MLB Player News

Cruz was eligible for arbitration for the first time after hitting a disappointing .200/.298/.378 last season. He hasn’t been mentioned in trade rumors, so all signs point to him remaining the Pirates’ center fielder. It’ll be interesting to see if he’s given another chance to play full-time after finishing last year as a platoon player. He’s likely to hit in the bottom half of the order, too, so his fantasy stock is well down from last year.

Ray averaged 94.8 mph with his fastball, which is up 1.2 mph from last year. It actually matches his career-high from his Cy Young season with the Blue Jays in 2021. Of course, that doesn’t mean much in a 2 2/3-inning outing, but it’s hardly a bad sign.

Criswell certainly isn’t a big upside guy, but in such a great situation in Seattle, he could be interested if he’s needed in the rotation for any length of time. He’ll likely work in middle relief until an injury strikes.

Lile is starting to gain traction as a popular fantasy sleeper this spring on the heels of a stellar rookie campaign in which he batted .299/.347/.498 with nine homers and eight steals across 351 plate appearances. The unheralded 23-year-old corner outfielder lacks a singular elite carrying tool, but he profiles as the type of player whose overall impact outweighs the sum of his individual tools — not flashy in one category, but quietly useful in almost all of them.

Rodriguez battled some command issues in this one, handing out three free passes, while notching a pair of strikeouts. He threw just 24 of 43 pitches for strikes. The 32-year-old lefty will get the ball for Venezuela at some point during pool play after Red Sox southpaw Ranger Suárez toes the rubber during Friday’s World Baseball Classic opener against Netherlands.

Griffin threw 15 of 29 pitches for strikes and worked around three baserunners to spin a pair of shutout frames. The 30-year-old lefty is penciled into a spot in Washington’s rotation after spending the last three seasons pitching overseas in Japan. He offers minimal appeal for fantasy purposes based on his career track record and will go undrafted in most leagues this spring.

It’s an extremely rare intra-divisional trade between longtime rivals. Callihan ascended to the big leagues early last season before suffering a gruesome fractured left forearm on a sliding collision with the left-field wall in just his fourth big-league game. He batted .303/.410/.528 with four homers and six steals in 24 games at the Triple-A level prior to his major-league debut. The 25-year-old’s defensive versatility gives him some appeal for the Pirates in a reserve role.

Nicolas fortifies Cincinnati’s middle relief depth in exchange for Callihan, a utility specialist coming off a major injury without a spot on the club’s big-league roster heading into the regular season. The hard-throwing 27-year-old righty is consistently in the upper-90’s with his fastball and has struck out 22 percent of the batters he’s faced in the big leagues since 2023. He posted a pedestrian 4.74 ERA — 4.14 xERA — 1.37 WHIP and 34/18 K/BB ratio across 38 innings over 31 appearances for the Pirates last year.

Astros general manager Dana Brown told reporters Peña was removed from Wednesday’s exhibition game in the Dominican Republic for precautionary reasons after fielding a ground ball that took a bad hop and struck a fingertip. There should be a definitive update on his availability for the impending international showcase at some point prior to the Dominican Republic kicking off the tournament on Friday evening against Nicaragua.

Murray remains, at least theoretically, a two-sport question mark. Forst reiterated Wednesday that while Murray is firmly established as an elite NFL quarterback, the organization would be open to a return to baseball should he ever choose to revisit that path. The 28-year-old former ninth overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft is poised to hit free agency when the NFL league year opens next week following seven seasons with the Arizona Cardinals, and the Athletics still hold his baseball rights. The expectation is that Murray continues his football career — logical trajectory and financial considerations both point that direction. He wouldn’t be the first elite athlete to pivot mid-career — and history suggests the idea feels impossible right up until it happens. It wouldn’t be unprecedented — just completely unexpected.

Pages could have played for Cuba in the World Baseball Classic, but he decided against it. Both of his hits today were crushed; the homer was projected at 430 feet, and his double in the third was a 109-mph liner.