MLB Player News

McClure made nine relief appearances last year for Triple-A Sacramento in the Giants’ minor-league system. The towering 6-foot-7 righty has converted to a bullpen role after spending the previous few years developing as a starter. At 27 years old, he’s likely running out of time to make it to the big leagues, but he’ll get a new opportunity in Pittsburgh.

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.

Carroll tried using an Axe bat initially in his return from a broken hamate, since he thought that might be more comfortable, but because he’s feeling fine, he’s already gone back to his usual model. He hit balls 106.6 and 105.5 mph today.

After singling twice off Merrill Kelly, Alcantara hit a 422-foot homer off Kade Strowd in the eighth. He’s batting .355/.412/.516 in 34 plate appearances after getting off to a slightly late start as he completed his recovery from hernia surgery. If Seiya Suzuki winds up on the IL, there’s the chance he could make the team, but it might still be a long shot even in that case. Maybe he’ll have a better chance in May or June if Matt Shaw, who committed two errors in right today, isn’t working out as a backup outfielder.

McGonigle hasn’t exactly torn the cover off the ball in Grapefruit League action but he’s trending towards opening the season as Detroit’s starting shortstop. It’s not hyperbolic to say that the 21-year-old possesses one of the strongest hit tools of any prospect in recent memory and projects as an immediate impact fantasy contributor with across-the-board production.

Santana is the odds-on favorite to open the season as Pittsburgh’s closer after recording 16 saves to go along with a 2.18 ERA (3.50 xERA), 0.87 WHIP and 60/17 K/BB ratio across 70 1/3 innings last year. The 29-year-old is a top 15-20 range fantasy closer in drafts this spring.

Ashcraft’s slider and curveball were phenomenal, and he maintained his sinker velocity into the middle innings, carving up a fully loaded Detroit lineup in one of the more impressive outings of the spring. The 26-year-old has posted a stellar 2.03 ERA and 16/1 K/BB ratio across 13 1/3 innings of work in Grapefruit League action. He appears locked into Pittsburgh’s season-opening rotation and is a savvy late-round sleeper candidate in all fantasy drafts this spring.