MLB Player News

Stripling (illness) tossed two scoreless innings in his return to action Monday. He struck out two.

Stripling was scratched from his previous start due to an illness from earlier in the month, but it seems like that issue is in the rear-view mirror now. Stripling can now put his focus back on maintaining his spot in the Dodgers bullpen.

Paddack (elbow) threw his first live batting practice session this spring, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Paddack underwent Tommy John surgery in August of 2016. He's yet to return to the mound in a live game, but the right-hander was able to throw a couple bullpen sessions last summer before the end of the 2017 campaign. He should be good to go for the start of this season for one of the Padres' minor-league affiliates.

Greinke's fastball was clocked in the 84-86 mph range in the first inning of Thursday's spring start, Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reports.

He was down in the mid-80s in last week's simulated game as well, but his velocity was reportedly fairly normal in his first Cactus League outing. This is a unique situation, as Greinke is a rare ace who doesn't exert close to maximum effort when he throws his fastball, and he dealt with some velocity issues this time last year as well. Piecoro notes that Greinke had trouble cracking 90 mph early last spring, but according to Brooks Baseball, Greinke averaged 90.2 mph on 40 fourseam fastballs that were tracked through the first two weeks of spring training in 2017. If any pitcher deserves the benefit of the doubt in a situation like this, it's Greinke, but it's still alarming to see a pitcher who is being drafted as a low-end SP1 throwing in the mid-80s. It's obviously a situation to monitor going forward. This news will result in Greinke falling in drafts, for better or worse.

Wainwright compiled four strikeouts while allowing one earned run on three hits and two walks over 3.2 innings in Wednesday's 4-3 Grapefruit League win over the Nationals.

The veteran right-hander has been missing plenty of bats early, as he's now tallied seven strikeouts over 5.2 innings across his first two spring appearances. Wainwright was able to stretch out to 63 pitches Wednesday, and according to a report by Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the veteran mixed in his curve with particular effectiveness, including on back-to-back whiffs to close out the second inning. Wainwright will look to continue his strong start to spring in a likely turn against the Marlins next Tuesday.

Lopez tossed two scoreless innings in Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Astros, giving up two hits and striking out three.

Coming on in relief of Justin Nicolino in the third inning, Lopez wasn't facing scrubs, as his strikeout victims included Carlos Correa and Brian McCann. The 22-year-old has yet to pitch above High-A, so he's no threat to break camp with a spot on the 25-man roster, but Lopez has flashed an electric mid-90s fastball and good control this spring. A strong campaign in the high minors could have him soaring up prospect lists and into the Marlins' rotation plans for 2019.

Wheeler tossed three scoreless innings, allowing four hits and striking out four without walking a batter in Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Yankees.

The 27-year-old headed into the spring seemingly ticketed for the bullpen, but he looked like an ace Wednesday, as he was spotting his 96 mph fastball and curveball exactly where he wanted them. Perhaps more important than Wheeler's 8:0 K:BB through his first five spring innings is the fact that Steven Matz has struggled out of the gate, opening the door for Wheeler to seize a rotation assignment. There's still time before Opening Day for Matz to regain the edge in the battle for the fifth starter spot, but at the moment it looks like Wheeler's job to lose.

Matz could be behind Zach Wheeler in the battle for the Mets' fifth starter spot, John Harper of The New York Daily News reports.

While the team would prefer to have a second lefty in the rotation alongside Jason Vargas, Matz's poor spring so far -- and Wheeler's impressive one -- may force the Mets' hand. He still has time to turn things around before Opening Day, and even if Matz isn't in the initial rotation, chances are he'll get a shot at regaining his spot when one of the other fragile starters hits the DL. Until his performance improves, though, he shouldn't be viewed as much more than an endgame lottery ticket in most fantasy formats given his 6.08 ERA and 1.53 WHIP in 2017.

Davies will continue his normal throwing program Thursday before testing his oblique during a bullpen session Friday, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

On Wednesday, manager Craig Counsell said that Davies is expected to miss one Cactus League start due to a minor left oblique strain. Davies has remained in good spirits, stating that he's feeling "really good" and that he isn't concerned about the injury. The right-hander added that he plans to "cut it loose" Friday, as he would rather test it now than have a setback closer to the season, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.

Solis, who is out of minor-league options, thinks he's solved the issue that was causing nerve irritation in his elbow last season, Chelsea Janes of The Washington Post reports.

The 29-year-old has had trouble staying healthy throughout his career, but Solis discovered in the offseason that last year's elbow trouble was actually stemming from his neck, and he's adopted a new stretching program to try and ensure the nerve irritation doesn't return. If he can stay on the field, he has the talent to emerge as Sean Doolittle's top left-handed setup man, a role which could give him some fantasy value in holds leagues.

DeGrom (back) threw a 37-pitch bullpen session Thursday and said afterward that he felt "wonderful," Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News reports.

With deGrom's bullpen session going according to plan, he'll take the hill Sunday against the Astros in his Grapefruit League debut. The outing will mark the second time he'll have faced hitters this spring; deGrom previously tossed live batting practice to rehabbing teammates Dominic Smith, Juan Lagares and TIm Tebow on Tuesday. According to Matt Ehalt of The Bergen Record, Mets pitching coach Dave Eiland relayed earlier this week that deGrom will need to face hitters on five occasions -- be it in live BP sessions or spring games -- before receiving clearance to make his season debut. That stipulation makes it unlikely deGrom will start Opening Day against the Cardinals, though he should be ready to pitch in one of the final two games of the series March 31 or April 1.