MLB Player News

The Rangers announced this move on Monday, but now it’s official. The 24-year-old has a 0.91 ERA and a 47/4 K/BB in 29 2/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A this season. He should throw around 80 pitches tonight against the Mariners which could be good enough for a win. Rocker is talented enough to be added in most formats. Chase Anderson was designated for assignment to make room.

Holliday had surgery in February and had aimed for a mid-April return at the time. He appears on track for that right now. Holliday is unsure if he’s going to get into a spring training game with the Orioles before camp breaks at the end of this weekend. However, he is “expecting to play in Triple-A Norfolk’s opening game,” and believes he would be back with the Orioles a few weeks after that. There should be some residual power lag in the months after that, given the nature of his surgery, so fantasy managers shouldn’t expect a lot of power growth for the 22-year-old this season.

Acton made a strong case for a job in the Marlins’ bullpen, throwing 5 1/3 scoreless innings this spring while striking out six and walking four. It seems like the Marlins will have him work on that command in the minors to start the season.

Blalock was acquired from the Rockies in January and was trying to win a rotation spot. He allowed four runs (three earned) on five hits in 4 2/3 innings this spring while striking out three and walking two. The 25-year-old will begin the year in Jacksonville’s rotation.

Neto sprained his hand when sliding into home plate on Saturday, so it’s great news that he was able to hit off a tee today and do so without pain. Neto said he plans to hit on the field later today and doesn’t expect to miss more than a few days. Sigh of relief for Angels fans and fantasy managers.

The 31-year-old was a non-roster invite to spring training and pitched well, allowing just one run on three hits in six innings while striking out six and walking two. He didn’t make the Opening Day roster, but the Reds are likely trying to find a way to keep him in the organization.

Dunn’s chances of making the opening day roster were hurt when the Reds added both JJ Bleday and Dane Myers. Dunn also hyperextended his knee in spring training, which didn’t help. The 27-year-old is on the 40-man roster and has a minor league option left, so he will likely either begin the season on the IL or in Triple-A.

Fletcher was an intriguing name when the Pirates signed him in December, but then they also added Marcell Ozuna, Ryan O’Hearn, and Jhostynxon Garcia to make the corner outfield and DH spots a bit crowded. Fletcher will now head to minor league camp as he determines the next step for his career, and whether it will be in the Pirates’ minor league system or somewhere else.

Valdez was trying to win a backup infielder job in spring training, but went just 2-for-26 in 12 games. He will head to Triple-A and play some games at 1B and 2B to keep himself in the team’s mind as a potential backup should injuries crop up.

Pauley came into spring training as the favorite to win the starting third base job, but he was sidelined early on with forearm tightness. His MRI came back clean, and he took time to rest and recover. He has been throwing for a while but was limited to DH duties in games, going 6-for-22 in eight games so far. He is now able to take part in defensive drills and throw to bases, and the Marlins hope he will play the field in a game this weekend. It remains to be seen if that will give him enough time to beat out Connor Norby for the starting job.

Kim is still not able to swing a bat, but he is able to do some fielding drills and conditioning. His original return timeline was early May, but he would not confirm that he is on track for the date. He simply said he would do his best to return as soon as possible. Once he can begin swinging a bat, we’ll have a much better idea of how close he is to returning.