MLB Player News

King is back with the Cardinals after St. Louis placed Riley O’Brien on the 15-day injured list with a flexor strain. King will likely be up-and-down all year with the Cards, and he’ll be asked to handle left-handed hitters and work in low-leverage roles to begin the year.

Chapman got the Giants on the board and evened the score at two runs apiece with his two-run blast off of Ryan Bergert as part of a four-run uprising in the third inning. He also worked a walk in the ballgame. The 32-year-old third baseman is enjoying an outstanding spring, hitting .412 (14-for-34) with three homers and seven RBI in just 35 plate apperances.

Walker made it look easy in this one, getting Omar Hernandez on a line drive to left, Justin Johnson on a ground ball to third and Drew Waters on a called third strike to end it. He has looked quite sharp this spring, hurling seven scoreless innings with a 0.43 WHIP and an 8/1 K/BB ratio over seven innings. Is it enough for fantasy managers who were burned by him in 2025 to buy back in this season? He looks like one of the more stable mid-round closer options available in drafts.

Houser piled up five strikeouts on the night while issuing a pair of free passes. All of the damage done against him came on one mighty swing by Salvador Perez in the opening inning. Aside from that, Houser was terrific. He got six swings and misses on 78 pitches on the evening, registering a middling CSW of 24 percent. It looks like he’ll open the season secure in the Giants’ rotation, though it’s a stretch to think that he’s going to suddenly return to being a viable mixed league fantasy option.

The 35-year-old backstop victimized Giants’ right-hander Adrian Houser in the first inning of this one, swatting a two-run shot (105.1 mph EV) that gave the Royals an early 2-0 edge. That would be his only hit in three at-bats and the Royals’ only scoring in the ballgame. Perez is now hitting .235 (4-for-17) with a pair of homers and four RBI in his limited Cactus League action this spring.

Bergert also issued a pair of walks in the ballgame while recording only one strikeout. If Bergert wanted to make a statement after being shipped to Triple-A Omaha earlier in the week, this wasn’t it. All of the damage done against him came during a four-run uprising in the third inning which included a two-run blast by Matt Chapman. He’ll begin the season at Triple-A Omaha where he’ll bide his time as rotation depth until an opportunity arises with the Royals.

The dynamic 24-year-old backstop drew a walk in the opening inning and scored the game’s first run on an RBI single by Owen Caissie. Ramírez then smacked an RBI double off of Foster Griffin in the third inning and scored on Christopher Morel’s RBI single. It was a rare strong showing from Ramírez who has had a rough time during Grapefruit League play, hitting a paltry .053 (1-for-19) with an 8/1 K/BB ratio.

Paddack struck out three batters on the evening and didn’t allow a base on balls. The only run that the Nationals were able to score against him came on an RBI single by CJ Abrams in the second inning. The 30-year-old right-hander got nine whiffs on 51 offerings in the game, compiling a CSW of 24 percent. He finishes the spring with an outstanding 0.69 ERA, 0.77 WHIP and a 12/3 K/BB ratio over 13 innings in his five starts. Perhaps as we saw in the first half of the 2025 season, there’s still some mixed league viability to Paddack after all.

Abrams got the Nationals on the board in the second inning of this one, plating Andres Chaparro with an RBI single off of Chris Paddack. He was batting in the second inning of this one because the 25-year-old shortstop found himself batting sixth in the Nationals’ lineup instead of his usual perch at the top. He has had a slow spring overall at the plate, slashing .243/.349/.378 with zero homers, two RBI and one stolen base in 43 plate appearances.

The 30-year-old hurler struck out five batters on the night while issuing a pair of walks. The Marlins pushed a run across against him in the opening inning on an RBI single by Owen Caissie. They added on two more in the third on run-scoring knocks from Agustin Ramirez and Christopher Morel. Griffin got 12 swings and misses on 78 pitches on the night, posting a strong CSW of 35 percent. He wraps up the spring with a 4.50 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and a 9/2 K/BB ratio over eight innings in his two Grapefruit League starts. He’s expected to open the season at the backend of the Nationals’ though he’s unlikely to gain relevancy from a fantasy perspective.

Cabrera finally broke through and started the scoring with an RBI single in the eighth inning of this one. He then came around to score on an RBI double off the bat of Ali Sanchez. THe 27-year-old infielder is still working his way back into full-time action after recovering from a fractured ankle that he suffered last May. He’s just 2-for-14 (.143) with a pair of runs scored and an RBI on the spring, but the important thing is that he’s healthy.