MLB Player News

Gore is no longer scheduled to start Saturday's Grapefruit League opener against the Astros, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.

Jake Irvin is now listed as the starter for the first game of the exhibition slate, but there is no reported injury to Gore. Instead, this is a matter of Gore preferring to build up to the point of potentially reaching two innings in his spring debut, and the Nationals accommodating the left-hander's request and keeping him on the side for an additional live batting practice session. Gore still seems like the frontrunner for the Opening Day nod in 2025.

Matz is scheduled to start the Cardinals' third spring training game Monday versus the Mets, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

Matz is coming off an unproductive 2024 season in which he turned in a 5.08 ERA and 1.44 WHIP over 44.1 frames, with recurring back problems playing a part in his deflated innings count. The veteran lefty was deployed out of the bullpen for much of September, but with Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn reaching free agency this winter and the Cardinals not making any major offseason additions to the pitching staff, Matz should be in good position to open the season as the club's No. 5 starter. Matz is entering the final season of a four-year, $44 million contract and likely won't have much job security if he emerges from camp with a rotation spot. St. Louis has a pair of intriguing young pitching prospects in Quinn Mathews and Michael McGreevy waiting in the wings to step in if Matz falters or gets injured.

Fedde is scheduled to start the Cardinals' Grapefruit League opener Saturday versus the Marlins, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

Fedde is unlikely to cover more than one or two innings Saturday, but he'll get gradually stretched out during spring training and should be ready to handle a typical starter's workload to begin the regular season After returning stateside with a revamped repertoire in 2024 following a one-year stint in Korea, Fedde emerged as a viable mid-rotation arm between stops with the White Sox and Cardinals. Over his 31 starts, the 31-year-old submitted a 3.30 ERA and 1.16 WHIP while punching out 154 batters over 177.1 innings.

Jones has worked on a two-seam fastball this offseason and will test the pitch in spring training games, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.

Jones flashed his potential as a rookie last year with a 4.14 ERA in 22 starts, but his 1.3 HR/9 was a blemish in his skills profile. Like teammate Paul Skenes, Jones is working on a pitch with sinking action in an attempt to keep the ball in the yard more effectively. That could also hurt his potential strikeout upside, though he didn't commit to using that pitch in the regular season.

Gonsolin is scheduled to start Friday's Cactus League game against the Cubs, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

Gonsolin didn't pitch for the Dodgers in 2024 while spending most of the season recovering from the Tommy John surgery he underwent in September 2023, but he was cleared to make three rehab starts for Triple-A Oklahoma City this past September. Though he looked sharp at Triple-A, Gonsolin was never reinstated from the injured list during the Dodgers' run to the World Series, but that wasn't the result of him suffering any sort of setback. Despite having had a normal offseason in addition to owning a sterling 3.19 ERA and 1.05 WHIP over 375.2 career innings in the big leagues, Gonsolin will have to fight for a spot in a talent-laden Dodgers rotation that added Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki this offseason and also has Shohei Ohtani and Dustin May returning from Tommy John surgery. The Dodgers plan to open the season with a traditional five-man rotation before going to a six-man setup once Ohtani is fully stretched out for starting duty -- perhaps at some point in May -- so Gonsolin will be competing with Sasaki, May, Bobby Miller (concussion), Landon Knack and Justin Wrobleski for one of two spots. Gonsolin has a minor-league option remaining, but since he's 30 years old and has a strong track record in the majors, he would likely work out of the big-league bullpen if he misses out on a rotation spot.

Yamamoto pitched 1.2 scoreless innings in a Cactus League contest against the Cubs on Thursday, allowing three hits and no walks while striking out two batters.

Though he gave up three singles, Yamamoto avoided allowing any runs to cross the plate and threw 20 of his 27 pitches for strikes. The right-hander was on the mound for the opening of MLB's spring-training slate and could very well pitch in the first game of the regular season, as manager Dave Roberts said last week that he expects Yamamoto to start one of the Dodgers' two games against the Cubs in Tokyo, Japan on March 18-19. Yamamoto impressed in first taste of MLB last season, posting a 3.00 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 105:22 K:BB over 90 innings across 18 regular-season starts.

Herz focused on adding strength and cutting out unneeded movement in his pitching mechanics this offseason, leaving him optimistic that he'll be able to build off a promising rookie season in 2025, Spencer Nusbaum of The Washington Post reports. "Everything's in the zone, everything's where you want it. And it's cool to see that all of my bullpens have been like that so far," Herz said Saturday, after his first official bullpen session of spring training. "Now it's time to translate to the game."

After some early struggles upon his initial call-up to the big leagues in early June, Herz settled in nicely following the All-Star break and was arguably performing as Washington's best starter by season's end. Altogether, Herz turned in a 4.16 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 106:36 K:BB in 88.2 innings with the big club, but he'll still have to fight for a back-end rotation spot throughout spring training. Herz displayed a well-developed fastball and changeup as a rookie, but honing the command of his breaking pitches this spring will likely be essential if he's to break camp with the big club. Herz has cleaned up his delivery from the windup and eliminated an unnecessary backward step he had been taking last season, resulting in a smoother operation.

Heaney agreed to a one-year, $5.25 million deal with the Pirates on Thursday that includes an additional $5 million of incentives, Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com reports.

Heaney enters 2025 having played the prior two seasons with Texas. For the Rangers, he recorded a 4.22 ERA across 66 games, 59 of which he started in. The southpaw should slot in as Pittsburgh's No. 4 starter, with Bubba Chandler, Bailey Falter and Mike Burrows competing for the final rotation spot while Johan Oviedo completes his recovery from December 2023 Tommy John surgery.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Thursday that Miller will be in concussion protocol, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

Miller had to be removed from Thursday's Cactus League opener against the Cubs after taking a comebacker to the head. He was able to walk off the field under his own power, but Roberts is unsure how long Miller will be out for.

Miller was removed from Thursday's Cactus League appearance versus the Cubs after being hit in the head by a comebacker, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Miller came into the game in the top of the third inning and walked the leadoff man. The second batter, Michael Busch, drilled an offering right back up the middle, which struck Miller in the head and caused him to fall to the ground. Miller was able to walk off the field under his own power but will likely undergo concussion tests.