Austin Riley To Be Called Up

Atlanta Braves third base prospect Austin Riley will be called up to the majors to play in the outfield on Wednesday, according to David O'Brien of The Athletic. Ender Inciarte left Tuesday's contest with back tightness and Ronald Acuna will likely man center field in his place. The Braves had lately been giving Riley reps... Read More

Jose Altuve Placed On Injured List

Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve (hamstring) was placed on the 10-day IL with a strained left hamstring that he aggravated in Friday's contest. He will be eligible to return on May 20th, and Aledmys Diaz will get the majority of the starts at second while Altuve is recovering. This is only the second injured... Read More

Jorge Alfaro Sits Sunday

Miami Marlins catcher Jorge Alfaro is out of the lineup on Sunday. Backup catcher Chad Wallach will start instead and bat seventh. The move isn't surprising given that Sunday's contest is a day game after a night game. Alfaro hit two home runs on Saturday and is sporting a .973 OPS, so expect him to... Read More

Dan Straily Released By Marlins

The Miami Marlins have released starter Dan Straily and will be going with their younger arms to start the season. Straily gave up 11 earned runs in 16 1/3 innings this spring, while striking out 14 and walking five. Young fireballer Sandy Alcantara was a surprise choice to start the year and likely took Straily's... Read More

Pablo Lopez, Trevor Richards Both Make Marlins Rotation

Miami Marlins starter Pablo Lopez has been tabbed to open the season in the rotation, along with Trevor Richards. Both pitchers had impressive springs and will join Jose Urena, Caleb Smith and surprise opener Sandy Alcantara to face a formidable NL East division. Lopez immediately turned heads this spring with a noticeable uptick in his... Read More

Sandy Alcantara Will Open In Marlins Rotation

Miami Marlins starter Sandy Alcantara will be a part of the Marlins rotation, a surprising development given his struggles to find the plate this spring. He beat out Dan Straily for a spot despite walking 11 batters in 15 spring innings to go with 21 strikeouts. He still pumps a fastball in the upper 90s... Read More

Wei-Yin Chen Will Start Season In Bullpen

Miami Marlins starter Wei-Yin Chen will start the 2019 season as a reliever, manager Don Mattingly announced on Sunday. The move is not entirely surprising as opponents have batted Chen around this spring. In 16 1/3 innings, batters have scored 17 runs off 21 hits, three of which were homers. He's only struck out eight... Read More

Justin Verlander Dominates In Final Spring Start

Houston Astros starter Justin Verlander celebrated his new $66 million, two-year extension by striking out nine of the 14 Miami Marlins he faced on Saturday. He allowed only two hits, both singles, and no walks. What's even scarier is that the fact that Verlander was working on a hip adjustment that he claims to have... Read More

Kyle Farmer Will Start Season With Reds

Cincinnati Reds catcher and utility infielder Kyle Farmer will begin the season on the team's 25-man roster as a result of Scooter Gennett's injury. Farmer had lost out on the team's backup catcher position to Curt Casali earlier in the week, but will now serve as depth on the bench. The most AB he's gotten... Read More

Scooter Gennett To Injured List With Groin Strain

Cincinnati Reds second baseman Scooter Gennett (groin) will be out eight to 12 weeks with a right groin strain, the team announced on Saturday. Gennett injured himself while fielding a ball during Friday's Cactus League game against Milwaukee and his MRI confirmed the severity of the injury. This is bad news for Gennett owners as... Read More

Julio Urias Moved To Dodgers Rotation

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Julio Urias will be a starter to begin the season, according to president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman. Urias was originally slated to begin the year in the bullpen, but a knee injury to Rich Hill has now pulled Urias into the rotation. He will return to relieving once Hill is... Read More

Neil Walker Homers Off Max Scherzer

Miami Marlins third baseman Neil Walker hit a home run off Nationals starter Max Scherzer on Friday, bringing his on-base percentage in March to .344 and his slugging percentage to .633. That makes four home runs this spring for the veteran, who is slotted to regularly bat third against righties and can also play first base.... Read More

Garrett Cooper Making Powerful Case To Make Team

Miami Marlins outfielder Garrett Cooper is doing everything he can to crack the Marlins 25-man roster. The 28-year-old went 2-for-3 on Friday, bringing his spring training OPS to .991 with a week to go. The Marlins already have Curtis Granderson, Lewis Brinson locked up to start the season, with only Pete O'Brien as Cooper's main... Read More

Jorge Alfaro Will Be Marlins Opening Day Catcher

Miami Marlins catcher Jorge Alfaro (knee) has been named the team's Opening Day catcher by Don Mattingly. Alfaro has not played in almost three weeks, but will be catching on Saturday when the team faces the Astros. Acquired over the offseason in the J.T. Realmuto trade with the Phillies, Alfaro has been dealing with knee... Read More

Julio Urias Will Start Season In Bullpen

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Julio Urias will start the season as a long reliever, according to manager Dave Roberts. The young hurler was in consideration to start in the rotation, but is still coming back from shoulder capsule surgery two years ago and was always presumed to have an innings limit this season. He pitched... Read More

Corey Seager Homers In First Cactus League Game

Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager (elbow, hip) hit a home run off Cubs starter Cole Hamels in his first Cactus League start on Wednesday night. It was Seager’s first professional game since two surgeries limited him to 26 games in 2018. Batting third, Seager finished the night going 1-for-2 with a sacrifice fly, giving... Read More

Shane Bieber Will Make MLB Debut Thursday

Cleveland Indians pitching prospect Shane Bieber will make his major league debut on Thursday against the Twins in order to give an extra day of rest to Trevor Bauer, according to manager Terry Francona in his Monday pre-game press conference. Bieber just threw a rain-shortened no-hitter in his last Triple-A start and has held opposing... Read More

Matt Kemp Continues To Rake With Runners In Scoring Position

Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp came off the bench in Monday night's contest versus the Phillies and delivered an RBI double. He now sports an astounding .447 average and 1.189 OPS when there are runners in scoring position. He leads the team in hits, average and on-base percentage and trails only Yasmani Grandal in... Read More

Tom Koehler Throws Off Mound

Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Tom Koehler (shoulder) is throwing off the mound a few months after being diagnosed with an anterior capsule strain. He was acquired in the offseason to be the bridge to closer Kenley Jansen after spending his career as a starter, but he was sidelined in spring training. No bullpen session is... Read More

Max Muncy Bats Second Monday, Matt Kemp Sits

Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Max Muncy will bat second in the order on Monday against starter Vince Velasquez and the Phillies at home. That moves regular first baseman Cody Bellinger to the outfield for his ninth start. Outfielder Matt Kemp, the team's best hitter, is sitting. Muncy hit a two-run, pinch-hit home run on... Read More

Daniel Murphy Gets Six RBI In Rehab Game

Washington Nationals second baseman Daniel Murphy (knee) went 2-for-4 with a home run and a double in his second rehab game on Sunday for the Double-A Harrisburg Senators. That gave him six RBI on the day after running well on the bases in his first game back. These are the first games that Murphy has... Read More

Max Muncy Crushers Another Homer, Earns Starts At Second Base

Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy hit a pinch-hit two-run home run, his sixth of the season. An impressed Dave Roberts mentioned after the game that Muncy will make some starts at second base to keep his bat in the lineup. In just 83 at-bats Muncy has an OPS of .872 and has 14... Read More

Walker Buehler Cruises To Another Victory

Los Angeles Dodgers starter Walker Buehler once again victimized the Padres, the team he helped no-hit at the start of the month, on Sunday. He gave up one earned run on four hits, striking out eight and walking none over seven innings. It was the third time in the last four starts where Buehler, who... Read More

Clayton Kershaw Will Start Thursday

Los Angeles Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw (bicep) will come off the disabled list on Thursday and start against the Phillies in L.A. Kershaw has been dealing with bicep tendinitis but has ramped up his throwing program through a series of bullpen sessions lately. In his last two outings before hitting the DL, Kershaw struck out... Read More

Kenta Maeda Has Another Dominant Outing

Los Angeles Dodgers starter Kenta Maeda shut out the Rockies on Wednesday over 6 2/3 innings. He allowed only two hits all night, struck out 12 and walked four. It was the second shutout in a row for him since changing his delivery and could portend a possible breakout. See if his owner isn't so... Read More

Clayton Kershaw Will Throw A Simulated Game Saturday

Los Angeles Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw (biceps) threw an extended bullpen session of 54 pitches on Wednesday, a great sign of how pain-free he is. He'll next throw a simulated game before likely returning to the rotation next week. Kershaw is recovering from biceps tendinitis but has thrown multiple bullpens in just the last week.... Read More

Kenley Jansen Earns Fourth Save In Five Days

Los Angeles Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen earned his 10th save of the year on Wednesday against the Rockies and his fourth in five days by striking out the side. He's now brought his ERA down to 2.91 and carries a WHIP of 1.11. Whatever was bothering him at the beginning of the season is long... Read More

Rich Hill Continues Throwing With Bandaged Finger

Los Angeles Dodgers starter Rich Hill (finger) threw another bullpen session on Wednesday with his finger in a bandage. He's recovering from yet another blister and got his fastball up to 92 mph. Still, it's unlikely he'll return until late June since the league doesn't allow for pitchers to throw with tape or bandages on... Read More

Juan Soto Batting Second Wednesday

Washington Nationals outfielder and top prospect Juan Soto has been moved up to second in the batting order for Wednesday's contest against San Diego right-hander Tyson Ross. This is Soto's third major league start and he's only 19. He showed incredible strike-zone recognition on Tuesday, letting four pitches from Eric Lauer go right below the... Read More

Rich Hill Throws Bullpen Despite Blister

Los Angeles Dodgers starter Rich Hill (finger) threw a 31-pitch bullpen session on Tuesday with a Band-Aid on his blistered finger. Hill is looking to come back quickly from this frequently-occurring injury, even going so far as to urinate on his hand to fight this particular blister. He likely won't be back for another month... Read More