MLB Player News

Manager Craig Counsell confirmed Tuesday that Burnes will start the Brewers' Opening Day game April 7 against the Cubs in Chicago, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

Though rotation mate Brandon Woodruff (2.56 ERA, 0.96 WHIP in 179.1 innings in 2021) would be a quality Opening Day starter for just about any other team, Burnes was the obvious top choice to take the hill for the Brewers' season opener fresh off winning his first Cy Young Award. While Milwaukee may choose to implement a six-man rotation for portions of the season in an effort to keep all of its starters fresh, Burnes should once again rank among the best pitchers in the league on a per-outing basis. He led all qualified starters in 2021 with a 30.4 K-BB%, with his ability to make bats miss, limit walks and suppress home runs helping him finish with a 1.63 FIP, 2.00 xERA and 2.30 xFIP. Those underlying numbers suggest he was even more dominant than his elite 2.43 ERA over 167 innings would indicate.

Clevinger (elbow) is scheduled to start Tuesday's Cactus League game against the Giants.

Clevinger's upcoming appearance will mark his first official game action since the 2020 postseason, when he aggravated an elbow injury that eventually required Tommy John surgery. Now more than 16 months removed from the elbow procedure, Clevinger appears on track to be part of the Padres' Opening Day rotation, provided he doesn't experience any setbacks in his buildup program leading up to the start of the regular season. Though he'll be making his Cactus League debut Tuesday, Clevinger has been steadily upping his pitch count by facing hitters in live batting practice and pitching in a minor-league game on the back fields at spring training.

Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said Tuesday that McClanahan will start the team's Opening Day game April 8 versus Baltimore, Neil Solondz of the Rays Radio Network reports.

With Tyler Glasnow (elbow) expected to miss most of the upcoming season while recovering from Tommy John surgery, McClanahan entered spring training as the most logical choice to get the ball for the Rays on Opening Day. The 2018 first-round pick is coming off a brilliant rookie campaign in which he submitted a 3.43 ERA and 1.27 WHIP across 123.1 innings while posting a 27.3 percent strikeout rate and limiting opposing hitters to a .251 average. Since he won't turn 25 years old until April, the Rays are likely to manage his workload carefully in 2022, so he can't reliably be counted on to clear much more than 150 innings.

Hill allowed one hit and struck out three over three scoreless relief innings in Sunday's spring training game against Minnesota.

Hill made his second Grapefruit League appearance, but he pitched in bulk relief behind starter Garrett Whitlock. The roles were reversed in his previous appearance; Hill started while Whitlock threw multiple relief innings. The two are expected to pitch in the same game Friday, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports. Hill and Whitlock are vying for the final spot in the rotation, which could last as long as it takes Chris Sale (rib) to return from injury. Either way, each pitcher is expected to have a role on the staff, whether that be as a starter or high-leverage reliever.

Cabrera tossed three scoreless, no-hit innings against the Nationals in his 2022 spring training debut Monday, allowing one walk and striking out three. He also worked a new sinker into his arsenal, Jordan McPherson of The Miami Herald reports.

The power sinker is sitting in the high 90s, and Cabrera feels it will play well off his plus slider, which he used to fan Nelson Cruz on Monday. "It's something that I'm applying to the game," Cabrera said after the outing. "I'm throwing a 98 [mph] sinker and then it's something that I want to surprise some of the batters with an 88 [mph] slider, especially if it's breaking like it was today. I can apply it and have some success here." The 23-year-old right-hander struggled in his big-league debut last year after dominating in the high minors, but he still posted a solid 23.3 percent strikeout rate over 26.1 innings for Miami. The Marlins are hoping he can make the same kind of leap forward in 2022 that Trevor Rogers did in 2021.

Whitlock allowed one hit and walked one while striking out two over three scoreless innings in a spring training start against the Twins on Sunday.

This was Whitlock's first Grapefruit League start and first start of any kind since July 2019 prior to undergoing Tommy John elbow surgery. Although used exclusively out of the bullpen last season, Whitlock's in the mix for the final rotation spot along with Rich Hill, who also pitched three innings Sunday. That starting spot will last as long as it takes Chris Sale (rib) to get over his injury. Sunday's outing marked the second time both pitchers have appeared in the same game this spring. Both hurlers will likely appear in the same game this Friday, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports. Boston manager Alex Cora has not revealed how he plans to utilize Whitlock, whose versatility in relief was key for the Red Sox. It's safe to say he'll be an high-leverage piece if relegated to the bullpen.

Ray was credited with the victory in a Cactus League win over the Rangers on Monday, allowing two earned runs on two hits and two walks over 4.1 innings. He struck out six.

The left-hander held the Rangers at bay for the first four frames before yielding a pair of runs on a lineout and double by Charlie Culberson and Marcus Semien, respectively. Despite those stumbles, Ray once again missed plenty of bats, pushing his spring strikeout total to 11 over his first two Cactus League turns.

Syndergaard tossed 3.2 innings in a Cactus League win over Oakland on Monday, allowing an unearned run on one hit and one walk while striking out four.

Making his first Cactus League appearance in an Angels uniform, Syndergaard breezed through the Athletics' lineup, allowing only an unearned first-inning run. He notched three of his final five outs via punchout before being pulled following a fourth-inning walk. Syndergaard has thrown only two major-league regular-season innings since 2019, but he could be a steal for the Angels -- and for fantasy managers -- this season if he's able to come anywhere close to the form he displayed early in his career with the Mets.

Bradish was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk on Monday, Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com reports.

Bradish fared well in spring training, fanning five and walking three over four scoreless innings of work. He's in line to begin the 2022 campaign at Triple-A, where he finished with a 4.26 ERA and 1.44 WHIP with a 105:39 K:BB across 86.2 innings a season ago.

Cole pitched two innings in a Grapefruit League game against Pittsburgh on Sunday, allowing four runs (three earned) on four hits and one walk. He struck out five.

Cole looked strong in his first frame of the spring, retiring the side in order and picking up two punchouts. However, the Pirates stung him for a pair of runs in the second on a Diego Castillo long ball. Cole returned for the third inning but served up a leadoff homer to Cole Tucker and was pulled after the following two batters reached base. In more positive news, Cole touched 99 mph on his fastball and got five of his six outs via strikeout, which should be the most important takeaway given the context of the exhibition affair.