MLB Player News

Pfaadt allowed four runs on three hits and two walks while striking two over three innings in Friday's spring start against the Reds.

Pfaadt was yanked with two outs in the first after Cincinnati knocked him around and built up his pitch count. Arizona manager Torey Lovullo's wanted to get him out of the damage and have Pfaadt return in the second frame, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports. With 30 pitches left in his projected count, the prospect managed to throw another 2.1 innings, allowing one hit during that stretch. He found his rhythm and started landing his breaking stuff after the first inning. The right-hander is competing for the fifth starter job, but Pfaadt, who has minor-league options, is expected to return to Triple-A Reno for start of the 2023 season.

Kershaw pitched three innings against the Angels in a Cactus League contest Friday, allowing three runs on five hits and two walks while striking out two batters.

Kershaw pitched in a B game last Sunday, but this was his first official appearance in a Cactus League contest this spring. His outing got off to a bad beginning when Taylor Ward greeted him with a leadoff home run, and Kevin Padlo also took the left-hander deep in the third inning. There were also positive takeaways from the start, as Kershaw tossed 58 pitches and said that he felt good physically while hitting 93 mph with his fastball, per Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times. The future Hall of Famer averaged 91.6 mph on his fastball last season, so he appears to be progressing well toward a potential Opening Day start.

Seabold has allowed one earned run across seven innings while striking out seven and walking none during three Cactus League appearances.

Seabold hasn't started a game, but he has worked multiple innings in each of his three appearances during the exhibition season. The Rockies haven't made their plans for Seabold clear at this point, though it appears he'll occupy a multi-inning role regardless of whether it comes as a starter or reliever. Colorado acquired him from the Red Sox this offseason after he posted an 11.29 ERA and 2.35 WHIP across 18.1 innings with Boston in 2022.

Severino tossed four innings against Detroit in a Grapefruit League game Friday, allowing two runs on four hits and no walks while striking out three batters.

Both runs against Severino came via the long ball, as Eric Haase tagged him for a solo shot in the second inning before Kerry Carpenter hit another solo blast in the third. Severino has now given up five home runs and nine runs total over 8.2 innings this spring, though he's also posted a solid 10:2 K:BB. The right-hander was able to stretch out to 54 pitches Friday and provided a positive perspective on the outing. "I feel healthy out there," he said after the start, per Dick Scanlon of MLB.com. After being limited to just seven appearances between 2019 and 2021, Severino started 19 games for New York last season, and he heads into the 2023 campaign expected to carry few, if any, restrictions.

Darvish pitched three innings for Team Japan against Team Korea in the World Baseball Classic on Friday, allowing three runs (two earned) on three hits and no walks while striking out one batter.

After inking a six-year extension with San Diego in early February, Darvish took a measured approach to the start of spring training, as he didn't pitch in any Cactus League contests before joining Japan for the WBC. The veteran right-hander started smoothly in Friday's game against Korea, retiring the first six batters he faced. However, he gave up three runs in the third inning, including two on a home run by Euji Yang. The rough frame shouldn't deter fantasy managers from pursuing Darvish in drafts, where he's generally been going among the top 25 starting pitchers.

Giolito allowed one unearned run on three hits and two walks while striking out six across three innings in Cactus League action against the Cubs on Friday.

Giolito took the mound for the second time this spring, and he now has nine strikeouts across five innings of work. He's looking for a bounceback season after posting a disappointing 4.90 ERA in 2022. Per Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times, Giolito lost weight this season after intentionally bulking up ahead of the 2022 campaign. In addition, Van Schouwen noted that Giolito is a proponent of the newly implemented pitch clock, because he feels it helps him maintain a rhythm on the mound.

Mets manager Buck Showalter told reporters Friday that the team is still gathering information on the stress fracture in Quintana's rib, Tim Healey of Newsdayreports.

Showalter told reporters there's no new information on the injury, and the team is waiting to get some results back. The left-hander was diagnosed with a small stress fracture on the fifth rib on his left side after leaving Monday's Grapefruit League appearance. There's a very good chance Quintana will start the 2023 season on the injured list, but how long he might be sidelined for isn't yet clear.

Gray threw three scoreless innings with four strikeouts and no walks or hits in Thursday's spring game against the Dominican Republic WBC team. Gray says he's ahead of last season with his conditioning, when his offseason ramp-up was disrupted by the lockout, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reports. "I was continuously fighting my body," Gray said about his 2022 campaign. "You're just playing a constant catch-up game throughout the season."

Gray has give up no earned runs (three unearned) in 4.2 innings this spring with seven strikeouts and no walks. He looks in top form early in the spring, and Wednesday's outing was impressive against a stacked DR lineup. Gray averaged just 4.96 innings per start last season, with the Twins rarely allowing him to go deep into games, so improved conditioning may bode well for his chances of delivering longer outings and quality starts this year.

Kaprielian (shoulder) will make his Cactus League debut Sunday against San Diego, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

After impressing during a sim game Tuesday without feeling any pain in his shoulder, Kaprielian's return to Cactus League action is another good sign that he will be ready for the start of the season. The 29-year-old righty finished last year with a 4.23 ERA and 1.34 WHIP through 134 innings across 26 starts.

Gausman gave up two hits and struck out two over 3.2 scoreless innings in Thursday's split-squad game against Atlanta.

The veteran righty was efficient, tossing 32 of 48 pitches for strikes against a lineup of bench players and minor leaguers. Gausman hasn't seemed to have much trouble adjusting his mechanics in response to MLB's new balk crackdown, tossing 5.1 scoreless innings over two spring starts with a 5:1 K:BB as he builds up ahead of Opening Day.