MLB Player News

Lynn (ribs) threw 80 pitches in his outing Thursday and could be in line to start the Cardinals' third game of the season, Pete Wickham of MLB.com reports.

Lynn got back on the mound Thursday after exiting his previous outing for precautionary reasons. He hit his 80-pitch threshold without issue and "apparently looked very strong" according to general manager John Mozeliak. Lynn has pitched well his first spring training since undergoing Tommy John surgery in late 2015, notching a 1.20 ERA to go with a 0.93 WHIP over 15.0 innings. As it stands, Lynn should slot in as the Cardinals' No.3 starter.

Urias was officially optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Thursday, Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times reports.

It had previously been reported that Urias would not be on the Opening Day roster, but the Dodgers made the move official during their final round of cuts Thursday. The Dodgers will reportedly limit Urias' innings in the early portion of the season in an effort to keep him fresh down the stretch. He'll likely be back with the major-league club later this spring or early in the summer.

Milone has earned a spot in the Brewers' bullpen to begin the season, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Milone struggled this spring, posting a 9.69 ERA and 2.00 WHIP in 13.0 innings. He will be the only southpaw in the Brewers' bullpen this season, which is likely the reason he was taken by manager Craig Counsell. The 30-year-old could step in and eat innings if Milwaukee finds itself in need of another starter, but he'll likely stick to a low-leverage role in the bullpen in 2017.

Ramirez intends to opt out of his contract if the Giants don't add him to their roster, Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reports.

At his best, Ramirez has proven to be an exceptional reliever, as was the case in 2014 when he posted a 1.44 ERA and 1.05 WHIP over 50 games (43.2 innings). However, as of late he's been anything but dominant. In 2016 he was taken for a 6.00 ERA and 1.67 WHIP across a mere 24 innings. Having allowed four runs and struck out 16 batters over 9.2 innings this spring, he's certainly shown improvement, but whether or not he's deemed worthy of a roster spot remains to be seen.

Anderson was named Milwaukee's fourth starter Thursday.

Anderson has put on a decent showing this spring and owns a 3.77 ERA after five games (14.1 innings). However, there's plenty of reason to question whether this will carry over to the regular season, as Anderson has yet to finish a season with an ERA below 4.00 and is coming off a year that saw him allow home runs at an alarming clip of 1.7 HR/9.

Cabrera (elbow) will open the season on the disabled list, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

As was expected, Cabrera will begin the season on the DL after experiencing some elbow soreness earlier in camp. The Braves don't appear worried about the issue, as there has been no indication of structural damage; rather, the team will take things slow with the 23-year-old, who appears to simply need more rest.

Anderson is expected to start the Rockies' second game of the season Tuesday against the Brewers, Nick Groke and Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post report.

The myriad of injuries plaguing the Rockies this spring certainly helped his cause, but the 2011 first-round draft pick also held his own during five Cactus League starts, ultimately finishing the spring with a 3.68 ERA and an impressive 13:2 K:BB. Anderson will slot into the rotation right behind Opening Day starter Jon Gray as the left-hander looks to build upon his solid rookie campaign in which he posted a 3.54 ERA in 19 starts and a 3.00 ERA at Coors Field.

Senzatela is a favorite to land one of the Rockies' final two rotation spots, Nick Groke and Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post report.

Despite not appearing in a game above Double-A in his brief career, the Rockies have been thoroughly impressed with the 22-year-old's professional performance thus far and seem determined to get him to Denver as soon as possible. Senzatela's spring performance hasn't been eye-popping (4.97 ERA, 1.58 WHIP in 25.1 innings pitched), but the Rockies are placing an emphasis on limiting walks, and the right-hander has done just that, as displayed by his stellar 19:3 K:BB this spring. Senzatela seems to be lined up to be the fifth starter, with Kyle Freeland landing the fourth rotation spot and German Marquez heading to the bullpen to act as a long reliever to begin the season.

Freeland appears to be the frontrunner in the competition for the Rockies' final two rotation spots, Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post reports.

Despite a shaky outing Monday in which the left-hander allowed four earned runs on seven hits in 4.2 innings pitched, manager Bud Black still praised the velocity and break Freeland consistently displayed with his offerings. Black also commented that although he agrees this wasn't Freeland's best outing, the rotation spots would be determined by the entire spring workload, which works in the 23-year-old's favor thanks to his 3.48 ERA and 19:6 K:BB in 20.2 Cactus League innings. A 40-man roster spot would still need to be cleared in order for Freeland to make the Opening Day roster, but as of now, it seems like he and Antonio Senzatela will begin the season in the Rockies' rotation while German Marquez heads into a long-relief role.

Marquez seems to have dropped below Kyle Freeland and Antonio Senzatela in the race for the Rockies' final two rotation spots, Nick Groke and Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post report.

After Jeff Hoffman was demoted to Triple-A Albuquerque, Marquez (the Rockies' No. 3 pitching prospect according to RotoWire) seemed to be a lock to grab one of the vacancies. However, the 22-year-old has posted less-than-stellar results during his audition for a rotation spot, compiling a 6.00 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP across 15 innings. That being said, Harrison Musgrave was reassigned to minor league camp Thursday, meaning that Marquez very well could stick on the major-league roster as a long reliever to start the season. This isn't set in stone as of now, but it appears to be the likely scenario barring any extraneous circumstances.