MLB Player News

The report from North Side Baseball’s Matthew Trueblood here is extra interesting, because it suggests the Cubs are looking for just one more reliever on a major league contract. If that’s the case, one would think they should try to do much better than the 34-year-old Stanek, who has finished with ERAs of 4.09, 4.88 and 5.30 while pitching for contenders the last three seasons. That said, his stuff numbers are still very good, and the Cubs might think they have a fix for him.

Zack Littell was scheduled to take the hill opposite Braxton Garrett, who is vying for the final spot in Miami’s rotation along with Janson Junk. Littell worked three innings last Friday in his spring debut. He’ll presumably get his work in during a bullpen session to stay on schedule for the start of the year.

Espinal has officially made Los Angeles’ season-opening roster as a reserve infielder. The 31-year-old journeyman has looked rejuvenated this spring, hitting .389 (14-for-36) with two homers, 13 RBI and one steal in 15 Cactus League contests. He’ll help solidify second base along with speedster Hyseseong Kim while Tommy Edman (ankle) is on the injured list to open the season. He can be safely ignored for fantasy purposes.

No real surprise here. Durbin came over from the Brewers as part of the Kyle Harrison trade last month and will fill the spot previously held by Alex Bregman and Rafael Devers. The 26-year-old speedster has enough stolen base upside to matter in deeper mixed leagues. The big question for the Red Sox is whether Marcelo Mayer will open the year as their starting second baseman.

Not great. Harrison departed after 59 pitches (36 strikes) and was charged with four runs (one earned) over 2 2/3 innings. The 24-year-old former top prospect was putting together a magnificent spring and looked like a virtual lock for Milwaukee’s season-opening rotation. Blister issues can be complicated matters so fantasy managers should make sure to check back for additional updates on his status in the coming days.

We made the mistake of assuming he was done after four, but he had one batter left in him. Ohtani had an easy time today, especially during a five-pitch first inning. He hit 99.9 mph on the gun and averaged 97.6 mph with his 19 fastballs. In all, he threw 61 pitches. One imagines he’ll throw around 65-70 in his final spring start, which will likely come Tuesday against the Angels, and then be ready for throw 75-80 pitches in his first regular-season start, which should come against the Guardians on Mar. 30 or 31.

Nothing additional from the club, but it sounds like Singer’s removal was precautionary. However, blister issues can be tricky matters. The 29-year-old righty struck out three over 3 2/3 scoreless frames before exiting. He’s one of the few veterans in Cincinnati’s rotation, which will feature a trio of youngsters in Chase Burns, Rhett Lowder and Brandon Williamson occupying two spots. There should be an additional update on his status shortly.

All five were in camp as non-roster invitees with Effross and Rainey the ones with the most big-league experience. They’ll presumably head down to Triple-A Toledo to wait for injury or ineffectiveness to create an opportunity.

Rogers was injured in a bizarre mishap during a training drill when his own bat struck him in the face, requiring multiple stitches. It’s unclear whether he’ll be ready in time for Opening Day. He’ll serve as a backup to starter Dillon Dingler this season.

Harris did strike out once, but he has five strikeouts and four walks in 35 plate appearances this spring, which is fine. The 25-year-old has also swung outside of the zone only 27 percent of the time this spring. It’s a tremendously small sample size, but his career rate is 40 percent, so it’s a pretty stark contrast. If he is even able to carry over half of those gains, we may finally see the production he displayed in 2022 carried out over a complete season.

Jackson was a nice surprise in hitting .276/.328/.447 in 183 plate appearances over the final two months of last year, but the Orioles still went out and got Blaze Alexander, a similar player with a higher ceiling, from the Diamondbacks over the winter. With both Jackson Holliday and Jordan Westburg down, all signs point to Jackson having a roster spot, but it might be temporary. Interestingly, he’s only played second base this spring. He mostly played right field and third base for the Orioles last year.