MLB Player News

Manager Alex Cora said Wednesday that Eovaldi will draw the Opening Day start against the Yankees on April 7, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.

The Red Sox announced Wednesday that Chris Sale (ribs) will miss the start of the regular season, so Eovaldi will be tabbed for the Opening Day start at Yankee Stadium. The right-hander made 32 starts for Boston last year and posted a 3.75 ERA and 1.19 WHIP in 182.1 innings, and he's slated to make his first spring start of 2022 against the Rays on Friday.

Corbin (finger) said Wednesday that he expects to be ready to pitch in time for the start of the 2022 season, Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post reports.

Corbin missed the end of the 2021 campaign due to a blister on his finger, but he hopes to be built up to around 100 pitches by the time the regular season gets underway in 2022. The southpaw has made 30-plus starts in each of the last four full seasons, but he struggled last year, posting a 5.82 ERA and 1.47 WHIP in 171.2 innings across 31 starts.

Canning said Wednesday that he hit a snag in his recovery from a back injury a few weeks ago and won't be ready to pitch by Opening Day, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

If healthy, Canning would have been in contention for the sixth and final spot in the Angels' rotation heading into Opening Day, but his injury leaves Reid Detmers and Jaime Barria as the primary candidates for the No. 6 role. Canning was shut down in mid-July of last season with a stress fracture in his lower back, so it's somewhat disconcerting that he's already incurred another setback leading up to the start of the 2022 campaign. Because he wasn't particularly effective in his 13 starts with the Angels last season and is now working his way back from injury, Canning seems likelier to report to Triple-A Salt Lake rather than the big club once he's back to full strength.

Flaherty (shoulder) underwent an MRI on Wednesday, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

Flaherty was absent from Tuesday's team workout since he was having his right shoulder evaluated, and the Cardinals are hopeful that Flaherty's MRI will provide a diagnosis for the extent of his injury. Even if the issue is deemed to be minor, any potential delay in the right-hander's spring training workload could limit his availability to begin the regular season.

Hoglund was traded from the Blue Jays to the Athletics on Wednesday along with Kevin Smith, Zach Logue and Kirby Snead in exchange for Matt Chapman, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports.

The 22-year-old righty once had a chance to be the first overall pick in 2021, but he needed Tommy John surgery in May of 2021, so he fell to the Blue Jays at pick 19. Hoglund could return to game action sometime this summer and immediately slots in as one of Oakland's top pitching prospects.

Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said Wednesday that Sale will be out for the start of the season after suffered a stress fracture on the right side of his ribcage, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.

According to Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald, Bloom said Sale picked up the injury while he was recently throwing a live batting practice session at his alma mater, Florida Gulf Coast. Though Sale has reportedly shown improvement since arriving at Red Sox camp once the lockout concluded, he won't have enough time to fully recover from the injury and stay on track in his buildup program before the season begins April 7. Nathan Eovaldi is thus positioned to get the Opening Day in place of Sale, whose target timeline for a return likely won't become clear until he resumes throwing again.

Gallen (shoulder) threw off a mound Tuesday, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports.

Gallen reported feeling fine following the session, which is an encouraging sign for the right-hander who started feeling stiffness when he ramped up throwing in December. He's expected to throw one or two more bullpens this week, which puts him slightly behind other starters. Gallen added it was too soon to tell if he'll be delayed at the start of the season, but he told Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that if he is behind schedule, it would not be by much.

Paddack (elbow) has been throwing bullpen sessions and is expected to compete for a spot in the Padres' starting rotation this season, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

Paddack was shut down in September of last season due to a slight UCL sprain in his right elbow, and he consequently started his offseason throwing program later than normally planned. However, he is said to be ready for game action and has already been tossing bullpen sessions in camp. San Diego's top four starters appear to be set in stone, so Paddack will likely compete with Nick Martinez, among others, for the final spot in the rotation.

Sandoval said Tuesday that his back issue was fully healed by mid-December and that he had a normal offseason, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

Sandoval was shut down in mid-August last season due to a left lumbar spine stress reaction, but that issue now appears to be a thing of the past. The southpaw mentioned "doing a lot of mobility and soft tissue" work in the offseason to increase mobility in his hips, suggesting that he identified the issue that led to the back injury. Sandoval figures to slot into the middle of the Angels' rotation in 2022 following a breakout 2021 campaign.

Darvish said Tuesday that he worked on his mechanics during the offseason and that his hip has healed "nicely," Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Darvish had a fantastic start to his debut campaign with the Padres in 2021, posting a 2.44 ERA and 115:23 K:BB though his first 96 innings. Things fell apart after that, however, as he registered a 6.65 ERA from July 3 onward. His struggles were at least partly due to back and hip issues that affected him throughout the second half of the campaign, so it makes sense that his offseason mechanical alterations were intended to help place less stress on the lower back and hip area. Darvish was outstanding in 2020 and for the first half of 2021, so there's certainly the possibility of a bounce-back performance this season. However, fantasy managers should keep in mind that the veteran is 36 years old and that back and hip injuries tend to be tough to entirely shake.