MLB Player News

The Mets want Matz (elbow) to throw an 80-pitch bullpen session before having him make a start, Matt Ehalt of The Record reports.

The club said that it would like to have Matz participate in said bullpen session either Wednesday or Thursday. However, considering he threw both Monday and Tuesday, it seems more likely that the workout will take place Thursday. If Matz is able to successfully complete the upcoming bullpen session, he'd reduce the likelihood of starting the season with a brief DL stint, so owners should monitor his status over the coming days.

Urias won't be included on the Dodgers' season-opening roster, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

It was all but expected that Urias would open the season at extended spring training, but manager Dave Roberts formally confirmed the news Tuesday, according to Gurnick. The Dodgers want the 20-year-old to be able to pitch into the postseason, so they're looking to hold him back early on to limit his innings. According to Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register, Roberts said the organization plans to have him stick around at extended spring training before heading to the minors, though the Dodgers haven't specified a timeline for that. In any event, Urias retains one of the higher per-inning upsides of most young pitchers, so he should be stashed in most formats.

Wacha, who'll start the Cardinals' last game in Florida on Wednesday, is also a candidate to start the third game of the regular season against the Cubs, Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Wacha has been one of the brightest spots of a terrific spring for the Cardinals with a 3-0 record, 2.05 ERA and 18:5 K:BB over six appearances. With Carlos Martinez and Adam Wainwright penciled in for the first two games of the opening series, manager Mike Matheny is reportedly deciding between Wacha and Lance Lynn (ribs) to close out the set against the defending champions.

Lynn (ribs), who was scheduled to start for Triple-A Memphis on Thursday night, will instead take the mound earlier that day in a minor-league game in Jupiter, Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

The change in venue isn't due to any new injury concerns for Lynn, but rather, uncertainty as to the weather forecast for Memphis' game. As per manager Mike Matheny, Lynn remains a candidate to start the third game of the regular season versus the Cubs on April 5.

Martinez gave up two earned runs on three hits and two walks over five innings in Monday's 3-2 Grapefruit League win over the Astros. He struck out two.

Martinez picked up his third victory of spring while putting in his final work before the regular season. His troubles were limited to the first inning, when he gave up both runs on a Carlos Beltran infield single and Brian McCann sacrifice fly. The Cardinals ace then limited the Astros to one infield hit over four subsequent frames as per Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The game served as solid tune-up appearance for Martinez in anticipation of an Opening Day matchup versus a Cubs squad that he struggled against (1-3, 4.80 ERA over five starts) in 2016.

Matz (elbow) threw again Tuesday and looked "pretty decent," according to pitching coach Dan Warthen, the New York Post's Mike Puma reports.

FanRag Sports' Jon Heyman reported earlier in the day that Matz felt good Tuesday morning after throwing Monday, which is a positive sign. There is still a chance that Matz opens the year on the disabled list, with Seth Lugo or Zack Wheeler opening the year in the rotation, but early indications are that any DL stint would be brief.

Lugo gave up four runs on eight hits, including three home runs, while striking out three in 4.1 innings during Monday's split-squad game against the Nationals.

The bout of gopheritis may have come at the worst possible time for the 27-year-old righty, as Zack Wheeler was busy holding the Marlins scoreless for five innings in the Mets' other game Monday. Lugo is still in the running to fill in for Steven Matz (elbow) as the fifth starter to begin the season, but his best argument for the job at this point may be the fact that Wheeler will be on a strict innings limit in 2017, and the team may want to save his return for later in the season rather than use up some of those innings in April.

Wheeler allowed two hits and two walks while striking out three over five shutout innings during Monday's split-squad game against the Marlins.

His timing was impeccable, as Wheeler's strong performance came while Seth Lugo was struggling to keep the ball in the park against the Nats in the Mets' other game Monday. Wheeler hasn't thrown a regular-season pitch since 2014, but the 26-year-old seems finally ready to return to the rotation after some setbacks in his recovery from Tommy John surgery in early 2015.

Nicolino was optioned to Triple-A New Orleans on Tuesday, MLB.com's Joe Frisaro reports.

He made a late push to open the season in the big-league rotation, but will instead offer depth at Triple-A to start the year. Nicolino has nearly zero fantasy appeal, as he has a career 9.3 percent strikeout rate in the major leagues, which would have ranked dead last by a wide margin among qualified starters last season.

Velasquez allowed one run on five hits over five innings Monday against the Blue Jays. He struck out seven and walked two.

This was likely Velasquez's last Grapefruit League appearance with Opening Day approaching quickly. He needed 87 pitches to get through five innings, a sign he still has work to do on being more economical with his pitches. The young righty is expected to make his first start of the regular season on April 7.