MLB Player News

Megill entered camp further along than most Mets starters and was slated to throw three innings of live batting practice this week, Andrew Tredinnick of NorthJersey.com reports.

He already threw two innings in a live batting practice session and is ahead of Paul Blackburn (back) and Griffin Canning, the two other starters Megill is competing with for the final two spots in the Mets' six-man rotation. Once the trio starts pitching in games this spring, their performance will take precedence over who got built up quickest in camp, but it's at least good to know Megill is healthy and throwing. His goal this season is to trust his stuff and attack hitters in the zone more in order to keep his pitch count low after going six-plus innings in just four of his 15 starts in 2024.

Blackburn (back) threw one inning of live batting practice Tuesday, Andrew Tredinnick of NorthJersey.com reports.

Blackburn worked with the Mets this offseason to refine his sinker and sweeper with the goal of adding more run to his sinker and more horizontal movement to his sweeper to make it less of a slurve. He got off to a rough start with the Mets after getting traded from the A's last season, including a hand contusion and a spinal fluid leak in mid-September that ended his season. He had surgery Oct. 11 that came with a three-to-five month estimated recovery, and we'll be at five months in mid-March. Blackburn is understandably a little behind the likes of Tylor Megill, who is reportedly furthest along of Blackburn and Griffin Canning, all of whom are competing for the final two spots in the Mets' six-man rotation.

Wright (shoulder) is dealing with a mild right hamstring strain, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

Wright suffered the injury while throwing recently. He has been able to continue playing catch, but the hamstring issue will set his throwing progression back a bit as he returns from shoulder surgery. Wright will be re-evaluated next week. The righty had already seemed like a long shot to win a spot in the Royals' rotation, and this setback won't help his case.

Penrod is dealing with a sore left elbow and was sent in for an MRI on Thursday, Gabrielle Starr of the Boston Herald reports.

The Red Sox will wait on the results of the MRI before a prognosis is made available, but at the very least, Penrod will likely be shut down for a few days. The 27-year-old southpaw made seven appearances in relief for Boston last September and is competing for a spot in the big club's Opening Day bullpen.

Angels manager Ron Washington named Kikuchi the team's Opening Day starter for their March 27 matchup against the White Sox, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

The skipper referred to the decision as "obvious" after Kikuchi was handed a three-year, $63 million contract over the offseason. With the lowly White Sox on the docket for the opener, Kikuchi will have a great chance to make a positive first impression with his new club.

The Rangers paused Drake's throwing program Thursday while he manages a stiff back, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.

The injury seems to be of the day-to-day variety, but Drake's prognosis could change if he fails to respond well to rest in the coming days. The 24-year-old is coming off a breakout 2024 campaign in which he posted a 2.29 ERA and 148:31 K:BB across 106 innings covering three levels. If healthy, Drake will likely begin the 2025 season either at Double-A Frisco or Triple-A Round Rock.

Morton wasn't present for Thursday's full-squad workout due to an illness, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

Provided the ailment isn't anything too severe, Morton should resume working out with the Orioles within the next few days. After signing a one-year, $15 million deal with Baltimore over the winter, Morton is expected to open his age-41 season as the Orioles' No. 3 starter behind Grayson Rodriguez and Zach Eflin.

Susana hit 100 mph with his fastball in his first bullpen session of the spring and looked dominant during a live batting practice session Wednesday as he worked in his slider, Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports reports.

The 20-year-old right-hander will continue to be developed as a starter in the minors, but Susana could likely make an immediate impact in the majors if he got fast-tracked as a reliever. Improving his command and refining his changeup will be Susana's main goals in 2025 after he posted a 4.34 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and eye-popping 157:48 K:BB through 103.2 innings last season split between Single-A and High-A.

Hughes (elbow) is scheduled to make a two-inning start in Saturday's Cactus League game against the Diamondbacks, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports.

Hughes didn't make any minor-league appearances in the 2024 season after he underwent Tommy John surgery during the summer of 2023, but he returned to action in the Arizona Fall League, where he turned in an 8.31 ERA over 17.1 innings across six starts. Despite his poor results, the 23-year-old Hughes seemingly came out of the AFL without any issue, and he'll be facing no restrictions while he takes part in big-league camp as a non-roster invitee. Hughes isn't a serious candidate to break camp with the Rockies and will likely head to Double-A Hartford to begin the season.

Giolito (elbow) is scheduled to throw his first live batting practice session of the spring in the coming days, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

Giolito is a few days behind the Red Sox' other starting pitchers as he comes back from an internal brace procedure, but he has already thrown several bullpen sessions. The expectation is that the right-hander will be ready to go for Opening Day, and he should open the season in Boston's rotation, particularly if the club elects to go with a six-man setup.