MLB Player News

Figueroa was recalled to take the place of Graham Godfrey, who was optioned to the Triple-A level in a corresponding move. Figueroa will function as a middle reliever.

The 34-year-old outfielder turned back the clock in this one. He drew a one-out walk in the opening inning and deftly swiped second base, but the Halos were unable to cash him in. Trout then clubbed a 403-foot (108.5 mph EV) solo shot off of AJ Blubaugh in the seventh inning that gave the Angels a 1-0 lead they would never relinquish. There’s no denying that Trout can be a viable fantasy asset if he’s able to stay healthy, he just hasn’t been able to stay off the injured list in recent years.

Schanuel had been 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in the ballgame heading to the ninth inning, but he ended his day on a high note as he swatted a 383-foot (103.6 mph EV) solo shot off of Christian Roa that increased the Angels’ advantage to 3-0. Schanuel hit third for the Halos in this one — behind Zach Neto and Mike Trout — which could lead to ample RBI chances this season if that alignment becomes the norm.

With Kirby Yates, Robert Stephenson and Ben Joyce opening the season on the injured list, Romano was given the first shot to step up as the team’s closer. He ran with the opportunity on Thursday, getting a strikeout, a comebacker and a pop out to second base around a two-out walk that he issued to Yainer Diaz. Drew Pomeranz may be a factor if the opposition has strong left-handed hitters due up in the ninth inning, but for the time being it looks like Romano is the pitcher to roster in the Angels’ bullpen if scouring for saves.

The right-hander racked up seven strikeouts on the afternoon while issuing four free passes. The only real threat against him came in the third inning as the Astros used three walks (one intentional to Yordan Alvarez) to load the bases with two outs, but Soriano was able to get Carlos Correa to line out to left to escape unharmed. He got a whopping 19 swings and misses on 91 offerings on the day, registering an elite CSW of 36 percent. He’ll look to keep the good times rolling when he does battle against the Cubs in Chicago on Tuesday.

As a team, the Astros were only able to muster three hits against Jose Soriano and company, with Loperfido accounting for two of them personally. He smacked a one-out single in the second inning and a two-out double in the sixth, but the Astros were unable to cash him in either time. Loperfido started in left field and batted fifth for the Astros in this one, which is probably what we can expect going forward when the Astros are facing a right-handed starter.

The 27-year-old hurler scattered four hits on the afternoon, though he also issued four walks which led to an elevated pitch count and his early removal from the game. In total, Brown threw just 59 of his 102 pitches for strikes, generating 11 swings and misses to post a CSW of 26 percent. Even if he had made it through five innings, the Astros didn’t provide a single run of support for him, so he would not have earned a victory. He’ll look to keep on rolling when he takes on the Red Sox his next time out at home on Tuesday.

What were we thinking being worried about the Nationals offense? Jacob Young and Brady House joined Wiemer in homering today. Wiemer’s blast off Matthew Boyd was recorded at 110.5 mph, his hardest-hit ball in the majors or in Triple-A since he reached 110.0 mph in 2024. The Nationals figured to primarily play him against lefties, but there’s plenty of upward mobility possibilities in D.C. Maybe he’ll get the nod Friday against Cade Horton after his showing today.

The Nationals gave Cavalli a 7-2 lead by scoring six times in the top of the fourth, but he couldn’t finish the bottom of the inning, much less stay in for the fifth to qualify for the win. Cavalli struck out five and walked three while throwing 75 pitches to get his 11 outs. With his ability to generate grounders, he’ll start getting quicker outs at some point. However, he’s probably not going to offer mixed-league value in the short term. He’ll make his next start Wednesday in Philadelphia.

It looks like the Nationals were setting things up for Cole Henry to get the save chance today, though he went unused in the bottom of the ninth after the team upped its lead from four runs to six runs in the top of the inning. It’s just a tiny bit of a surprise, as it looked like Beeter might have the edge over Henry at the end of the spring. Still, this is situation that figures to continue evolving over the course of the season, and because the Nationals still figure to be pretty bad, neither Beeter nor Henry seems like a must-roster guy right now.

Boyd struck out seven and walked only one, but the contact against him was very loud. Seven of the nine balls in play against him were hard-hit, with four of those topping 105 mph. He gave up a 111-mph homer to Joey Weimer and a 111-mph shot to right to CJ Abrams that would have been a homer in 29 ballparks (Abrams wound up being thrown out at second after watching his single). Boyd’s velocity was fine today. He also had some issues with hard contact this spring, but he still seems like a fine bet at the moment. He’ll get the Angels next.