MLB Player News

Megill is expected to begin the season in the rotation with Triple-A Syracuse rather than remain in the big-league bullpen, Abbey Mastracco of the New York Daily News reports. "We're proceeding down the path of him as a starter and we'll continue to do that," Mets manager Buck Showalter said Sunday. "We don't see Tylor fitting in the bullpen right now."

Megill looked good early in camp but his control wavered late and he lost the battle for the fifth starter job to David Peterson. Through 17 Grapefruit League innings, Megill posted a 12:13 K:BB, something he'll need to correct before he'll be considered for a promotion.

Strider allowed two hits and a walk over four scoreless innings while striking out four in Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the Pirates.

Facing a lineup made up mainly of players competing for bench roles, Strider had no trouble sailing through his final spring tuneup. The right-hander posted a 21:4 K:BB through 16 Grapefruit League innings and appears more than ready to follow up his breakout 2022 campaign. Strider is expected to start the second game of the season, April 1 against the Nationals, which would also put him on track for Atlanta's home opener April 6 against the Padres.

The Mets informed Peterson on Monday that he will open the season as their No. 5 starter, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.

Peterson secured the final spot in the Mets' season-opening rotation over Tylor Megill, after both entered a competition for the role when Jose Quintana suffered a rib cage stress fracture in the spring that will keep him sidelined until at least July. Though he exhibited some control problems in spring training -- Peterson walked eight batters over 12 innings -- he didn't allow a run in Grapefruit League play and held opposing hitters to a minuscule .028 average while striking out 13. The southpaw was solid while floating between the rotation and bullpen in 2022 (3.83 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 126:48 K:BB in 105.2 innings), and now that he has a clear path to a starting role for the foreseeable future, he'll make for an appealing late-round target in leagues that have yet to draft. Peterson is scheduled to make his first start of the season Friday in Miami.

Waldichuk, who's slated to open the regular season in the starting rotation, allowed five earned runs on four hits, four walks and a wild pitch across 3.1 innings in a Bay Bridge Series exhibition loss to the Giants on Sunday. He struck out six.

Waldichuk is heading into the regular season with a worrisome spring body of work in tow, as the left-hander allowed multiple earned runs in each exhibition appearance and gave up four home runs across 13.2 innings. Nevertheless, with Paul Blackburn (finger) and Drew Rucinski (hamstring) both unavailable for Opening Day, Waldichuk will still have a chance to turn his fortunes around early in the campaign.

Blackburn (finger) is slated to throw off a mound Monday after his flat-ground session Thursday went well, the team's official site reports.

Manager Mark Kotsay noted that Blackburn was able to spin some curveballs during the flat-ground session without issue. Consequently, Monday's activity is considered the next step in the natural progression of his recovery. If the right-hander emerges from Monday's session without setbacks, a firmer regular-season debut date could come into focus.

Velasquez allowed one earned run on three hits and three walks while striking out seven across five innings in Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Orioles.

Velasquez has had an inconsistent exhibition season, and he ended Grapefruit League action with a 5.79 ERA and 1.50 WHIP. While the majority of those runs came in one outing, he also walked a troubling nine batters across 14 innings of work. Velasquez will start the season in the Pirates' rotation, but he's worked primarily out of the bullpen for the last few seasons and will likely return to that role at some point in 2023.

McKenzie was removed from Sunday's Cactus League start against the Reds as a precautionary measure due to right arm tightness, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.

The 25-year-old delivered a scoreless first inning during his final start of spring training Sunday but never returned to the mound. Any arm injury is a concerning development -- especially this late in spring training -- which leaves McKenzie's availability for the start of the regular season up in the air.

Wells allowed an unearned run on two hits and struck out two over five innings in Saturday's Grapefruit League game versus the Pirates.

Wells has had shaky ratios with a 5.74 ERA and 1.28 WHIP over 15.2 innings this spring, but he's also posted a 16:2 K:BB. The Orioles' rotation still has two spots up for grabs, with Wells, Grayson Rodriguez and Kyle Bradish all in contention. Of those three pitchers, Wells' numbers look the best on the surface, though he'd also be the easiest to move to a bullpen role if the Orioles want to open the year with all of them in the majors. For now, Wells is stretched out as a starter, but his placement to start the season will likely come down to a decision just before Opening Day.

Manager Aaron Boone said Brito could start the Yankees' third game of the season next Sunday versus the Giants in New York, Pete Caldera of The Bergen Record reports.

Boone didn't officially confirm that Brito would be part of the Opening Day rotation, but the 25-year-old righty appears to have all but clinched a starting role with all of Frankie Montas (shoulder), Carlos Rodon (forearm) and Luis Severino (lat) set to open the season on the injured list. Brito initially appeared in line to take the hill for the Yankees' fifth game of the season, but the team may be incentivized to move him up in the pitching schedule after he dazzled Sunday in his final Grapefruit League outing of the spring. Brito retired all 16 batters he faced in a 6-2 win over the Blue Jays, striking out three hitters while lowering his spring ERA to 2.08. If Brito ends up getting the starting nod for the Yankees' third game, Domingo German would presumably be pushed to the back of the team's pitching schedule.

Watkins was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk on Sunday, Steve Melewski of MASNSports.com reports.

Watkins had a 4.15 ERA and 10:4 K:BB over 13 innings during spring training but was unable to secure a spot at the back end of Baltimore's rotation. The 30-year-old had a 4.70 ERA in 23 outings for the Orioles last season and will be one of the top candidates for a call-up when the club requires spot starters this year.