MLB Player News

Gimenez did some pitching and catching for the Cubs and Twins in 2018, but this new speciality coaching gig in Los Angeles presumably signals an end to his playing days. The 35-year-old batted .218/.307/.344 over parts of 10 major league seasons. The Dodgers have also promoted Aaron Bates from the minors to serve as their new assistant hitting coach at the MLB level.

Bogaerts scalded a 410-foot double against Mariners starter Luis Castillo, which left his bat at 111.4 mph. The 33-year-old veteran middle infielder posted a career-high 20 steals last year in just 136 games but managed just 11 round-trippers during that span. It doesn’t seem outlandish to suggest a 15-homer, 15-steal season is possible, which would make him extremely impactful in deeper mixed leagues.

Adam has twirled a pair of hitless frames this spring in his return from last year’s quad surgery and could potentially be on San Diego’s season-opening roster. The 34-year-old veteran will operate in a high-leverage role behind elite stopper Mason Miller.

Márquez appears penciled into San Diego’s season-opening rotation after another strong outing where he piled up a staggering 22 swinging strikes against a watered-down Seattle lineup. The 31-year-old’s track record away from Coors Field suggests he could be a decent streaming option in deeper fantasy leagues.

Castillo appears on track to take the ball this weekend against the Guardians to kick off the regular season after wrapping up spring training with a lackluster 7.80 ERA and 13/4 K/BB ratio across 15 innings. The lack of big-time strikeout upside at this stage of his career limits his fantasy appeal to more of a back-end rotation stabilizer capacity.

It’s flown a bit under the radar fantasy-wise, but Hoerner has put together a strong spring, batting .389 (14-for-36) with six extra-base hits, including a pair of home runs, in 14 games. The 28-year-old speedster will occupy the leadoff spot in Chicago’s formidable lineup and projects as a top-10 second baseman fantasy-wise thanks to a realistic 25-steal, 80-runs scored floor to go along with a strong batting average.

Palencia was named Chicago’s closer roughly a month ago by skipper Craig Counsell and he’s looked the part this spring, putting together a dominant run as Venezuela’s stopper in the World Baseball Classic before finishing Cactus League play with four shutout frames. The hard-throwing 26-year-old has the talent to blossom into an upper-echelon fantasy closer this season and looks like a borderline top-10 option already.

Imanaga generated a staggering 17 swinging strikes, with nearly half of them (eight) coming on his sweeper alone. The 32-year-old’s fastball velocity was up nearly two miles per-hour in this outing as he continues to flash increased velocity this spring, leading to a 4.50 ERA and 18/3 K/BB ratio across 18 innings of work. He’s looked extremely impressive this spring, causing his fantasy stock to increase as a result, vaulting him into the top 40-50 range among starting pitchers entering the year. He’s in line to take the ball on Saturday against the Nationals to kick off the regular season.

It was a deflating end to an otherwise electric spring for Lagrange as he served up a staggering nine hits, including home runs to Michael Busch and Alex Bregman, on a 93-degree afternoon in the Arizona desert. The hard-throwing 22-year-old top pitching prospect appears poised to reach New York at some point later this season but was unlikely to make the club’s season-opening roster, especially since he’s pitched just 78 1/3 innings above High-A in his career. He’ll marinade a bit longer on the doorstep of the big leagues but it wouldn’t be surprising to see him come up as a dominant multi-inning reliever at some point later this year.

It’ll likely be a temporary demotion for Arrighetti since Astros manager Joe Espada told reporters he’ll be an option once they expand to a six-man rotation at some point in April. The 26-year-old righty was limited to just seven starts due to injuries last year. He’ll offer some appeal as a streaming option in deeper mixed leagues once he returns to Houston.

It sounds like the Dodgers are planning to bring Snell along extremely slowly over the next two months as he gradually builds up his pitch count and stamina until he’s ready to make his season debut at some point in May. He’s been working his way back from a shoulder injury that put him behind the rest of the rotation earlier in camp. The same goes for Edman, who is still working his way back from offseason ankle surgery, and didn’t end up appearing in any spring training contests.