Blackburn gave up three runs on five hits and two walks over 2.1 innings in Friday's Grapefruit League game against the Nationals. He failed to strike out a batter.

While his final line was sketchy, Blackburn blanked the Nats through two innings before running out of gas in the third and serving up homers to CJ Abrams and James Wood. The right-hander appears to be on the outside looking in for a spot on the Opening Day rotation even with Sean Manaea (oblique) and Frankie Montas (lat) sidelined to begin the season, but with the Mets planning to deploy a six-man rotation somewhat liberally in 2025, Blackburn should get starting opportunities over the summer.

Cabrera got tagged for six runs on four hits -- including three home runs -- and two walks over 1.2 innings in Friday's Grapefruit League game against the Red Sox. He struck out two.

Trevor Story took Cabrera deep twice, while Abraham Toro also touched him up for a long ball. The right-hander's ability to generate whiffs keeps earning him chances in the Marlins' rotation -- he's posted a strikeout rate north of 25 percent in the majors in each of the last three seasons -- but Cabrera's issues with command and control remain a significant hurdle between him and consistent fantasy production. Through 4.2 innings over three appearances this spring, he's stumbled to a 19.29 ERA with a 3:2 K:BB.

Meyer appears to be in the lead to win the fifth starter role to begin the season, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports.

There's no big surprise here, as the 25-year-old right-hander's main competition for the job, Valente Bellozo, lacks Meyer's pedigree or raw stuff. Meyer is being brought along carefully in camp after throwing 115 innings last season between Triple-A and the majors in his return from Tommy John surgery, and through three innings so far over two Grapefruit League appearances, he has yet to allow a run with a 2:1 K:BB.

Strider (elbow) threw 30 pitches in a live batting practice session Friday and used all his pitches, Ken Sugiura of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Facing the rehabbing Ronald Acuna (knee) as well as Ozzie Albies, Strider recorded four strikeouts over two simulated innings and drew a "that was nasty" comment from Albies after the second baseman flailed away at a breaking ball. Strider will begin the season on the IL as he completes his recovery from an internal brace procedure on his elbow performed early last year, and Atlanta has avoided providing any sort of target date for his 2025 debut, but the right-hander appears to be making excellent progress.

The Phillies optioned Chace to Double-A Reading on Saturday.

Chace was promoted to Double-A shortly after being acquired from Baltimore in the Gregory Soto trade. The 21-year-old righty will now officially return to Reading to open 2025 in its rotation, and he'll likely be a candidate for a promotion to Triple-A Lehigh Valley before the end of the year.

The Phillies optioned Cabrera to Double-A Reading on Saturday.

Cabrera was promoted to Double-A in July after turning in a 3.39 ERA and 1.09 WHIP across 77 innings at High-A Jersey Shore last season. He was awarded a 40-man roster spot during the offseason for Rule 5 protection but will return to Reading to begin the 2025 campaign. The 23-year-old righty isn't likely to crack the majors this year, but Triple-A Lehigh Valley should be within reach.

The Dodgers informed Sauer on Friday that he will be part of the team's travel roster during the Tokyo Series versus the Cubs, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Over his four spring training appearances, Sauer has given up seven earned runs on 10 hits and a walk while striking out eight batters over 7.2 innings. Despite his poor numbers, the Dodgers have liked what they've seen from the 26-year-old enough to give him a spot in their bullpen while in Japan. Sauer owns a 7.71 ERA over his 14 career MLB appearances, so he'll likely be used only in low-leverage situations.

The Cardinals optioned Robberse to Triple-A Memphis on Friday.

Robberse spent nearly all of last season in Triple-A, where he finished with a 4.59 ERA and 1.22 WHIP across 84.1 innings. He didn't find much success during spring training, surrendering seven earned runs over just 2.2 frames, and he'll likely remain in Memphis until he can find his footing on the mound.

Roupp has become the leading candidate for San Francisco's fifth-starter role and appears set to win a roster spot either in the rotation or as a long reliever, Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic reports.

Roupp has had an impressive spring so far, tossing 8.1 scoreless innings with an 11:1 K:BB. Meanwhile Kyle Harrison has struggled this spring (12.27 ERA). There's still time for the race to shift, but Roupp merits a look in deeper fantasy formats. Roupp's sinker-curveball approach induces ground balls and could make him an interesting home streaming candidate at spacious Oracle Park.

Harrison has fallen behind Landen Roupp this spring in the competition for the Giants' fifth-starter role, Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic reports. Harrison has given up five runs in 3.2 innings this spring with a 5:1 K:BB.

Harrison reached a maximum velocity of 92.3 mph in his last spring outing. He had said before spring training that he's rediscovered his fastball velocity after the pitch dipped below 93 mph on average last season, but that hasn't shown up yet this spring. If he doesn't make the rotation, he's a candidate for the bullpen but could also be kept as a starter at Triple-A.