MLB Player News

Bernabel was just a double shy of hitting for the cycle against the Pirates on Friday. The 23-year-old infielder has three home runs in six major league games and is hitting .458 with a 1.480 OPS and seven RBI. Bernabel wasn’t exactly known for his power with a .450 SLG at Triple-A this year, but he’s certainly swinging a hot bat for the Rockies so far.

Marsee fouled a ball off his foot during his final at-bat of the contest and was lifted for a defensive replacement in the fourth inning. It’s possible he was lifted out of an abundance of caution since the Marlins are dealing with injuries to both Kyle Stowers (hamstring) and Esteury Ruiz (oblique) already this week. There should be an update on his status shortly.

Kieboom was one of the top prospects in baseball roughly a half-decade ago with the Nationals, but has struggled to gain any traction at the highest level. The 28-year-old infielder hit .160 (4-for-25) with one homer in 16 games as a non-roster invitee in Guardians camp this spring. He’ll open the year at Triple-A Lehigh Valley as organizational depth for the Phillies.

McGuire exercised the opt-out in his minor league contract with the club after failing to make the season-opening roster. The 31-year-old backstop was in camp on a minor league deal as a non-roster invitee. He should be able to land on his feet somewhere else, but will likely have to settle for another minor league pact.

France wins a bench job with the Padres after entering camp as a non-roster invitee. The 31-year-old veteran first baseman hit .257 with seven homers and 52 RBI over 490 plate appearances between the Blue Jays and Twins last year.

The decision to jettison Kremer after a solid showing in spring training and the World Baseball Classic signals that Baltimore will go with Zach Eflin as the final member of a five-man, season-opening rotation. The 30-year-old righty led the Orioles with 171 2/3 innings over 31 appearances (29 starts) last year, which provides some insight into how much the club overhauled their rotation this offseason. He’s unlikely to spend too much time at Triple-A since Baltimore is eventually going to move to a six-man rotation, like most teams in the current era, after a couple weeks to build in extra rest for their starters.

It’ll most likely be J.C. Escarra, Paul Goldschmidt, Amed Rosario and Randal Grichuk in bench roles for the Yankees to open the season. Cabrera has hit .234/.295/.346 with 20 homers and 15 steals in 949 plate appearances for the Yankees since 2022. Schuemann was acquired from the Athletics in a trade last month and projects as a utility infielder at the highest level.

The Angels have presumably let Strickland walk after he failed to make their season-opening bullpen. The 37-year-old veteran was in camp as a non-roster invitee. He compiled an encouraging 1.80 ERA and 2/0 K/BB ratio over five innings of work this spring.

Espada told reporters that Peña took swings on Friday and will do so again this weekend. The 28-year-old shortstop hasn’t officially been ruled out for next week’s season opener. It would be Carlos Correa taking over at shortstop if he requires a brief trip to the injured list. He’ll need to progress to taking on-field batting practice before he’s cleared to return to game action. There should be a clearer picture concerning his availability in the coming days. This decision might come down to the wire.

The writing was seemingly on the wall after Allen was torched for 12 runs over 2 1/3 innings on Friday in a spring start against the Mariners. The move clears the runway for intriguing pitching prospect Parker Messick to open the regular season in Cleveland’s rotation.

Slater exercised the opt-out in his minor league pact with the Tigers after he wasn’t added to Detroit’s active roster by the deadline in his contract. The 33-year-old veteran outfielder should be able to latch on somewhere as a lefty-mashing part-time bench player.