MLB Player News

Harrison showed better velocity in his last Cactus League appearance Sunday versus the Athletics, sitting at 93-to-94 mph and touching 95 mph several times, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

The bump up in velocity is encouraging, as Harrison had been sitting in the low-90s in camp after losing 13 pounds due to a virus. However, while his weight and velocity are coming back, Harrison's results this spring have not been encouraging, particularly his last two times out when he surrendered a combined eight runs in 4.2 innings. Meanwhile, Hayden Birdsong (0.75 ERA, 18:0 in 12 innings) and Landen Roupp (3.75 ERA, 14:1 K:BB in 12 frames) have both been excellent. The competition for the fifth spot in the Giants' rotation could come down to the wire.

Harrington remains in big-league camp and will start Tuesday against the Phillies, Tribune-Review Sports reports.

Harrington didn't come into spring training with as much buzz as Bubba Chandler, but he's a very good pitching prospect in his own right and is the last prospect left competing for a rotation spot. Harrington could just be an insurance policy in case one of the Pirates' other starters gets injured before the start of the season, but Harrington looked sharp while striking out five batters over three innings in an intrasquad game last week, per Chris Clegg of The Dynasty Dugout.

Manager Rob Thomson announced Monday that Wheeler will receive the start for the Phillies' March 27 season opener versus the Nationals in Washington, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.

He will square off against MacKenzie Gore, who was named the Nationals' Opening Day starter earlier Monday. Wheeler was an obvious choice after another stellar showing in 2024 in which he collected a 2.57 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 224:52 K:BB across an even 200 innings during the regular season.

Strider (elbow) struck out six batters over 2.2 perfect innings during his Grapefruit League debut Monday versus the Red Sox.

Cleared to pitch for the first time since April 5, 2024 after completing his recovery from an internal brace procedure on his right elbow, Strider looked as dominant as ever Monday. He found the strike zone on 23 of his 27 pitches and struck out six of the eight batters he faced, with the other two outs coming on a weak popout into foul territory and a first-pitch groundout. His velocity also appeared right in line with pre-surgery levels, with Strider topping out at 98 miles per hour on a first-inning strikeout of outfield prospect Roman Anthony. Since Strider will still need to get stretched out over the course of multiple starts, he remains on track to open the season on the 15-day injured list, but his dominant performance Monday makes a mid-to-late April debut increasingly realistic and is likely to send his ADP soaring.

Henderson is a "leading contender" to make starts for the Brewers in April following the injury to Tobias Myers (oblique), Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

Henderson was cut from major-league camp last week, but he will be back to make a start Monday against the Padres and it appears he might be ahead of Tyler Alexander in the rotation pecking order. The 23-year-old Henderson has spun 5.2 scoreless frames with an 8:1 K:BB during Cactus League play. Myers could be back before the end of April and Brandon Woodruff (shoulder) might be ready around then, too, so Henderson's stay in the rotation -- if he is indeed part of it -- could be brief.

Senga is expected to make his first start of the season April 1 in Miami, Tim Britton of The Athletic reports.

That would be the Mets' fifth game of the year, after the team opens the season with a three-game set in Houston. The decision to hold Senga back is a strong sign New York will continue to monitor his workload in 2025, but the 32-year-old says he's felt good this spring and hasn't had trouble bouncing back from any of his outings. "I have a growing understanding of where my body is and what I can do and can't do at this point," Senga said after Friday's start. The Mets need him to regain his 2023 form, when he produced a 2.98 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 202:77 K:BB over 166.1 innings in his North America debut.

Canning is expected to start the third game of the Mets' season-opening series in Houston, Tim Britton of The Athletic reports.

That would line the right-hander up to face the Astros on March 29 after Clay Holmes and Tylor Megill work the first two games of the series, with David Peterson and Kodai Senga rounding out the initial rotation. Canning has yet to give up an earned run this spring with a 7:1 K:BB over 5.1 innings, and the Mets have adjusted his pitch mix to emphasize his slider and sinker over his mediocre four-seam fastball -- a pitch that generated a 14.8 percent whiff rate and 44.1 percent hard-hit rate last year along with a minus-12 run value. Canning could have a small window in which to establish himself with Sean Manaea (oblique) potentially returning in mid-April.

Megill is expected to start the second game of the Mets' season-opening series in Houston, Tim Britton of The Athletic reports.

That would line the right-hander up to face the Astros on March 28 after Clay Holmes gets the nod Opening Day, with Griffin Canning, David Peterson and Kodai Senga following in the rotation. Megill has looked good this spring, posting a 13:2 K:BB over 11.2 innings, and he should get a few turns through the rotation to establish himself as a reliable option with Sean Manaea (oblique) not set to return until at least mid-April, and Frankie Montas (lat) on the shelf into May.

Quantrill gave up one hit and two walks over three scoreless innings during Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the Cardinals. He struck out one.

The 30-year-old right-hander has been scuffling this spring, but he looked a little more comfortable Sunday as he built up to 43 pitches (23 strikes). Quantrill is ticketed for a spot in the Marlins' Opening Day rotation, but his 9.45 ERA and 3:4 K:BB through 6.2 spring innings don't offer much optimism that he'll be a useful arm for fantasy purposes. Over the last two seasons for Cleveland and Colorado, he's stumbled to a 5.08 ERA and 1.50 WHIP in 48 starts.

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said Monday that the club is discussing using a six-man rotation to begin the season, with McGreevy serving as the sixth starter, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

Sonny Gray, Erick Fedde and Miles Mikolas are locked into rotation spots, and Andre Pallante and Steven Matz are heavily favored for two other slots. Utilizing a six-man rotation would add a spot for McGreevy, who could swing back-and-forth between starting and relieving, per Denton. McGreevy has been the club's best starter this spring, allowing just two runs with an 8:0 K:BB over 11.2 innings.