MLB Player News

Manager Craig Counsell said Brown has hit the ground running in camp and he's being evaluated as a starting pitcher, Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic reports.

"Ultimately, you're trying to develop starters," Counsell said. "That's really valuable. The elite back-end guy, they're super-valuable, too. It's knowing that we got a good pitcher there and figuring out what to do. That's what we'll have to, at some point, make decisions on. But right now, it's a starter for Ben." It's looking more and more likely that Javier Assad (oblique) will have to start the year on the injured list, in which case it would be one of Brown, Colin Rea or Jordan Wicks opening the year as the Cubs' fifth starter. Brown obviously has the highest fantasy ceiling of that bunch, but he's still mostly a two-pitch guy, although his top two pitches (fastball, curveball) are easily plus and his curveball, which is also called a "death ball," is one of the best curveballs in all of baseball. He's been working on his changeup this spring, and if he's clearly the best option, it would be hard for the Cubs to exclude Brown and his strikeout stuff from a starting rotation that had the 25th-best strikeout rate (21.1 percent) in baseball last season.

Gore threw two innings against live hitters in the batting cage Monday, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.

The Nationals and Gore are saying all the right things about him building up on the side, rather than in games, so far. Manager Dave Martinez said Gore and Michael Soroka will make their spring debuts soon, and Zuckerman speculates the duo could start the Nationals' split-squad games Saturday.

Harrison is expected to pitch in Friday's game against the Brewers following starter Logan Webb, Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Harrison said a couple weeks ago that he's rediscovered his fastball velocity after the pitch dipped below 93 mph on average last season, so it will be worth tracking his velocity in camp. It's also encouraging that he's getting into a spring game this week after ending the 2024 season with a shoulder injury. He is expected to open the year in the Giants rotation.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday that Grove (shoulder) will not be ready for the start of the season, Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Grove was shut down with a shoulder injury during the NLDS last season, and he got a late start to his offseason throwing program. The 28-year-old made 39 regular-season appearances for the Dodgers last season, including two starts, and finished with a 5.12 ERA and 54:16 K:BB across 51 innings.

Singer allowed two hits and a walk while striking out four over two scoreless innings in Monday's spring game against the Dodgers.

Singer, who was acquired during the offseason in the trade that sent Jonathan India to the Royals, made his debut for the Reds. The right-hander threw 33 pitches (23 strikes) and worked out of a second-inning jam, inducing a double play with one out and two on.

Darvish won't appear in a Cactus League contest until early March, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

Darvish isn't dealing with any injury, but rather than ask him to take part in Cactus League competition, the Padres have thus far had him toss a simulated game and then throw in an intrasquad game. The veteran hurler tossed two scoreless frames Monday in the intrasquad affair, and he expressed afterward that he was happy with the results. Darvish figures to slot in behind Dylan Cease and Michael King in San Diego's rotation this season.

Richardson (undisclosed) allowed two runs on two hits and struck out one over one inning during Saturday's Cactus League game against the Brewers.

Richardson has returned to health after an unspecified injury sidelined him near the end of the 2024 season. This wasn't a great start to camp for someone who is competing for a big-league roster spot, though he should get a few more opportunities to show what he can do.

Verlander gave up one run (on a home run) over two innings with a strikeout and walk in his San Francisco spring debut Monday. "Overall, I'm healthy," Verlander told MLB.com. "I thought the velo was OK for the first start of the spring. Better than what I was doing last year, so that's a big improvement. Overall, I was pleased."

Verlander battled shoulder and neck injuries in 2024, the latter of which he's hinted at returning too soon from and could have played a factor in him finishing the year with a 5.48 ERA and 1.38 WHIP over 90.1 innings. It's a good sign he's fully healthy as spring training begins. However, at age 42 this season it's not a given he'll return to anything close to his pre-2024 form.

Glasnow pitched one inning against Cincinnati in a Cactus League contest Monday, allowing two runs on three hits while striking out two batters.

Glasnow struck out the first two batters he faced before giving up three straight hits, including a two-run double by Austin Hays that ended with Hays getting thrown out at third base. Glasnow threw just 16 pitches in the frame, so he did some more throwing in the bullpen after he was lifted, per Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times. The right-hander isn't scheduled to start either of the Dodgers' two Tokyo contests versus the Cubs to kick off the MLB regular season, but he's expected to pitch in one of the team's two exhibition games in Japan versus teams from the Nippon Professional Baseball Organization leading up to the series against Chicago, per Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register.

Snell will pitch for the first time this spring Tuesday against Seattle, David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports reports.

Snell joined the Dodgers on a five-year contract in November and is set to be a key figure in the team's revamped rotation. The two-time Cy Young Award winner bounced back from a rough beginning with the Giants last year to finish with a 3.12 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 145:44 K:BB over 104 innings. Snell is unlikely to go more than an inning or two in his spring debut Tuesday. He's not expected to start in either of Los Angeles' two Tokyo games against the Cubs to kick off the MLB regular season, but manager Dave Roberts has indicated that Snell will pitch in one of the team's two exhibition games in Japan versus teams from the Nippon Professional Baseball Organization, per Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register.