MLB Player News

The Rays optioned Chirinos to Triple-A Durham on Sunday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Chirinos will open the season in the minors after losing out to Josh Fleming in the competition for the No. 5 spot in the Rays' rotation. After missing most of the past two seasons while recovering from August 2020 Tommy John surgery, Chirinos reported to camp without any limitations but wasn't able to solidify a rotation spot after logging a 6.57 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 10:6 K:BB across 12.1 Grapefruit League innings.

Atlanta is expected to place Wright (shoulder) on the 15-day injured list retroactive to March 27, but the right-hander is likely to miss only two turns through the rotation before being activated, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.

After being shut down early in spring training with shoulder soreness and requiring an injection to alleviate the pain, Wright was finally cleared to make his Grapefruit League debut this past Monday. He's now back on a normal four-day rest schedule and built up to four innings in his second outing of the spring Saturday versus the Twins, but Wright has looked rusty between the two starts, yielding seven runs on 10 hits and one walk while striking out four over 6.2 innings. Rather than rushing him to be ready for the start of the season, Atlanta will give Wright more time to build up his pitch count and hone his command. He's scheduled to make a minor-league spring training start this coming Thursday and then one final tune-up rehab start for Triple-A Gwinnett on April 4 before slotting back into Atlanta's rotation at some point during its second home series of the season April 10 through 12 versus the Reds. Wright's upcoming IL stint should allow rookies Jared Shuster and Dylan Dodd -- who had both been competing for the No. 5 starter's role -- to make at least two turns through the rotation before one of the two likely cedes his spot to the right-hander, who led the majors with 21 wins in 2022.

May completed 5.2 innings in a Cactus League start against Kansas City on Saturday, allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits and no walks while striking out four batters.

May's outing was the longest by a Dodgers pitcher this spring and puts him in line to handle a nearly full workload once the regular season begins. The right-hander was tagged by Bobby Witt Jr. for a three-run homer in the third inning but otherwise allowed just one run. May is scheduled to start Los Angeles' second game of the season Friday at home against Arizona.

Wright isn't in line to start any of Atlanta's first five games of the season, as the club wants to give him extra time to get ramped up due to him being delayed in spring training by a shoulder injury, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

Wright hasn't suffered any setbacks in his recovery from the shoulder injury, but he was roughed up in both of his first two appearances of the spring after he was cleared to make his Grapefruit League debut last Monday. In his most recent outing Saturday, Wright stretched out to four innings but was tagged for three earned runs on five hits -- including two home runs -- and a walk over four innings. Because Dylan Dodd and Jared Shuster have both made strong cases for the Opening Day rotation while competing for the fifth starter's role, Atlanta plans to have both young hurlers make one turn through the rotation while Wright gets more time to build up his arm. Atlanta could still be earmarking Wright for a start in its third series of the season (April 6 through 9 versus San Diego), so the right-hander could avoid a stint on the injured list and still be included on the 26-man Opening Day roster even though he won't pitch in any of the first seven games.

Shuster appears on track for a spot in Atlanta's season-opening rotation and is tentatively lined up to start the team's third game next Sunday in Washington, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

Shuster and Dylan Dodd had been battling for the No. 5 starter's role, but Atlanta looks like it'll have room for both young hurlers to make at least two turns through the rotation to begin the season while Kyle Wright heads to the injured list as he ramps back up from the shoulder injury he suffered earlier in the spring. Because Shuster isn't currently on the 40-man roster, Atlanta may wait until next Sunday before formally selecting his contract to maintain more flexibility through the first two games. Shuster was able to earn a spot in the rotation -- at least temporarily -- after logging a 1.45 ERA, 0.59 WHIP and 18:4 K:BB in 18.2 innings in Grapefruit League play while holding opposing hitters to a .115 average.

Dodd is in line to open the season with Atlanta and is scheduled to start the team's fifth game of the regular season April 4 in St. Louis, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

Dodd had been battling Jared Shuster for the No. 5 starter's role, but Atlanta will have room for both young arms in its season-opening rotation with the team set to skip Kyle Wright's first turn to afford him more time to get ramped back up following a shoulder injury earlier in the spring. With Wright set to be placed on the injured list, both Shuster and Dodd should be in store for at least two turns through the rotation before Atlanta decides which of the two sticks around in a starting role once Wright is healthy again. Dodd, 24, earned himself a spot with the big club by striking out 20 and walking just four over 18 Grapefruit League innings while holding opposing hitters to a .227 average.

Severino (lat) said Sunday that he'll resume throwing when pain-free and could miss as few as three or four starts to open the season, Pete Caldera of The Bergen Record reports.

The 29-year-old's initial shutdown period is expected to be about a week, after which it should become clearer whether or not he'll require a lengthier absence. Severino dealt with a similar injury last year that sidelined him for two months, but the right-hander noted that the current injury isn't in the same location as the previous one.

Lynn allowed two earned runs on five hits and two walks while striking out six across 4.2 innings in Saturday's Cactus League game against the Reds.

Lynn took the mound for the first time since returning from the World Baseball Classic. He was hit around initially but closed the outing with three shutout innings while retiring 10 of the final 11 batters he faced. Lynn is expected to start Chicago's second game of the regular season Friday against the Astros, and he should be able to work fairly deep into the game after facing 21 batters in his spring training finale.

Javier is likely to start Friday against the White Sox in the Astros' second game of the regular season, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Framber Valdez is expected to start on Opening Day, though that has yet to officially be announced. Javier appears to be next in line, and he shouldn't have any problems pitching deep into the game after throwing 5.2 innings Saturday against the Nationals in his Grapefruit League finale. He will enter the season looking to back his breakout 2022 campaign, during which he posted a 2.54 ERA and 0.95 WHIP across 148.2 innings.

Ray allowed a run over five innings in Saturday's Cactus League start against the Diamondbacks.

Ray allowed just two hits in the outing, and he struck out five with one walk. The left-hander was sensational in his time this spring with a 1.06 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 26:6 K:BB ratio. The 2021 Cy Young winner is slotted to pitch behind Luis Castillo in the Seattle rotation, and he could be in for a strong 2023 campaign based on his results this spring.