MLB Player News

German threw a bullpen session Sunday and said he is scheduled to start Tuesday's game against the Phillies at Yankee Stadium, Marly Rivera of ESPN.com reports.

German initially looked on track to make his first start of the season in Sunday's series finale with the Giants, but the Yankees are instead turning to rookie Jhony Brito to take the hill in what will be his major-league debut. The Yankees haven't indicated that the decision to push German's first start back a couple of days was the result of a health-related setback; instead, it's plausible that he was pushed to the end of the pitching schedule due to his rough showing in spring training. Over his four Grapefruit League starts, German was tagged for 10 earned runs on 14 hits and a walk while striking out 11 over 10.1 innings.

Dunning allowed three hits over three scoreless innings to earn a hold in Saturday's 16-3 win over the Phillies.

Dunning opened the sixth inning with Texas up 7-4, then was gifted additional support from the offense. He got just one swing-and-miss, but Philadelphia hitters failed to generate much hard contact against him. Dunning will serve as a multi-inning reliever, particularly early on when the Rangers restrict starters in April.

Turnbull (0-1) took the loss Saturday, allowing seven runs on eight hits and three walks over 2.1 innings against the Rays. He struck out three.

This one was ugly right from the get-go as Turnbull started single, wild pitch, single, double, walk. The third inning got out of hand and Trey Wingenter replaced Turnbull with one out in the frame. Turnbull was at his best ever in 2021 before going down with an elbow injury which required Tommy John surgery. He will need to show some semblance of that form again before he can be trusted in fantasy lineups.

Gilbert (0-1) was tagged with the loss Saturday against Cleveland, allowing one run on four hits and one walk while striking out seven batters over six innings.

Gilbert was excellent in his season debut, tossing 64 of 85 pitches for strikes and limiting the Guardians to just a fourth-inning home run by Josh Naylor. However, Seattle couldn't manage to push any runs over the plate, saddling the right-hander with the loss. Gilbert -- and his fantasy managers -- nonetheless should walk away from this performance with plenty of positive takeaways, and there's certainly reason to believe that the third-year hurler can build upon his strong 2022 campaign during which he posted a 3.20 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 174:49 K:BB over 185.2 frames. His next outing is tentatively slated to be a rematch against Cleveland next week.

Civale (1-0) earned the win over Seattle on Saturday, pitching seven scoreless innings during which he allowed two hits and one walk while striking out three batters.

In his 2023 debut, Civale largely silenced Seattle's bats, allowing just a pair of singles and a walk while preventing the Mariners from putting multiple runners on base in any inning. The right-hander didn't have overpowering stuff -- he notched just five swinging strikes and three punchouts -- but he consistently got ahead in counts, throwing 17 of 23 first pitches for a strike. Civale is trying to bounce back from last season, when he posted a career-worst 4.92 ERA, and he's off to a strong start with Saturday's performance.

Eflin (1-0) allowed one earned run on three hits and one walk while striking out five across five innings to earn the win Saturday against the Tigers.

Eflin took the mound for the first time in the regular season as a member of the Rays, and he delivered a strong performance. The lone earned run against him came in the fourth inning after he allowed a leadoff double. Otherwise, Eflin was in control and generated six groundball outs along with 13 swinging strikes across 74 total pitches. The only downside to the outing was that the Rays pulled him early in the game, and that may not be likely to change moving forward given the team's preference to aggressively deploy its bullpen and limit its starters' exposure to opposing lineups.

Kershaw (1-0) earned the win over Arizona on Saturday, pitching six innings and allowing one run on four hits and no walks while striking out nine batters.

Kershaw ceded the Dodgers' Opening Day starter role to Julio Urias this season, but the veteran doesn't appear to have slipped much despite having taxed his left arm with over 2,500 career regular-season innings. The future Hall of Famer was very sharp Saturday, racking up 13 swinging strikes and 21 called strikes among his 76 total pitches while fanning nine batters in six frames. The only run against Kershaw came on a second-inning home run off the bat of Christian Walker. Kershaw rebounded from a down 2021 performance with a 2.28 ERA and 0.94 WHIP over 126.1 innings last season, and Saturday's effort suggests that he still has the stuff to rank among the league's most effective hurlers.

Eovaldi (1-0) picked up the win Saturday, giving up three runs on six hits and two walks over five innings in a 16-3 rout of the Phillies. He struck out six.

The right-hander wasn't at his sharpest, throwing 49 of 82 pitches for strikes, but Eovaldi got all the run support he could have asked for. The 33-year-old has posted an ERA between 3.72 and 3.87 and a WHIP between 1.19 and 1.23 in each of the last three seasons, an impressive run of consistency, but after making only 20 starts in 2022 it's Eovaldi's ability to stay healthy that will be the biggest driver of his fantasy value. His next outing is scheduled to come during next weekend's three-game road series against the Cubs.

Urena (0-1) took the loss Saturday, allowing four runs on five hits and four walks over 2.1 innings against the Padres. He struck out zero.

Urena allowed a two-run homer in the first inning to Xander Bogaerts, and he gave up a two-run double to Matt Carpenter in the third. Urena threw 40 of 71 pitches for strikes, and he did not fool the San Diego hitters throughout the outing. Urena is a tough sell for fantasy, but he's scheduled to face a beatable Washington lineup next week.

Wheeler (0-1) took the loss Saturday as the Phillies were routed 16-3 by the Rangers, giving up five runs (four earned) on seven hits and a walk over 4.1 innings. He struck out seven.

The right-hander was working from behind most of the afternoon, throwing first-pitch strikes to only nine of 22 batters and exiting after tossing 55 of 94 pitches for strikes. Wheeler did generate 17 swinging strikes though, and his final line doesn't look so bad compared to some of the atrocious outings from the Phillies' relievers. The 32-year-old had trouble staying healthy in 2022, with his 26 starts and 153 innings being his lowest totals over a full MLB season since 2017, but he appears to be 100 percent to kick off the current campaign. Wheeler's next turn in the rotation will likely come at home next week against the Reds.