MLB Player News

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.

Montgomery threw 40 pitches over two simulated innings on the backfields Thursday, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports.

Montgomery was hammered in his first Cactus League start last Saturday, and for a couple of reasons, including rain forecasted for Thursday evening, the Diamondbacks had him throw a backfield session Thursday afternoon instead of taking a turn in a game environment. It was a controlled environment where the left-hander could hit his pitch count and get in an up-and-down. All involved thought it was good session for Montgomery, who is expected throw next in a Cactus League game. He believes there's still time to get ready for the regular season, and the fact that he'd be fifth in line gives him a bit more time. Due to a day off following the first series of the season -- a four-game set against the Cubs -- Arizona will not require a fifth starter until April 5.

Carrasco pitched 3.1 innings in a Grapefruit League start against Philadelphia on Friday, allowing one run on two hits and one walk while striking out six batters.

Carrasco gave up a second-inning run but retired five of the six batters he faced after that runner crossed the plate. He did hit a pair of batters, but overall this was another positive performance by the veteran righty. Carrasco has posted a 2.45 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 12:6 K:BB over 11 innings so far this spring. He's in camp on a minor-league deal and wasn't expected to compete for a spot on the Opening Day roster, but he's now a candidate for some early season starts due to injuries to Gerrit Cole (elbow) and Luis Gil (lat). It remains to be seen, however, if Carrasco will break camp with the big club or be asked to accept a minor-league assignment to begin the campaign.

Kikuchi has added a sweeper to his pitch mix, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

Kikuchi has worked with a four-pitch arsenal over the past two campaigns, but it appears he'll have another offering to attack hitters with this season. Bollinger notes that the lefty's new sweeper averages 81 mph with 16 inches of break, so it should give him a much different look than when he uses his traditional slider, which averages 87 mph with two inches of break. Kikuchi excelled in his second start of the spring Friday against the Royals, allowing one run on five hits while issuing three walks and striking out eight batters over 4.1 innings. He indicated that he'll take the mound one more time before the regular season kicks off, but the appearance will be either in a minor-league game or in a simulated setting. Kikuchi has been announced as the Angels' starter on Opening Day against the White Sox on March 27.

Littell allowed six earned runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out two across two innings in Friday's Grapefruit League game against the Twins.

This marked Littell's second official spring appearance as he continues to compete for a rotation spot to begin the regular season. He didn't help his cause with his results, as he was pulled in two separate innings before returning to build up his pitch count. Following the game, Littell chalked the performance up to simply a bad outing, while manager Kevin Cash expressed optimism that Littell would bounce back, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Perhaps the lone positive was that Littell did reach 72 pitches, suggesting he'll be fully stretched out by Opening Day. Drew Rasmussen, Littell's presumed primary competition, is set to start Saturday's game against the Yankees.

Anderson allowed six runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out three batters over 3.1 innings in a Cactus League game against the Athletics on Friday.

Anderson served up a solo homer to Shane Langeliers in the first inning, then retired only one of the five batters he faced in the second. The lefty was temporarily pulled, but under spring training rules he was allowed to re-enter the contest. Though Anderson was able to get through two more innings without allowing a run, he loaded the bases without retiring a batter in the fifth frame, and all three runners came around to score after his departure. Anderson hasn't been sharp this spring, as he's posted a 10.64 ERA, 2.00 WHIP and 9:5 K:BB over 11 innings. Nonetheless, his veteran status limits the level of concern about his performance in exhibition play, and Anderson is locked into a spot near the top of the Angels' regular-season rotation.

Waldron suffered a mild left oblique strain while warming up in the bullpen Friday, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Waldron's injury prevented him from pitching as scheduled against the Rangers. He'll be re-evaluated Saturday, at which point a return timeline may be established, but he's likely to be unavailable for Opening Day given the timing of the injury. The 28-year-old right-hander has had a tough time getting going this spring, surrendering 11 runs (nine earned) on nine hits and seven walks while striking out seven batters in 9.1 innings.

Gray was diagnosed with a fractured right wrist after getting hit by a comebacker during Friday's Cactus League game versus Colorado, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Gray took a 106.4-mph line drive off his wrist in the fourth inning of Friday's contest and was promptly removed from the game. Manager Bruce Bochy didn't provide an estimate for when the 33-year-old righty might return, but the injury will certainly delay his 2025 debut by a significant amount of time. With both Gray and Cody Bradford (elbow), set to miss Opening Day, there's a good chance that Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter will both be part of Texas' initial rotation.