MLB Player News

Reynolds heads to Japan a couple weeks after being non-tendered by the Padres to attempt to bolster his long-term value after posting a serviceable 4.03 ERA – 4.14 FIP – and 27.7 percent strikeout rate over 38 innings across 28 appearances for San Diego over the last two seasons. The 27-year-old righty has pitched exclusively in relief since being drafted by the Marlins in the fourth round of the 2016 MLB Draft.

It’s fair to assume that Candelario is going to wind up with a spot on Los Angeles’ season-opening roster as a bench infielder. The 32-year-old reclamation project took Brewers upstart lefty Kyle Harrison deep in the second inning for his fourth long ball of the spring. He won’t carry any fantasy relevance but Candelario’s unexpected resurgence is a fascinating development for the Angels.

It’s an encouraging sign to see Lowe driving the ball with authority after missing multiple weeks with an oblique issue earlier in camp. The 28-year-old corner outfielder will get a couple additional games under his belt in the coming days and should be a full-go for next week’s season opener.

Stewart went deep for the third time this spring when he took Angels starter Jack Kochanowicz out to right field in the third inning of this one. The power-hitting 22-year-old corner infielder has flashed a little bit of everything this spring, batting .333 (12-for-36) with four steals in 15 games. There are some playing time questions that need to be answered but he’s simply too talented for Reds manager Terry Francona to leave on the bench.

It’s too small of a sample size to say anything definitive, but Trout has looked healthy and comfortable at the plate this spring, hitting .257 (9-for-35) with five doubles in 13 contests. The 34-year-old generational talent remains a strong bet to reach the 30-homer plateau if he plays anything close to a full season.

Burns, who was named to Cincinnati’s season-opening rotation earlier this week, got into trouble right away in this one. He handed out a leadoff walk to Zach Neto before losing a nine-pitch battle to Mike Trout, who walloped a run-scoring single to center field. He somehow managed to keep the inning from snowballing out of control following a run-scoring triple from Josh Lowe later in the frame by coaxing a pair of easy outs. He managed to settle in afterwords and work a clean second inning, throwing 48 pitches (29 strikes) in the abbreviated outing. The dynamic top pitching prospect is likely to have some workload limitations in the early stages of the year as he teams with Rhett Lowder and Brandon Williamson to fill a pair of spots in Cincinnati’s rotation. He offers enough strikeout upside, even in shorter bursts, to be mixed-league relevant at the outset of the season.

This one is perplexing. Ryan has looked outstanding this spring with a 1.86 ERA and 12/4 K/BB ratio across 9 2/3 innings in Cactus League action. He seemed like a lock to open the year in the big leagues with Blake Snell (shoulder) starting on the injured list. The 27-year-old top pitching prospect will have to wait on the doorstep of the majors for his next opportunity. Los Angeles is going ahead with Roki Sasaki in their season-opening rotation despite his persistent command issues. Ryan’s departure also signals that Justin Wrobleski will function as a swingman or occasional sixth starter for now.

The homer off Landen Roupp was Freeman’s first of the spring, but he’s now 12-for-28 with a 2/5 K/BB. He’s healthier now after his ankle injury from 2023 lingered into last season, and he’s probably a little underrated for fantasy purposes.

Roupp has been up about one mph from last year this spring, though that could be a little deceptive; he was also up in this territory at the beginning of last year before fading in May and June. Still, it’s been a rather encouraging spring with his 4.15 ERA and 15/7 K/BB in 13 innings. He could be at least a streaming option in mixed leagues next month.

Encarnacion really messed up on the double play. He hit a grounder down the first base line that he thought was going to go foul, but Freddie Freeman got to it before it could and threw to second base for the first out. Encarnacion never even left the batter’s box on the play and was retired on a lob back to first. It was the kind of thing that could lead to a fringy player getting bumped off the roster. Plus, Victor Bericoto, a natural replacement for Encarnacion, went on to homer later on for the Giants’ only run of the game.