MLB Player News

Grove exited Thursday's start against the Cubs with an apparent lower-body injury, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.

Grove surrendered a walk and a double to begin the fourth inning, which prompted a visit from pitching coach Mark Prior. After a brief conversation, a trainer was called and Grove exited without throwing another pitch. The exact nature of the injury remains unclear. Prior to his departure, Grove threw three innings while surrendering an earned run on five hits and two walks.

Contreras (2-1) earned the win Thursday, allowing one run on five hits and two walks over 6.2 innings in a 4-3 victory over the Reds. He struck out eight.

Contreras held the Reds off the board until the seventh inning, ultimately allowing just one run while racking up a season-high eight strikeouts. The 23-year-old Contreras has been great to start the year, apart from a seven-run loss against the Astros on April 10 -- he's allowed two runs or fewer in his other three starts. Overall, the young right-hander has a 4.57 ERA, 1.52 WHIP and 19:10 K:BB through 21.2 innings this season.

The Mets plan to call up Lucchesi from Triple-A Syracuse to start Friday's game in San Francisco, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.

Friday will mark Lucchesi's first major-league appearance since June 2021, when he underwent Tommy John surgery. He returned to action in the minors for the tail end of the 2022 campaign and has been solid through three turns in the Triple-A rotation this season, recording a 2.30 ERA and 1.18 WHIP with 15 strikeouts across 15.2 innings. With all of Justin Verlander (shoulder), Carlos Carrasco (elbow), Jose Quintana (ribs) and Elieser Hernandez (shoulder) on the injured list, Lucchesi could be in store for multiple turns through the big-league rotation.

Hendricks (shoulder) will throw a bullpen session Thursday followed by a three-inning outing in extended spring training Saturday, Patrick Mooney of The Athletic reports.

Hendricks continues to ramp up his throwing program and has reportedly felt good as he returns to full strength. He is now working on building up his stamina, and he could begin a rehab assignment following Saturday's outing. Assuming the next steps go well, a mid-May return appears realistic.

Manager Gabe Kapler said Thursday that Wood (hamstring) is set to miss "at least" several weeks, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Wood was placed on the injured list Wednesday after he exited Tuesday's start in Miami after 2.1 frames. He had gotten off to a decent start early in the season, maintaining a 1.80 ERA and 1.40 WHIP with an 11:6 K:BB across 10 innings. Ross Stripling is expected to re-enter the rotation in Wood's absence.

Houck (3-0) earned the win Thursday, allowing three runs on six hits and one walk over seven innings against Minnesota. He struck out seven.

He was sharp Thursday and allowed just three runs, with most of the damage coming on a two-run homer by Willi Castro during his final frame. Houck threw a season-high seven innings as the Red Sox cruised to an 11-5 win, improving his record to 3-0. He has a 4.29 ERA. 1.24 WHIP and 22:8 K:BB through his first four starts this season (21 innings) and has yet to surrender more than three runs in any outing. While Boston may still consider moving the 26-year-old right-hander to the bullpen when James Paxton (hamstring) returns, Houck has made a solid case to stay in the rotation.

Kent is on the 7-day injured list at Triple-A Round Rock with a strained oblique, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.

The 6-foot-3 righty struck out three in three scoreless innings during his first start of the year for the Express on April 4 but has not pitched since. Kent boasts an excellent fastball/slider combination, but he is still working on developing starter-caliber command and secondaries beyond his breaking ball. He has six career starts at Triple-A under his belt and is on the 40-man roster, so we could see Kent pitching in the majors in some capacity later this season.

Teodo is on the injured list at High-A Hickory with minor forearm tightness, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.

With young, hard-throwing pitching prospects, there usually isn't such a thing as "minor" forearm tightness, but per Grant's report, Teodo is only expected to need several days off from throwing before ramping back up. He has some of the best stuff in the system, but Teodo may not have good enough command or control to start long-term. The 22-year-old can touch 101 mph with his four-seam fastball as a starter and also has a plus slider that can touch 94 mph.

The Twins don't want to rush Prielipp back as he gets symptomatic treatment for general elbow soreness, according to president of baseball operations Derek Falvey, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.

We can't really downplay any elbow issue with a pitcher, especially one like Prielipp who recently returned from Tommy John surgery. However, as Falvey notes, Prielipp's fastball/slider combination was outstanding in camp prior to him getting shut down, so there is enough upside here to be patient in deeper dynasty leagues unless the diagnosis worsens.

X-rays turned up negative on Maeda's left ankle after he was struck by a comebacker Thursday, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.

Maeda took a 111.6 mph line drive off his left leg in the second inning of his start Thursday afternoon against the Red Sox and did not return for the third inning, but he was walking around the postgame clubhouse without a limp and didn't even have the ankle wrapped. It sounds like he might be able to fill his next scheduled turn in the Twins' rotation next week against the Yankees. The 35-year-old righty allowed one run (on a solo homer) over two innings Thursday before exiting. He issued one walk and recorded no strikeouts.