MLB Player News

Kelly (back) threw a bullpen session Thursday and said he felt fine afterwards, Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports reports.

Kelly unleashed his entire arsenal during the session, throwing close to 30 pitches. "I got a chance to speak with him directly after the bullpen, and he said he feels really good," Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. The Diamondbacks have yet to determine the next steps for the right-hander, but the fact that Kelly was able to return to the mound this early in spring training bodes well for his availability for the regular season.

Chourio is out of the lineup for Venezuela's World Baseball Classic game against the Netherlands on Friday due to a left hand injury, Daniel Alvarez-Montes of ElExtraBase.com.

The 21-year-old was hit by a pitch during Wednesday's exhibition game and won't start Friday, but he's expected to be available to pinch run and play defense after X-rays came back negative, per Alvarez-Montes. The injury doesn't appear to be a serious concern, but it's unclear if Chourio will be cleared to rejoin the lineup for Saturday's matchup with Israel.

Merrill went 3-for-4 with a home run, a double, two total runs and two total RBI in a Cactus League win over Seattle on Thursday.

Merrill's third-inning, two-run blast was one of eight long balls hit by San Diego during the 27-6 thrashing of the Mariners. It's been a strong spring so far for Merrill, who is slashing .333/.400/.778 with two homers and four RBI through eight games. He's locked in as the Padres' everyday center fielder and will look to rebound from a somewhat disappointing sophomore campaign, which saw him post a .774 regular-season OPS (down from his rookie .826 mark) while missing nearly 50 games due to injuries.

Espinal went 2-for-2 with a pair of home runs and six RBI in Thursday's Cactus League loss to Cincinnati.

Espinal got the scoring started quietly in the first inning with a sacrifice fly, then produced much louder output with a solo homer in the third frame and a three-run blast in the fourth. He finished off his big contest with another sacrifice fly in the fifth. The veteran utility man is now slashing an absurd .625/.636/1.125 over seven games this spring. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts suggested prior to Thursday's contest that Espinal is likely to make the team's Opening Day roster, and if that's indeed the case, he'll likely serve in a super-utility role similar to what Enrique Hernandez -- who will begin the campaign on the 60-day IL due to an elbow injury -- typically logs. With that being said, Espinal is a career .261 hitter with just 20 home runs across 579 regular-season contests, so his power display Thursday shouldn't lead to expectation that he's suddenly going to be a major source of homers.

Luzardo allowed two hits and no walks in three shutout innings during Thursday's Grapefruit League game against Boston. He struck out five.

The hard-throwing southpaw appeared to be just about in midseason form during his spring debut, getting the velocity on his fastball as high as 98.5 mph. Luzardo is looking to build off an excellent first campaign with the Phillies a year ago, when he recorded a career-high 216 strikeouts over 183.2 regular-season innings and finished seventh in National League Cy Young voting.

Mendez was optioned to Double-A San Antonio on Thursday.

Mendez made two appearances with the Padres during spring training, giving up six runs on five hits and four walks while striking out three batters over two innings. The right-handed pitcher is one of San Diego's top prospects, but he'll need some time in the minor leagues to refine his craft before potentially getting a shot with the big-league squad.

Song was removed from Thursday's Cactus League game against the Mariners with right oblique tightness, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

Manager Craig Stammen said after Thursday's contest that Song's removal was precautionary, as the Padres didn't want to risk further damage to the 29-year-old's oblique, which he originally injured in January. Song may take a break from Cactus League action for a couple days, but his Opening Day availability doesn't currently seem to be at risk.

Buehler said Thursday that his right elbow stopped hurting about a month ago after trying various treatments, vitamins and supplements, Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports.

Buehler has had two Tommy John surgeries with the second coming in August of 2022. The right-hander's claim of being pain free comes as new teammate Joe Musgrove is returning from Tommy John surgery and is sharing some of the experiences Buehler had in the past. The 31-year-old Buehler had a 2.90 ERA across his first five seasons in MLB but has a 4.83 ERA across the past three years, and he's especially struggled the last two seasons since the surgery.

Mathews allowed two runs (one earned) on two hits while striking out seven over 2.2 frames in Thursday's Grapefruit League appearance against the Pirates.

Mathews served up a home run in his final inning of work after Nolan Gorman had committed an error. The lefty's outing was very encouraging on the whole, though. Mathews averaged 95.2 mph with his four-seamer, induced 12 whiffs on 50 pitches and didn't issue a walk to go along with his seven punchouts. The lefty had been shaky in his first two appearances of the spring, so this was a nice step in the right direction. Mathews is slated to open 2026 in the Triple-A Memphis rotation.

Edwards was removed from Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Astros with left calf tightness, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

The severity of Edwards' injury is still unclear, but the Marlins will likely provide more information following Thursday's contest. The 26-year-old infielder has gone 3-for-11 so far this spring with two RBI, a run scored and three steals over five games.