MLB Player News

Lodolo (tibia) will remain in Arizona when the Reds break camp and pitch in a minor-league game Mar. 26, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

Lodolo was behind other starters during spring training as he continues to have issues with his left leg, and he'll ramp up ahead of an expected regular-season debut Apr. 10. Following his outing next Tuesday, Lodolo will pitch in two games while on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Louisville.

Cortes tossed four innings against Atlanta in a Grapefruit League game Thursday, allowing three runs on six hits and two walks while striking out three batters.

With Gerrit Cole (elbow) set to miss extended time at the start of the campaign, Yankees manager Aaron Boone named Cortes the team's Opening Day starter last week. The left-handed hurler got the ball for what's expected to be his final spring outing Thursday, and he worked up to 75 pitches. Cortes gave up just one run through four frames, but Atlanta tagged him for three straight hits -- a homer, a triple and a single, in that order -- resulting in two runs before he was pulled without retiring a batter in the fifth. If this was in fact Cortes' final appearance before next Thursday's Opening Day outing, he'll finish spring play with an 8.10 ERA, 1.74 WHIP and 13:2 K:BB over 10 innings.

Blackburn fired six no-hit innings against the Cubs in a Cactus League win Wednesday, allowing one walk and recording three strikeouts.

The right-hander was in prime form, with Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reporting Blackburn needed only 63 pitches to get through his six frames while facing the minimum number of hitters. Additionally, 15 of Blackburn's outs were recorded on four pitches or less, and he lowered his spring ERA to 2.84 with the nearly pristine outing.

Feltner allowed one earned run on four hits and one walk while striking out six in Thursday's Cactus League contest against the Rockies.

Feltner has made four appearances this spring, with the last two being particularly impressive. Across those two outings, he has surrendered only two earned runs across 8.2 innings while maintaining a 9:2 K:BB. The Rockies haven't made any official decisions, but Feltner has made a strong case for the fifth spot in the team's rotation to begin the campaign.

Contreras will begin the 2024 season as a reliever, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Contreras competed for a final spot in the Pirates' rotation, but he struggled to find the strike zone throughout spring training -- walking 13 batters across just 12.1 innings. While he won't fit the roster as a starter, Pittsburgh showed some desire to keep him in the organization, as he is out of minor-league options.

Manoah (shoulder) will throw a live batting practice session Friday, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports.

It will be his first time facing hitters since he came down with right shoulder soreness at the beginning of the month. Manoah will begin the season on the injured list, but there won't be a timetable for his potential return until he's able to ramp things up without setbacks.

Miley said he was scratched from Thursday's game against the Giants due to groin tightness, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Miley also noted that he was going to begin the year on the injured list anyway after dealing with shoulder problems all spring, so it wasn't worth pushing it Thursday with his new groin issue. Miley will instead throw a bullpen session Thursday and may pitch in a game over the weekend, but it seems the Brewers will be without the 37-year-old southpaw to start the new season. Miley's absence opens the door for Aaron Ashby, Joe Ross or Robert Gasser to begin 2024 in Milwaukee's rotation.

Miley (shoulder) was scratched from his scheduled Cactus League start Thursday against the Giants, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Miley was slated to make his Cactus League debut after dealing with shoulder soreness all spring, but Robert Gasser is now set to start Thursday, and Miley isn't on the list of pitchers scheduled to pitch for Milwaukee. It's unclear what happened to Miley that caused him to be scratched, but manager Pat Murphy will likely provide more details on Miley's status when he addresses the media ahead of Thursday's game.

Cubs manager Craig Counsell said Thursday that Wicks will be part of the Opening Day rotation, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Wicks won a spot on the strength of a 2.60 ERA and 12:2 K:BB over 17.1 innings this spring. The left-hander lacks strikeout upside, but a plus changeup and a good number of groundballs gives him a chance at deep-league fantasy relevance.

Cubs manager Craig Counsell confirmed Thursday that Smyly will begin the season in the bullpen, Andy Martinez of Marquee Sports Network reports.

Though Jameson Taillon (back) is slated to begin the season on the injured list, the Cubs are electing to fill the final two spots in the five-man rotation with Jordan Wicks and Javier Assad rather than opening the campaign with Smyly in a starting role. Counsell noted that he still expects Smyly to make starts at some point this season, so the 35-year-old lefty presumably checks in at seventh on the organization's rotation depth chart, including the injured Taillon.