MLB Player News

Jones allowed two hits and one walk while striking out four across four scoreless innings in Saturday's Grapefruit League game against Atlanta.

Jones entered the conversation for a rotation spot by flashing elite velocity early in the spring, and he's turned his stuff into results more effectively in his past two outings. The latest came while facing the vast majority of Atlanta's regular lineup, and he's now combined to post a 7:1 K:BB across his last 6.2 frames. Two spots in the Pittsburgh rotation remain unclaimed, and Jones could be in line to grab one.

Nastrini allowed three hits and two walks while striking out two across four scoreless innings in Sunday's Cactus League game against the Athletics.

Nastrini has moved into the rotation picture due to a combination of his strong performances this spring and Dylan Cease being dealt away. He's yet to make his big-league debut but did close the 2023 campaign at Triple-A Charlotte, where he managed a 23:10 K:BB across 19.2 innings. Nastrini has continued to turn heads in the exhibition season, maintaining a 0.82 ERA and 0.82 WHIP with an 11:4 K:BB across 11 frames.

Quantrill allowed four hits and one walk while striking out three across 4.2 scoreless innings in Sunday's Cactus League game against the Giants.

Quantrill made his longest appearance of the spring and tallied his first strikeout of the exhibition season. Despite the lack of swing and miss, he's been effective, allowing only three earned runs across 10.2 frames. Quantrill will be relied upon as a key part of the Rockies' rotation, though he's likely to find consistent success hard to come by given his contact-heavy approach at Coors Field.

Javier will start the second game of the regular season against the Yankees, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Justin Verlander (shoulder) will begin the season on the injured list, forcing each of Houston's pitchers to move one slot up in the rotation. That leaves Framber Valdez in line to start Opening Day with Javier to follow one game later. Javier will be looking to bounce back from a subpar 2023 campaign during which he posted a 4.56 ERA and 1.27 WHIP across 162 innings.

Gallen allowed one hit and one walk while striking out four over 4.1 scoreless innings in Sunday's Cactus League start against the Angels.

Gallen threw 58 pitches (34 strikes) in his third Cactus League start and had to pitch into the fifth inning to get the count up that high. The right-hander said Sunday was the best he's felt this spring, per Steve Gilbert of MLB.com. Gallen will get one more spring start that should prepare him for the pitch-count range he'll need to be at for Opening Day.

Williamson left Sunday's spring training game against the Guardians with shoulder soreness, Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Manager David Bell revealed why Williamson had to leave the game early. The pitcher was taken out of the game due to soreness in his left shoulder. The Reds are hopeful that it is nothing serious. In three spring training appearances, the 25-year-old had allowed four earned runs with nine strikeouts and zero walks in 9.0 innings.

The Nationals optioned Rutledge to Triple-A Rochester on Sunday.

Rutledge allowed just three runs and struck out seven over seven frames in three Grapefruit League appearances, but he walked five batters. The 24-year-old made his MLB debut with four starts last season but struggled to a 6.75 ERA over 20 innings. He's likely to be one of the first options to start if the Nationals deal with rotation injuries.

Lyles (back) allowed five runs on seven hits and struck out one over three innings in a Cactus League game Saturday versus the Cubs. He did not walk a batter.

Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports Lyles was able to get to about 50 pitches with a bullpen session following the start. Lyles dealt with lower-back tightness earlier in March, which has slowed his ramp-up for the 2024 season. Rogers adds that Lyles should be built up enough to start at the beginning of the season, but there's no guarantee just yet that the right-hander will open the year in the rotation. Both Daniel Lynch and Alec Marsh have been solid in spring games, with Marsh showing the most upside with a four-inning piggyback appearance after Lyles' start Saturday.

Manager Rob Thomson announced Sunday that Wheeler will be Philadelphia's starter for Opening Day against Atlanta on March 28, Alex Coffey of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

The right-hander inked a three-year, $126 million extension with the Phillies in early March and will be their first pitcher to officially take the mound in 2024. Wheeler had a 3.61 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 212:39 K:BB across 192 innings last season, and he's looked like himself through three spring starts with two runs allowed and a 9:3 K:BB in nine frames.

The White Sox optioned Shuster to Triple-A Charlotte on Sunday.

The left-hander allowed three earned runs over two innings during his lone Cactus League start, so it's not a major surprise he won't be opening the season in Chicago's rotation. Shuster had a 5.81 ERA over 52.2 innings (11 starts) with Atlanta last season, and he seems likely to receive a look with the White Sox at some point in 2024 given the organization's poor rotation depth.