MLB Player News

Kennedy will not throw as scheduled Friday due to "general arm fatigue," AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

Kennedy was set to pitch during a back-field game but will instead take a break from throwing. The specifics of the issue remain unclear as the 24-year-old is still being evaluated.

Wood (back) will throw two innings in a minor-league scrimmage Friday, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

Wood had been expected to return from a stiff back Saturday against the Padres, but it's unlikely that he'll throw two days in a row. Assuming his back-field outing goes well, he should return to spring-training action within a few days and should have plenty of time to be up to speed by Opening Day.

Strasburg struck out five over four scoreless innings in Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Mets, allowing only one hit and one walk.

Facing a lineup that included a number of New York's likely Opening Day starters, including former battery-mate Wilson Ramos, the right-hander simply dominated. Strasburg has kicked off his spring with six shutout innings and a 7:1 K:BB, but the story remains the same with the 30-year-old -- he's capable of delivering ace-level numbers when healthy, but he has only one 200-inning campaign on his resume over a nine-year big-league career.

Freeland was scratched from his scheduled start Friday against Texas due to illness, Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post reports.

Rico Garcia will start in his place. Assuming the illness doesn't keep Freeland out for more than a few days, his preparation for Opening Day should be largely unaffected.

Martinez (shoulder) could resume throwing in 5-to-7 days, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Martinez received a PRP injection in late February and was set to be re-evaluated March 12, so this fits right along that timeline. There's been no indication of any further setbacks for the 27-year-old, but his potential availability for Opening Day remains in severe doubt.

Greinke allowed one hit and two walks while striking out three over two scoreless innings Thursday against the Indians.

Greinke labored through this outing, loading the bases in the first and requiring 48 pitches to get his six outs. He tossed another 10 pitches in the bullpen to get his pitch count up. The right-hander has fired four shutout spring innings thus far.

Castillo gave up three runs over two innings against the Mariners on Thursday, allowing three hits (including a homer) and two walks, striking out four.

While the strikeouts are encouraging, this is a second consecutive bad outing for Castillo, and he now has a 17.36 ERA this spring.

Lyles limited Baltimore to two runs (one earned) on three hits and a walk in four innings Thursday. He struck out three batters.

Thursday's outing was Lyles' longest of the spring as he battles for the team's fifth starter's spot. The right-hander remains the favorite to start the season in the rotation, even though he's made only 18 starts out of 113 appearances since 2016.

Davies allowed one run on four hits and a walk and struck out two over four innings Thursday against the White Sox.

Davies surrendered his lone run in the second inning on a single to center, but he was otherwise untouched on the afternoon. He's looked solid in camp to this point and will continue to battle it out for a spot in the starting rotation as Opening Day approaches.

Updating a previous report, Kershaw (shoulder) did not throw off a mound Thursday, J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group reports.

Wires were apparently crossed and Kershaw did not actually return to mound work. He played catch Thursday, extending out to 150 feet, before bringing it in and throwing 12-15 pitches to a catcher in the crouch on flat ground. It's a step forward regardless for the lefty, but his availability for the start of the year remains up in the air.