MLB Player News

Woodford allowed two hits and a walk while striking out three in three scoreless innings in Sunday's 9-4 loss to the Pirates.

Woodford was in contention for the fifth spot in the starting rotation right to the end of spring training, but Jordan Hicks ultimately won the job. Woodford's first turn as a long reliever this season was strong after Steven Matz (finger) was hit hard in three innings and developed a blister. The 25-year-old Woodford will continue to operate out of the bullpen, where he'll give the Cardinals a multi-inning option. That will limit his fantasy appeal, as his groundball style doesn't lead to enough strikeouts to make up for his lack of a starting role.

Singer allowed four runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts in three innings during Sunday's 17-3 loss to the Guardians.

Singer's first career relief appearance didn't go very well, though it had little impact on what was already a blowout before he entered the game. The right-hander allowed a two-run home run to Jose Ramirez and an RBI single to Ernie Clement in the seventh inning, and then ran into more trouble that yielded a Franmil Reyes RBI single in the eighth. Starter Kris Bubic and long reliever Jackson Kowar both struggled as well, with the latter being reassigned to Triple-A Omaha on Monday as a result. While Singer is expected to continue working out of the bullpen, he'll need to pitch better than he did Sunday to get back into the rotation.

Gonzales (0-1) was tagged with the loss Sunday against the Twins after allowing six runs (two earned) on six hits and two walks while fanning one across two innings.

Gonzales didn't have major command issues as 36 of his 61 pitches went for strikes, but he served up three homers in just two innings and just couldn't continue on the mound past the first two frames. This wasn't the debut that the Mariners or the southpaw were expecting, as Gonzales has posted an ERA below the 4.00 mark in each of his last three seasons. He will try to bounce back when he pitches again -- he's tabbed to start against the Astros on April 15.

Bubic (0-1) was tagged with the loss Sunday against the Guardians after allowing five runs on three hits and two walks over two-thirds of an inning.

Bubic was atrocious in this one and recorded more runs allowed (five) and hits (three) than outs recorded (two) as he couldn't even finish the opening frame. He's expected to pitch again in the upcoming weekend series at home against the Tigers.

Quantrill (1-0) earned the win Sunday over the Royals after giving up two runs on four hits and a walk while fanning two across five innings. He also hit a batter.

Quantrill needed 76 pitches to navigate through five innings and while he was far from being perfect, his outing was good enough to earn him his first win of the campaign as the offense backed him up with 13 runs through the first four frames. The right-hander will try to build off this decent season debut when he pitches against the Giants on Saturday.

The Orioles selected Watkins' contract from Triple-A Norfolk on Monday, Zachary Silver of MLB.com reports.

Watkins was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk on April 6 after compiling a 6.35 ERA and 1.24 WHIP over 5.2 innings this spring. He'll rejoin the Orioles after DJ Stewart was sent down to Triple-A and Dean Kremer (oblique) was placed on the 10-day injured list. Watkins struggled greatly in 2021, posting an 8.07 ERA and 1.70 WHIP over 54.2 innings with Orioles, but he may be a candidate to start in place of Kremer moving forward.

Matz developed a blister on his left hand in his Cardinals debut during Sunday's 9-4 loss to the Pirates, an issue manager Oliver Marmol attributed to the southpaw's poor outing, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

While Matz struck out five batters while walking just one, he also allowed seven runs on nine hits in his three innings, giving him a loss in his first outing of the season. Five of those runs came in the third inning -- the frame in which the blister reportedly developed -- with two more scoring in the fourth before he was able to record an out. The rough season debut followed a shaky spring in which he stumbled to a 5.23 ERA in three starts, but the Cardinals are seemingly considering all of his struggles Sunday to be blister-related and aren't worried about him long-term. He's expected to take his next turn in the rotation, which lines up to come Friday in Milwaukee.

The Orioles placed Kremer (oblique) on the 10-day injured list Monday, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports. Manager Brandon Hyde said he expects Kremer to miss at least 3-to-4 weeks.

The 26-year-old was slated to make his season debut Tuesday against the Brewers, but after hurting his oblique Sunday while warming up, he'll be placed on the shelf. Though the Orioles likely aren't counting on Kremer to return in April, Hyde suggests that the right-hander isn't considered a candidate to move to the 60-day IL. The Orioles haven't announced who will start in Kremer's place Tuesday, but Mike Baumann, Spenser Watkins and Alexander Wells are the most likely candidates to step in.

Williams (0-1) got tagged with the loss Sunday against the Nationals, giving up two unearned runs on two hits in one inning of relief.

Mets manager Buck Showalter said before the game he wanted to find work for his two bullpen arms -- Williams and Chasen Shreve -- that hadn't pitched yet this season, and he stuck to his guns even with the team clinging to a 2-1 lead heading into the eighth inning. Shreve, who had relieved Carlos Carrasco back in the sixth, gave up a leadoff single, and rather than turn to high-leverage relievers like Seth Lugo, Trevor May or Adam Ottavino, Showalter instead handed the ball to Williams. The result was a three-run Nats rally. The right-hander got no help from his defense, but the outing still reinforced that Williams is a better fit for middle relief and lower-leverage spots. He had zero wins, saves or holds last year in 10 appearances for the Mets in 2021 after coming over from the Pirates.

Wheeler (shoulder), who is listed as the starter for Tuesday's game against the Mets, could throw 70-to-75 pitches in that outing, per general manager Dave Dombrowski, Destiny Lugardo of PhilliesNation.com reports.

He last threw April 7 in Clearwater and stretched out to 60-to-65 pitches. Wheeler was behind the rest of the Phillies' starters due to offseason shoulder soreness, but he lines up for a two-start week, with a second start coming Sunday in Miami.