MLB Player News

Taillon will start the Pirates' home opener against the Twins on April 2, Adam Berry of MLB.com reports.

After a tumultuous 2017 campaign, Taillon is back to full health and is looking to be one of the top arms in Pittsburgh's rotation. Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the 26-year-old went through a normal offseason routine at Fairchild Sports Performance in Houston with a focus on posture and quality of movement. He hopes to be able to hold up over the course of a full season in his second complete campaign in the bigs. In 2017, Taillon was limited to 25 starts due to a cancer diagnosis, producing a 4.44 ERA and an 8.4 K/9 in that time.

DeGrom (back) is in line to make his first spring start Sunday, Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News reports.

DeGrom has been battling lower-back stiffness all spring and has yet to make his Grapefruit League debut. If he is able to make his start on Sunday, he could be ready at some point in the first week of the season, though an Opening Day start appears unlikely. The Mets, of course, will have no problem giving Noah Syndergaard the ball on Opening Day. It sounds as though the best case would see deGrom starting the team's second game (on March 31), while the worst case, barring unexpected setbacks, will see him missing one start and taking his turn in the rotation the second time through.

Houser (abdomen) threw a live batting practice session Wednesday and is expected to pitch in a Cactus League contest later this week, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Manager Craig Counsell stated that Houser's live BP session was "excellent," which seemed to be the final hurdle between the right-hander getting back on the mound in a spring game. Houser underwent an appendectomy in mid-February which caused him to begin camp a couple weeks behind the rest of the Brewers' pitchers. Expect the 25-year-old to begin the season at Double-A Biloxi.

Eickhoff altered his changeup grip this offseason, The Athletic Philadelphia reports.

Eickhoff threw his changeup less than one percent of the time last season. After altering his grip to be more like that of a palmball, he's been pleased with the pitch's performance this spring, and it could be the weapon he needs in order to have a bounceback 2018 season. Lefties hit for a .375 wOBA against him last season, compared to just .295 for righties, and a change is typically a good weapon to use against opposite-handed hitters. Pitchers working on changeups is a classic spring trope, and they don't all suddenly reach new levels of performance, but if Eickhoff has some small-sample success early this season, it may not be a fluke.

Quintana is hoping to be more consistent in his first full season with the Cubs, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Quintana struck out 12 batters and didn't allow a run in his first start for the Cubs on July 16, but he scuffled in August, giving up six home runs and posting a 5.73 ERA for the month. The lefty followed the rough patch with a 2.51 ERA in September. "I want to help my team every fifth day, get as many wins as I can and be consistent," Quintana said. "That's what I learned a couple of times last year, be more consistent every five days." Cubs catcher Willson Contreras said Quintana eventually became more comfortable with the team's scouting reports, which helped him find a groove later in the season. Now that Quintana is going through his first spring training with the Cubs, his comfort level should only increase, which could help him avoid rough patches like he had last August.

Musgrove (shoulder), who threw live batting practice Monday, is expected to pitch three innings against minor leaguers Friday, Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic Pittsburgh reports.

The righty isn't expected to travel to Detroit for an opening series set for late March, but he's hoping to pitch during Pittsburgh's first homestand. "I don't think there is anything that will hold me back," Musgrove said. "Unless something pops up in the next couple of weeks, I feel like I'll be ready to break with the team." Depending on his progression over the next couple weeks, it might be wise to temper Musgrove's early-season expectations. His health will determine where Steven Brault and Tyler Glasnow end up to begin the year.

Darvish said he's made offseason adjustments to his delivery after reports surfaced that he tipped his pitches during last season's World Series, Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Darvish was pounded by the Astros in two World Series starts, going just 1.2 innings in each with a combined 21.60 ERA. After the series, reports surfaced that Darvish tipped batters as to whether he was throwing a fastball or a slider/cutter by the way he regripped the ball in his glove. The organization doesn't seem overly concerned by the issue and manager Joe Maddon said he felt the topic was a bit "overblown," but he did acknowledge that Darvish should be able to better conceal his pitches in an "organic way" this season. It's not entirely clear what that entails, and the organization likely won't divulge much more information for obvious reasons.

Alcantara threw three scoreless innings of relief in Tuesday's Grapefruit League game against the Cardinals, walking two batters, hitting two others and uncorking a wild pitch but also allowing zero hits and striking out one.

The 22-year-old did his best Ebby Calvin "Nuke" LaLoosh impression in the outing, but overall Alcantara has had a solid start to his spring, posting a 4:2 K:BB through eight innings. That likely isn't dominant enough to win him a rotation spot out of camp despite the Marlins' precarious pitching situation, but if he does begin the season at Triple-A New Orleans, a hot start could have him back in the majors in the first half.

Milone left the Nationals and will be away from the team for the next few days following the birth of his child, Jamal Collier of MLB.com reports.

After Milone takes some time to be with his expanding family, expect him to report back to spring training next week. Though the Nationals haven't settled on a No. 5 starter to open the season, the role is A.J. Cole's to lose and Milone doesn't seem to be a factor in the competition. Should he accept a minor-league assignment once camp concludes, Milone would likely serve as rotation depth for the Nationals at Triple-A Syracuse.

Miley has not allowed an earned run while posting an 11:1 K:BB in eight innings over three spring appearances for the Brewers.

Miley was tagged for three unearned runs his last time out Tuesday, but he is otherwise off to a great start with his new squad, allowing just seven runners to reach base in his eight frames while punching out plenty other hitters. Miley is on a minor-league deal with the Brewers, but he is making a strong case early on to break camp with a back-end spot in the team's starting rotation.