MLB Player News

Ortiz was recalled before the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader against the Mets, then optioned out in between games after he struck out two batters over a scoreless inning in the first game. His demotion freed up a spot on the active roster for Michael Plassmeyer.

There’ll be a slew of these over the next few days — the Phillies can retain Moore by adding him to the 40-man roster in the next 48 hours, or he will become a free agent. It sure seems likely based on how the offseason has gone that the Phillies will add Moore to the 40-man and have him start the year as one of their bench bats, but this move forces their hand.

It’s possible that this is a re-aggravation of Walls’ initial oblique injury early in Spring Training. Carson Williams is taking Walls’ spot in the lineup today and is a plausible fill-in to start the season if the Rays don’t “consider outside options” per Topkin. Williams hit .172/.219/.354 in his 106 at-bat cup of coffee in the 2025 season and, should he be the Opening Day starter, is probably only a consideration in AL-only leagues despite his top prospect status.

Yesavage’s build up has been slow all offseason, and this helps explain why. He arrived to camp with the injury, per Schneider. He’s not slated to stop throwing, so it’s possible this is just a minor delay for Yesavage’s 2026 season. He’ll throw off a mound again next week. Eric Lauer will likely take Yesavage’s rotation spot in the early season.

Carter has some post-hype sleeper to his profile after a few lost seasons to injuries and is widely available in shallow leagues. The idea that he might not be stuck in a pure platoon situation adds to his appeal. Carter has hit .222 with two homers and a steal in 27 Spring Training at-bats to date, managing a .909 OPS.

No real surprises here as Johnson had an option year remaining, Johnson managed a 1.86 ERA in 9.2 innings during Spring Training, striking out eight. He’ll likely be shuttled back to the majors several times over the course of the season.

Gray will get a chance to ramp up in the minors after missing all of 2025 due to Tommy John surgery. Hassell being optioned down is likely good news for Joey Wiemer’s chances of winning a bench spot.

Jung has nine total bases in two games since returning from an adductor strain that cost him 2 1/2 weeks. It’d certainly be great for the Rangers if he could bust out at age 26 after spending a fair amount of time on the IL in each of his first three full seasons. He hits the ball hard enough, and now he just needs to get his strikeout rate down some. It didn’t really happen last year, but his contact numbers were easily the best of his career.

We were rather hoping Rocker might emerge as the Rangers’ closer at some point, but he’s making a strong case for a rotation spot right now. He topped out at 98.5 mph tonight, and his average fastball was up a bit more than one mph from last year. His slider generated nine whiffs on 12 swings, and both times it was put into play, it resulted in soft contact. He still doesn’t project as a mixed-league option at this point, but his stock is climbing.

He allowed six hits, walked one and struck out four. Wacha’s four spring outings have produced an 8.44 ERA, and he gave up three runs in three innings in his lone WBC appearance for Team USA. On the brightside, he had a 7.64 ERA last spring and still opened up with a 2.98 ERA in his first eight starts.

Something just isn’t right here, though Estévez keeps pitching anyway. His average fastball was 89.2 mph tonight, down from 95.9 mph last year. His best outing so far saw him average 90.8 mph for the Dominican Republic against Team Israel. He’s been under 90 mph in all three outings in Royals camp. Obviously, he’s not complaining of anything, but it seems like a good idea to stay far away from him in drafts. Lucas Erceg, on the other hand, is worth a late-round pick, even though he hasn’t looked particularly strong himself this spring.