MLB Player News

Walker experienced soreness in his right knee during a bullpen session Thursday and will rest for the next few days, Corey Seidman of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports.

The veteran right-hander was recently away from the Phillies' camp for a few days due to personal reasons, and he's dealing with some soreness upon his return. Manager Rob Thompson called it "normal spring training soreness," so Walker could seemingly be back on the mound soon.

Lyles trained at Tread Athletics to increase his velocity and adjust his curveball this offseason, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

Lyles allowed a hit and a walk while striking out three over two scoreless innings versus the White Sox on Thursday. He used his cutter more during his Cactus League debut, so it remains to be seen if his offseason work on his fastball will pan out. Lyles had an awful 2023 with a 6.28 ERA and 1.24 WHIP over 177.2 innings, but he also made 31 starts and pitched a career-high three complete games. He projects as an innings eater at the back of the Royals' rotation in 2024.

Williams struck out four and walked one over two hitless innings versus the Angels on Thursday.

Thursday was Williams' Cactus League debut, and it couldn't have gone much better. The right-hander burst into the majors in 2023 with a 3.29 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 81:37 K:BB over 82 innings across 16 starts last season. His 4.04 FIP suggests he was a little lucky, but at 24 years old, he's still got room to grow. Williams should be considered a favorite to begin 2024 in the Guardians' rotation.

Harrison threw two hitless innings Sunday versus the Rangers, striking out four and hitting a batsman. Harrison has used his cutter more after developing it in 2023 but used it on a limited basis, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Harrison relied on the cutter, which sat in the 90-91 mph range, to maintain an advantage over hitters when he got ahead in the count. The southpaw is expected to make a big leap in 2024 after making seven major-league starts with a 4.15 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 35:11 K:BB across 34.2 innings last season. With the Giants' rotation already hammered by injuries, Harrison is expected to be the No. 2 starter behind ace Logan Webb.

Brewers manager Pat Murphy said Friday that Miley has a 50-50 chance of being ready for the start of the season, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Murphy declined to go into specifics about what Miley is dealing with, adding only that the team should have a better idea on his status in about 10 days. The 37-year-old has dealt with elbow and shoulder injuries each of the last two seasons, but it's not clear whether his current issue is related to his pitching arm. Miley was limited to 23 starts in 2023 but finished the season healthy. Losing the veteran left-hander would be a blow to a Brewers rotation that's already lacking depth.

Corbin gave up three hits over three scoreless innings while striking out four in Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Cardinals.

Facing most of the Cards' Opening Day lineup, Corbin breezed through 41 pitches (32 strikes) and looked much sharper than he had in his first outing of the spring. The veteran southpaw also mixed in a new cutter, per Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports, throwing seven of them and getting swings and misses on three -- including strike three to Nolan Arenado in the first inning. Corbin's been primarily a fastball-slider pitcher throughout his career, so adding a reliable third pitch could boost a strikeout rate that sagged to 15.7 percent in 2023 -- the second-worst mark in MLB among pitchers who threw at least 150 innings, ahead of only Kyle Freeland's 13.9 percent. Even if the cutter does prove to be an effective weapon for Corbin, however, there's still little fantasy appeal in a pitcher who's posted a combined 5.75 ERA and 1.54 WHIP over the last three seasons.

Quintana gave up two runs on two hits and three walks over 1.2 innings in Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Astros. He struck out one.

It was an inauspicious start to the spring for Quintana, who was facing most of Houston's Opening Day lineup, and the damage could have been worse had he not coaxed a double-play grounder out of Yordan Alvarez after walking Jose Altuve to lead off the game. The veteran southpaw made only 13 starts in 2023 during his first season with the Mets due to a rib issue that required surgery, but his 3.57 ERA and 1.31 WHIP over 75.2 innings were respectable. With Kodai Senga (shoulder) set to miss a month or more to begin the 2024 campaign, New York needs Quintana to stay on the mound this time around.

Weathers allowed a hit and a walk over 2.2 scoreless innings during Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Yankees. He struck out five.

The 24-year-old southpaw is on the fringes of the battle for a spot in the Opening Day rotation, but Weathers would probably need some attrition ahead of him in the pecking order to have a legitimate chance no matter how well he pitches this spring. A long-relief role seems more likely after he stumbled to a 6.55 ERA, 1.68 WHIP and 43:29 K:BB through 57.2 innings last year split between the Padres and Marlins.

Berrios gave up two hits and struck out one in two scoreless innings during Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Phillies.

Facing a lineup that included only a couple of likely Opening Day starters in Trea Turner and Bryson Stott, Berrios pounded the strike zone and fired 20 of 29 pitches over the plate. The 29-year-old righty was his usual rock-solid self in 2023, posting a 3.65 ERA and 1.19 WHIP over 189.2 innings with a 23.5 percent strikeout rate against a 6.6 percent walk rate, and he figures to provide stability to the middle of the Toronto rotation once again this season.

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said recently that Matz will not be as stretched out as the team's other starters at the beginning of the season, Lynn Worthy of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Matz is healthy, but the Cardinals are electing to methodically build him up this spring after he dealt with numerous injuries in his first two seasons with the club. The left-hander has been throwing live batting practice sessions, but Marmol said the next time Matz faces hitters could be in a Grapefruit League appearance. While he is expected to open the season as St. Louis' No. 5 starter, it sounds like it might be a little while before Matz is ready to go five-plus innings.