MLB Player News

Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole knows all too well what a injuries can do to a season. The right-hander is making an extra effort this spring to prevent having a similar fate to 2014, where he spent 70 days on the disabled list with shoulder injuries, reports The Pittsburgh Tribune.

"There was nothing structurally wrong with me. … I was fortunate," Cole said. "After I came off the rehab, I just kept that routine through the end of the season. I didn't deviate. It's what got me healthy, and it's what kept me healthy along with the mindset change."

Cole is continuing to grow through maintenance with the shoulder to prevent any flare ups.

"(Trainers) always say the rotator cuff is like bicycle brakes, and you have a V-12 engine in the front," Cole said. "You have to do maintenance on those things and be able to keep them in shape to slow the arm down."

Diamondbacks pitcher Chase Anderson is paying more attention to the mechanics of his two-seam fastball, according to MLB.com. 

Anderson has used the pitch plenty in the past but is hoping to make more effective use out of it this season. 

"Sometimes I'm not finishing the way I want to finish and it's not getting that depth, but it's missing some bats and getting ground balls and that's the main goal," Anderson said. "I've been known as a fly-ball pitcher and I want to be known as a ground-ball pitcher because ground balls don't usually go over the fence. I want to throw more ground balls than fly balls, that's the main goal."

Anderson pitched Monday in Arizona's 3-3 Cactus League tie against the White Sox. He gave up two hits in 2 2/3 scoreless innings. 

Cardinals starting pitcher Michael Wacha couldn't have asked for a better spring debut Monday against the Red Sox. The right-handed hurler tossed two perfect innings, which included four strikeouts -- three on changeups.

"I was real happy with the outcome and the way the whole body felt,” Wacha said, per the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “Real excited to get that first one.

"I had pretty good feel with (the changeup). Fastball command wasn’t exactly where I wanted it. Other than that, I was real happy with it.”

An MRI has confirmed that Cardinals pitcher Lance Lynn is dealing with a minor hip flexor strain, MLB.com reports.

Lynn said he expects no serious setbacks from the injury, which caused him to be removed from Sunday's start. He said that he would have continued pitching Sunday had it been a regular season game. Lynn may be able to make his next start later this week.

Dodgers pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu threw a bullpen session Monday and is set to make his spring debut Thursday against the Padres, MLB.com reports.

Ryu has been slowed by a back injury but expects to be ready for the start of the regular season. He went 14-7 with a 3.38 ERA and 139:29 K:BB ratio in 152 innings last year.

Mets starting pitcher Zack Wheeler took the hill for the first time this spring Monday against the Marlins, and when the dust settled he finished the afternoon sporting a 32.40 ERA.

Wheeler's outing got off to a great start, as he retired the side in order in the first inning on 10 pitches. He even had a strikeout of Derek Dietrich.

However, it quickly unraveled for Wheeler in the second inning. He had two strikeouts within the first four batters he faced, but he loaded the bases before Reid Brignac and Jordany Valdespin had run-scoring singles. Wheeler faced one more batter before he was lifted for a reliever.

Wheeler was charged with six runs on two hits, two walks and two hit batters in 1 1/2 innings. He struck out three.

"I was happy with the outing overall," he said, per NJ.com. "I did hit two batters and walk a couple but it's still early. Fastball command was a little off.

"I was trying to go in a lot but it was taking off on me a little bit. I was having a hard time throwing down in the zone with my fastball."

Six pitchers are competing for the fourth and fifth spots in the Reds rotation, and a week into spring training games, the races are still too close to call. 

The half dozen pitchers have combined to give up one earned run so far this spring. 

Lefthander Tony Cingrani hit 94 MPH with his fastball, showing that last season's shoulder trouble is behind him. 

Righthander Anthony DeSclafani gave up an unearned run in his first start. "I felt like everything was working," he said.

Manager Bryan Price declared Cingrani and DeScalfani the early favorites.RHP Jason Marquis has thrown five hitless innings to work his way into the mix. RHP Raisel Iglesias and LHPs David Holmberg and Paul Maholm have also been effective. 

"At this point in time, we've got a great list," Price said to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer. "It would be a very difficult challenge to feel like we've got it right if we had to make our team today because so many of these guys are performing at such a high level."

Cardinals pitcher Lance Lynn left Sunday's outing due to a hip injury but insists he would have continued pitching had it been a regular-season game, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

"I would have figured it out," Lynn said. "It’s something that I always feel. There are times when you can push through it. I know how to push through it. They’re going to make sure I’m smart about it. They’re going to make me take it slow. … When it’s all said and done, I’m going to be able to make my next start."

Lynn said he "pulled back" while going for a ground ball.

"I think if I went after that the way that I could go after it, something bad might have happened," Lynn said. "So I made sure that I pulled back. I went to go (for the ball) and I thought, 'I don’t know if that’s a good idea.' I tried to throw the next pitch and it wasn’t going the way I wanted to go. Something worse would have happened."

Lynn said he expects to throw a bullpen session on his regular schedule, but manager Mike Matheny indicated a new schedule would be made based upon the results of tests on the injured hip Monday.

Reds pitching prospect Michael Lorenzen is preparing for another season with the team this spring. Lorenzen is currently expected to become a starting pitcher for the club once he develops enough, but manager Bryan Price sees an opportunity for him to become a reliever, reports MLB.com.

"That would be a way to continue to build him and his innings workload up while also helping the big league club," Price said. "But we don't want to lose sight of the fact that right now, he's a starting pitcher and could be a very good one. Putting him in the bullpen could distract from that opportunity. It's hard to say. Eventually, we have to take our best team to Cincinnati. So for me, my eyes are still wide open to the possibility of him being on the team."

Lorenzen posted a 4-6 record in 2014 with Double-A Pensacola. He made 24 starts with a 3.13 ERA and 84 strikeouts.

Lance Lynn left his start for the Cardinals on Sunday after six batters with a left hip flexor strain, the team announced. 

Lynn called the trainer to the mound and left the game in the second inning. The trainer appeared to be looking at Lynn's hand at the time. The team will reevaluate Lynn's hip on Monday.