MLB Player News

Festa gave up six runs on seven hits with two strikeouts and two walks in Friday's loss to Baltimore. He has an 11.91 ERA and 11:3 K:BB in 11.1 innings this spring.

Festa is competing with Chris Paddack, Simeon Woods Richardson and Zebby Matthews for the final two spots in the rotation. He's been performing the worst of the four in spring training and looks set to begin the season at Triple-A at this point.

Bello (shoulder) is set to throw a bullpen session Saturday, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

Bello will not be ready for Opening Day and will begin the 2025 regular season on the injured list. With Bello, Kutter Crawford (knee) and Lucas Giolito (hamstring) expected to open on the IL, Quinn Priester, Richard Fitts and Cooper Criswell are candidates to be part of the rotation in the early weeks of the regular season.

Crawford (knee) is scheduled to throw bullpen sessions Tuesday and Friday of next week, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

Crawford has thrown a few low-intensity bullpens this spring to avoid aggravating the knee, but next week's sessions will be at normal effort. Given the amount of time he'll need to build up, Crawford is expected to miss the start of the regular season and likely all of April.

Schwellenbach gave up two runs on four hits over 4.2 innings in Friday's Grapefruit League game against the Nationals. He struck out seven without walking a batter.

The 24-year-old right-hander wasn't quite as sharp as his line indicated, as he plunked one batter and got charged with a wild pitch, but it was mostly another successful spring outing for Schwellenbach. Over 12.2 Grapefruit League innings, he's delivered a 16:1 K:BB and appears just about ready for Opening Day.

Rocker allowed three runs on four hits and two walks while striking out two over 2.1 innings in Friday's spring start against the Padres.

Against San Diego's potential Opening Day lineup, Rocker showed slight improvement from his first two Cactus League starts, when he allowed eight runs over two innings. His 22.85 spring ERA suggests a rotation spot is a long shot, but events elsewhere Friday improved Rocker's chances. Jon Gray suffered a fractured wrist during a split-squad game against the Rockies which contributed to the unsettled nature of Texas' rotation. Gray will join Cody Bradford (elbow) on the injured list to open the season, potentially opening up spots for both Rocker and Jack Leiter.

Ashcraft allowed three runs on three hits and four walks while striking out two over 2.2 innings in Friday's spring start against the White Sox.

Ashcraft allowed four of the first five batters to reach base before being pulled -- he re-entered in the second inning -- and it was a grind in his fifth Cactus League start. With news that Andrew Abbott had an encouraging controlled start in a minor-league game earlier this week, Ashcraft's bid to win a spot in the rotation may have taken a hit. If Abbott can't get ready for the start of the regular season, Ashcraft could take a turn or two in April.

Manager Derek Shelton informed Skenes on Saturday that he will start Opening Day against the Marlins.

After he turned in a 1.96 ERA and 0.95 WHIP over 23 starts last season en route to being named the NL Rookie of the Year, it hardly comes as a surprise that Skenes will take the hill for Pittsburgh's first regular-season game. The 22-year-old star hasn't quite matched those numbers this spring (3.60 ERA, 1.70 WHIP), though his 12 strikeouts in 10 innings suggests he's primed for another fantastic season. He'll have the advantage of pitching against a Marlins lineup that finished with the second-worst OPS in the NL last season (.678) and projects to remain weak in '25.

Maeda won't pitch as scheduled in Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Phillies due to an illness, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

The veteran right-hander was set to pitch behind Tigers ace Tarik Skubal but will instead be unavailable due to a stomach ailment. Maeda is competing for the No. 5 spot in Detroit's rotation and should be back on the mound after taking a couple days to recover.

Rodriguez struck out six over 3.2 hitless and scoreless innings in Friday's spring start against the Reds.

Rodriguez retired all 11 batters he faced on 44 pitches (29 strikes) in his second Cactus League outing. The Reds played split-squad games Friday and did not have their best nine on the field, but Rodriguez was sharp and pleased with all his offerings. "Feel like everything (worked), it's one of those days you don't want to come out," Rodriguez told Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports. "Everything I was throwing was just going right where I wanted." He should get another two spring starts before taking his first turn in the regular season.

Fedde has permitted seven runs on 10 hits, three walks and four strikeouts over 10 innings during Grapefruit League action.

Much of the damage came in his last start against the Marlins, when Fedde served up three home runs and six runs over four frames. Fedde had just a 19.7 percent strikeout rate from May on last season and the lack of whiffs has continued this spring. However, while fantasy managers shouldn't count on many strikeouts, Fedde showed last year that he is capable of providing useful ratios.