MLB Player News

Lorenzen and teammate Raisel Iglesias could pitch up to 100 innings this season with the Reds' proposed bullpen mix, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Lorenzen is eager to take on the higher workload, and Iglesias hasn't been promised the lone closer role. Instead, both could pitch regular multi-inning stints.

Nicolino got hammered in his first appearance of the spring Monday against the Tigers, allowing five runs (four earned) on four hits and a walk while recording only one out.

He was already facing a tough battle to win a spot on the 25-man roster with the Marlins this season, but Nicolino didn't exactly get his Grapefruit League campaign off to a positive start. Expect the soft-tossing lefty to begin 2017 back with Triple-A New Orleans.

Urena got the start in Monday's Grapefruit League game against the Twins, allowing two runs in one inning of work on a walk and a two-run home run by Byung Ho Park.

He had trouble keeping the ball in the yard last year, so this wasn't the most encouraging start to Urena's spring. The 25-year-old is out of minor league options and almost assured of a spot on the Marlins 25-man roster for Opening Day, but barring a dramatic improvement in his numbers, he'll likely fill a long relief or mop-up role this season that carries very little fantasy value.

Lynn, making his return to the mound after missing all of 2016 due to Tommy John surgery, gave up one earned run on four hits and one walk in Monday's 5-4 Grapefruit League win over the Nationals.

Lynn surrendered an RBI single to Derek Norris in the second for his one run and impressively fired 28 of his 35 pitches for strikes. He threw plenty of fastballs -- his bread-and-butter pitch -- during his stint on the mound, but will selectively reincorporate his slider, curveball and changeup now that his elbow has regained the necessary stability and strength. "I'm going to do whatever I have to do to get people out," Lynn said. "If that involves throwing all fastballs, I will. If I have to mix it up, I will. But I've had some pretty good success with the fastball, so I'm going to keep [throwing it]."

Wacha gave up one unearned run on four hits and one walk over two innings in Monday's 7-2 Grapefruit League win over the Red Sox.

Wacha had an eventful pair of frames on the mound, working his way around an error in the first and leadoff walk in the second. The right-hander was able to throw all four of his pitches effectively and keep the ball down in the strike zone. His one run came after he surrendered back-to-back singles in the first to Hanley Ramirez and Mitch Moreland following a Pau DeJong throwing error on a ball hit by Mookie Betts. Wacha was even better in the second, striking out Sandy Leon on three pitches and getting Dustin Pedroia to pop up to right field by catching him out ahead of his changeup. "I felt good today. Throwing a lot of strikes. Keeping the ball down in the zone," Wacha said after his outing and before trucking back to Jupiter, Fla. "There were good things, for sure. Early on, in my bullpens and in live BPs and stuff, I have made it a point to pitch down in the zone. That is one of the key things I wanted to establish today."

Finnegan struggled to keep his pitch count down last season, partly because he was caught by Ramon Cabrera 12 times last season. Cabrera ranked 113 of 114 MLB catchers last season in pitch framing.

Certainly Finnegan's issues working deep in games can't all be attributed by pitch framing, as he was fourth in NL starters in 16.8 pitches thrown per inning. But in addition to working on his fastball command, having a catcher receive that fastball better will certainly help.

Matz (shoulder) is scheduled to make his first Grapefruit League start Monday against the Marlins, Marc Carig of Newsday reports.

Though the Mets purposely delayed his spring debut, Matz entered camp without any notable limitations following an injury-plagued 2016 season. The lefty was sidelined for the final six weeks with a shoulder injury that ultimately didn't require surgery, though he did go under the knife to remove a bone spur from his pitching elbow. Durability concerns have followed Matz throughout his professional career, but when healthy, he's proven himself as one of the better mid-rotation starters in baseball. So long as fantasy owners don't draft Matz expecting him to throw 200 innings, he's still capable of delivering helpful ratios and strikeout totals when he's able to take the mound.

Nola is scheduled to make his Grapefruit League debut Thursday against the Blue Jays, MLB.com's Todd Zolecki reports.

Nola has endured no complications with his right elbow during camp after finishing last season on the DL with a UCL sprain and flexor pronator tendon strain. He treated the elbow with platelet-rich plasma injections in August and entered camp at full strength, but the Phillies have intentionally eased their projected ace back into the swing of things during the spring. Nola's injury woes last season dragged down his final numbers, but now that he's conceivably healthy, he represents a high-upside target in drafts after compiling a 2.65 ERA to go along with sterling ratios over his first 12 starts of 2016.

Eickhoff is working on improving his changeup this spring, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.

Eickhoff used his changeup just 5.2 percent of the time last season. If he can make strides with the pitch this spring it could help him improve on the .274 average and .822 OPS that left handed batters had against him last season. Eickhoff, who allowed one run over two innings in his spring debut Monday, is expected to start the second game of the regular season for the Phillies.

Wainwright requested and is scheduled to receive extra starts this spring, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. "I'd rather go into the season knowing I'm prepared, rather than question marks," Wainwright said Sunday morning. "Two years ago it was a necessity. Last year was somewhat of a necessity. There's no reason to go short anymore. I used to really like coming into the season prepared. This year, I'll be very prepared."

The two-time 20-game winner has plenty of room for improvement despite a solid 13-9 record last season, and the Cardinals plan to afford him plenty of work to get him started on the right foot this spring. That's in sharp contrast to previous exhibition slates, when Wainwright has been on a reduced throwing program due to health issues. Wainwright is slated to kick off what will be a busy spring with a start against the Braves on Thursday, which will set him on course to potentially open six spring training games overall. If schedule holds, it will result in the veteran right-hander starting just one fewer game than the two previous springs combined.