MLB Player News

The Royals needed to clear a spot on their 40-man roster before making the signing of Seth Lugo official, and moving on from Clarke would do that. The 30-year-old enjoyed a strong 2022 season, posting a 4.04 ERA, 1,18 WHIP, and 48/8 K/BB ratio in 49 innings; however, he took a step back in 2023 where he seemed to sacrifice command for improved strikeouts. His walk rate ballooned to nine percent as he posted a 5.95 ERA, 1.61 WHIP, and 65/24 K/BB ratio in 59 innings. He figures to occupy a middle reliever role in Milwaukee where they will look to build on a slider that ranked in the 91st percentile in whiff rate in 2023 despite being thrown in the zone just 46 percent of the time. Minor league infielder Cam Devanney and right-handed reliever Ryan Brady will reportedly head back to Kansas City.

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.

Strahm was charged with a run after departing the game against the Rangers. He has a 3.38 ERA in six appearances this spring.

It’s merely a formality as Fried will get the ball to kick off the regular season next Wednesday at Oracle Park in San Francisco with both Gerrit Cole (elbow) and Carlos Rodón (elbow) opening on the injured list. The 32-year-old southpaw was outstanding in his Yankees debut last year, posting an American League-leading 19 wins along with a 2.86 ERA across 195 1/3 innings over 32 starts. He’s a top 10-12 range fantasy starter in drafts this spring.

Spence was a long shot to crack Kansas City’s season-opening roster this spring. He’ll open the year back in the upper minors after being acquired from the Athletics in a small trade earlier this spring. The 27-year-old holds a respectable 4.77 ERA (4.67 xERA), 1.40 WHIP and 192/70 K/BB ratio across 236 innings in the majors since 2024.

Interestingly, the Diamondbacks had Thomas in center and played Jordan Lawlar in left field for the first time today. Thomas is definitely Arizona’s safer option in center, but it has sounded like Lawlar was going get a chance to start there in the regular season. It has ramifications down the line, since the D-backs seem confident Lourdes Gurriel Jr. is going to make an earlier return from a torn ACL than originally expected. Of course, the D-backs could just use Gurriel primarily as a DH and keep playing both Lawlar and Thomas in the outfield.

With his velocity down 1-2 mph, Kelly got just one whiff on 23 swings today and finished with zero strikeouts. He’s due to pitch again Monday and then go on the injured list as he continues to get stretched out. He should still join the Arizona rotation two weeks into the season.

The bottom of the first opened right away with a Matt Shaw error, leading to an unearned run. Cabrera sustained no additional damage through the second, but he gave up three runs in a third inning in which he was pulled with two outs and then four more while getting just one out in the fourth. The good news is that Cabrera walked only one. The bad is that his fastball averaged just 95.5 mph, down from 96.6 mph in his first three spring starts and 97.0 mph last year. His sinkers were closer to normal, averaging 96.8 mph, but his changeups were off by 1.8 mph from last year. Hopefully, it’s not a sign that something is wrong with the oft-injured right-hander.