MLB Player News

McNeil came through with a clutch walk-off single to right field with two outs in the 10th inning, which probably should’ve been caught by Braves right fielder Ramón Laureano, who somehow overran the ball on the play. The 32-year-old has been unconscious since the All-Star break, batting .455 (10-for-22) with four homers and nine RBI in seven games.

Bichette manufactured all of New York’s runs in this one, scalding a two-run double against Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara in the third inning before taking top pitching prospect Robby Snelling deep in the seventh. It was his first round-tripper of the spring. The 28-year-old will make the transition to third base in his Mets debut and will be a top-10 fantasy option at shortstop in drafts this spring.

Ruiz is battling with Heriberto Hernandez for the final spot on Miami’s season-opening roster. The 27-year-old’s speed and ability to handle center field makes him a quality bench option but the limited role makes it nearly impossible for him to offer any sustained fantasy relevance.

Lindor made his return to spring action over the weekend and has provided zero indication that he won’t be ready for next week’s opener. The 32-year-old fantasy stalwart is back at shortstop defensively and has looked like his usual self at the plate after undergoing hamate surgery last month. He remains an early-round building block in all fantasy drafts.

Alcantara gave up three hits and only issued one walk, building up his pitch count to 70 (46 strikes) in the process. The 30-year-old ace would’ve started the World Baseball Classic final had the Dominican Republic rallied to beat Team USA over the weekend. He’ll presumably get the ball on Opening Day for the Marlins next week.

Manaea retired all 12 batters he faced, needing just 52 pitches (36 strikes) to navigate four perfect frames. The big concern remains his velocity, which has been down all spring, as he was sitting just 88.6 mph on his four-seam fastball in this outing. The 34-year-old veteran southpaw will pitch at the back end of New York’s rotation following last year’s injury-marred season where he posted a disastrous 5.64 ERA (4.00 xERA), 1.22 WHIP and 75/12 K/BB ratio across 60 2/3 innings over 15 appearances (12 starts). He’s merely a late-round option for fantasy purposes this spring and will go undrafted in most leagues.

In four years with the Red Sox, Story has never hit a triple in the regular season. He has three this spring, though, and he’s batting .424/.441/.727 in 34 plate appearances.

Gray’s control issues this spring have been rather odd, as he’s walked seven in 8 2/3 innings. Still, even with his 6.23 ERA, he’s having a far better spring than he did last year, when he gave up eight homers and 20 runs in 14 1/3 innings for the Cardinals. He started off 3-0 with a 3.60 ERA through the end of April anyway.

Tolle walked none and threw first-pitch strikes to 13 of the 16 batters he faced today. With a 2.53 ERA and a 13/1 K/BB in 10 2/3 innings, the 23-year-old has had a very encouraging spring for Boston. Still, he’s likely going to head back to Triple-A unless someone ahead of him gets hurt.

López struck out six and gave up just two hard-hit balls, so he probably deserved better today. Nevertheless, it’s still hard to recommend him with his velocity this far down after shoulder surgery. He averaged 92.6 mph today, a scant improvement over his mark of 92.4 mph from his first three starts. He was at 95.5 mph in his 25 starts for the Braves in 2024.

Gamel seemed like a decent bet to claim the roster spot on the Braves opened up by the Jurickson Profar suspension after he homered in four of his first six games this spring, but he’s 0-for-10 with seven strikeouts in his last three appearances. That’s good news for Dominic Smith, who would seem to be the alternative to open up as a DH against righties. Of course, the Braves still could pick up a bat at the end of the spring and render the current competition moot.