MLB Player News

Gomber allowed five earned runs on six hits and two walks over 2.1 innings in a 9-1 Grapefruit League loss to the Mets on Sunday. He also recorded a strikeout.

The young left-hander endured a rough first spring start, giving up another pair of home runs to bring his total allowed to five over his first three appearances. Gomber is considered a candidate for either the starting rotation or bullpen, but in throwing just 33 of 63 pitches for strikes Sunday, he saw his ERA and WHIP rise to 10.29 and 2.00, respectively, over seven spring frames. The 25-year-old was solid last season during his initial big-league cup of coffee, recording five total wins in August alone and finishing with a 6-2 mark across 29 appearances (11 starts). Clark Spencer of MLB.com reports that manager Mike Shildt did not provide any indication of whether Gomber would get another starting opportunity during what remains of spring, but the young southpaw feels that most of his struggles stem from self-inflicted pressure. "I think coming into camp this year, I probably put a little bit too much pressure on myself to try to make the team," Gomber said. "When you're coming as a young guy, it's kind of a pressure-free environment. This is the first time I've ever come to Spring Training with a chance to make the team. I think I fell into a little bit of that trap."

Matz covered four scoreless frames in Sunday's 9-1 Grapefruit League win over the Cardinals, conceding three hits and one walk while striking out two.

With a 5.19 ERA and 1.62 WHIP across 8.2 innings in his three outings, Matz hasn't been impressive on the whole, but Sunday's start marked a step in the right direction. So long as the lefty escapes the spring healthy and with his velocity sitting at its usual levels, Matz should be an effective back-end rotation arm for the Mets and a worthy late-round flier for fantasy purposes.

Eickhoff (wrist) will make his spring debut Monday against the Rays, Meghan Montemurro of The Athletic reports.

He has been dealing with a wrist injury in camp, but completed a simulated game last week and is ready to make his spring debut. Eickhoff is competing for a rotation spot, but seems likely to be the odd man out to start the season. However, even if he starts the year at Triple-A, he could spend most of the year in the majors if he pitches well in 2019.

Teheran has the inside track to be the Braves' Opening Day stater, Gabe Burns of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

With Mike Foltynewicz (elbow) ruled out for Opening Day in Philadelphia, the Braves lack a traditional high-end option for the first game of the season, as everyone else is either injured, a rookie or coming off a middling season, like Teheran. However, it sounds like that honor will be given to Teheran based on seniority.

Kelly allowed two walks while striking out four over four hitless, scoreless innings Sunday against the Reds.

This was by far Kelly's best effort of the spring after he allowed six runs (five earned) over two innings in his first two appearances. "I thought he was a lot more aggressive in the zone," Diamondbacks pitching coach Mike Butcher told Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. "That's the bottom line. He was attacking better this outing. I think he got his feet underneath him and started to exhale." This should be an outing that the right-hander can build on going forward. The Diamondbacks liked what they saw out of Kelly in Korea, where he's been a starter the last four years, and inked him for two years while committing a spot in the rotation to him.

Taillon is scheduled to make his Cactus League debut Tuesday against the Twins, Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Taillon is also expected to pitch next Sunday against the Red Sox on regular rest. The Pirates named the 27-year-old their Opening Day starter back in February, so he'll kick off the regular season March 28 against the Reds.

Kershaw (shoulder) will play catch Sunday and is scheduled to throw a bullpen session Monday, Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Kershaw hasn't thrown off a mound in a couple of weeks, so Monday's bullpen session could be a big step toward his potential return. Manager Dave Roberts continues to reiterate that he believes the veteran left-hander will be ready for Opening Day, and Monday's bullpen session will be the next hurdle if that is to remain a realistic possibility.

Wainwright fired four scoreless innings in a 9-3 Grapefruit League loss to the Astros on Saturday, allowing two hits and one walk. He struck out four.

The veteran's performance, which saw him reunite with long-time battery mate Yadier Molina in the latter's first game behind the dish this spring, was one of the bright spots of the day for the Cardinals. Glenn Sattell of MLB.com reports that Wainwright's fastball consistently resided in the high 80s mph on the radar gun during the outing, and in a nod to his ongoing work with his splitter, he notably retired former teammate Aledmys Diaz on a 69 mph version of the breaking pitch. "I probably threw about 10 of them," Wainwright said. "I got an out, got a couple swings and misses. Got foul offs. If I missed, I missed down with good action. So I think it's a pitch I'm going to use a lot."

Lopez struck out four over four perfect innings in Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Nationals.

The right-hander was simply dominant against what could wind up being Washington's Opening Day lineup, and the Nats only managed to get one ball out of the infield against Lopez -- a loud flyball to the warning track in center field by Anthony Rendon to end the fourth inning. Lopez now has a 1.00 ERA and 8:1 K:BB through nine spring innings while giving up only three hits, and if the 23-year-old continues to perform at this level over the next two weeks, the Marlins may have little choice but to find room for him in the big-league rotation.

Reyes gave up four runs Saturday against the Padres on Francisco Mejia's grand slam. He allowed three hits and two walks in his inning of work.

Reyes was a September callup last year and saw action in five outings, but his chances of making the Opening Day roster were already thin before this outing.