MLB Player News

Marsh missed the previous two games with illness, but the 27-year-old is ready to roll against the Clay Holmes and the Mets’ bullpen.

Pilkington could have stayed with the Nationals after going unclaimed on waivers last week, but he’s instead joining a superior team that has much less room for him. The 28-year-old Pilkington has a 3.97 ERA in 11 starts and 37 relief appearances as a major leaguer, though all of those starts came with the Guardians in 2022. He had a 4.45 ERA in 28 1/3 innings out to the pen for the Nationals last season.

This is all very odd. Olney offers up no actual quotes in his article, and none of the Astros’ beat writers have chimed in on the subject. Hader is coming back from a strained left shoulder that cost him the end of last year, but he said he was back throwing normally in November. If something has changed, we should have more than Olney’s vague report soon.

Strzelecki, 31, arrived in the big leagues with the Brewers in 2022 and had nice success early before losing two mph of his fastball in 2023 and pitching his way back to Triple-A. He was limited to 22 innings for two Triple-A teams last year and posted a 9.41 ERA.

The 37-year-old Strickland had a 3.27 ERA in 22 innings for the Angels in the first half of last season before shoulder inflammation shut him down for the remainder of the year. He also had a 3.31 ERA in 73 1/3 inning for the Angels in 2024, so if healthy, he should have a decent chance of earning a job in middle relief.

Francona seems committed to keeping TJ Friedl first and Elly De La Cruz third ahead of new cleanup man Eugenio Suárez. That means the No. 2 hitter pretty much has to be a righty. Marte is one, but he hit just .232/.288/.274 against lefties last season, compared to .275/.305/.516 against righties. There isn’t much reason to think that’s something that will stick going forward, but it might mean Marte hits fifth or sixth going forward. Sal Stewart seems like the best alternative to Marte, but it’ll probably take Francona some time to warm up to that idea. Matt McLain might get his old spot back if he has a nice spring.

Wheeler is coming back from thoracic outlet surgery that took place in late September. The Phillies lost Ranger Suárez and haven’t added any veteran starters on major league deals this winter, so barring a late pickup, it looks like there will be two rotation spots initially available for Taijuan Walker, Andrew Painter, Bryse Wilson or anyone else who steps up.

Marte said he recently talked to GM Mike Hazen, who apologized over how public the rumors became. “We talked a lot and hashed some things out, talked it all through and everything is great,” Marte said. “Mike knows I love the D-backs, I love my teammates. Everyone knows what type of player I am, and I’m just happy it all worked out and I’m here.”

Hamel lost his spot on the club’s 40-man roster last week after the Yankees picked up Yanquiel Fernandez off of waivers from the Rockies. The 26-year-old hurler posted a 5.32 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and a 75/22 K/BB ratio across 67 2/3 innings in a swingman role at Triple-A Syracuse in 2025.

Shewmake had been designated for assignment late last week but passed through waivers unclaimed and will continue to function as extra infield depth for the Yankees. He’ll stay in major league camp as a non-roster invitee.

The 20-year-old right-hander pitched in the Dominican Summer League in 2025, posting a 2.44 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and a 48/23 K/BB ratio across 51 2/3 innings. He’s an intriguing young arm, but is at least several years away from being an option to help out the A’s at the big league level.