MLB Player News

Perez (finger) is scheduled to start Monday's spring game against the Cardinals.

The right-hander suffered a laceration on his middle finger during a session of live batting practice Thursday, but it appears that won't affect his availability for his first spring start. Perez is coming off a rookie campaign during which he had a 3.15 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 108:31 K:BB across 91.1 innings, though an innings restriction for 2024 will cap his ceiling a bit after he totaled 128 frames between the majors and minors last year.

Astros manager Joe Espada said Saturday that Whitley's right middle finger injury "doesn't look like it's something significant," Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Whitley wasn't able to throw a scheduled bullpen session Saturday because of soreness in the finger. He's been sent for testing, but the expectation seems to be that this won't be a long-term absence. Injuries are unfortunately nothing new for Whitley, who was limited to just 30 innings in 2023 with a lat strain.

Whitley did not participate in his scheduled bullpen session Saturday due to middle finger soreness, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Whitley experienced soreness when warming up for his bullpen session and will be evaluated by doctors. An extended absence could severely impact his chances of landing a relief spot with the Astros to start the season. Whitley appeared in eight Triple-A games in 2023 and registered a 1-2 record with a 5.70 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and a 32:17 K:BB over 30 innings.

Garrett (shoulder) threw his first bullpen session of the spring Friday, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

The Marlins are still taking things slow when it comes to Garrett's throwing program, but manager Skip Schumaker was encouraged by Garrett's performance Friday, calling it "one of the better bullpens he's thrown." It's unclear how long it will be before Garrett is able to pitch in a Grapefruit League game, but he should be ready to go by Opening Day.

The Marlins placed Alcantara (elbow) on the 60-day injured list Saturday, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

Alcantara underwent Tommy John surgery in October and is in line to miss the entire 2024 campaign. He will surrender his roster spot as he moves to the IL, creating room for Tim Anderson, who officially signed with Miami on Saturday.

Wicks got the start in Friday's Cactus League game against the White Sox, allowing one run on two hits across 1.2 innings. He struck out one.

Wicks wasn't in the game long enough to really make an impression one way or the other as he competes for the final spot in Chicago's rotation. The young lefty will look to pitch deeper into the game and make a strong showing in his next spring appearance. Wicks is likely competing with the likes of Javier Assad, Drew Smyly and Hayden Wesneski for the No. 5 role.

Dunning threw one scoreless inning in Friday's spring start against the Royals.

Dunning retired the side in order, inducing a flyout, groundout and lineout to kick off the Cactus League schedule. The right-hander tinkered with a new pitch during the offseason, the type of which he would not divulge to Kennedi Landry of MLB.com. He threw it once during Friday's outing and spiked it well short of the plate. It appears to be a variation of a splitter. Dunning's current arsenal includes a sinker (33.1 percent in 2023), slider (23.4 percent), cutter (20.0 percent), changeup (15.6 percent) and curveball (4.7 percent). He's penciled into the Opening Day rotation, but things could change in the second half of the season, when injured starters Jacob deGrom (elbow), Tyler Mahle (elbow) and Max Scherzer (back) are ready to pitch.

Nelson will take the mound for Saturday's spring start against the Rockies, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports.

Nelson is competing for the No. 5 starter job with several others. One of those competitors is Tommy Henry, who submitted two scoreless innings in Friday's Cactus League opener.

Rodriguez threw live batting practice on a back field Friday, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports.

An initial plan to have Rodriguez start Friday's Cactus League opener was scrapped, because the left-hander wanted a more controlled environment. "He felt good enough and might have wanted [to throw] more pitches," Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. There is no update on when Rodriguez will take the mound in a live setting.

Henry allowed one hit and struck out three over two scoreless innings in Friday's spring start against the Rockies.

Henry, pitching for the first time since a July 30 elbow injury ended his 2023 season, threw 15 of 22 pitches for strikes. He had command of all his pitches and was pleased with the results of mechanical tweaks implemented during the offseason, per Steve Gilbert of MLB.com. The left-hander focused on his hips and making his front side sturdier, designed to achieve consistency with his release point. With Friday's outcome, Henry staked an early claim to the fifth spot in the rotation, which is seen as a competition, along with Ryne Nelson, Slade Cecconi and Bryce Jarvis.