MLB Player News

Iglesias stranded the automatic runner in the 10th to maintain a 2-2 tie. He couldn’t do it again in the 11th, but the Braves (really the Blue Jays defense) picked him up with two runs in the bottom of the inning. It’s another standout effort from Iglesias, who has five wins to go along with his 31 saves. He’s pitched five times in seven days, so he should be due Monday off, perhaps leading to a save chance for Pierce Johnson.

Mangum hit at the top of the lineup and was able to drive in a pair in the process. The 29-year-old was acquired in the three-team trade that sent Brandon Lowe to Pittsburgh as well, and he’ll likely see playing time at all three outfield positions; albeit not necessarily as a starter to begin the season.

Escarra has his first homer of the spring with the two-run jack. The 30-year-old seems likely to be the backup backstop to Austin Wells, but he’s one of the catchers who wouldn’t be a plug-in-play fantasy option if something caused him to become the everyday option.

It’s a nice bounceback for Urquidy after he struggled in his spring debut against Minnesota (three runs allowed in 1 1/3 innings). The right-hander is attempting to win one of the final spots in the Pittsburgh rotation, and this will certainly not hurt. Hunter Barco and Carmen Mlodzinski will have something to say about it, however.

Fried had no issue handling the Panama lineup in the exhibition bout. He wasn’t dominant as he allowed three walks, but he worked around those free passes to keep the WBC club off the board. Fried will likely be stretched out to four innings next week as he works his way to pitching at the top of the New York rotation to open 2026.

Rangel struggled to throw strikes with a pair of walks. The right-hander was an up-and-down option for Philadelphia in 2025, and it’s tough to see him being any more than that this spring/summer.

McClananan surrendered two hits, didn’t walk a better and picked up a strikeout. It’s a solid first spring outing for the southpaw, who hasn’t thrown a pitch in a regular season game since 2022. Fantasy managers need to have limited expectations, but he’s not long removed from being among the best left-handed starters in baseball.

Lewis had been out since February 26th with oblique soreness, but he wasted no time in pushing the tempo on the field. Lewis has said that his goal this season is to have 700 plate appearances, but I’m sure fantasy managers and Twins fans would be OK with 450, which would be a career high. Lewis has the power and speed to be a major fantasy asset when he’s on the field, and he took steps this offseason to ensure his health, but he remains a major risk in fantasy drafts.

The 25-year-old made his spring debut on Saturday after being delayed due to a hamstring injury, but he seemed pretty healthy today. Both of Simpson’s hits were singles, but one of them was 95 mph off the bat, so it wasn’t all soft contact. Simpson has spent a lot of the offseason working on his centerfield defense, and turning himself into an above-average defender out there would go a long way to securing his playing time in a crowded outfield.

Kelly received a cortisone injection in his back last week, and he’s able to throw from (almost) the distance of the mound to the plate. The 37-year-old is still likely to oepn the year on the injured list, but it sounds like the potential for a short stay.

He struck out three and walked one, but Woods Richardson has now allowed seven earned runs on 13 hits in five innings in his last two spring starts. The good news is that he registered a 27 percent whiff rate, and the splitter he introduced at the end of last season continued to miss bats. However, Woods Richardson had just a 56 percent strike rate overall and threw a first-pitch strike to just seven of the 17 batters he faced. He likely has a spot in the rotation locked up, but with Mick Abel looking good this spring, Woods Richardson will need to perform better to hold onto his spot.