MLB Player News

Romero was signed as a potential designated hitter option back in February and won’t crack the Dodgers’ Opening Day roster. The only real surprise here is Pillar, who made a serious bid for a spot as a reserve outfielder this spring. He declined to opt-out of his minor league contract over the weekend, so he’ll likely head to Triple-A Oklahoma City to start the season.

He played one game for the Diamondbacks last season and wound up with the Nationals in spring training. Alcántara will probably help fill in for Aidan Miller at shortstop at Triple-A Lehigh Valley while Miller deals with a sore back that has him on the minor league injured list.

He’ll likely report to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Mercado hasn’t been in the big leagues since 2023 and, in his age-31 season, would probably need a rash of outfield injuries to see major league playing time in 2026.

LHP Chris Sale is on the mound, so the Royals have opted to bat righty Lane Thomas third and place Starling Marte in right field. Caglianone only started 12 games against a left-handed pitcher last year, so this isn’t a total surprise, but it’s disappointing that he’ll apparently have to earn his way into those situations. The full lineup for the Royals is: 3B Maikel Garcia, SS Bobby Witt, Thomas, C Salvador Perez, 1B Vinnie Pasquantino, Marte, 2B Jonathan India, LF Isaac Collins and DH Carter Jensen.

LHP Robbie Ray is starting. The Yankees promised they would play Rice against more left-handers this year. One game isn’t a whole season. But ... yeah, not ideal for Rice managers. Those with Rice in daily lineups should pivot. Paul Goldschmidt is batting first and leading off. The rest of the lineup is: Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger, Giancarlo Stanton, Amed Rosario, Jazz Chisholm, Jose Caballero, Randal Grichuk, and Austin Wells.

Heyward was one of the most-hyped prospects in recent memory, but never quite developed the power that would have made him a generational player. Instead he became a five-time Gold Glove winner with speed and on-base skills in a corner. He signed an eight-year, $194 million contract with the Cubs in free agency and helped the club break the curse in 2016. Heyward was released from that contract before it was over and bounced around with the Dodgers, Astros, and Padres in recent years.

Garcia underwent Tommy John surgery in October and is presumably signing a two-year pact here. The Yankees will oversee the 29-year-old’s rehab and hope they can rediscover his 2021-2022 form, where he started 56 games for the Astros and compiled a 3.60 ERA, 26 wins, and 324 strikeouts in 312.2 innings.

DeLauter, who got into two postseason games last October, got the Guardians on the board with a 353-foot homer in the first and then added some insurance with a one-run lead with a 422-foot blast in the ninth. He also had a single and another run scored in between. DeLauter’s struggles staying healthy as a minor leaguer don’t bode well, but there’s no questioning the former first-rounder’s talent. He’d seem to be worth using in mixed leagues for now.

He struck out one. Smith declined to play for Canada in the WBC after topping 70 innings out of the Guardians pen for a second straight year in 2025, but it probably would have gone just fine. He’s a definite threat to lead the league in saves with the closer’s role all to his own in Cleveland this year.

Gilbert struck out seven and walked one, but he gave up a Chase DeLauter homer in the first and two runs on three hits in the fifth. The DeLauter homer likely would have been prevented had Gilbert or Cal Raleigh challenged a 2-2 ball in the first, but both opted against it and DeLauter followed with the solo shot. Gilbert is slated to pitch again Tuesday against the Yankees.

Hoskins, who has five 25-homer seasons under his belt, hit the hardest ball of his career tonight, reaching 112.3 mph on his double. He’d previously gotten to 112.2 mph a couple of times, though his high since missing 2023 with an ACL tear was 111.2 mph. The Guardians might have brought him initially as a starter against lefties, but he’s probably going to play regularly for the foreseeable future. We wouldn’t rush to grab him in standard mixed leagues, but he might offer value in deeper formats.