MLB Player News

Ortiz allowed four runs on four hits and three walks while striking out four over 3.2 innings in Thursday's spring start against the Rockies.

Ortiz made his fourth Cactus League start and through three innings appeared to have rebounded from a rocky third outing, but then the fourth inning came. The right-hander walked two and ceded a three-run home run to Jacob Stallings, the second homer Ortiz allowed on the day. Like the rest of his spring, one needs to squint to take the positives out of Thursday's outing. He reached 73 pitches and his fastball velo remained up. His spring ERA stands at 12.66, which is rough even by Cactus League standards, but as the club's major offseason pitching acquisition, Ortiz is expected to open the regular season as part of the rotation.

Povich took the loss in Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Blue Jays after giving up five runs on eight hits over 4.2 innings. He struck out two.

Although his final stat line leaves a lot to be desired, Povich had allowed a lone run through four innings before getting knocked around for four runs in the fifth frame. The 24-year-old left-hander is competing with Albert Suarez for Baltimore's final rotation spot in the wake of Grayson Rodriguez's elbow injury, but manager Brandon Hyde said prior to Thursday's game that Povich wasn't entering a "make-or-break" start, per Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com. Povich, who now holds a 4.66 ERA and 1.03 WHIP with nine strikeouts across 9.2 innings this spring, will likely get at least one more start in the Grapefruit League before the Orioles make a rotation decision.

Manager Dan Wilson revealed Thursday that Kirby (shoulder) has recently received a biologics injection, and the hope is the right-hander will be able to return to strengthening activities within 3-to-4 days, Shannon Drayer of SeattleSports.com reports.

The shot should aid the healing process for Kirby's right shoulder inflammation, but he's still slated to begin the season on the injured list while his recovery continues. In the meantime, 2020 first-rounder Emerson Hancock remains in position to open 2025 as Seattle's No. 5 starter despite struggling with a 9.53 ERA and 1.94 WHIP over 5.2 innings this spring.

Baz was happy with his outing Thursday against the Nationals despite allowing four earned runs on five hits with two strikeouts and no walks across 4.1 innings, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Baz was hit hard early, as he allowed two singles and a homer to the first three batters he faced. He managed to settle in from there, and more importantly, both he and manager Kevin Cash were happy with the shape and execution of his pitches. Baz has allowed 10 earned runs with a 4:5 K:BB across 9.1 innings this spring, though his rotation spot seems secure given there haven't been signs of panic from either he or the team.

Darvish allowed one run on two hits and issued two walks while striking out four batters over four innings in a Cactus League contest against Kansas City on Thursday.

Darvish looked better Thursday than he did in his spring debut March 8, when he allowed two runs over 2.2 frames. The veteran right-hander threw 54 pitches Thursday, 26 percent of which were curveballs -- by comparison, he went to the curve just 8.6 percent of the time during the 2024 regular season. Darvish did use his curveball more often late in the campaign last year, and his usage of the pitch in the early going this spring suggests he may continue that trend into 2025.

Fried pitched four innings in a Grapefruit League game against Detroit on Thursday, allowing one run on one hit while striking out three batters.

Fried gave up a solo home run to Gleyber Torres with one out in the first inning, but the Tigers were unable to put any additional runners on base against him. The southpaw threw 35 of his 57 pitches for strikes and sat at 94 mph with his fastball, per Statcast. Fried's role in the Yankees' rotation has taken on added importance with Gerrit Cole (elbow) slated to miss the entire 2025 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery Thursday. Fried figures to slot in as New York's ace following Cole's injury, though the Yankees may opt to keep Fried on schedule and have another hurler start on Opening Day, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

Dollander threw four scoreless innings, allowing two hits and two walks while striking out three in Thursday's Cactus League game against the Guardians.

Dollander endured a tough outing in his start Saturday against the Athletics, though he managed to bounce back on the surface Thursday. However, he still struggled with his control and has now handed out six free passes across his last 5.2 innings. Dollander remains a candidate to break camp in Colorado's rotation.

Arrighetti is working on a new two-seam fastball against right-handed hitters this spring, because his four-seam fastball last year was hit hard, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports. He only threw the new pitch three times in his last start against the Cardinals, because they had six left-handed batters.

The four-seam fastball got hit to the tune of a .302 batting average and .516 slugging percentage last year, hence the need for a new offering. "[I want to] throw something hard that doesn't get barrelled," he said. "Simply put." The new pitch is still a work in progress for Arrighetti, who already gets good results on his offspeed offerings.

Murdock looks set to win a spot in the Athletics' Opening Day bullpen, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports. He threw a scoreless inning in Thursday's Cactus League game against the Reds and has a 4.05 ERA with a 6:4 K:BB in 6.2 innings this spring.

Murdock was a Rule 5 pick in December, so he'll need to stay on the major-league roster all season for the A's to retain his rights. He has logged groundball rates over 55 percent at his three most recent stops thanks to a quality sinker and posted a 3.76 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 46:26 K:BB and 62.1 percent groundball rate in 38.1 innings at Triple-A last season. Murdock should work in low-leverage situations initially but could have some upside as a middle reliever.

Cole's (elbow) season-ending Tommy John surgery included internal bracing, which could speed up his recovery time, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

Cole underwent the operation Tuesday and is still certain to miss the entire 2025 season. However, the internal bracing procedure could allow him to return closer to the short end of the 12-to-18-month recovery timeline typically given to Tommy John patients. The Yankees still haven't announced how they plan to replace Cole and Luis Gil (lat) in their Opening Day rotation, though Marcus Stroman and Will Warren are the likely candidates to make the cut if no outside help is brought in.