MLB Player News

Grady Sizemore was the alternative, but he’s now expected to begin the season on the disabled list following a back strain. Brantley will likely move from left field to center, but Acta plans to give other players a look before making a final decision. Ezequiel Carrera, Felix Pie, Trevor Crowe and Ryan Spilborghs are among the possibilities.

As expected, the Rangers granted Canha’s request, and the 37-year-old is now free to explore other opportunities. It’s still hard to imagine him landing a major league deal elsewhere, he’s probably going to have to spend some time in the minor leagues.

The 27-year-old right-hander struck out three batters on the night, though he only threw 27 of his 50 pitches for strikes in the ballgame. The most encouraging part of his start is that his fastball sat in the 95-97 mph range. He’s going to need at least a couple more rehab starts before he’s an option to join the Braves’ rotation.

The 37-year-old would like to explore big league opportunities elsewhere. While he chose to remain with the organization after he didn’t make the team out of spring training, Canha has remained at extended spring training since then and has not appeared in any minor league games. The expectation is that the Rangers will accommodate his request.

The 33-year-old superstar got the Guardians on the board first, ambushing a first-pitch fastball from Shane Baz for a 388-foot (103.9 mph EV) two-run shot in the home half of the first inning, giving the Guardians a lead they would never relinquish. Ramírez also led off the sixth inning with a walk and scored on an RBI single off the bat of George Valera. With his two-hit effort, Ramírez is now hitting .224/.322/.434 with four homers, 10 RBI and eight stolen bases through his first 87 plate appearances.

Kwan smacked an RBI single off of Shane Baz in the fifth inning that increased the Guardians’ lead to 3-0. The 28-year-old outfielder is now hitting .253/.325/.333 with one homer, seven RBI, two stolen bases and a 9/7 K/BB ratio over his first 84 plate appearances on the season.

Smith came on after Parker Messick allowed back-to-back singles to start the ninth inning. He made things interesting by allowing a leadoff single to Taylor Ward that loaded the bases. Smith then allowed a long sacrifice fly to Gunnar Henderson and an RBI double to Pete Alonso before retiring Colton Cowser on a fly ball to center for the second out. Finally, he got Samuel Basallo to ground out to second to end the night. Smith has now converted four of his first six save chances on the season while posting a 4.50 ERA across his first 10 innings.

He allowed a leadoff walk to Taylor Ward to start the game and another to Leody Taveras to start the sixth inning but that was the only traffic on the bases against him until Taveras singled on the first pitch of the ninth inning to break up the no-hit bid. Blaze Alexander then followed with a single before Messick handed the ball over to Cade Smith — and both inherited runners ultimately scored. The 25-year-old rookie left-hander struck out nine batters on the night while issuing a pair of walks. He got 18 swings and misses on 112 pitches on the night — nine of those on his changeup — while posting a solid CSW of 30 percent. Now 3-0 on the season, he’ll carry a microscopic 1.05 ERA, 0.74 WHIP and a 25/7 K/BB ratio (25 2/3 innings) into Tuesday’s matchup against the Astros.

Taveras also drew a walk in the contest, reaching base twice on a day in which Messick was nearly un-hittable. He also scored the O’s first run on a sacrifice fly by Gunnar Henderson in the ninth. He’s off to a nice start at the dish this season, slashing .375/.487/.469 with zero homers, eight RBI and a 9/7 K/BB ratio in his first 40 plate appearances.

The 26-year-old right-hander also issued three walks on the night while racking up six strikeouts. He served up a two-run homer to Jose Ramirez in the first inning, then the Guardians scratched out single runs against him in the fifth and sixth innings to pile on. Baz got nine swings and misses on 99 pitches on the night, registering a CSW of 26 percent. Now 0-2 on the season, he’ll tote a 4.91 ERA, 1.55 WHIP and a 19/8 K/BB ratio (22 innings) into Tuesday’s matchup against the Royals in Kansas City.

Young was hit by a pitch in the seventh inning on Thursday that tied the game at 6-6. Butera noted that the ball glanced off of Young’s wrist and hit him on the left hand and that he was dealing with some bruising on his wrist and finger. He felt fine taking swings in the cages, but he’ll be re-evaluated on Friday and the Nationals will see how he’s feeling once the adrenaline wears off. For now, he’s considered day-to-day.