MLB Player News

Clevinger (neck) struck out two batters over a perfect inning of relief Sunday in the White Sox's 1-0 loss to the Guardians in Cactus League play.

Clevinger re-signed with the White Sox on a minor-league deal Feb. 21, but he didn't make his spring debut until Sunday while he completed his recovery from the disc replacement surgery he required for his neck back on Aug. 1. The 34-year-old righty retired the side in efficient fashion Sunday, needing just 11 pitches to complete a 1-2-3 inning. Clevinger has worked almost exclusively as a starter over parts of eight seasons in the big leagues, but he'll be vying for a late-inning relief role with Chicago while the organization prioritizes younger arms in the rotation.

The Reds optioned Phillips to Triple-A Louisville on Monday.

Phillips reached the big leagues for the first time in 2023 and made five starts for the Reds, but he appears to have since been passed up by other arms on the organizational pitching depth chart. Though he closed the 2024 campaign on a high note with a 2.49 ERA and 24 strikeouts over 21.2 innings in his final five outings, his season-long ratios at Triple-A were still unsightly (8.01 ERA, 2.03 ERA, 4.3 K-BB% in 78.2 innings). Phillips' control problems once again cropped up this spring, as he had walked six of the 19 batters he faced in Cactus League play. He'll likely need to have a sustained run of success at Triple-A before garnering consideration for a return to the big leagues.

The Reds optioned Zulueta to Triple-A Louisville on Monday.

The hard-throwing Zulueta struck out 20 batters over 16.1 innings in relief in his first taste of the big leagues in 2024, but a 10.1 percent walk rate prevented him from gaining much traction in higher-leverage spots. Spotty command had been an issue again for Zulueta in his limited sample of innings this spring, so the Reds will send the 27-year-old to Louisville to work out the kinks. He'll likely rank near the top of the list for a promotion whenever Cincinnati requires a fresh arm out of the bullpen.

Schmidt (back) is scheduled to make his Grapefruit League debut Tuesday against the Orioles, Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News reports.

Though he's been slowed in the spring by what has previously been referred to as a minor back issue, Schmidt has been able to move through his throwing program without any setbacks over the past few weeks and is now ready to test himself in a game setting. After Tuesday's outing, the right-hander will likely build up his pitch count over two more Grapefruit League or exhibition starts, which should put him on track to make the Opening Day roster and take the hill for his first turn through the rotation April 3 versus the Diamondbacks. Schmidt's status heading into the season has taken on greater importance over the past week with the New York rotation having lost Gerrit Cole (elbow) and Luis Gil (lat) to long-term injuries.

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol on Sunday dismissed the possibility of McGreevy making the Opening Day roster as a reliever, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

There had been some talk of McGreevy being used in the bullpen if he's unable to crack the Opening Day rotation, but Marmol said of the righty that, "I don't see him as a guy who will benefit at all by going to the 'pen and breaking with us in that type of role." McGreevy has been arguably the team's best starter this spring, allowing just one run with a 4:1 K:BB over 7.2 innings. However, if the Cardinals elect to use Steven Matz in the rotation -- which it seems they're leaning toward doing -- McGreevy might be the odd man out, which would mean starting the year in the rotation at Triple-A Memphis.

Civale gave up two earned runs over 3.0 innings in Sunday's spring game. He allowed two hits, struck out one batter and walked none.

Civale made his first appearance since his Feb. 27 spring debut and tossed 48 pitches -- seven more than he put up his previous time out. Civale and the Brewers agreed to an $8 million salary for 2025, which puts him on track to break camp with a spot in the big-league rotation.

Ashcraft allowed one run on three hits and one walk while striking out five over four innings in Sunday's spring start against the Angels.

Ashcraft was greeted by back-to-back doubles to open his fourth Cactus League start but settled in after that. Following the two doubles, he retired seven straight, worked around a couple of base runners in the third inning, then set down the side in order in the fourth. The right-hander then went to the bullpen to throw another 10 pitches, upping his total for the day to 75. With Andrew Abbott (shoulder) getting ready for his spring debut this week and unlikely to be ready for Opening Day, it looks like Ashcraft may open the regular season in the Reds' rotation.

Abbott (shoulder) is expected to make his Cactus League debut by the middle of this week, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

Abbott has been on a slower throwing progression than other starters but was enthused when talking about his status Sunday. "It definitely feels good. I feel ready to go," Abbott said. "I think it's a smart way of doing it, not rushing into it." The left-hander felt nothing abnormal after throwing 32 pitches in a two-inning, live batting practice session Friday.

Eovaldi allowed four runs on five hits and two walks while striking out four in Sunday's spring start against the Diamondbacks.

Eovaldi threw a spring-high 75 pitches in his third Cactus League outing. He told Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News he was off mechanically and struggled to locate his fastball. Beyond that, the right-hander said he felt fine and was pleased with his curveball, which elicited seven swing-and-misses (14 thrown) and none were hit into play. Eovaldi believes he knows what went wrong for him Sunday and how to correct it. Nothing has been decreed yet, but Eovaldi is a good bet to start Opening Day.

Burnes allowed two hits and a walk while striking out five over four innings in Sunday's spring start against the Rangers.

Early on this spring, Burnes has lived up the six-year ($210 million) contract the Diamondbacks handed him during the offseason. The right-hander has allowed just one run during his four Cactus League starts and struck out 13 over 9.1 innings. "I think kind of the last piece was pairing both the cutter command with the spin and we were able to do that today," Burnes told Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic following the game. He threw 57 pitches (39 strikes), putting him on schedule for a full workload once the regular season kicks off. Burnes should get another three starts to build up and work on little things that may crop up between now and Opening Day.