MLB Player News

Ogasawara threw 40 pitches in a bullpen session Friday, Jessica Camerato of MLB.com reports.

The 27-year-old left-hander didn't even fly in from Japan until Wednesday night, but Ogasawara had already been throwing with an MLB ball prior to his arrival in camp and may actually be a little ahead of the Nationals' other pitchers. While he doesn't have overpowering stuff or the strikeout upside to be worth a late-round dart throw in most fantasy formats, Ogasawara will be given every opportunity to win a spot in a Nationals' rotation that has plenty of arms in the mix but little established depth -- only MacKenzie Gore and Jake Irvin made 30-plus starts in the majors last year among the Nats' starting pitching options. Over 144.1 innings for the Chunichi Dragons in 2024, Ogasawara posted a 3.12 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 82:22 K:BB.

Blackburn (back) is a little behind the Mets' other rotation options at the start of spring training, Will Sammon and Tim Britton of The Athletic report.

This is no real surprise, as Blackburn underwent spinal surgery in October. The 31-year-old right-hander made only five starts for the Mets in 2024 after being acquired from the A's, stumbling to a 5.18 ERA, 1.56 WHIP and 21:7 K:BB in 24.1 innings, and he's never thrown more than 111.1 innings in a big-league season. If he demonstrates he's fully recovered from the surgery and back to his pre-injury form, Blackburn should compete for the No. 6 starter role alongside Griffin Canning and Tylor Megill.

Canning may be the favorite to win the Mets' sixth starter job, Will Sammon and Tim Britton of The Athletic report.

His primary competition, Tylor Megill, still has minor-league options remaining, while Canning would need to clear waivers to be sent to Triple-A Syracuse. Whoever wins the job could begin the season working out of the bullpen, potentially in a piggyback role to take some of the load off Clay Holmes or Kodai Senga -- the Mets have three early off days, and may not need to use a sixth starter until Apr. 16. Paul Blackburn (back) might also put himself in the mix for the No. 6 starter job if he looks healthy and effective this spring.

Strider (elbow) could see action in at least one spring training game, Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

The right-hander is recovering from an internal brace procedure performed on his elbow last April, and after he threw another bullpen session Friday, general manager Alex Anthopoulos seemed optimistic that Strider could make his regular-season debut a little earlier than anticipated. "He's throwing bullpens, he looks good. Live [batting practice] will definitely happen in spring training, assuming no setbacks or things like that," Anthopoulos said Friday. The GM indicated that while Atlanta has an internal timeline for Strider, he wouldn't make it public just yet other than to say the 26-year-old ace would begin the campaign on the IL. "We have a calendar for him, but I think if we start saying, 'Hey, on this date he's doing this' and for whatever reason we decide to move it back a day or two, then it's a story and it's viewed as a setback or [that] we weren't forthcoming," Anthopoulos said. "So, what I can tell you is he will not be on the Opening Day roster, that has been decided."

Manager Brandon Hyde said Saturday that McDermott has a mild lat/teres strain, Jacob Calvin Meyer of The Baltimore Sun reports.

The plan is to shut McDermott down for 10-to-14 days before he restarts his throwing program. The 26-year-old right-hander entered spring training with an outside chance to make the Opening Day roster, but his latest injury makes it even more likely he begins the year at Triple-A Norfolk.

Mahle has no restrictions heading into spring training, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports. The right-hander was limited to three starts in 2024 after rehabbing from Tommy John elbow surgery.

Mahle was eventually shut down after three August starts due to shoulder soreness. After being shut down, Mahle worked on mechanical adjustments during the winter designed to limit the stress on his shoulder. "It was probably good that [the shutdown] happened, because we figured out what was wrong with my shoulder," Mahle explained. He's healthy and expected to take up a spot in the middle of the Rangers' rotation. The 30-year-old has been plagued by injuries during his major-league career, throwing more than 130 innings just once (180 innings in 2021).

Varland is likely to work as a reliever this spring and try to win a spot in the bullpen, Bobby Nightengale of the Minnesota Star Tribune reports. "It's very possible that we see a good amount of him out of the bullpen this year," manager Rocco Baldelli said.

However, Baldelli did say the move to the bullpen wasn't certain. If Varland is kept as a starter, he'd likely begin the season in the minors. He struggled last season as a starter in Triple-A with a 4.75 ERA. As a reliever in 2023 in the majors, he showed promise with a 1.50 ERA in 12 innings and a 17:1 K:BB. If he claims a spot in the major-league bullpen, Varland could be in the high-leverage mix due to a fastball that can touch triple digits.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Friday that May is a possibility to open the season in the bullpen, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

May is among the competitors for the final spot in the Dodgers' rotation. However, he cannot be optioned to the minor leagues, so he should be part of the Opening Day roster in some capacity. The 27-year-old missed all of 2024 and made a total of just 20 starts from 2021-23 due to injuries. May's absence in 2024 was due to his continued recovery from UCL and flexor surgery and later an esophageal tear, but he is healthy at the start of camp.

Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said Friday that the team plans to use a five-man rotation until Shohei Ohtani (shoulder/elbow) is ready to pitch, which would seemingly leave Gonsolin in a competition for one remaining spot, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Manager Dave Roberts recently suggested that Ohtani could be ready to make his season debut on the mound sometime in May, though there's no concrete timeline yet. The Dodgers will shift to a six-man rotation at that point, but until then they will use a traditional five-man setup. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Roki Sasaki are locked into four of the spots, which leaves Gonsolin, Dustin May, Bobby Miller, Landon Knack, Justin Wrobleski, Ben Casparius and perhaps others competing for the final slot. Roberts said Friday that Gonsolin and May will be considered for the bullpen if they don't make the rotation.

McGreevy added 15 pounds of muscle this offseason, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

McGreevy has a shot at winning one of the last spots in the Cardinals rotation in camp and he's taking the opportunity very seriously, saying he tried to trim as much body fat as he could while putting on the 15 pounds of muscle. "He looks good [this spring training]," said manager Oliver Marmol. "He put on some weight and had a really good offseason, and I'm excited to see what's coming out of that arm." The 24-year-old righty logged 150 innings at Triple-A and 23 innings in the majors last season. He registered an elite 62.5 percent groundball rate and 2.3 percent walk rate in the majors, leading to a 0.78 WHIP. McGreevy sits in the low-90s with his fastball, but he has a plus slider and his command might be double-plus. Andre Pallante and Steven Matz may have a leg up on him for the final two spots in the rotation, but McGreevy is arguably the most appealing of the three from a fantasy perspective.