MLB Player News

Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto has been away from the team attending to a family matter in the Dominican Republic, but he's expected to rejoin his team Wednesday, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Cueto has surrendered three runs in nine innings this spring. Manager Bryan Price said Wednesday that he believes Cueto still has enough time to get ready to pitch on Opening Day.

Cardinals starting pitcher Michael Wacha tossed 5 2/3 scoreless innings Wednesday and was engaged in quite the pitcher's duel with Nationals starting pitcher Max Scherzer, who struck out nine over six scoreless innings.

Wacha allowed four hits and one walk, while striking out four. He lowered his spring ERA to 1.76 in his fourth spring start.

"I was happy with it," Wacha said of his performance. "[I'm] just continuing to go out there and working on the pitches and strikes, fastball command, down in the zone. Hopefully, I'm on the right track going forward from here."

The race for the fifth spot in the Rockies' rotation is down to Jon Gray, Christian Bergman and Eddie Butler, according to the Denver Post.

Gray has registered a 2.08 ERA, a 0.92 WHIP through 13 Cactus League innings. He has yet to pitch above Double-A. Bergman, who was a replacement call-up in 2014, has posted a 2.31 ERA, a 1.20 WHIP through 11 2/3 innings of work this spring. Butler, who struggled during his callup in 2014, has a 3.12 ERA, a 1.27 WHIP through 8 2/3 innings this spring.

Padres starting pitcher Brandon Morrow will have his scheduled start pushed back because of a blister on his right ring finger. Instead, Odrisamer Despaigne will take the mound on Thursday for the Padres, per U-T San Diego.

Manager Bud Black told reporters that Morrow's injury should not impact the fifth-starter race much.

"I don't think it impacts it a lot," Black said. "I think Brandon will be out there soon enough to show what he can do.

"There's still a couple weeks for him to build his pitch count. I don't think it does anything to the competition for now for that spot. We've seen a lot from those guys. They're both going to pitch some more this spring. It's a little bit of a setback for Brandon because it takes him off his schedule a little bit. But that's part of what happens in training camp."

Nationals manager Matt Williams told reporters that pitcher Stephen Strasburg came out of Tuesday's bullpen session without any reported issues with his left ankle, according to MASN Sports. Strasburg is expected to start at some point this week.

The Mets announced that pitcher Zack Wheeler underwent surgery for ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction. Wheeler's flexor pronator tendon was also operated on by Dr. David Altchek Wednesday, according to Newsday.

Wheeler was diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament after he was scratched from a March 14 Grapefruit League game. A report also surfaced that he pitched with a torn tendon the previous season. He went 11-11 with a 3.54 ERA in 32 starts last season.

The 24-year-old right-hander will soon be placed on the 60-day disabled list before the start of the season, and is projected to have a recovery time of approximately 14 months.

"He is expected to make a full recovery," the club said in a statement, per ESPN.

Diamondbacks pitchers Patrick Corbin and David Hernandez were both able to throw bullpen sessions Tuesday for the first time since they both underwent Tommy John surgery.

"It was awesome, exciting," Corbin said on Tuesday to MLB.com. "I woke up this morning and it felt like it was my first start of the season. Tomorrow it will be one year from surgery, so just a great feeling to get back out there. I wasn't really nervous because I knew my elbow felt great from all the work that we've been doing this past year. Just super excited to get on the mound and be able to throw again."

Hernandez is expected to be back before Corbin and was able to throw without worrying about his elbow.

"To be honest with you, I didn't think about it at all when I started throwing," Hernandez said. "It's kind of on the back burner. I just kind of felt like it was my first bullpen in Spring Training. Next is your next bullpen, and then you'll face batters and then you'll be in games. That's the way I'm looking at it."

Christian Bergman earned his first save of the spring with four shutout innings for the Rockies on Tuesday. 

Bergman allowed two hits, walked none, and struck out one. The performance lowered Bergman's spring ERA to 2.31. He's allowed 10 hits and four walks in 11 and two thirds innings. 

"Real good command, that's what he does -- both sides of the plate, he can add and subtract [velocity]," manager Walt Weiss said, per MLB.com's Thomas Harding. "He's got a great feel."

Rockies pitcher Jordan Lyles allowed five unearned runs on two hits and two walks in four innings in Tuesday's 7-6 win over the White Sox.

Lyles ran into trouble in his fourth and final inning but escaping the outing without having any runs charged to his ERA, which has falled to 0.60 through 15 spring innings. He threw 55 pitches after coming into the start hoping to raise his pitch count to 70, the Denver Post reports.

"I feel good," Lyles said. "I think where I’m at now is strides ahead of where I was last year at this time. I can say that with confidence. A lot of that has to do with my changeup, and I was working on my curveball today. I threw some good ones and some bad ones."

Lyles is locked into a rotation spot to start the season.

Cubs starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks burst onto the scene as a rookie in 2014, going 7-2 with a 2.46 ERA and 1.08 WHIP in 13 starts. A lot of folks are interested to see where Hendricks goes from there in his second MLB season.

While Hendricks was never considered an elite prospect in the minors, despite some pretty good numbers (2.69 ERA, 1.07 WHIP), the Cubs are confident the 25-year-old right-hander can continue to have success at the major-league level.

“He’s shown the ability to make the big pitch,” Cubs president Theo Epstein said, per ESPN. “He has some tools now. He has a really good sinker. His sinker moves straight down. And it’s late. Who cares if its 89 or 88, it gets a ground ball?

“He can make balls look like strikes and strikes look like balls. It opens up a lot. He has a lot of different ways to shape a big pitch in a big spot.”

Joe Maddon is in his first spring with the Cubs, and it hasn't taken Hendricks long to make a strong impression.

“People will not project him highly because he’s not lighting up the gun but he lights up the location,” Maddon said. “Ask a hitter what they think. A hitter is going to tell you by the way he reacts to his pitches. He’s good. He’s real good. He just gets hitters out. They go back to the dugout, they’re all very upset. They’re breaking bats, wondering how did he beat me like that? And that happens 16, 17 times a year when he wins games.”