MLB Player News

Cabrera (shoulder) is playing catch Friday, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

The 25-year-old was diagnosed with a right shoulder impingement earlier this week but was able to get back to throwing within a few days. Cabrera is likely to miss Opening Day as he ramps his throwing program back up, but he could make an early-season return if he's able to avoid any further issues.

Verlander (shoulder) bounced back well from a bullpen session Thursday and said Friday that he's "definitely getting close to facing hitters," Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Verlander didn't rule out facing hitters the next time he throws but said that will be decided by the team. A stint on the injured list to begin the season awaits him, and given that he has not yet faced hitters, the IL stint could be longer than the minimum. The 41-year-old right-hander is trending in the right direction, however.

Garrett (shoulder) is scheduled to throw live batting practice Sunday, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

The left-hander is poised to begin the season on the injured list due to left shoulder soreness, but he's ramping up his throwing program and will progress to facing live batters this weekend. It's possible Garrett will be ready to join the Marlins sometime in mid-April.

Perez (finger) will be shut down from throwing for 3-to-4 days, Craig Mish of the Miami Herald reports.

Perez had to be removed from his last Grapefruit League outing after just 14 pitches due to complications with a fingernail issue on his right middle finger. The right-hander had previously expressed optimism that he could still ramp back up in time for Opening Day, but this shutdown period, while relatively brief, makes a start during the opening weekend of the season unlikely. Perez was already in line to have his workload monitored this season, so it might make sense for the Marlins to push back his debut until at least the second turn through the rotation. The Marlins are already juggling injuries to other starters like Braxton Garrett (shoulder) and Edward Cabrera (shoulder), however, and the fact that Miami plays eight straight games to begin the campaign before its first off day could also push the team to try and get Perez ready to go as soon as possible.

Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said Friday that Senga (shoulder) will not begin a throwing program for another 7-to-10 days, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.

It was reported earlier this week that Senga's throwing would be delayed one week, and it appears he might be held back even longer than that. The righty will undergo more imaging after resuming throwing before the club determines the next steps in his recovery. Stearns indicated that Senga has not had a setback with the moderate posterior capsule strain in his right shoulder, but rather the team's "internal pacing" points to a longer pause. An early May return for Senga now looks like it might be the best-case scenario.

The Rays re-assigned McKay to minor-league camp Friday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

McKay looked solid this spring after re-upping with the Rays on a minor-league contract, but the club wants him to knock some rust off in the minors first after missing so much time due to injury. The left-hander should open the season in Durham's rotation.

The Rays placed Springs (elbow) on the 60-day injured list Friday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The move frees up a spot on the 40-man roster for the addition of Jacob Waguespack. Springs will be out until around midseason while working his way back from Tommy John surgery.

Davies allowed two runs on seven hits and a walk over five innings in Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Astros. He struck out five.

Facing most of Houston's likely Opening Day lineup, Davies kept the ball in the yard and counted Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman and Kyle Tucker among his strikeout victims. The 31-year-old right-hander is in camp with the Nationals on an NRI, so he isn't even guaranteed a roster spot, but the rebuilding team can use innings-eaters at the back of the rotation, and Davies still seems capable of doing at least that much. He stumbled to a woeful 7.00 ERA, 1.66 WHIP and 19.1 percent strikeout rate over 82.1 innings for Arizona in 2023, but per Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports, Davies built up to 89 pitches Thursday, and over 10.1 innings this spring he has an encouraging 13:5 K:BB.

Cobb (hip) will throw two innings in a minor-league game Saturday, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.

The Giants had left open the possibility that Cobb would make his Cactus League debut that day, but they've elected to have him pitch in a more controlled environment instead. Cobb has made a rapid recovery from hip surgery and looks to be on track to rejoin the Giants' rotation sometime in April.

Parsons walked two and struck out one over three no-hit, scoreless innings of relief during Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Twins.

The 31-year-old right-hander worked his longest outing of the spring, and it's perhaps not a coincidence it came just before Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reported that Blue Jays manager John Schneider was hinting that Kevin Gausman (shoulder) wouldn't be ready for Opening Day. Parsons likely isn't in the mix for a rotation spot, but Schneider is comfortable patching together a bullpen day when needed. Should the team decide none of the candidates for a temporary assignment as the fifth starter are up for the job, Parsons could win a spot on the 26-man roster as a long reliever instead.