MLB Player News

Ray gave up four runs in four innings on Wednesday, his first rough outing this spring, the Arizona Republic's Nick Piecoro reports.

Manager Chip Hale said he wanted Ray to work into the sixth inning, but the lefty couldn't get there due to a high pitch count. Still, Hale didn't seem overly concerned about the outing, and Ray remains the favorite for the No. 5 spot in the Diamondbacks rotation. For the spring, Ray has a 3.95 ERA across 13.2 innings, to go along with 14 strikeouts.

Strasburg was absolutely filthy Wednesday, throwing five shutout innings and striking out nine Yankees while allowing six hits and no walks.

His changeup was in devastating midseason form, but perhaps most importantly, Strasburg was able to avoid the kind of big inning that has plagued him in the past by escaping a bases-loaded, no-out situation in the third inning. If he can carry the form he flashed in the final two months of 2015 over into this season, Strasburg could be headed for a career year.

Morton will start the third game of the regular season for the Phillies, CSN Philadelphia's Jim Salisbury reports.

Morton will take on the Reds in Cincinnati in his first start of 2016. The Phillies hope Morton can stay healthy and eat innings for the club this season while they wait for their young pitching prospects to ascend from the minors. He was 9-9 with a 4.81 ERA last season for the Pirates.

Nola will start the second game of the regular season for the Phillies, CSN Philadelphia's Jim Salisbury reports.

Jeremy Hellickson will start Opening Day for the Phillies. Starting the second game of the season lines Nola up to pitch April 11 in the Phillies' home opener against the Padres.

Manager Andy Green suggested Wednesday that Rea has a rotation spot locked up, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. "If the timing's right, I expect to see him there."

Although Rea struggled a bit in his last outing, giving up five runs on nine hits in five innings against Colorado, he pitched well enough in his first three spring outings to get a firm hold on a rotation spot. With Brandon Maurer shifting back to the bullpen, Drew Pomeranz, Robbie Erlin, and Brandon Morrow are left as the remaining candidates to round out the starting staff.

Giolito was reassigned to minor league camp on Wednesday.

The team's top prospect impressed in his time with the big leaguers; however, at just 21 years old and having never pitched above Double-A, Giolito needs some more seasoning before being brought up to the big leagues. With that being said, he showed that he has the makeup and ability to pitch in the majors in the not-too-distant future.

Gray's MRI confirmed an abdominal strain Wednesday, but the team did not provide a timetable for his return, MLB.com's Thomas Harding reports.

While it is not a direct arm injury, abdominal strains are still noteworthy for pitchers, as it affects the ability to rotate the torso. He will almost certainly start the year on the DL, as moderate oblique abdominal strains take six to eight weeks to heal. The Rockies will want to make sure Gray is fully healed before he returns to the mound, as returning too soon could complicate the issue. Chris Rusin and David Hale are presumably the top two options to replace Gray in the rotation at the start of the season, although neither pitcher comes close to matching Gray's upside, particularly in road starts.

Maeda had another solid effort Monday against the Mariners, tossing five innings of two-run ball.

The outing actually raised Maeda's spring ERA to 1.32 In 13.2 innings, the Japanese import has a 13:4 K:BB and appears poised to slot in as the team's second most reliable starter.

Eickhoff (thumb) is on course to pitch during the first week of the season after making his Grapefruit League debut Tuesday, MLB.com's Todd Zolecki reports.

He allowed four hits, three runs and two walks while striking out seven in four innings Tuesday in a split squad game against the Twins. Eickhoff got a half dozen whiffs on his changeup Tuesday, which is encouraging as he already showed last year that his slider is elite, getting whiffs more than a quarter of the time off that pitch in 2015. Look for Eickhoff to line up as the Phillies' fourth or fifth starter to start the season, but he offers much more fantasy upside than the likes of Jeremy Hellickson and Charlie Morton, who will likely slot in ahead of him in the first week of the season.

Gray left Tuesday's game with tightness in his abdomen and will undergo an MRI, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post reports.

The right-hander fielded a comebacker and tried to start a double play in the first inning, but his throw to second base sailed into center, and it seems he may have strained some abdominal muscles in the process. While the severity of the injury will not be known until the MRI results come back, this seems like the type of injury that could threaten Gray's availability for the start of the season.