MLB Player News

Vasquez allowed one run on five hits while striking out two batters over two innings in a Cactus League contest against the Cubs on Monday.

Vasquez allowed constant traffic on the basepaths, but four of the five hits he surrendered were singles, and he managed to yield just one run. The most impressive parts of Vasquez's outing were the seven whiffs he registered on 31 pitches and the six different pitch types he deployed. Vasquez is battling for the final spot in San Diego's rotation, with Kyle Hart, Matt Waldron, Jhony Brito and Stephen Kolek all in the mix as well.

Darvish won't appear in a Cactus League contest until early March, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

Darvish isn't dealing with any injury, but rather than ask him to take part in Cactus League competition, the Padres have thus far had him toss a simulated game and then throw in an intrasquad game. The veteran hurler tossed two scoreless frames Monday in the intrasquad affair, and he expressed afterward that he was happy with the results. Darvish figures to slot in behind Dylan Cease and Michael King in San Diego's rotation this season.

Richardson (undisclosed) allowed two runs on two hits and struck out one over one inning during Saturday's Cactus League game against the Brewers.

Richardson has returned to health after an unspecified injury sidelined him near the end of the 2024 season. This wasn't a great start to camp for someone who is competing for a big-league roster spot, though he should get a few more opportunities to show what he can do.

Perdomo (elbow) pitched a scoreless inning during Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Twins.

Perdomo failed to make an appearance in 2024 while on the mend from Tommy John surgery. Saturday's outing was a great spring debut for the southpaw, who will likely be brought along slowly following a lengthy recovery.

Rosario seems to "have a leg up" on a bench spot on San Diego's Opening Day roster, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

Rosario has gotten off to a great start this spring, going 3-for-8 with a home run and a double. Additionally, he's played three different positions -- second base, third base and left field. The latter position is a new one for Rosario, and if he handles it well it could further help his bid for a roster spot after the team lost Jurickson Profar, who played left field last year, to free agency during the offseason. Rosario posted an .814 OPS over a small sample size (57 plate appearances) last season, but he did almost all of his damage against southpaws, posting a .368 OPS against right-handers. To that end, he mentioned specifically working on hitting righties in the Dominican League this winter, and all three of his hits so far this spring have come against right-handed pitchers.

Ohtani (shoulder/elbow) threw 25 pitches, including some cutters, in a bullpen session Saturday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Manager Dave Roberts described Ohtani's inclusion of cutters in the throwing session as a "big step." Roberts also noted that Ohtani touched 95 mph during the bullpen, which is only a few ticks below his average fastball velocity in 2023, his most recent campaign on the mound. Ohtani appears to be on track to make his highly anticipated debut as a pitcher for the Dodgers sometime around the beginning of May.

Madrigal (shoulder) was placed on the 60-day injured list Monday.

It was reported earlier in the day that Madrigal is expected to miss a significant period of time recovering from a fractured left shoulder, so this transaction is purely procedural. The move opens up a spot on the 40-man roster for Alexander Canario, who was acquired from the Cubs in exchange for cash considerations Monday.

Canario was traded from the Cubs to the Mets in exchange for cash considerations Monday, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports.

Canario has showcased plenty of power during his time in the minors. He belted 18 home runs at Triple-A Iowa during the 2024 campaign, though he's appeared in only 21 total games in the major leagues during his professional career. Canario will get a spot on the 40-man roster upon his arrival to New York with the Mets freeing up a spot by placing Nick Madrigal (shoulder) on the 60-day injured list.

Verlander gave up one run (on a home run) over two innings with a strikeout and walk in his San Francisco spring debut Monday. "Overall, I'm healthy," Verlander told MLB.com. "I thought the velo was OK for the first start of the spring. Better than what I was doing last year, so that's a big improvement. Overall, I was pleased."

Verlander battled shoulder and neck injuries in 2024, the latter of which he's hinted at returning too soon from and could have played a factor in him finishing the year with a 5.48 ERA and 1.38 WHIP over 90.1 innings. It's a good sign he's fully healthy as spring training begins. However, at age 42 this season it's not a given he'll return to anything close to his pre-2024 form.

Glasnow pitched one inning against Cincinnati in a Cactus League contest Monday, allowing two runs on three hits while striking out two batters.

Glasnow struck out the first two batters he faced before giving up three straight hits, including a two-run double by Austin Hays that ended with Hays getting thrown out at third base. Glasnow threw just 16 pitches in the frame, so he did some more throwing in the bullpen after he was lifted, per Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times. The right-hander isn't scheduled to start either of the Dodgers' two Tokyo contests versus the Cubs to kick off the MLB regular season, but he's expected to pitch in one of the team's two exhibition games in Japan versus teams from the Nippon Professional Baseball Organization leading up to the series against Chicago, per Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register.