walked two and struck out five.

After logging just nine total innings in his first three starts of the spring, Hamels stretched out a bit Wednesday in a game that featured plenty of regulars from both teams. He was victimized for solo home runs by A.J. Pollock and Corey Seager, and the veteran lefty now has a 5.40 ERA in Cactus League action. Hamels was a revelation for the Cubs after coming over in a deadline deal last summer, and should be expected to post good numbers once the regular season starts.

Martinez (shoulder) returned to camp Wednesday and resumed his throwing program with a session of flat-ground catch, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports.

Martinez had been away since Saturday due to the birth of his daughter. The right-hander continues to track toward a possible May return, with mound work presumably the next step on his rehab checklist.

Kershaw (shoulder) indicated Wednesday that he will need around 20 days to get fully up to speed, Pedro Moura of The Athletic reports.

Kershaw felt good after a semi-live batting practice session Wednesday, but he's apparently still weeks away from being ready to rejoin the Dodgers' rotation. The southpaw is scheduled to throw two innings of live BP on Monday. Kershaw is expected to open the season on the IL; if he continues to progress without any setbacks, a return in 20 days would line him up to debut against the Cardinals on April 9.

Kershaw (shoulder) threw one inning of live batting practice Wednesday, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

Manager Dave Roberts said Kershaw felt good after the 22-pitch session, and the southpaw will throw two innings in another live BP session in Los Angeles on Monday. Kershaw remains without a timetable for his return; the earliest he could be activated from the IL is April 5 against the Rockies.

Paddack appears well positioned to break camp as a member of the Padres' rotation, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Manager Andy Green has been cagey about the Padres' rotation plans, but all signs point to Paddack opening the season in the big leagues, barring the late addition of another veteran starter to the mix or an organizational desire to delay the right-hander's MLB service clock. While Joey Lucchesi, Eric Lauer and Matt Strahm seem to have locked up their rotation spots, there's still two openings left vacant with the likes of Robbie Erlin, Luis Perdomo, Bryan Mitchell, Jacob Nix (elbow) and Brett Kennedy (lat) having removed themselves from consideration based on poor performance or injury this spring. That leaves Paddack and two other prospects (Logan Allen and Cal Quantrill) left standing in the competition, with Paddack having vastly overshadowed both thus far. Though Paddack battled some command issues while raising his pitch count to 75 in a minor-league game Tuesday, the Padres' decision to have him throw on the back fields rather than against the Diamondbacks' big-league lineup that same day can be viewed as a positive. San Diego is scheduled to face Arizona in its second series of the season, with Paddack a candidate to take the hill for one of those three games.

Darvish (finger) played catch without any issues Wednesday, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports.

This is encouraging news. Darvish exited his spring start Tuesday due to a blister on his right ring finger, but the issue doesn't appear to be anything that will affect his status for the start of the season. The right-hander is expected to throw a bullpen session Friday, and if everything goes as planned, he could remain on schedule for his start Sunday. According to Jordan Bastian of MLB.com, Darvish's next outing will likely determine whether his first start of the season needs to be pushed back.

Quantrill is expected to make his final Cactus League appearance in Sunday's finale versus the Cubs and remains a candidate to crack the Padres' Opening Day rotation, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Joey Lucchesi, Eric Lauer and Matt Strahm already appear to have secured their places in the rotation, but Jacob Nix's elbow injury along with poor springs from Bryan Mitchell, Luis Perdomo and Robbie Erlin has paved the way for a trio of prospects to vie for the final two starting spots. Chris Paddack and Logan Allen are held in higher esteem as prospects and have largely outperformed Quantrill this spring, but the 23-year-old could boost his chances of breaking camp with the big club with a strong showing this weekend. The uncertainty that Quantrill will actually beat out Paddack or Allen for a job in addition to his meager production in the minors render the athletic right-hander little more than a late-round flier in NL-only formats.