MLB Player News

Cabrera appears to be the favorite to win the final spot in the Miami rotation, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports.

Sandy Alcantara, Jesus Luzardo, Trevor Rogers and Johnny Cueto will make up the top four starters for the Marlins. The battle is between Cabrera and Braxton Garrett, and Cabrera appears to have the edge after his strong showing in spring training. The fact that Garrett has a minor-league option remaining also tips the scales in Cabrera's favor. Once considered among the very best pitching prospects in baseball, Cabrera has a chance for fantasy relevancy because of his swing-and-miss arsenal, but managers should take a wait-and-see approach before investing too much in the right-hander.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said that Pepiot was dealing with side discomfort during his Cactus League start Friday against the Cubs, Matthew Moreno of DodgerBlue.com reports.

"Kind of something in the midsection of his body," Roberts told Dodgers reporter Kirsten Watson. "We just felt after that long third inning, we felt it was smart to put on that next inning and get him ready for his next start." The right-hander went three innings while allowing just one run, walking two and striking out four. The long inning Roberts referred to is an eight-run burst for the Dodgers before Pepiot exited. The 25-year-old has a good chance to open the season in the rotation, and Roberts mentioned that he believes Pepiot will make his next start, but fantasy managers will want to pay close attention to this situation.

Suarez (forearm) threw a light bullpen session Friday and is set to throw a full bullpen session Sunday, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.

Suarez has been dealing with left forearm tightness for a week or so but has made some nice progress. While the Phillies have acknowledged he will not be fully stretched out for the start of the regular season, they still plan to carry Suarez on their Opening Day roster and build up his stamina on the fly.

Kremer allowed two runs on three hits and struck out three over four innings in Friday's Grapefruit League win over the Twins.

Kremer allowed back-to-back solo home runs in the second inning. The right-hander made one appearance for Israel at the World Baseball Classic, a scoreless four-inning start. He appears to be in good form as spring training ramps up into competition for roster spots on Opening Day. Kremer should have an inside track to a place in the middle of the rotation after posting a solid 3.23 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 87:34 K:BB over 125.1 innings a year ago.

Irvin allowed two runs on six hits and no walks while striking out three over 4.1 innings in Thursday's Grapefruit League win over the Blue Jays.

The southpaw said he struggled early in the start as he was still experimenting with pitches, Nathan Ruiz of The Baltimore Sun reports. Irvin is expected to make two more appearances in Grapefruit League play, which will serve as more dedicated preparation for regular-season action. The 29-year-old is a virtual lock for the Orioles' rotation after posting a career-best 3.98 ERA and 1.16 WHIP with a 128:36 K:BB over 181 innings with the Athletics last season.

DeGrom (side) will make his Cactus League debut Sunday against the Mariners, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports.

DeGrom looked good in a start against minor leaguers earlier this week, striking out five while allowing one run over two innings. He figures to be ready for three innings Sunday as he ramps up for the start of the regular season. Manager Bruce Bochy has said that deGrom will likely be on a 75-80 pitch count at the beginning of the regular season after missing so much time this spring with side tightness.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts confirmed Gonsolin (ankle) will begin the season on the injured list, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

The news hardly comes as a surprise, as Gonsolin was expected to miss the first several weeks of the season, but Roberts has now confirmed it. The 28-year-old righty began throwing Wednesday, but the team will go slow with his recovery.

Morton gave up four runs on three hits and a walk over 4.1 innings while striking out seven during Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Rays.

A three-run home run by Manuel Margot in the first inning marred his line in the box score, but Morton still looked pretty dominant as he fired 46 of 70 pitches for strikes before exiting. The veteran right-hander has a 12:4 K:BB through 9.2 innings this spring and seems just about ready for Opening Day, as he looks to top 200 strikeouts for the fifth straight full season.

Blackburn (finger) will begin the season on the injured list, Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Blackburn is dealing with a fingernail avulsion on his pitching hand. He is still able to play catch but has to wait for the injury to heal to do anything else, and evidently the Athletics anticipate that taking awhile. It's not clear at this point how long Blackburn might be sidelined.

Soroka (hamstring) threw live batting practice Friday, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

According to David O'Brien of The Athletic, he was able to get his fastball up to 93 mph over two innings of work. It sounds like a Grapefruit League outing could be on the horizon, as Soroka has been slowed this spring by a right hamstring strain and isn't going to be ready for Opening Day, but he might not miss too much time if he can keep progressing. Once he's healthy and stretched out, the right-hander should push the winner of the battle between Jared Shuster and Dylan Dodd for the fifth starter spot in Atlanta's rotation, but Soroka has thrown only 13.2 big-league innings since his 2019 breakout due to multiple surgeries and injuries.