MLB Player News

Stroman pitched two perfect innings in Friday's Cactus League game against the Giants. He struck out three.

Stroman wasn't expected to pitch deep into the game in his spring training debut, but he looked very sharp while he was on the mound. The Cubs' big offseason addition should slot in behind Kyle Hendricks in the rotation this year. Stroman was good in 2021 with the Mets, posting a 3.02 ERA and 1.15 WHIP across 179 innings, and should be a solid fantasy contributor in 2022.

Eovaldi allowed two runs on three hits while striking out three and walking none over three innings in Friday's spring training game against the Rays.

Eovaldi was dominant over the first two innings before getting fatigued in the third. There's still time left in camp for Evoladi to make three more starts before taking the ball Opening Day in Yankee Stadium on Apr. 7. However, manager Alex Cora said he was not locked into giving his starters four spring starts. "We have to be careful. We'll see how he feels after this one and then we'll reassess what we have to do," Cora said. Whether the righty makes two or three more starts, Eovaldi should be up to working about five innings by the start of the regular season.

Lodolo tossed two perfect innings while striking out four Friday against the Guardians.

One of the top left-handed pitching prospects in the game, Lodolo has a chance to win a big-league rotation spot this spring, especially if he pitches at the level he did Friday. Hunter Greene and Justin Dunn (shoulder) are also in the mix for a rotation spot, and there could be another opening if Luis Castillo and/or Tyler Mahle gets traded.

Chirinos (elbow) was placed on the 60-day injured list Friday, Neil Solondz of the Rays Radio Network reports.

Chirinos would be recovered from Tommy John surgery by now under ordinary circumstances, as he underwent the procedure back in August 2020. Unfortunately, he broke his elbow last September and had to undergo a second surgery. It's unclear when he'll pitch again, but it won't be before early June.

Flaherty received a PRP injection Friday to address a small tear in his right shoulder and will be shut down from throwing for at least two weeks, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Flaherty went for a second opinion after undergoing an MRI on Wednesday and is now confirmed to be unavailable for the start of the season. The 26-year-old was limited to 78.1 innings last season due to oblique and shoulder strains, and he's now sidelined by another shoulder issue to begin 2022. Even if Flaherty is cleared to start a throwing program immediately after the two-week shutdown, he likely won't be available for at least the first month of the season as he'll need to build back up to a starter's workload.

Anderson signed a one-year, $8 million deal with the Dodgers on Friday, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.

Anderson posted a passable 4.53 ERA in 31 starts for the Pirates and Mariners last season, as his strong 5.4 percent walk rate got cancelled out by a low 19.1 percent strikeout rate and 35.1 percent groundball rate. Unless the Dodgers can unlock something new in his profile, he'll be fighting for a back-end starter spot at best. The team does have two of those spots up for grabs while Trevor Bauer remains on administrative leave, leaving Anderson to compete with Andrew Heaney, Tony Gonsolin, Mitch White and David Price for starts.

Lange was sent from the Padres to the Yankees on Friday in exchange for Luke Voit, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.

Lange's 6.95 ERA in 22 innings at the rookie-ball level last season is far from inspiring. The Padres liked him enough to take him 34th overall in the 2020 Draft however, and that poor ERA did at least come with an 28.4 percent strikeout rate. He'll have to cut his 14.7 percent walk rate significantly if he's to have a big-league career, but he still has several seasons to figure that out.

Kershaw will start Friday's spring opener against the Brewers, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.

Kershaw entered the offseason with major injury concerns after missing the playoffs with a forearm issue, and those concerns were only heightened when the Dodgers declined to tender him a qualifying offer. He re-signed with the team shortly following the end of the lockout however, indicating that Los Angeles felt at least reasonably confident about his health, and he's since said he's 100 percent healthy and will be ready for Opening Day. Some skepticism about that statement seems fair, but if he gets through his Friday appearance without issue, there will be little reason to worry about his early-season availability.

Corbin intends to work on keeping his pitches down this season, Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post reports.

The veteran left-hander did just that in two simulated innings Wednesday, and what little success Corbin experienced in 2021 came when he attacked the bottom of the strike zone. The 32-year-old admitted Wednesday he got away from that approach last year in an effort to give up fewer homers. "Sometimes when you have a couple starts where you struggle and you're looking at those things a little too much, it's like, 'Hey, you got to pitch up more,' " Corbin explained at his locker Wednesday morning. "And it's kind of... not everyone is like that. Not everyone can do that or has the stuff for that." He's not too far removed from a 2019 campaign in which he posted a 3.25 ERA and 1.18 WHIP with a 28.5 percent strikeout rate, and the Nationals desperately need Corbin to regain something close to that form with Max Scherzer now a Met and Stephen Strasburg still recovering from last summer's thoracic outlet surgery. If he can put together a solid spring, Corbin might even take the mound Opening Day for Washington.

German's injury was diagnosed as right shoulder impingement syndrome Friday.

Reports of shoulder issues popped up at the start of the week, but German hit the 60-day injured list Thursday before a specific diagnosis has emerged. He now has that diagnosis, though a precise timeline for his return is not yet clear.