MLB Player News

Whitlock is expected to build up to five-plus innings even if he's not a projected member of the starting rotation, Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe reports.

Boston is being put to work immediately out of the gate with 23 games in 25 days across five cities. As such, a sixth starter could be needed during the first month of the season. Both Whitlock and Tanner Houck will be prepped for five-plus innings.

Houck threw two scoreless innings in Monday's Grapefruit League start against the Phillies.

Houck induced three groundouts, two infield pop flies and one line-drive out over two perfect innings. The performance was a good first step toward securing the final spot in the rotation. "We played good defense behind him," Boston manager Alex Cora told Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe following the game. "That's what it's going to take with him. He can pound that sinker down to righties and we have to make plays." Houck is healthier than he was last spring, when he came off back surgery. He's in the mix for the last rotation spot along with Garrett Whitlock, and to a lesser extent, Josh Winckowski. In reality, Boston may need more than five starters early in a schedule that has them playing 23 of 25 days in five cities. The Red Sox are not expected to deploy a six-man rotation, but an extra starter could be needed during April depending on how hard the rotation works. Both Houck and Whitlock will be built up to five-plus innings, so they'll be available in any role.

Lowder allowed one hit and struck out two over a scoreless inning of relief in Monday's Cactus League game against Milwaukee.

Lowder, the Reds' first-round pick in the 2023 First-Year Player Draft, was making his first career spring start. He pitched the seventh inning, with the lone hit he allowed a broken-bat single, per C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic. The right-hander threw 13 pitches (10 strikes), with both of his punchouts coming on called third strikes.

Abbott struck out one over two scoreless innings in Monday's Cactus League start against Seattle.

Abbott tossed two perfect innings and was done after 22 pitches. The right-hander was so efficient that he needed additional pitches in the bullpen following his departure. Of note, Abbott's fastball consistently hit 94 mph (and touched 95), a development he said has never come this early in spring, per Mark Sheldon of MLB.com. Abbott's main focus for 2024 is being more consistent with his curveball and changeup and getting deeper into games. He walked 3.6 batters per nine innings in 2023, so landing those two pitches in the zone should help extend outings. The 24-year-old also worked on conditioning and weight training, which he hopes will keep him stronger throughout the season. Abbott fell off in the second half last year, posting a 6.42 ERA over his final 11 starts.

Winn allowed one run on two hits and a walk while striking out one over 1.2 innings in Monday's Cactus League start against the White Sox.

Winn ran into early trouble in the form of a walk, a single and a wild pitch, giving up a run while struggling to control the count. He was pulled with two outs in his second frame after bumping up against a 40-pitch limit. A first-round pick in the 2018 First-Year Player Draft, Winn's career stalled at Triple-A Round Rock the last two seasons to the extent the organization moved him to the bullpen. However, strong stint as a starter in the Puerto Rican Winter League put him back on a path to a rotation spot.

Gray threw two innings in an intrasquad game Tuesday, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports. He allowed one run on two hits and a walk while striking out three.

Gray is set to occupy a spot on the rotation while the Rangers cope with injuries to Jacob deGrom (elbow), Tyler Mahle (elbow) and Max Scherzer (back). The 32-year-old Gray sparkled in the first half of 2023 but became inconsistent and eventually landed on the injured list with forearm tightness. His plan during the offseason was to adjust his pitch mix in 2024. Normally a heavy fastball-slider hurler, Gray plans to add more changeups and curveballs to the mix. "Hopefully we go from using them two or three times [per game] again to closer to 10," he said. "So just trying to show the slider and fastball less... It'll make the fastball and slider a little bit better." Gray threw well out of the bullpen during the Rangers' postseason run, but he should get a long run in the rotation until the injured starters return. Scherzer is due back in June while deGrom and Mahle are projected to make their 2023 debuts in the second half of the season.

Rodriguez will make his spring debut against the Rangers on Tuesday.

Rodriguez had been scheduled to start the Diamondbacks' opener last Friday, but the team changed plans and had the left-hander throw live batting practice on the back fields. He's expected to serve as the No. 3 starter once the regular season begins.

Gallen will not start Friday's Cactus League game against the Reds, Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports reports.

Gallen had been scheduled to make his spring debut March 1, but the Diamondbacks will opt to have the right-hander throw a simulated game on the back fields instead of making the trip west to Goodyear. There's no word yet on who will slot into Gallen's place for a spot start Friday.

Wentz tossed two scoreless innings in Monday's Grapefruit League game against the Astros. He allowed a hit and two walks, while striking out five.

It's of course a small sample, but this was an encouraging outing for Wentz. The southpaw mostly served as a starter for the Tigers last year and struggled mightily, posting a 6.90 ERA and 1.68 WHIP across 105.2 innings. The team announced before spring training that Wentz will be focusing on a relief role in camp, with some hope that his stuff will play up out of the bullpen. It remains to be seen if Wentz can remain effective in this role, though it seems like Detroit will give him an opportunity to establish himself as a left-handed relief option heading into the regular season.

Flaherty logged a scoreless inning without allowing a hit or a walk in Monday's Grapefruit League game against the Astros. He struck out two.

Flaherty, who joined the Tigers in December on a one-year, $14 million deal, looked good despite not lasting very long. The righty only tossed 10 pitches, with nine of them going for strikes. Flaherty figures to stretch out some in his next start as he ramps up for the regular season. He should have a rotation spot securely locked up, likely slotting in somewhere behind Tarik Skubal and fellow Detroit newcomer Kenta Maeda. Flaherty will be hoping to improve upon an uneven 2023 during which he posted a 4.99 ERA across 144.1 innings for the Cardinals and Orioles.