MLB Player News

Houck allowed one hit and one walk while striking out five over three scoreless innings in Saturday's spring game against the Nationals.

Houck followed starter Brayan Bello and easily navigated the fourth through sixth innings. This was his second Grapefruit League outing; he pitched two perfect innings in a start last Monday. So far, so good for Houck, who's thrown five scoreless frames in his competition with Garrett Whitlock and Josh Winckowski for the final rotation spot.

Bello allowed two runs on one hit and one walk while striking out two over three innings in Saturday's spring start against the Nationals. The right-hander also hit two batters.

Bello, making his second Grapefruit League start, sandwiched two perfect innings around a funky second in which he walked a batter and plunked two others. He admitted to Ian Browne of MLB.com that his mechanics went awry during the second frame. Bello has allowed just one hit through two spring outings as he makes a bid to be Boston's Opening Day starter.

Stripling (finger) is scheduled to make his Cactus League debut Sunday against the Rangers, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

Lefty JP Sears will draw the start for Oakland, but Stripling is likely to enter the contest behind him and pitch an inning or two. The Athletics have delayed Stripling's entry into the spring pitching schedule after he was scratched from a start last week due to a cut on his right index finger, but the minor injury shouldn't affect his readiness for Opening Day. Despite being deployed in relief Sunday, Stripling is still expected to occupy a spot in Oakland's rotation during the regular season.

Gray struck out five and walked two over three innings in Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Red Sox, allowing one run on two hits.

That's now 10 strikeouts in five innings for Gray to begin the spring, and the right-hander fanned Trevor Story and Triston Casas twice each during Saturday's outing. His strikeout rate sagged to 20.5 percent last season, down from 23.7 percent in 2022, so Gray will need to get more swing-and-miss out of his arsenal if he's going to take another step forward in his development. The Nationals are counting on the 26-year-old to be one of the pillars of their rotation, but as yet he hasn't put it all together in the majors, with his career-best 3.91 ERA last year masking a 1.46 WHIP and 4.93 FIP.

Whitley (finger) is scheduled to play catch Tuesday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

The right-hander has been shut down for the past week due to middle finger inflammation, but he's poised to start up his throwing program again Tuesday. Whitley will need to build his arm back up after the shutdown period and is likely at least a couple weeks away from game action.

Sanchez struck out one in a perfect inning of relief during Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Mets.

The one-time top prospect didn't face any of New York's top hitters during his stint, but he did strike out DJ Stewart to end the inning. The fact that he was even on a mound at all was a huge step for Sanchez, who has had his career derailed by injuries and hasn't pitched in the majors since 2020. Per Christina De Nicola of MLB.com, Sanchez topped out at 95.3 mph with his fastball -- a big step down from the 97.6 mph he averaged the last time he wore a Marlins uniform, but still impressive for early March given his long road back. The best-case scenario for the 25-year-old might be a low-leverage role in the Opening Day bullpen, but if Sanchez shows enough this spring, Miami might be willing to give him one more chance.

Bassitt gave up three runs on three hits over three innings in Saturday's Grapefruit League game against Atlanta. He struck out one without walking a batter.

Jordan Luplow got hold of a fastball that Bassitt left over the heart of the plate in the first inning and launched a two-run homer, but the veteran right-hander settled down after that. Bassitt tossed 32 of 46 pitches for strikes in his first start and second appearance of the spring, and he appears on track to be ready for Opening Day after working a career-high 200 innings in 2023, posting a 3.60 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 186:59 K:BB. The 35-year-old is being counted on for similar numbers this season as one of Toronto's mid-rotation stalwarts behind ace Kevin Gausman.

Waldrep walked two and struck out two without giving up a hit over two scoreless innings during Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Blue Jays.

One of Atlanta's top pitching prospects had a good showing in his spring debut, entering the game in the fifth inning and promptly fanning Danny Jansen. Waldrep wound up tossing 19 of 34 pitches for strikes, and improving his control will be a point of emphasis for the 22-year-old right-hander this season after he posted a 41:16 K:BB in 29.1 innings across four levels last season in his pro debut. While he almost certainly won't break camp on the Opening Day roster, Waldrep appears poised to see action with Atlanta at some point this summer after being the 24th overall pick in the 2023 Draft.

Gray allowed one hit and two walks while striking out four over three scoreless innings in Saturday's spring start against the White Sox.

Gray made his Cactus League debut after throwing two innings in an intrasquad game earlier in the week. He breezed through the first two innings, retiring all six batters faced, before pitching into a jam in the third. The right-hander managed to extricate himself from the one-out, bases-loaded situation. Gray told Matthew Postins of SI.com that he ran into trouble with the pitch clock, which contributed to the jam. He also noted the forearm issues that forced him to the injured list late last season are in the past. Gray engaged in an offseason workout program designed to strengthen his arm.

Steele said his goal for 2024 is to make at least 30 starts and log 180 or more innings for the first time in his career, Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Steele made exactly 30 starts in 2023 and tossed a career-high 173.1 innings. It was a decent jump from the 119 innings he recorded in 2022, but the southpaw didn't seem bothered by the larger workload, as he recorded a strong 3.06 ERA and 1.17 WHIP, which were both improvements from the previous season. Steele is likely in line to start on Opening Day for the Cubs, and if he can stay healthy this year, another big performance could be in store for the emerging ace.