MLB Player News

Greene allowed one hit and two walks while striking out four over 1.2 innings in a spring start Sunday against the Angels.

Greene busted out a curveball and split-finger fastball during the outing, adding two new offerings he worked on during the offseason to an arsenal that includes a four-seam fastball, slider and a rarely used changeup, per Mark Sheldon of MLB.com. "I tried to keep it simple," Greene said. "I feel like I had a good feel for everything. Curveball was a little iffy, but as far as spring I will continue to work on it." The right-hander was exuberant about the state of the new split and will continue to hone it for Opening Day and beyond. He had been scheduled to pitch two innings but reached his pitch limit thanks to a long first inning that included two walks and three strikeouts.

Cecconi walked one and struck out four over two hitless and scoreless innings in Sunday's spring start against the White Sox.

Cecconi, who made his spring debut, pitched as well as Tommy Henry and Ryne Nelson -- his main competitors for the final rotation spot -- did Friday and Saturday, respectively. Cecconi's main offseason focus was to refine his secondary offerings, which Arizona manager Torey Lovullo believes could lengthen the 24-year-old's outings. The right-hander appeared in seven games, four as a starter, for the Diamondbacks in 2023 and rarely faced batters a third time through. "Last year, I was very slider heavy," Cecconi said. "A lot of fastball/slider and the huge goal this offseason was to really develop a four pitch-mix," Cecconi said. Henry and Nelson are considered the leaders for the final rotation spot.

Gallen tossed a live batting-practice session Sunday, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports.

This was the first time facing batters this spring for Gallen, who is prepping for his scheduled Cactus League debut Friday. "I felt all right," the right-hander said. "I mean, I still feel a little rushed, but that's just a timing thing. I think that just comes with time of getting used to seeing hitters again." Gallen, who threw a career-high 243.2 innings combined between the regular season and playoffs in 2023, is being brought along slowly this spring but should be Arizona's Opening Day starter.

Giolito walked one and struck out one over two no-hit, scoreless innings in Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the Twins.

Giolito made his spring debut and broke out a new grip on a slider he's been working on since the start of camp, per Ian Browne of MLB.com. The right-hander, who threw 27 pitches (16 strikes) in Sunday's outing, said he still plans to use the changeup as a go-to off-speed offering. An up-and-coming starter with the White Sox between 2019 and 2021, Giolito had a difficult 2023, when he pitched for three teams and allowed 41 home runs.

Faedo allowed two runs on four hits across two innings in Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the Rays. He struck out three.

The strikeouts were nice, but Faedo was also too hittable, with the key blow being a home run by Yu Chang. Faedo appeared in 15 games for the Tigers in 2023, with 12 starts, but he's likely been pushed out of a rotation spot due to the offseason additions of Kenta Maeda and Jack Flaherty, and several other pitchers have gotten healthy. Faedo will instead look to snag a bullpen role coming out of spring training. The righty won't be on the fantasy radar as a middle reliever.

Peterson (hip) was placed on the 60-day injured list Sunday.

The left-hander is expected to miss the first two months of the season as he continues his rehab from November hip surgery, so it's not a surprise he'll begin the campaign on the injured list. Peterson had a 5.03 ERA in 27 appearances (21 starts) last season and likely won't be guaranteed a rotation spot once healthy.

Irvin had increased velocity on all of his pitches in his Grapefruit League debut Sunday versus the Pirates, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.

Irvin's offseason training has apparently added some additional power to his pitches. He averaged around 92 mph on his fastball and sinker in 2023, with those two pitches combining to be nearly half of all he threw. He also has a curveball, changeup and cutter in his arsenal, and all of them saw velocity increases in his spring debut. The southpaw is in contention for a rotation spot with Kyle Bradish (elbow) and John Means (elbow) likely to miss the start of the campaign.

Olson allowed two runs on a hit and three walks across 1.2 innings in Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Yankees.

It wasn't the smoothest spring debut for Olson, as he struggled with his command, throwing only 16 of his 39 pitches for strikes and issuing the three walks. The young righty posted a 2.9 BB/9 in his rookie season last year, an area he'll look to improve on in his sophomore campaign. Olson should get a chance to start this season, though the Tigers did add Jack Flaherty and Kenta Maeda in the offseason, which makes the rotation more crowded.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Sunday that Sheehan hasn't been throwing the past few days due to general body soreness, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

It's not believed to be a serious concern, but the Dodgers are still exercising some caution with the young right-hander early in camp. Roberts doesn't expect the issue to affect Sheehan's availability for the start of the regular season. The 24-year-old could earn a spot in the Opening Day rotation due to Walker Buehler (elbow) having a delayed start to the campaign.

Plesac spent time at Driveline in the offseason and has replaced his four-seam fastball with a two-seamer while transforming his slider into "more of a sweeper," Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

Plesac is trying to get his once-promising career back on track following an awful 2023 campaign during which he posted a 7.59 ERA and 1.97 WHIP over five big-league starts and a 6.08 ERA and 1.49 WHIP over 94.2 frames at Triple-A. The Angels signed the right-hander to a one-year contract in late December with the hope that he can regain the form that helped him record a much more useful 3.32 ERA and 1.09 WHIP across 2019 and 2020 over his first 29 major-league starts. Plesac could insert himself into the conversation for a spot at the back of the team's rotation with a strong spring, though with Los Angeles moving back to a five-man starting staff and multiple arms vying for one of those spots, Plesac is more likely to begin the regular season in the bullpen or at Triple-A.