MLB Player News

Kelly allowed just one hit in the ballgame — a leadoff double to Jordan Beck in the sixth inning — while issuing three free passes. He was in complete command throughout his seven innings and needed every bit of it as the Diamondbacks were only able to muster one run of support for him The 36-year-old hurler generated 16 whiffs on 109 pitches on the afternoon — 11 of those on his changeup — while posting a solid CSW of 32 percent. He’ll look to keep the good times rolling as he brings a 3.26 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and a 52/15 K/BB ratio (58 innings) into Saturday’s tilt against the Cardinals in St. Louis.

Based on his mediocre exit velocity numbers and too-high strikeout rate, Mayo’s September breakout last year seemed like a mirage. His strong spring numbers, though, hold up much better to scrutiny, as he’s struck out just once in 34 plate appearances and his hard-hit rate sits at 47%. We’re still not particularly confident he’ll be helpful in shallow leagues while filling in for Jordan Westburg, but there are certainly worse fliers out there.

Henderson is the headliner among this group. Given the injuries in the Brewers’ rotation, he had a shot to earn an opportunity with the big league club to start the season but he has been fighting elbow soreness of his own throughout the spring which held him back. He’ll start the year biding his time in the rotation at Triple-A Nashville.

The Mariners certainly had options with Bryan Woo also deserving of the honor, but it’ll be Gilbert getting the ball when the Mariners kick off their season at home against the Guardians on Thursday evening.

Suzuki noted that the club will slow him down a bit as he works through the issue, though Rodriguez is still playing catch. While publicly the Halos have said that they aren’t very concerned, given the right-hander’s extensive injury history, it’s a troubling development. It’s going to make it that much more difficult for fantasy managers to call his name on draft day.

With everyone back from the WBC, the Jays trotted out what figures to be their initial lineup against righties: DH Springer, CF Daulton Varsho, 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr., RF Addison Barger, C Alejandro Kirk, LF Jesús Sánchez, 3B Kazuma Okamoto, 2B Ernie Clement, SS Andrés Giménez. It’s been a potent group this spring; everyone besides Kirk and Sánchez has at least a .950 OPS in Grapefruit League play.

The Yankees brought just three likely major leaguers with them, two of whom (Amed Rosario and Randal Grichuk) would typically only play against lefties. Ponce had an easy time with the group, even though his velocity fell off some today; he averaged 94.5 mph with his fastball, down from 96.0 in his previous four spring outings. Ponce’s rotation spot in Toronto could eventually come into jeopardy if they ever have all of their seven starters healthy at once. We like him in mixed leagues until then, though.

Weathers struck out five, but he gave up two homers and six other hits. His spring ERA is all of the way up to 11.68 through four outings. Still, his rotation spot probably won’t be on the line until Carlos Rodón returns and then Gerrit Cole beyond that.

Swinging harder meant more homers and more strikeouts for Varsho last year, and it certainly proved worth the tradeoff. This spring, though, he’s still swinging hard and just not missing; he’s batting .442/.489/.953 with two strikeouts in 47 plate appearances. We doubt he’ll have such an easy time once the games begin to matter, but he seems underrated at this point, especially the Jays likely to make him their usual No. 2 hitter.

That had been the unfortunate expectation once he was diagnosed with a Grade 2 UCL strain, but it’s now official. Dr. Keith Meister will perform the operation. The 24-year-old hurler will miss the entire 2026 season and likely the first half of the 2027 campaign as well while recovering.

There had been growing speculation that the 22-year-old phenom could displace Luis Gil in the Yankees’ Opening Day rotation after his terrific showing during Grapefruit League play, but he’ll open up the season in the rotation at Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre instead. Look for him to make starts for the Yankees at some point during the 2026 campaign.