MLB Player News

Even with the Rangers out of contention, they’d rather start Rowdy Tellez than Burger against right-hander, which, unless Burger is limited by injury and no one is saying, would seem to suggest that the 29-year-old doesn’t have much of a future in Texas. The Rangers parted with three prospects to acquire Burger from the Marlins last winter, but he’s hit just .237/.267/.422 in 367 plate appearances this season. On the other hand, he’s only eligible for arbitration for the first time this winter, so he won’t be overly expensive ($4 million?) to keep.

Mills finished out last year in the Dodgers organization, though he didn’t get into a game. The right-hander showed some promise with the Red Sox in 2022, but he had Tommy John the following year and hasn’t pitched in the majors since. He had a 3.12 ERA and a 49/30 K/BB in 52 innings for Boston’s Triple-A team last season.

Weems, 33, has pitched 160 major league innings since debuting in 2020, amassing a 5.51 ERA with a 161/80 K/BB. He gave up seven earned runs and failed to strike out a batter in 4 1/3 innings for Houston last year.

Zavala, 32, hit .165/.274/.340 in 67 games for Boston’s Triple-A affiliate last season. The journeyman will battle for a spot on the Dodgers’ Triple-A roster and is more likely to stick in the organization if Ben Rortvedt gets claimed on waivers at the end of the spring.

Senzel, the second overall pick in the 2016 draft, hit .252/.341/.408 with 12 homers in 99 games in the Dodgers system last year, the first season since 2018 in which he failed to appear in the majors. He’s a career .232/.299/.363 in 1,633 plate appearances with the Reds, Nationals and White Sox.

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.