MLB Player News

Strider allowed two hits and a walk over five scoreless innings while striking out nine during Monday's Grapefruit League game against the Twins.

The Atlanta ace faced a mix of likely starters and bench players for Minnesota, as well as top prospect Brooks Lee, and mowed them all down. Strider has a 0.00 ERA and eye-popping 22:4 K:BB through 14 spring innings as the 25-year-old right-hander gears up for an almost certain Opening Day assignment.

Astros manager Joe Espada said Tuesday that France (shoulder) could make his Grapefruit League debut this weekend, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Coming back from right shoulder inflammation, France threw two innings in a minor-league game Monday. The Astros remain optimistic that the right-hander will be part of their Opening Day rotation, although for that to come to fruition, he certainly can't afford any hiccups.

Cabrera has been diagnosed with a right shoulder impingement, Isaac Azout of SBNation.comreports.

Marlins manager Skip Schumaker referred to the injury as a "day-to-day thing," but worth noting is that Cabrera missed about a month of action last season with a similar issue. He will be evaluated again Tuesday, but a stint on the injured list at the beginning of the season would seem to be a certainty. Ryan Weathers and Max Meyer are expected to compete to fill Cabrera's rotation spot.

Manoah (shoulder) continues to play catch but does not have a timetable for when he'll throw from a mound, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Manoah had a bullpen session last week canceled because of ongoing right shoulder soreness. While he's still able to throw on flat ground, it does not appear he'll try things from the bump anytime soon. The Blue Jays have not officially ruled Manoah out for Opening Day, but he'll undoubtedly require a stint on the injured list at this point.

Gausman (shoulder) will throw another bullpen session Tuesday and could progress to facing hitters next, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.

If Tuesday's session goes well, Gausman would then either move on to a live batting practice session or perhaps a Grapefruit League game. The right-hander has made nice progress since experiencing some shoulder fatigue and remains optimistic about his readiness for Opening Day.

The Tigers optioned Montero to Triple-A Toledo on Tuesday, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.

Montero finished 2023 at Toledo and will head back there to begin 2024. The 23-year-old right-hander could get a look in Detroit's rotation at some point this season, although he is fairly far down in the pecking order right now.

The Tigers optioned Flores to Triple-A Toledo on Tuesday, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.

Flores was added to the 40-man roster over the winter but was always destined to begin the season back in the minors. His stint at Toledo to begin 2024 will be his first at the team's Triple-A affiliate.

Eovaldi allowed four runs (three earned) on four hits and four walks while striking out five over 4.2 innings in Monday's spring start against the Angels.

The results weren't pretty, but Eovaldi ramped up to an estimated 83-84 pitches in his third Cactus League start, per Sonja Chen of MLB.com. Eovaldi has allowed five runs (four earned) on seven hits and five walks while striking out 10 over 9.2 spring innings. He'll get two more starts in camp and is lined up to take the ball Opening Day against the Cubs.

Nelson allowed one run on four hits and one walk while striking out two over 3.2 innings in Monday's spring start against the Athletics.

Nelson kept pounding the strike zone, as the right-hander has done all spring, and he now sports a 3.09 ERA after four Cactus League starts. That includes just two walks and 14 strikeouts over 11.2 innings. The changeup was working Monday, per Jesse Borek of MLB.com, as Nelson elicited five whiffs on nine changeups. Nelson, who upped his pitch count to 66, has inched ahead of Tommy Henry to become Arizona's No. 5 starter.

Grove and Gavin Stone will travel with the Dodgers on their season-opening trip to Korea, and both remain in contention to be the team's No. 5 starter, Fabian Ardaya of The Athleticreports.

Emmet Sheehan was originally in the running for the fifth-starter spot as well, but he'll open the season on the injured list due to a shoulder injury. Both Grove and Stone were excellent in their most recent Cactus League outings, with Grove tossing 3.1 scoreless innings with six strikeouts Saturday and Stone following one day later with a scoreless four-inning, five-strikeout effort. However, Stone has had the better overall spring, yielding just one run over 9.2 frames with a 9:1 K:BB while Grove has given up six earned runs over eight innings with an 11:4 K:BB. With that in mind, Stone probably has the upper hand in the battle to be Los Angeles' fifth starter, though manager Dave Roberts said Monday that a decision on that role has not yet been made, per Ardaya.