MLB Player News

Bard elected free agency last October after being removed from the Yankees’ 40-man roster. The 32-year-old righty reliever wound up making nine relief appearances last season between the Yankees and Rays. He holds a respectable 4.44 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 68/25 K/BB ratio across 81 innings (55 appearances, three starts) in the majors since 2018. He’ll compete this spring for a spot on the division-rival Blue Jays’ season-opening roster.

Graceffo has made the conversion to a full-time relief role this spring and looked sharp in a handful of Grapefruit League appearances. The 26-year-old will open the regular season back in the minors but should factor into the Cardinals’ relief mix at some point.

Burrows told reporters afterwards that he’s fine after being struck by a 91.9 mph grounder from Mets infielder Jorge Polanco during the sixth inning of Saturday’s spring start. The 26-year-old will open the regular season as part of Houston’s five-man rotation after allowing just three runs with a 17/6 K/BB ratio across 18 innings of work this spring.

No surprise here after Logan Henderson was shipped back to Triple-A earlier this week. Sproat will open the season pitching at the back-end of Milwaukee’s rotation after being acquired from the Mets in an offseason trade. The 25-year-old pitching prospect offers enough strikeout upside to make an impact in deeper fantasy leagues.

Nelson will follow Opening Day starter Zac Gallen with Eduardo Rodriguez closing out a three-game series against the Dodgers. It’ll be Michael Soroka and Brandon Pfaadt kicking off their ensuing series against the Tigers. Lovullo confirmed that veteran Merrill Kelly (back) will open the season on the injured list but could return at some point in early April.

Brasier has been granted his release to pursue opportunities elsewhere after failing to make Texas’ season-opening bullpen as a non-roster invitee. The 38-year-old veteran right-hander gave up seven runs (six earned) over 7 1/3 innings this spring.

It appears to be a precautionary exit after Burrows was struck in the sixth inning by a 91.9 mph ground ball from Mets infielder Jorge Polanco in the lower left leg. The 26-year-old righty was at 77 pitches (54 strikes) already and left the contest after allowing one run on seven hits with two strikeouts. He was charged with two additional runs following his departure. There should be a definitive update on his status at some point after he undergoes further evaluation.

Riley took Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet deep to lead off the second inning with a mammoth blast that traveled 399 feet and left his bat at 109.6 mph. He also drove in another run with a third-inning double that capped off a three-run outburst for the Braves against Crochet in the frame. He wasn’t done yet, tacking on another two-run double in the fifth, just for good measure. The 28-year-old slugger looks like an obvious rebound candidate for fantasy purposes after being limited by injuries to fewer than 110 games in each of the past two seasons. He’s put together a fantastic spring, batting .405 (15-for-37) with five homers and one steal in 15 games.

Sale brought a little extra against his former team, routinely hitting the mid-to-upper 90’s with his fastball, needing an efficient 86 pitches (55 strikes) to complete six frames. The 36-year-old fantasy ace opens the regular season with a favorable home matchup against the Royals on Thursday evening. He’ll be a top-10 range fantasy starter in all drafts this spring.

Crochet surrendered six hits, including a towering solo homer to Braves slugger Austin Riley in his final spring training outing. Most of the damage came during the third inning when he coughed up three consecutive run-scoring hits with two outs in the frame. He finishes with a bloated 7.36 ERA and lackluster 8/3 K/BB ratio over 14 2/3 innings this spring. There’s zero reason for fantasy managers to be concerned based on last year’s performance. The 26-year-old ace gets the ball on Thursday against the Reds in a tough road matchup at Great American Ball Park to open the season.

Cruz took Blue Jays reliever Jorge Alcala deep in the sixth inning for his second big fly of the spring. He singled and swiped second base, his fifth steal of the spring, earlier in the contest with Toronto ace Kevin Gausman on the hill. The 27-year-old center fielder has put together a strong spring, hitting .417 (10-for-24) through nine games.