MLB Player News

Kershaw is set to make his Cactus League debut Friday against the Angels, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Kershaw has been eased along this spring, and he opted to bow out of the World Baseball Classic, but there are no pressing injury concerns at the moment for the veteran left-hander. He tossed three innings in a B game Sunday in Dodgers camp and might try to push into the fourth inning in his spring debut versus the Halos.

Gray allowed one hit and struck out one over three scoreless innings in Wednesday's spring start against the Diamondbacks.

Gray made his second Cactus League start and first since being scratched last Friday due to the tightness in his back. The right-hander was pleased with the outing but noted areas of improvement. "I still feel really slow to the plate and working on that," Gray told Jesus Cano of MLB.com. "But some things were good. I thought the fastball was doing pretty well. I'm mixing up a changeup for now, but the sweeping slider, there's still some stuff to manipulate with it." With three weeks left before Opening Day, Gray should get at least three more starts to work on his form.

Henry allowed three runs and struck out three without walking a batter over four scoreless innings in Wednesday's spring start against the Rangers.

Henry made his third Cactus League start and has improved after a rocky initial appearance. The key, according to manager Torey Lovullo, was the pitcher landing his offspeed stuff effectively. "Tommy was aggressive with a three-pitch mix," Lovullo told Steve Gilbert of MLB.com. "He seemed like he could throw the breaking ball at any time to get him back in the count. He gave us four unbelievable innings." With this outing, Henry may have altered the narrative for the fifth starter's job, which was previously thought to be a competition between Drey Jameson and Ryne Nelson. Prospect Brandon Pfaadt, who starts Friday, is also in the mix.

Nelson allowed four runs on three hits and one walk while striking out six over 2.2 innings in a "B" game against the Rangers on Tuesday, Theo Mackie of the Arizona Republic reports.

Nelson made two Cactus League starts prior to this back-field work, and he's allowed multiple runs in all three appearances, although this third outing was the best of the lot. He's had issues throwing quality strikes this spring, but the right-hander was able to land his off-speed stuff in the zone Tuesday. Nelson is competing primarily with Drey Jameson for the final rotation spot, with Tommy Henry and Brandon Pfaadt in the mix to a lesser extent.

Rodon was asked by the Yankees to keep his fastball velocity at around 92 mph during his spring debut Sunday against Atlanta, Greg Joyce of the New York Post reports.

Rodon was shelled by Atlanta in his first game (albeit an exhibition contest) in a Yankees uniform, giving up five runs on six hits and one walk over two-plus innings. It's rarely wise to read deeply into spring-training results, and that's especially true in this instance, as Rodon was tasked with keeping the velocity on his fastball in check as part of his build-up toward the regular season. Per Joyce, the left-hander touched 95 mph one time in the first inning of Sunday's game before manager Aaron Boone asked him to pull back following the frame. Rodon averaged 95.5 mph on his four-seamer last season and 95.4 mph on the pitch in 2021, so it's reasonable to expect that he'll get to around that number again this season -- and pitch to better results than he did Sunday -- once he is fully built up.

Velasquez allowed one hit and stuck out three while walking none across three scoreless innings Wednesday against the Orioles in Grapefruit League action.

Velasquez made his second appearance as a Pirate, and he's now allowed only one earned run across five innings. He did surrender two free passes in his opening start, but he showed improved control against the Orioles. Velasquez signed a one-year deal with Pittsburgh this offseason and is expected to open the campaign in the rotation.

Cease allowed 11 earned runs on seven hits and four walks across two-thirds of an inning to take the loss Wednesday in a Cactus League matchup against the Royals.

Cease completed two scoreless innings in his Cactus League debut March 3, though his second outing was derailed early. He allowed the first five batters he faced to reach base, the last of which was a grand slam by Michael Massey. He was pulled after recording just one out in the first inning but reentered one frame later and didn't fare any better. Cease is coming off an excellent 2022 season, so it's too early to panic despite the incredibly poor outing.

Ober threw two scoreless innings with two strikeouts in Wednesday's spring training win over Toronto. Ober has averaged more than 93 mph with his fastball in both spring starts after averaging 91.5 mph during the 2022 regular season, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.

Ober has thrown three scoreless innings with five strikeouts and a walk in two spring starts. Ober is challenging for a spot in the rotation, but he's likely the sixth starter at the moment and thus could begin the season in the minors. It's also possible the Twins could opt for a six-man rotation as Kenta Maeda (elbow) works his way back from Tommy John surgery. Ober will make the decision difficult if he continues to pitch this well during spring training.

Verlander will make his next Grapefruit League start Friday against the Astros, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Verlander's second spring start will come against his former team. The right-hander made his Grapefruit League debut with the Mets on Sunday, going three innings while allowing a run on two hits against the Marlins. Verlander won the Cy Young award during Houston's 2022 championship season on the strength of a 1.75 ERA and 185:29 K:BB over 175 regular-season frames.

DeGrom (side) could make his Cactus League debut as soon as Monday, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Working his way back from left side tightness, deGrom sat at 98-99 mph during a 35-pitch live batting practice session Wednesday. As long as he rebounds from that throwing session with no issues, he should be cleared to return to game action. The two-time Cy Young winner remains on track for the start of the season, although it's probably not reasonable to expect a normal workload right out of the gate.