MLB Player News

DeGrom struck out five batters over two innings during Tuesday's Grapefruit League game against the Astros. He gave up only one hit without walking a batter.

It was the first time since July 7 deGrom was on a mound in a game situation due to lingering elbow issues in the latter half of 2021, but the 33-year-old looked every inch an ace in his return. According to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, deGrom touched 99 mph with his fastball Tuesday, but the Mets limited him to only 30 pitches as they proceed cautiously with the two-time Cy Young Award winner. "I was nervous, to be honest with you," deGrom said afterward. "It's reassuring to go out there and feel completely fine." The right-hander made a tweak to his workout routine this offseason in an effort to stay healthier, and while it's still only spring training, the early results are promising.

Carrasco says he has full range of motion in his elbow again after offseason surgery to remove a bone spur, and as a result his splitter and slider are both returning to form, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.

"It's completely different from last year," Carrasco said Wednesday. The 35-year-old right-hander stumbled to a 6.04 ERA, 1.43 WHIP and 21.1 percent strikeout rate over 53.2 innings last season, but as recently as 2020 he was posting a 2.91 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 28.8 percent K-rate. If Carrasco can regain that level of performance, he could prove to be a steal in fantasy drafts this spring.

Corbin threw four scoreless innings in Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Marlins, allowing three hits and no walks while striking out four.

It was a strong effort from the veteran southpaw, although it came against a Miami lineup with only a handful of big-league regulars in the lineup. Corbin tossed 57 pitches in the outing, and as Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post notes, he's now lined up to get the Opening Day start for the Nationals, although manager Dave Martinez has so far declined to name who will get that assignment. Corbin is looking to rebound from a rough 2021 in which he posted a career-worst 5.82 ERA with a 1.47 WHIP and an ugly 11.0 percent K-BB%.

Strasburg (neck) may not make his season debut until some time in May, Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post reports.

Nationals manager Dave Martinez dropped a couple breadcrumbs Wednesday regarding the team's plans for Strasburg, saying both that he wanted the right-hander to stay in the rotation once he joins it this season, and that he's expecting 20-25 starts from him. The high end of that range would suggest Strasburg will be making his 2022 debut in mid-May, although he could also make his first start sooner than that and get extra rest between turns over the summer to meet Martinez's target. Even that big a workload might be optimistic, however, as Strasburg has tossed only 26.2 big-league innings over the last two years and is coming back from thoracic outlet surgery, a procedure which so far has had a very spotty track record when it comes to pitchers regaining their prior form.

The Red Sox have not yet set a timetable for Sale (rib) to resume throwing, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.

Sale sustained a stress fracture to his right rib cage in February and remains sidelined. Browne indicated injuries of this nature often take 6-to-8 weeks to heal, which means the left-hander may not resume throwing for another couple of weeks. At this point, projecting a date for Sale to take the mound in game action is simply guesswork. Browne believes Sale won't pitch for the Red Sox in a major-league game before May.

Eovaldi did not allow hit or walk while striking out six over four scoreless innings in Wednesday's spring training game against Minnesota.

Eovaldi increased his innings count in what was a dominant Grapefruit League performance against several Twins regulars. He was also dominant for two innings of his first spring start before tiring in the third. There's time remaining for two more Grapefruit League starts, so Eovaldi should be ready for five or six innings on Opening Day. Across seven spring innings, the right-hander has allowed two runs on three hits with nine strikeouts and zero walks.

Springs (knee) is listed among the Rays' available relief options for Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Twins, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The Rays have been easing Springs along slowly in camp while he makes his return from a torn ACL suffered July 31 of last year, but the 29-year-old southpaw has seemingly reached the finish line in his recovery. Springs completed a live batting practice session Monday and is believed to have tested out his surgically repaired knee by fielding bunts over the past two days, which was the final hurdle he needed to clear before being available for games. Assuming he can make at least two or three relief appearances before the Grapefruit League slate comes to a close, Springs should be in good position to break camp as a member of the Rays' Opening Day bullpen.

Kelly did not allow a hit and struck out eight over three scoreless innings in Wednesday's spring training game against the Giants.

Kelly mowed down mostly regulars in the San Francisco lineup, allowing one batter to make contact in fair territory. The right-hander was Arizona's most consistent starter in 2021 -- only a bout with COVID-19 interrupted his season. Kelly's velocity was up a tick as well, touching 94 and 95 mph. More than the results and velocity, Kelly was most pleased with his changeup, a pitch he worked on during the offseason, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports. "Mechanical tweaks, grips, just trying not to do too much with it. Just focus on throwing it and not trying to manipulate it," Kelly said. "I think I got a little too focused on trying to be too fine with it just because it wasn't doing what I thought it should do." Kelly started 27 games and went 7-11 with a 4.44 earned run average in 2021. Those aren't the best numbers he's had during his career, but the Diamondbacks did have the worst record in the majors last year, finishing 52-110.

Gore pitched three scoreless innings against the Angels in a Cactus League game Wednesday, allowing one hit while striking out five.

Gore was dominant in his second outing of the spring, giving up just a third-inning double to Orlando Martinez. The left-handed hurler has now pitched five scoreless Cactus League innings, giving up just one hit and no walks while whiffing seven. Gore's star faded a bit over the past two seasons, yet he has superb stuff and could still emerge as a top MLB pitcher. It remains to be seen whether the Padres would entertain the thought of allowing him to take an up-for-grabs rotation spot, but continued spring dominance could at least force the organization to give that scenario considerable thought.

Either Musgrove or Yu Darvish will start against the Braves on Opening Day, according to manager Bob Melvin, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Musgrove was statistically the Padres' best pitcher last season, posting career-best marks with 203 strikeouts, a 3.18 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. Meanwhile, Darvish enjoyed a strong start to his Padres tenure but faded in the second half, at least partly due to back and hip issues. The hurlers are expected to top the team's rotation again this season, and both are strong fantasy targets as third-or-fourth-tier starters.