MLB Player News

The 32-year-old southpaw has an agreement in place to sign with the CTBC Brothers of Taiwan’s Chinese Professional Baseball League, so the Yankees let him out of his minor league deal. Leibrandt had posted a 2.85 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and a 37/14 K/BB ratio over 41 innings in his 10 appearances (nine starts).

No word yet on whether it’s a guaranteed contract or a minor league deal. Conforto was a big disappointment for the Dodgers last year, but his exit velocity numbers weren’t so bad. With the Cubs, he’s a potential fallback to Moisés Ballesteros in the DH role or possibly a fourth outfielder ahead of Chas McCormick or Matt Shaw. Considering that the rest of the Cubs’ potential bench guys are right-handed hitters, his left-handed bat might come in handy.

Dickerson has just eight homers since being drafted in the eighth round in 2023, so that’s a big day for him. The 24-year-old shortstop hit .221/.342/.290 during a 2025 season spent mostly in Double-A. He’s a fine defender and he can work a walk, but his ceiling is probably as a short-term injury replacement in the majors.

Sanchez, who last pitched in the majors in 2022, is getting a chance with the Royals here because of his success in the Dominican Winter League, but he didn’t show much today. His 33 pitches produced just one missed swing, and seven of the eight balls in play against him were hard hit, including a William Contreras double that would have been a homer in 19 MLB parks.

Bauers is battling Garrett Mitchell and Blake Perkins for playing time against right-handers in the Brewers outfield. Of course, he’d be in pretty good shape there if the battle was mostly about offense, but he’s a mediocre defensive left fielder going up against two plus center fielders. The Brewers can play Jackson Chourio in center if they want, but they’re probably rooting for Mitchell to step up. Bauers’ better path to playing time would be if Andrew Vaughn disappoints, setting up a potential platoon at first base.

Kavadas doubled in a run in the sixth and singled home another an inning later. The 26-year-old was designated for assignment in September, but he chose to stuck around the Los Angeles organization, and he could be a bench helper for the Angels by the end of 2026.

Statcast said Senzel hit a single 111.1 mph yesterday, and while we’re skeptical that’s true — it also said Nick Madrigal, of all people, hit a ball 111.6 mph in the same game — he’s definitely off to a nice start this spring. His two doubles today were recorded at 108.1 and 105.4 mph. His high figure ever in a major league game is 109.8 mph, which he achieved in 2021. Last year, he topped out at 108.6 mph for the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate.

Vásquez is apparently taking the threats to his rotation spot seriously, as he showed up with some serious juice today; his fastball averaged 96.6 mph, up from 93.5 mph last season. Even his changeup touched 90 mph. Vásquez was effective for the Padres last season in spite of a 13.7% strikeout rate. If his stuff is going to be this much better now than it was then, not only is his rotation spot safe, but he might be interesting in fantasy leagues for the first time.

It obviously didn’t do him any good, but McKenzie averaged 95.9 mph with his fastball today. He was at 92.5 mph during his breakthrough 2022 with the Guardians before experiencing arm issues in 2023 and fading to 91.2 mph in 2024. It doesn’t seem like a fluke, either, as he averaged 94.6 mph as a Triple-A reliever last year. It’s hard to say what the future holds in store for McKenzie at this point, given his big-time control issues, but the extra velocity will definitely earn him extra opportunities.

Blanco was plunked in the head by a 90 mph pitch in the seventh inning, and reportedly looked woozy after. The Royals will take every precaution, and it won’t be a surprise if Blanco is out of the lineup for the next few days.

De La Cruz doubled home a pair of runs in the fourth on a double. The 24-year-old reportedly turned down a $200 million extension offer from the Reds in January, and it’s understandable why Cincinnati would want to lock him up and why De La Cruz would say no. He has the talent to be as good as anyone in the sport.