MLB Player News

Anderson, 29 in March, got the boot to clear a 40-man roster spot for one of the Rays’ newest free agent signings -- either Manny Ramirez or Johnny Damon. The first baseman posted a rough .777 OPS in 30 games at Triple-A last year.

With everyone back from the WBC, the Jays trotted out what figures to be their initial lineup against righties: DH Springer, CF Daulton Varsho, 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr., RF Addison Barger, C Alejandro Kirk, LF Jesús Sánchez, 3B Kazuma Okamoto, 2B Ernie Clement, SS Andrés Giménez. It’s been a potent group this spring; everyone besides Kirk and Sánchez has at least a .950 OPS in Grapefruit League play.

The Yankees brought just three likely major leaguers with them, two of whom (Amed Rosario and Randal Grichuk) would typically only play against lefties. Ponce had an easy time with the group, even though his velocity fell off some today; he averaged 94.5 mph with his fastball, down from 96.0 in his previous four spring outings. Ponce’s rotation spot in Toronto could eventually come into jeopardy if they ever have all of their seven starters healthy at once. We like him in mixed leagues until then, though.

Weathers struck out five, but he gave up two homers and six other hits. His spring ERA is all of the way up to 11.68 through four outings. Still, his rotation spot probably won’t be on the line until Carlos Rodón returns and then Gerrit Cole beyond that.

Swinging harder meant more homers and more strikeouts for Varsho last year, and it certainly proved worth the tradeoff. This spring, though, he’s still swinging hard and just not missing; he’s batting .442/.489/.953 with two strikeouts in 47 plate appearances. We doubt he’ll have such an easy time once the games begin to matter, but he seems underrated at this point, especially the Jays likely to make him their usual No. 2 hitter.

That had been the unfortunate expectation once he was diagnosed with a Grade 2 UCL strain, but it’s now official. Dr. Keith Meister will perform the operation. The 24-year-old hurler will miss the entire 2026 season and likely the first half of the 2027 campaign as well while recovering.

There had been growing speculation that the 22-year-old phenom could displace Luis Gil in the Yankees’ Opening Day rotation after his terrific showing during Grapefruit League play, but he’ll open up the season in the rotation at Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre instead. Look for him to make starts for the Yankees at some point during the 2026 campaign.

The 30-year-old southpaw is behind the other Red Sox’ starters in camp with his buildup after being away at the World Baseball Classic, so they’ll give him a few extra days before making his regular season debut. He should be expected to start at some point during the team’s second series of the season which begins on Monday, March 30 against the Astros in Houston.

Hamilton struggled last year with the Yankees, getting booted from the roster after their trade deadline acquisitions came in. He finished with a 4.28 ERA in 40 innings and did not reappear for the Yankees at any point in August, September, or October. He’d pitched in just two games with the Braves in Spring Training, managing a 5.40 ERA and a 3.00 WHIP.

Vilade parked a 99.1 mph Jose Alvarado sinker into the seats. It was his first of the spring and boosted his overall batting line to .225/.319/.350 in 45 plate appearances. Vilade is a plausible short-side platoon bat on Tampa’s Opening Day roster, but he’s likely only of fantasy interest in leagues with daily transactions.

Philadelphia’s second baseman is off to a .364/.450/.667 tear in 39 Spring Training plate appearances and this was his third homer in Grapefruit League play. He remains a viable NL-only league starter and is an acceptable fringe option in 15-team leagues given his power/speed combo. If he could perk the average up a few more points or shed the platoon player label, it would go a long way for his fantasy viability.