MLB Player News

Urena allowed one run on two hits and two walks while striking out three over four innings in Thursday's start against the Diamondbacks.

Urena made his second Cactus League appearance and first start. The 32-year-old right-hander is well down the list of starters in camp, but manager Bruce Boche isn't ruling out a flexible role for Urena if he pitches his way onto the Opening Day roster.

Cease allowed one earned run on two hits while striking out five and walking none across three innings in Thursday's Cactus League game against the Brewers.

Cease threw 21 pitches in his second spring appearance and was regularly hitting 96 mph with his fastball, per Kyle Williams of the Chicago Sun-Times. The only run against him came on a solo home run, but he was otherwise sharp in the outing. Cease is set to start Opening Day against the Tigers on March 28.

Gallen allowed two runs on two hits and two walks while striking out two over two innings in Thursday's spring start against Texas.

Gallen made his Cactus League debut and met trouble immediately, giving up a single and walk to the first two batters, who eventually came around to score with the aide of a wild pitch. He's prepared on the back fields instead of engaging in games; the Diamondbacks opted to ease Gallen into competition after the right-hander threw a career-high 243.2 innings in 2023. Gallen's lined up for three more spring appearances before an expected start Opening Day against Colorado in Phoenix on March 28.

Maeda threw 50 pitches across three innings in Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Blue Jays, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

The outing marked Maeda's second of spring training and it featured both positives and negatives. Positively, he increased his pitch count from 30 to 53, which should allow him plenty of time to ramp up to a full workload before the regular season. On the other hand, Maeda's velocity and spin rates were both down. While it would be reassuring to see him throwing closer to his peak, there's still plenty of time for him to improve his form before meaningful games begin.

Lauer was signed by the Pirates on a minor-league deal Thursday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

Lauer elected free agency in October after the Brewers did not want to give him a raise in arbitration. In 2023, the lefty posted a 6.56 ERA and 1.67 WHIP over 46.2 innings. The 28-year-old has had better years, having posted a 3.84 ERA over 288.1 innings during his time in Milwaukee from 2020-22.

Blue Jays manager John Schneider said Thursday that the club hopes Gausman (shoulder) will be ready to throw off a mound by Monday, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.

That date would mark 17 days before Opening Day, which doesn't give Gausman a ton of runway to get ramped back up if he wants to start that day. The veteran right-hander does appear to be trending in a positive direction as he works his way back from right shoulder fatigue and will look to take another step forward early next week.

Lodolo (tibia) will pitch during the Reds' Cactus League game versus the Guardians on Sunday, Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Lodolo said after a sim game Wednesday that he still doesn't quite feel 100 percent, but manager David Bell said Lodolo has the green light to pitch in exhibition games. It will take time for him to build back up to a starter's workload, and Bell noted the left-hander isn't in the mix to start the Reds' first five regular-season games. Bell brought up April 9 against Milwaukee as a possible date for Lodolo's regular-season debut, but that may change depending on how the rest of the spring plays out for him.

Walker (knee) is on track for either live batting practice or possibly a game Monday, Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Coming back from right knee soreness, Walker will throw another bullpen session Friday and, if that goes well, will face hitters in some fashion Monday. The veteran right-hander should still have time to ramp up for his spot in the Opening Day rotation, but he can't afford any more bumps in the road.

McKenzie struck out two batters, walked none and allowed one hit over two scoreless innings Wednesday versus the Brewers.

McKenzie was a little delayed in making his spring debut, but it was an encouraging start. The right-hander is projected to be near the front of the Guardians' rotation in 2024. He pitched just 16 innings in 2023, posting a 5.06 ERA, 1.56 WHIP and 16:13 K:BB while battling shoulder and elbow injuries. That health history is a concern, but McKenzie was good enough in 2022 (2.96 ERA, 0.95 WHIP) to be a fascinating option for fantasy managers.

Kent was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock by the Rangers on Thursday, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports.

Kent was never a real candidate to break camp with the team, anyway, but he didn't help himself in posting a 12.27 ERA in three Cactus League appearances. The 26-year-old will open 2024 in Round Rock's rotation and hope to debut at some point this year with the Rangers.