MLB Player News

Perales is making up for lost time on the fall circuit after being limited to just three appearances this season in the upper minors while recovering from last year’s Tommy John surgery. The hard-throwing 22-year-old righty touched triple-digits with his four-seam fastball in this outing and allowed just one baserunner over two frames. He walked three of the seven batters he faced while throwing just 17 of 33 pitches for strikes in his AFL debut last week. He has a chance to be an impact arm for Boston next season as one of the more impressive arms in their system.

Warren had a strong showing during Grapefruit League action, compiling a 1.80 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and a 5/2 K/BB ratio across five innings in his five appearances. He’ll almost assuredly get a chance to work out of the Mets’ bullpen at some point during the 2026 season.

Junk beat out Braxton Garrett for the final spot and will pitch the fifth game of the season on Tuesday, March 31 against the White Sox. Sandy Alcantara, Eury Perez, Max Meyer and Chris Paddack will pitch in the first four games for the Marlins.

Brandon Woodruff would have likely received the honor if he were fully healthy, but his status for the start of the season is still in question. Misiorowski, 23, has registered a 3.68 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and a 12/3 K/BB ratio across 7 1/3 innings during Cactus League play this spring.

Roberts, 28, did everything in his power to earn a spot in the Cubs’ bullpen this spring, posting a 1.50 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and a 4/2 K/BB ratio over six innings in six Cactus League appearances. He was simply facing an uphill battle against a crowded bullpen mix. He should be one of the first options at Triple-A Iowa that gets a shot with the big league club.

Both Scherzer and Ponce will work in an additional minor league game to continue getting stretched out before taking their respective turns in the Jays’ rotation. That means the two right-handers can be penciled in — in some order — for the first two games of the Rockies’ series that starts on Monday, March 30. That means Dylan Cease and Eric Lauer are likely to follow Kevin Gausman during the first series of the season against the Athletics.

Even though we’re nearing the end of spring camp, there weren’t any real surprises among this group of cuts. Basabe, 25, performed well during Cactus League play, hitting .387 (12-for-31) with four RBI and an 8/1 K/BB ratio. He’ll start the year off as extra outfield depth at Triple-A Sacramento.

It’s unclear how much that issue has impacted his poor performance his last couple of starts — or how much time (if any) Manoah may miss. The 28-year-old hurler is tentatively expected to open the season in the Angels’ rotation, but if he continues to struggle the leash there could ultimately be very short.

Urshela had a shot at earning a spot on the Twins’ Opening Day bench, but he struggled to a .192/.250/.231 slash line with zero homers, one RBI and a 5/2 K/BB ratio over 28 plate appearances during Grapefruit League action. He’s now free to explore other opportunities.

The 35-year-old southpaw was informed that he would not make the team’s Opening Day bullpen, so this gives him an opportunity to latch on elsewhere if he can find an interested team. Chafin registered a 3.00 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and a 5/3 K/BB ratio over six innings during Grapefruit League play. Given the lack of quality bullpen depth around the league, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him land on his feet in the coming days.

Tarik Skubal will pitch on opening day against the Padres in San Diego. He’ll be followed by Valdez and Jack Flaherty. Justin Verlander will then open their series against the Diamondbacks in Arizona on March 30 and he’ll be followed by Casey Mize. Despite the injuries to Reese Olson and Troy Melton, this is perhaps the strongest starting rotation that we have seen the Tigers field in the past decade which has to make them the favorites in the American League Central.