MLB Player News

McCullers (forearm) threw in the batting cage Monday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Manager Dusty Baker said Monday that McCullers was once again throwing, his second throwing session in three days as he works back from the muscle strain he suffered in his right forearm last month. The right-hander is expected to miss the first couple weeks of the season, but is he keeps progressing, it's reasonable to expect him to return to the mound by the end of April. McCullers has struggled with the injury bug over the past couple seasons, only appearing in eight games in 2022 after nursing a forearm injury he sustained in the 2021 playoffs.

Crawford allowed three runs on five hits and one walk while striking out four over 3.2 innings during Sunday's spring start against Baltimore.

Crawford gave up his first spring runs in his third Grapefruit League start, and the right-hander appears to be ticketed for a rotation spot to the start the regular season. Boston has three projected starters at various stages of rehab, which puts Crawford in the mix for an April start or two, at least. Garrett Whitlock (hip), Brayan Bello (forearm) and James Paxton (hamstring) are candidates to open the season on the injured list. Crawford saw his first significant MLB action last year and had a 5.47 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 77:29 K:BB across 77.1 frames.

Houck allowed two runs on four hits and two walks while striking out four over 3.1 innings during Sunday's spring start against the Yankees.

Houck made his third spring start, and it's looking like he'll remain in that role for the beginning of the regular season. Both Brayan Bello (forearm) and James Paxton(hamstring) appear headed for the injured list to begin the campaign, which opens up a spot for Houck and another depth starter. Add in Garrett Whitlock (hip), who will make his spring debut this week, and there should be plenty of openings for Houck to stake his claim to the rotation.

Heaney allowed two runs on four hits and one walk while striking out five over 2.2 innings in Sunday's spring start against the Mariners.

Heaney worked around a pair of hits in two scoreless innings before Seattle got to him in the third. He was pulled with two outs in the inning but came back out to start the fourth, giving him another chance to move from the bench to the mound. After hitting the first batter in the fourth, his day was done. He made working on his changeup a priority in his third Cactus League start, per Kevin Sherrington of the Dallas Morning News. Heaney will get another three appearances in preparation for the regular season. The left-hander has allowed four runs on nine hits and four walks while striking out 11 over 7.1 spring innings.

Perez allowed one run on four hits and two walks while striking out four over 3.1 innings in Team Venezuela's 5-1 win over Team Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic on Saturday.

Perez was down early after giving up a couple of hits to Julio Rodriguez and Juan Soto, but the left-hander settled in and gave his teammates time grab a lead they would not relinquish. Perez is coming off a career year and will be a key piece of a rotation that looks like one of the best on paper with the additions of Jacob deGrom, Andrew Heaney and Nathan Eovaldi.

Nelson allowed one run on four hits and one walk while striking out two over 2.2 relief innings during Sunday's spring game against Colorado.

It was a day for the two leading candidates for the No. 5 starter job. Drey Jameson started for the Diamondbacks, giving up five runs over three-plus innings, while Nelson threw multiple relief innings. Statistically, Jameson has produced better Cactus League results, but Nelson is trending upward, including a promising stint in a "B" game that doesn't count toward his spring statistics. Others in the hunt for the same role are Tommy Henry and Brandon Pfaadt.

Kikuchi allowed four hits and three walks over 2.2 scoreless innings while striking out four in Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the Phillies.

The southpaw ended up throwing 61 pitches (38 strikes) to get just eight outs, even if four of them did come via strikeout. Kikuchi remains the favorite to break camp with the No. 5 spot in the Blue Jays' rotation, and while he has yet to allow a run through four spring starts, his 13:6 K:BB in 9.2 innings is a reminder of both his tantalizing upside, and his erratic career in MLB to date.

Carrasco gave up three runs (two earned) on four hits over four innings in Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the Rays. He struck out four without walking a batter.

The K's were encouraging, but Carrasco also served up two homers -- one to top Tampa prospect Kyle Manzardo, and the other to 26-year-old minor leaguer Niko Hulsizer. Carrasco has now given up four homers through nine spring innings to go with a solid 7:1 K:BB, but as yet there's little cause for concern with the veteran right-hander.

Gore allowed four runs on four hits and two walks over four innings while striking out three in Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the Cardinals.

Facing a lineup of St. Louis prospects and bench players, Gore didn't seem to be fooling many people at the plate -- three of the four hits off the southpaw went for extra bases, including a Kramer Robertson homer -- as he gave up a pair of runs in each of his first two frames before settling down. The fact that he did battle through and deliver two clean innings before exiting is encouraging though, and Gore finished his day having thrown 65 pitches (38 strikes). The 24-year-old appears close to ready for Opening Day, but his biggest hurdle in 2023 will be to simply stay healthy and take a regular turn in the rotation -- Gore tossed 87 innings across all levels last year, and his career high for innings is only 101, a mark he set in 2019 between High-A and Double-A in the Padres system.

Oviedo threw three scoreless innings while allowing two hits and striking out three in Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Yankees.

Oviedo is competing for a spot in the Pittsburgh rotation, and Saturday's outing was both his longest and most effective of the spring. According to Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Oveido threw his slider 61 percent of the time and threw 31 strikes on 41 total pitches. He may be on the outside looking in to start the regular season, but it's likely that he'll pitch as a traditional starter at some point during the 2023 campaign.