MLB Player News

Castro fortifies Los Angeles’ bullpen depth after making just six relief appearances for the White Sox this past season. The well-traveled 31-year-old veteran has made 425 appearances in the majors between the Blue Jays, Rockies, Orioles, Mets, Yankees, Diamondbacks and White Sox dating back to 2015.

The White Sox took a 7-0 lead in a game in which the A’s pulled their regulars after two, but the minor leaguers combined to scored nine times between the fourth and fifth to pull this one out. Stefanic, who was cut from the spring roster a week ago, finishes up the Cactus League season with a .500/.565/.725 line and nine RBI in 44 plate appearances. He’ll probably be in line for a look if an infielder gets hurt.

Morales walked three of the first four batters he faced and then gave up a bases-loaded double to Lenyn Sosa, at which point he was lifted. He came back out for the second and retired six of seven through the third before being removed for good. Morales, who will face the Jays on Sunday, concludes the spring with a 7.58 ERA and a 17/14 K/BB in 19 innings. He was rather impressive for the A’s last season, but he doesn’t make sense as a starter in shallow leagues right away.

Kay walked four, plunked two and gave up nine hard-hit balls in an ugly showing. He actually opened with two scoreless innings versus something close to the Athletics’ regular lineup. Then the A’s pulled everyone and scored nine runs between the fourth and fifth. Kay has already been named to the White Sox rotation, but he might fit better in middle relief. He’ll make his first start Sunday in Milwaukee.

Grant Taylor should be the White Sox’s best reliever, but if closer Seranthony Domínguez falters, the team might initially turn to Hicks in the ninth. His stuff has rebounded this spring and 17 of the 24 balls in play against him have been grounders. The White Sox already did well to get David Sandlin in return for taking part of his contract off Boston’s hands. It’ll work out even better for them if they can flip him for another prospect in July.

Even though he led the White Sox with 22 homers and 75 RBI in 140 games last year, playing time seemed poised to be an issue for Sosa at the beginning of the spring. However, with Kyle Teel and Brooks Baldwin opening up on the IL, he’ll be in the lineup regularly initially, giving him a chance to prove that he should stay there. He needs to improve his defense or get his OBP up in order to be a truly useful major league regular, but as is, he’s already the kind of guy who is useful in mixed leagues while starting regularly.

Rafaela’s home run, his third of the spring, was 98.6 mph off the bar and traveled 360 feet. He also added a 98.2 mph single and is hitting .394/.447/.788 this spring. He has ten strikeouts to just three walks in 38 plate appearances, but he continues to make hard contact and flash potential 20/20 upside while being an everyday player due to his elite centerfield defense. Considering he is also second base eligible in fantasy leagues, he’s an intriguing target outside of the top 100 picks.

It gets worse. Oviedo’s velocity was down over two mph on every one of his pitches, and his four-seam fastball averaged just 92.9 mph, which is significantly down from the near 96 mph mark he’s shown all spring. He also allowed eight hard-hit baseballs in this one and a 96.1 mph average exit velocity. As of now, there is no indication that the 28-year-old is dealing with any injury, and he mentioned after the game that his execution was “off” as he continues to work on new pitches, including his cutter. Considering Oviedo has minor league options left, this was not a great time for a poor outing and could open the door for Connelly Early to steal the final rotation spot.

Ober sat 89.6 mph on his fastball, which is down from last season but up from the 88.8 mph mark he had in his last outing. Still, it didn’t much matter. He allowed ten hard-hit baseballs on the day while walking three and striking out three. It’s impossible to recommend him in fantasy leagues right now.

Williamson’s home run was his third of the spring and was a 350-foot shot off Jesus Luzardo that left the bat at 95.7 mph. The 25-year-old is slashing .348/.423/.565 in spring and could get a chance to play some second base with Gavin Lux starting the year on the IL. He likely remains off fantasy radars outside of deep AL-only leagues.

Luzardo also struck out six and walked two while registering a 22.5 percent whiff rate. His sweeper did most of the damage in terms of swing-and-miss, and it’s worth noting that his fastball did get hit hard in this one, with four hard-hit balls allowed and an average exit velocity of 92 mph. It was still a strong outing overall for Luzardo, who heads into 2026 looking to build on what was a career season in 2025.