MLB Player News

The Cubs plucked Uceta off of waivers from the Mets last Friday, and now they sneak him through waivers to free up a spot on their 40-man roster. He’ll continue to work on refining his craft at the Triple-A level.

With a lot of lefties in the lineup for Baltimore, Liberatore went to his slider often, and the pitch had a 42 percent swinging strike rate and 63 percent CSW. He also continued to showcase his new changeup, which had just a 14 percent swinging strike rate but looked like a weapon against right-handed hitters. Liberatore also maintained his velocity gains on his cutter and threw 69 percent strikes in this one. Overall, it’s another encouraging effort from a young pitcher who looks poised to take a step forward this season.

Harris came into camp as part of an “open competition” for the starting third base job, but went 4-for-21 (.190) with six strikeouts. He will now head back to Triple-A, where he slashed .282/.369/.500 with 12 home runs and seven steals in 59 games last season.

The A’s protected Nett from the Rule 5 draft this offseason after he registered a 3.75 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, and 116/48 K/BB ratio in 105 2/3 innings at Double-A last year.

Barnett had a 6.85 ERA in his five-start audition last year with the Athletics, but also had a 6.13 ERA in 119 innings at Triple-A as well.

With Basso in Triple-A, it seems like the Athletics will carry only one left-handed pitcher in the bullpen, Hogan Harris. That also makes it less likely that Harris will get many save opportunities at the start of the season. Basso pitched just 11 2/3 MLB innings last season after recovering from an early-season shoulder injury.

None of them were likely to make the MLB team, but Joshua Kuroda-Graurer is the team’s 14th-ranked prospect, according to FanGraphs, and hit .296/.359/.372 with two home runs and 27 steals in 121 games between High-A and Double-A last year.

Both players have been sidelined for a few days, but neither injury was feared to be significant. It now appears that both will return with ample time to be ready for the start of the season.

Candelario has been primarily a first baseman or third baseman in his career, so this could help him win a job as a backup infielder on the Angels. The 32-year-old struggled the last two seasons after being traded to Cincinnati, but he’s gone 8-for-24 (.333) this spring with five runs scored, four RBI, and a 56 percent hard-hit rate. Perhaps he gets another chance in 2026, and it would be fitting if it comes with the Angels, who also have Adam Frazier, Trey Mancini, Yoan Moncada, Alek Manoah, Chris Taylor, Nick Madrigal, and Jose Siri in camp.

Lee had been set to play in the World Baseball Classic for Chinese Taipei before an oblique injury sidelined him. He will now head back to Triple-A, where he slashed .243/.342/.406 with 14 home runs and 22 steals in 126 games as a 22-year-old last season. There is a good chance we will see him in Detroit at some point in 2026.

Liranzo came into the 2025 season as a Top 100 prospect, but he was hurt and hit just .206/.308/.351 line in Double-A when he was healthy. The Tigers will send him back there in the hopes that the 22-year-old can build some momentum at the start of the 2022 season.