MLB Player News

Lowe will hit leadoff against the Blue Jays on Thursday and operate as the designated hitter. The 27-year-old has been out since Opening Day with his oblique strain, and offers some considerable fantasy upside for those who play in leagues where Lowe is still available. Travis Jankowski was placed on the injured list with a left groin sprain to make room on the active roster for Lowe.

Bergert’s departure from camp is a notable development since it virtually guarantees that Noah Cameron will have a rotation spot to open the year. The 26-year-old righty posted a respectable 3.66 ERA (4.32 xERA), 1.26 WHIP and 73/35 K/BB ratio across 76 1/3 innings between the Royals and Padres as a rookie last year. Misner and Rave were candidates for a spot on Kansas City’s bench but will head back to the minors to open the year. They profile as platoon options at the highest level.

Kahnle fortifies Boston’s middle relief depth after a strong showing for Israel in the World Baseball Classic. The 36-year-old veteran posted a respectable 4.43 ERA (4.52 xERA), 1.30 WHIP and 50/31 K/BB ratio across 63 innings for the Tigers last year. He’ll presumably head to Triple-A Worcester to open the year, but should make it to Fenway Park relatively quickly.

Neto managed to avoid serious injury when he slid into home plate over the weekend, somehow escaping with just a minor left hand sprain. The 25-year-old impact fantasy contributor will return to game action on Tuesday night and should be ready for next week’s season opener.

The latest batch of cuts trims Padres camp down to 51 players with just over one week left until Opening Day. Adcock has made 18 relief appearances between the Mets and Mariners since 2023. He’ll open the year back in the minors as organizational depth.

Nothing official from a timeline standpoint but Rodgers is facing an extended absence. The 29-year-old has undergone multiple shoulder surgeries in his career and the odds of him returning as a big-league regular in the future are starting to fade.

With J.P. Crawford (shoulder) uncertain for next week’s season opener, it could very well be Rivas starting at shortstop in his place. Any sort of extended absence by Crawford would kick the door wide open for top prospect Colt Emerson to break camp in the big leagues since he would offer a much higher offensive ceiling.

There’s a pathway for Beck to evolve into an upper-echelon fantasy outfielder if he’s able to cut back slightly on the strikeouts while hitting for power and continuing to run at the rate he did last season. Figuring out what the odds of those factors converging at the same time to create a fantasy monster is the proverbial million-dollar question. Beck’s on-field performance has been encouraging to say the least this spring as he’s hitting .350 (14-for-40) with two homers and just 14 strikeouts in 14 games. He’s going outside the top 200 picks, on average, in most fantasy drafts this spring, which makes him a worthwhile gamble in that range.

Dollander came out of the bullpen in this one and was a bit all over the place, tallying four strikeouts while also handing out three free passes. The 24-year-old former top pitching prospect appears to have a spot in Colorado’s season-opening rotation despite a rough spring. Given his immense talent, he could make a leap rather quickly, which makes him worth monitoring on early-season waiver wires.

Murakami is one of the more challenging hitters to forecast fantasy-wise since his track record in Japan suggests he’s going to have some serious contact issues as he adjusts to facing big-league pitching. The power is very real. It wouldn’t be surprising if Murakami reached the 30-homer plateau in his White Sox debut. The question is whether he’s going to strike out nearly 35 percent of the time while doing it.

Spring training stats don’t matter but we’re obligated to point out that Kurtz is apparently saving all of his hits for the regular season. The 23-year-old elite slugger is batting .205 (9-for-44) with three homers in 17 Cactus League contests. There is zero reason to be concerned.