MLB Player News

Gaddis wasn’t feeling right after his spring debut Friday, but since tests on his arm came back negative, he still might have a chance of being ready for Opening Day. The very reliable Gaddis pitched in 78 games for the Guardians in 2024 and 73 last year. He hasn’t missed any time with injury as a major leaguer.

O’Neill got the O’s ln the board in the fourth inning, tagging right-hander Bailey Ober for a 391-foot (109.0 mph EV) three-run shot that pulled them to within a run at 4-3. He also drew a walk in the sixth inning and raced around to score on a go-ahead two-run double by Dylan Beavers. He’s hitting .286 (2-for-7) with the one long ball and three RBI on the young season.

The 31-year-old stopper allowed a leadoff single to Luke Keaschall and then Victor Caratini reached on an error with two outs — putting the tying runs on base. Not to worry though as Helsley got James Outman to fly out to left field to end it. He has now successfully converted each of his first two chances on the season and looks like one of the most reliable closer options on the board for fantasy purposes.

Baz punched out four opposing hitters on the afternoon and did not allow a base on balls. All of the damage done against him came during a four-run uprising in the second inning that included a bases-clearing three-run double from Tristan Gray. Baz generated 12 swings and misses on 78 pitches on the day, posting a CSW of 29 percent. He’ll try once again to earn his first victory in an Orioles’ uniform when he takes on the Pirates in Pittsburgh on Saturday.

Abel struck out four batters on the day, but he also issued four walks. Rather than starting on Monday which was the expectation, the Twins turned to Abel to piggyback Bailey Ober in this one, coming on to start the fifth inning. It didn’t work out well. He gave up a run on an RBI double in the sixth inning, then the O’s piled on with three more in the seventh to take control of the game. On the plus side, he got 14 whiffs on 81 pitches on the afternoon, posting a CSW of 30 percent. He’ll likely make his first start at some point next weekend against the Rays now.

Ober walked one batter and struck out one in the contest. He cruised through the first three innings virtually unscathed, but things fell apart in the fourth. There, he allowed a pair of singles before serving up a game-tying three-run blast to Tyler O’Neill. Ober got just two whiffs on 56 pitches on the day, posting a CSW of 21 percent. His average fastball in the game was just 89.8 mph (-0.5 mph), still slightly down from where he sat during the 2025 campaign. He’s a tough one for fantasy managers to trust for next weekend’s start against the Rays.

O’Hearn’s third hit plated the go-ahead run in the 10th. The Pirates tacked on one more run from there and then survived the bottom of the 10th despite the Mets opening that inning with a Francisco Lindor walk and a Juan Soto double (Lindor was thrown out trying to score with none out). O’Hearn ended the first series of the year 6-for-14 with a homer and three RBI.

Mlodzinski, who struck out eight, was working with a 2-1 lead in the fifth when he gave up a Francisco Lindor triple and a Juan Soto RBI single with one out. That brought his afternoon to an end. Still, it was a nice showing, especially with him notching eight strikeouts. His previous high in 17 career starts was six. Mlodzinski would have a better chance of making a fantasy impact as a late-game reliever than as a starter, but he has a chance to be a useful bottom-of-the-rotation guy for Pittsburgh, especially if his control holds up. His 6.4% walk rate last year was a big improvement over anything he’d ever done in the majors or the minors. He’ll face Baltimore on Saturday.

The Pirates surprised some people by saying at the end of the spring that Santana wouldn’t be their sole closer, but the guess here is that he’s still going to get the big majority of the save chances unless he stumbles. The Pirates haven’t had a traditional opportunity yet, but Santana has already thrown three scoreless innings. However, since Santana has worked the last two days, Gregory Soto, who got this one off, might be the choice to close Monday.

Urquidy probably would have blown the save if the Mets hadn’t sent Francisco Lindor around third to get thrown out at home with no outs in the inning. Urquidy got Bo Bichette to ground out afterwards and then barely kept Jorge Polanco in the park on the fly to center that ended the game. Urquidy figures to spend most of his time in middle relief after getting beaten out by Carmen Mlodzinski for the fifth spot in the Pittsburgh rotation.

McLean walked the first two batters he faced today and then gave up a run on a single. The other run came on Brandon Lowe’s homer in the third. McLean never walked another after those first two, and he amassed a strong 38% CSW today. He threw his secondary pitches 43 times and didn’t give up a hard-hit ball on any of them. The 24-year-old will face the Giants in his second start.