MLB Player News

Mancini signed a minor league contract last week with the Reds and wound up homering twice during a brief five-game stint with Triple-A Louisville. It’s possible he’s been granted his release to pursue an opportunity somewhere else before Thursday night’s playoff roster deadline.

Smith delivered a one-out RBI single off of Bryan Woo in the fourth inning after Jorge Barrosa had reached on a leadoff double, giving the Diamondbacks an early 1-0 edge. Smith is having himself a strong spring, hitting .308 (8-for-26) with a pair of homers and four RBI.

Gallen mowed through a lineup of mostly big league hitters with complete ease on Monday, with his strikeouts coming courtesy of Brendan Donovan, Luke Raley and Mitch Garver. He got seven whiffs on 41 pitches on the afternoon — four on his slider — while registering a strong CSW of 37 percent. Gallen has now hurled four scoreless innings over his two Cactus League appearances and also pitched two shutout frames against Team Mexico last week. His velocity was up in this one as well, with his fastball averaging 94.4 mph (+0.9 mph). Perhaps a rebound is in the cards after a disappointing 2025 season.

Donovan became the Mariners’ first baserunner in the ballgame with a leadoff double off of Juan Morillo to open the fourth inning. He never advanced past second base though. The 29-year-old infielder also singled in the fifth inning, but Rhlyan Thomas was cut down at the plate attempting to score on the play. He’s off to a solid start with his new ballclub this spring, hitting .500 (9-for-18) with one RBI and one stolen base.

The 26-year-old hurler scattered three hits on the day and did not walk a batter. Woo’s four punchouts in the contest came on the first four hitters that he faced. The lone tally against him came in the fourth inning as Jorge Barrosa smacked a leadoff double and scored on a one-out single by Pavin Smith. Woo generated seven swings and misses on 50 pitches on the day — four of those on his fastball — while posting an elite CSW of 38 percent. As long as he’s able to stay healthy, it’s hard to envision Woo not finishing as a top 10 starting pitcher for fantasy purposes in 2026.

The 24-year-old slugger was awfully impressive during Grapefruit League play, slashing .333/.455/.889 with three homers, seven RBI and three stolen bases in 22 plate appearances. He was unfortunately battling against a crowded outfield mix. He’ll now fight with Jasson Dominguez to be the next man up once injury eventually strikes and the Yankees need reinforcements.

The extension makes the 28-year-old southpaw one of the highest paid left-handed pitchers in all of baseball. If comes off of a season in which he posted a 3.92 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and a 216/57 K/BB ratio across 183 2/3 innings in his first year with the ballclub. The deal will keep him in Philadelphia through the 2031 season.

Loperfido’s lone out was actually his hardest-hit ball today, traveling 371 feet with a 108.2-mph exit velocity. He’s 6-for-22 with four walks and two steals this spring as he tries to make the Astros as a platoon outfielder. Whether the Astros carry both he and fellow lefty Zach Cole will probably come down to how often they intend to use Yordan Alvarez in the outfield.

Javier pitched around two walks in the first and retired the first two batters in the second, but he then went walk, HBP, single before being pulled at 52 pitches. It was technically his spring debut, but he did throw two innings against Venezuela last Tuesday and the Astros probably wanted three out of him today. Javier doesn’t seem like a quality option in 10- and 12-team mixed leagues right now.

The nine balls in play against Lambert today averaged 97 mph, but only the two hardest (112 and 110 mph) turned into hits and both were singles. Lambert, who was signed to a minor league deal in November after a mediocre season in Japan, has been praised by the Astros and is a candidate to claim a spot as either the team’s sixth starter or a middle reliever. He’s yet to allow a run through six innings, though his 4/3 K/BB isn’t very impressive.

Weiss came in to begin the sixth, so he was facing the backups to the mostly backups the Cardinals brought with them in their road split-squad game. Still, striking out six of 12 batters is pretty nice regardless of the competition. With the Astros likely to open up in a six-man rotation, there’s probably going to be room for one of Weiss, Peter Lambert and Spencer Arrighetti initially.