MLB Player News

We have to admit, we’re a bit confused. On Monday, Woodruff gave an interview where he said that he wasn’t sure if he would be ready for Opening Day. Perhaps he meant that literally, and the Brewers are suggesting he’ll start one of the other games to begin the season? All we know for sure is that Woodruff will throw a live batting practice session on March 1 and then begin his game progression. If all goes well, it wouldn’t be a surprise for him to be ready for Opening Day, but considering he ended last season with a lat injury and began last season by recovering from shoulder capsule surgery, there is plenty of risk here.

Taylor also swiped his first bag in his third game since being called up Wednesday. In another timeline, Taylor is a well-established MLB bench player thanks to his speed, versatility and modest on-base skills. It hasn’t worked out in this one, but as lacking as the Padres are at the moment, maybe he’ll play enough to offer some NL-only value.

He’s probably not getting a plaque for it, but Buehler is the first pitcher this year to allow eight hits in an outing of fewer than five innings and allow only one run. He struck out four and walked two before coming out a 1-1 game with two on and two out in the fifth. Buehler deserves credit for keeping the Padres in the game every time he takes the mound, but he’s shown little in the way of upside while going 3-3 with a 4.33 ERA. He’ll face the Orioles on Sunday.

Abbott took a 2-1 lead into the seventh, when he gave up back-to-back doubles to start the inning and was pulled. Tejay Antone came in and allowed the inherited runner to score before preventing further damage. Abbott, who has now allowed three runs while getting exactly 18 outs in three consecutive starts, fell to 4-4 with a 4.10 ERA. He’s doing solid work, but the Cincinnati offense hasn’t been good enough to make it pay off in victories. He’ll face the D-backs on Sunday.

Fermin hadn’t started three straight days all year, so it’s safe to say he was only in there tonight because he homered Saturday and Sunday. Now we’ll wait and see whether the Padres will make it four games in a row. They could always DH him if they think he needs a break from catching.

The walk against Jason Adam in the eighth was well earned. McLain challenged three pitches in the at-bat and got all of them overturned. It was actually rather stunning to see a player with a career strikeout rate of 28 percent and three times as many strikeouts as walks express such confident knowledge of the strike zone.

Abrams’ hit off Keaton Winn tied the game. He then stole second base and scored the go-ahead run on a Daylen Lile single. Abrams is batting .289/.382/.533 while making a strong bid for his second All-Star appearances. He’s second in the majors with 51 RBI. Last year, he finished tied for 130th place with 60 in 144 games

It’s the third time in his eight bulk appearances that Mikolas has gone without allowing a run. He entered the season looking like the best 20-loss candidate in many years and then dropped each of his first three starts, amassing a 12.41 ERA in the process. However, since becoming primarily a bulk guy, he’s 1-2 with a 4.28 ERA in 48 1/3 innings over 11 appearances. He’s due to next pitch against the Mariners on Sunday.

Clayton Beeter, who has reemerged as the favorite for saves in D.C., entered in the seventh and wound up with the win despite allowing two runs in the eighth, giving the Giants a 3-1 lead. The Nationals, though, came back with three in the top of the ninth, and Varland shut the door from there. We’re not sure any Nationals reliever is worth rostering in 10- or 12-team leagues at the moment, but Beeter is probably still the best bet of the group. Varland’s save was his first since May 7.

Webb struck out seven and walked none before leaving with a 3-1 lead that got blown by Keaton Winn in the ninth. At least it’s Webb’s second straight outstanding start, as he pitched seven scoreless innings with one hit allowed last week against the Brewers. Given how shaky he was in April, casting some doubt on how he’d perform while losing that extra margin for error he seemed get from umpire pre-ABS, before spending much of May on the IL, there’s suddenly a lot more to be encouraged about here. He’ll face the Cubs on Sunday.

This is a big failure for Winn, who was trying for his second save of the year and instead saw his ERA jump from 2.40 to 3.23. Give the advantage back to Caleb Kilian in the San Francisco pen.