MLB Player News

Wainwright gave up only an unearned run on four hits and two walks over four innings in Sunday's 9-9 Grapefruit League tie with the Marlins. He struck out three.

The veteran righty worked up to 58 pitches, 36 of which he threw for strikes. Wainwright notably recorded two of his strikeouts with his curve, a pitch that he's focusing on this spring after feeling that it "was missing last year." His shakiest inning was the first, as he allowed his one run on two hits and a walk in that frame. Wainwright then faced the minimum number of batters over the next two innings. All in all, the two-time 20-game winner sounded pleased with his progress and ability to use his full arsenal of pitches effectively this spring. "I was happy; it was a good step forward for me, with my pitch count going up a little bit," Wainwright said. "With my pitches, I kind of sequenced things a little bit better today. I worked in pitches I wouldn't normally, and I kind of liked it. So we'll see; I'm having fun pitching out there."

Castillo threw two scoreless innings against the Rockies in Sunday's spring training game, with his fastball clocking in around 98 mph, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Castillo is still on track to work at Double-A to begin the season, and the Reds plan on keeping him as a starter. The fastball has never been in question, so the focus this year will be how much his secondary offerings improve.

Cueto made his spring training debut Saturday, giving up one run on three hits in his two innings of work while striking out one in a win over the Reds.

Cueto missed the first few weeks of camp tending to his ill father back in the Domincan Republic. The 2016 All-Star said he felt good after throwing a 65-pitch live bullpen session Wednesday, and that sentiment rang true on Saturday as well. Cueto said he would like to pitch for Team Domincan Republic in the World Baseball Classic but would need to make two spring training starts before making an official decision. Either way, he appears ready for Opening Day after posting a 2.79 ERA and 1.09 WHIP in his first season as a Giant.

Clemens surrendered a pair of runs on four hits over 3.1 innings Saturday. He walked two and struck out one in a loss to the Brewers.

Clemens continues to struggle this spring, posting a 6.48 ERA across 8.1 innings. His control has been wonky (four walks to four strikeouts), and he has already surrendered two homers. The chances of Clemens making the starting rotation are getting slimmer by the appearance. His best shot to make the 25-man roster would be as a reliever or long man, neither of which will generate much fantasy buzz.

Marquez has a good shot to earn a spot in the Rockies rotation.

With Chris Rusin (oblique) and Chad Bettis (illness) on the shelf, the Rockies are now tasked with filling two rotation spots rather than just one. This leaves Marquez in a good position to pick up one of those spots given his solid debut last season. However, the 22-year-old is experiencing some struggles this spring, as he holds a lofty 7.94 ERA and 2.12 WHIP in three appearances, so he'll need to shore up those issues if he wants to hold off Jeff Hoffman, Antonio Senzatela and Kyle Freeland for the final two rotation spots.

Keller has improved his approach to the game, putting himself on the prospect radar map. "We challenged him to go home between the offseason after 2015 and come in the best shape of his life. He took it to another level," Director of Minor League Operations Larry Broadway said Sunday on Root Sports Pittsburgh.

"First full season out he had some lingering shoulder stuff," Broadway said. "Offseason pitching camp 2016 he took it to another level, jumped right on the radar. Fastball command, breaking ball. We're patient, historically conservative with high school arms. Once the foundation is laid then we can take off the handcuffs." Keller made 23 of 24 starts in 2016 for Low-A West Virginia. The right-hander registered a 2.35 ERA and 0.92 WHIP in 130.1 innings, crafting a 138:19 K:BB before allowing three earned runs in 19.1 innings for High-A Bradenton. Mostly likely the soon-to-be 21-year-old will start 2017 at Bradenton with a possible midseason bump to Double-A Altoona.

Rea (elbow) was cleared to play catch by Dr. James Andrews, Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

The right-hander underwent Tommy John surgery back in November, but it seems like his rehab process is proceeding without a hitch thus far. He's slated to miss all of the 2017 season, but Rea could be back for spring training next season if all goes according to plan.

Urias might be sent down to Triple-A Oklahoma City for the beginning of the season in an effort to keep his inning count low, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.

Manager Dave Roberts said that they don't want to utilize the top prospect out of the bullpen, according to Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times, which would mean stashing him on the bench if they wanted to limit his starts at any point during the season. The Dodgers see this as the best alternative at this point so that they can have Urias available at the end of the season and hypothetically the postseason. Los Angeles has a plethora of arms competing for the final couple rotation spots (Brandon McCarthy, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Scott Kazmir), and optioning Urias back to the minors would allow them to keep more of the veterans on the roster at first while giving their youngster a bit more time to develop against advanced hitters. This decision certainly isn't final, but it's worth keeping an eye on over the next few weeks.

Ryu (groin) made his long-awaited Cactus League debut Saturday, firing a pair of scoreless innings in a win over the Angels. He struck out two and walked none.

Ryu's debut went about as good as he could have hoped after missing the majority of the last two seasons. Yes, it was a brief appearance in a spring training game, but the 29-year-old displayed the control that made him such a consistent fantasy arm in 2013 and 2014. Ryu's fastball sat in the 87-91 mph range, not far off from the 90.9 mph average he had back in 2014. The next step for the veteran southpaw will be showing that he can continue his spring success while stretching out his arm after a long layoff. If Ryu continues to have success while staying healthy this spring, then it would be hard for the Dodgers to leave him out of their rotation. He is worth a flyer in fantasy leagues in the event that he does win a rotation spot out of camp.

Teheran allowed one run on two hits and a walk over five innings while striking out three in Team Colombia's 4-1 WBC win over Team Canada on Saturday.

He tossed 61 pitches, 36 for strikes, and after running into a bit of trouble in the first inning, Teheran settled down and retired the final 13 batters he faced. Colombia now sits at 1-1 in Pool C but might need a victory over the defending champs, the Dominican Republic, on Sunday to advance to the second round.