MLB Player News

Ryu will slot in fifth in the Dodgers' rotation once Opening Day hits, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

This news shouldn't come as a big surprise after the club sent Walker Buehler -- the Dodgers' top pitching prospect and biggest risk to Ryu's rotation spot -- to the minors earlier this week. The 30-year-old bounced back from a shoulder injury in 2017, posting a usable 3.77 ERA with an 8.2 K/9 across 126.2 innings. Ryu's propensity to serve up homers (1.6 HR/9) is what held him back from the strong results we saw in his first two seasons in the majors. He is a perfectly fine option in deeper formats and could also help in more shallow formats as an endgame arm.

Mikolas' spring ERA is down to 6.59 after Friday's five-inning blanking of the Nationals, an outing in which he allowed three hits, issued a walk and recorded two strikeouts.

Although that figure isn't pretty by any means, it's a significant improvement, considering he'd given up 10 earned runs over his first pair of outings. In contrast, he's now generated consecutive scoreless starts. The key against a Nationals split squad, in manager Mike Matheny's view, was effective use of multiple pitches, according to Ben Frederickson and Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post Dispatch. "His breaking ball, he had a better feel," Matheny said. "He was throwing it where he wanted to. He was throwing some early strikes. Saw some good, hard (split-changeups)." Mikolas worked up to 79 pitches in the outing, getting 49 of his offerings into the strike zone. He'll look to keep building momentum for the regular season in a likely Wednesday start against the Marlins.

Keller made his Grapefruit League debut Sunday, throwing two scoreless innings against Boston. He allowed two hits and no walks while striking out three batters, Lance Lysowski of DK Pittsburgh Sports reports.

"There was nothing to be disappointed about today," manager Clint Hurdle said. "Efficient, crisp, downhill angle to the fastball with firm velocity." The righty now features an improving changeup to go along with his fastball and curveball. "It's huge," Keller said. "Having that third pitch to keep in the back of hitter's minds is huge. It's been a big progression for me, and it's coming along nicely." Keller will start the 2018 campaign with Double-A Altoona, and while he's got an outside shot of making his major-league debut in September, the Pirates typically promote their prospects more slowly than do other organizations.

Glasnow struck out six batters in 4.2 innings of one-run ball Sunday against the Red Sox.

He likely cemented a spot in the Opening Day bullpen with the performance. Glasnow hadn't pitched in 11 days prior to Sunday ,and his recent performances had been trending down. The 6-foot-8 righty continues to have issues with control -- he walked two Boston batters -- but he finally featured better command of the strike zone. Perhaps most impressively, Glasnow pitched effectively without his best velocity.

Flaherty was moved from Cardinals spring training to minor-league camp Sunday, Joe Trezza of MLB.com reports.

Although Flaherty was able to log plenty of strikeouts this spring, he'll likely return to Triple-A Memphis when the upcoming season begins. Over four Grapefruit League games (13 innings) he posted a 20:5 K:BB but also gave up nine hits, resulting in him surrendering seven runs. He struggled to keep the ball in the park, as three of said hits were home runs.

Wheeler is scheduled to throw a simulated game Monday, Tim Britton of The Athletic New York reports.

Wheeler will throw a one-inning simulated game Monday then is scheduled to start Thursday's Grapefruit League game. He'll replace Jason Vargas, who was recently diagnosed with a non-displaced fracture in his non-pitching hand and could miss time if he opts to undergo surgery. Prior to Vargas' injury, Wheeler had been on track to begin the season in the Mets' bullpen. However, the 27-year-old righty may open the year as the club's fifth starter if Vargas ends up missing time. So far this spring, Wheeler has allowed six runs on 15 hits and two walks -- with 11 strikeouts -- over four games (eight innings).

Glasnow (illness) will start for the Pirates in Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the Red Sox, Elizabeth Bloom of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Glasnow was initially slated to start March 12, but he ended up getting pushed back nearly a week in the pitching schedule after coming down with flu-like symptoms. Now healthy after completing a bullpen session Thursday without incident, Glasnow will look to rebound from a rough start to Grapefruit League action after supplying a 11.74 ERA and 1.96 WHIP through his first 7.2 innings of the spring. Even if Glasnow shows marked improvement with his command Sunday, he still looks destined to open the season in the Triple-A Indianapolis rotation.

Davies (oblique) allowed one run on four hits and a walk while striking out three batters in 3.1 innings Saturday against the Rockies.

Davies, who missed his previous start due to an oblique strain, looked solid in his return to Cactus League action. He now owns a 4.26 ERA, 1.74 WHIP and 6:3 K:BB across 6.1 spring training innings. Barring any setbacks throughout the remainder of spring, Davies is expected to start the team's home opener against the Cardinals on April 2, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Greinke (groin) is scheduled to throw a bullpen session Sunday, Zach Buchanan of The Athletic Arizona reports.

Greinke is currently dealing with a bout of groin tightness that he picked up during his previous spring start. While the issue isn't thought to be anything overly serious, it's expected to push his next start back by a little bit, which would make pitching on Opening Day unlikely. Barring any setbacks in his bullpen Sunday, Greinke could be cleared to return to game action shortly thereafter. A clearer timetable for the veteran should emerge once he returns to Cactus League action, but as it stands now, he's loosely lined up to pitch one of the games during the first week of the season.

Finnegan (biceps) could be ready to start April 9 in Philadelphia, when the Reds first need a fifth starter, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic Cincinnati reports.

He threw a bullpen session Friday and will throw another such session soon. It's encouraging that he is on track to be ready to go in early April. Finnegan has a 4.06 ERA (4.76 xFIP), 1.38 WHIP and 181 strikeouts in 206 career innings as a big-league starter. He is unlikely to be useful in shallower mixed leagues, but could provide value in deeper formats as long as he sticks in the rotation.