MLB Player News

Denaburg had to slow things down in the spring, but he’s back on track now. “I should be throwing bullpens in the next three weeks,” said Denaburg. “I go 150 feet throwing-wise, the next week 180 feet and then the week after that long toss, hopefully. If they approve of it, then I have that, which is really good.” A first-round pick for Washington in 2018, the 20-year-old Denaburg was limited to just 20 1/3 innings in rookie ball last year due to shoulder issues. This is another strange year in regard development, but the Nationals still have high hopes for him.

We assume this will be a minor league deal. Taylor hit .186/.256/.301 in 58 gams for the Dodgers and Angels last season, and he wasn’t much better in batting .202/.298/.300 in 2024. A bounce back at age 35 would be pretty surprising.

King was non-tendered by the Cardinals in November after posting a 4.66 ERA last year. The sinkerballer had come in at 3.47 over the previous four seasons, and the Marlins are making a small bet that he’ll get back into that territory. If it works out, he’ll probably be flipped for a prospect in July.

Simpson, 28, had a 7.34 ERA and a 36/22 K/BB in 30 2/3 innings as a rookie last season. That he throws fastballs only about one-third of the time contributes to his control woes, but it’s also probably his only hope of surviving as a major leaguer.

He’ll earn $1.85 million if he wins a spot. Montero, 35, had a 4.48 ERA in 60 1/3 innings for three teams last year, which was his best mark since 2022. He finished up nicely with the Tigers, posting a 2.86 ERA in 22 innings, but that came with a poor 19/14 K/BB. At best, he’s probably a 50/50 shot to make the Yankees.

Clarke Schmidt went on the 60-day IL to open up a spot. Goldschmidt joined the Yankees as their starting first baseman last year, but he’ll mostly be asked to play against lefties this season after faring far better against them than righties last season. Ben Rice will surely lose a few at-bats as a result of the move, but it seems like Austin Wells might fare worse with Rice set to do some catching this year.

Schmidt might return down the stretch after undergoing surgery late last July, though it might be late enough that he’s only considered as a reliever. The 29-year-old had a nice 3.32 ERA in 14 starts before getting hurt last season.

Paddack would seem to be more interesting as a reliever at this point, but it sounds like he’ll be the favorite to open up as the Marlins’ fifth starter over Janson Junk, Ryan Gusto and others. The 30-year-old Paddack had a 5.35 ERA and a poor 16.7% strikeout rate in 28 starts and five relief appearances for the Twins and Tigers last season. In 441 innings since 2020, his ERA stands at 5.06.

Henríquez underwent internal brace surgery in December and is slated to miss the 2026 season, though he should be ready to go in 2027. He looked like a potential closer last season, amassing a 2.25 ERA with a 98/27 K/BB in 73 innings.

It’s already the rule in the books, but enforcement of it is very scarce, and especially lately, coaches seem to be trying to get a little closer to the action in order to identify pitch tipping and potentially signal hitters. Coaches will first get a warning for any infractions and then are subject to ejection afterwards.

For reasons that weren’t exactly clear, the Orioles were especially quick to rule out Holliday for Opening Day as a result of the injury he suffered while hitting last Thursday. It sounds like they expect him to miss much of April, which should lead to Blaze Alexander starting at second or perhaps Coby Mayo playing third while Jordan Westburg slides over to second.