MLB Player News

McNeil lifted a Bo Takahashi pitched 401 feet out to right field. He was hitting second in the exhibition today, but it doesn’t seem likely that he’ll bat any higher than sixth at the beginning of the regular season. He still could offer value in deeper mixed leagues while getting a boost from the switch from Citi Field to Sutter Health Park.

Baty made his second start at first base today. He’s also played right field once. Although he’d never played first base prior to last week, he has a chance to be the Mets’ best defender there, which would help keep him in the lineup after the Bo Bichette signing knocked him off third base. It’s clear he needs to start somewhere against righties after his fine second half last year.

Senga gave up a couple of homers, though one of those was a 341-footer from Miguel Ugueto that wasn’t even a hard-hit ball. He allowed just one other hit, walked none and struck out two. He topped out at 98.9 mph, and his 18 fastballs averaged 96.7 mph, which is two mph better than last year. Obviously, that’s pretty encouraging. The league hit .273 and slugged .530 against Senga’s fastball when he averaged 94.7 mph last year. When he averaged 95.7 mph as an MLB rookie in 2023, the league hit .243 and slugged .397 against the pitch.

Richard Fitts is making a bid to overtake Leahy in the rotation mix, but Leahy really helped his cause today after giving up four runs last time out. One wonders if the Cardinals might not be better off using both Fitts and Leahy in the rotation and sending Andre Pallante back to the pen.

O’Brien is behind because of a strained calf or else he’d be pitching for Korea in the World Baseball Classic. He still figures to be ready for Opening Day, and he would seem to be the favorite for saves in the Cardinals pen right now.

Martin came in after Grant Taylor hurled a scoreless first, and Martin was able to replicate that success over his three frames while striking out four against one walk. The 29-year-old doesn’t miss enough bats to be considered a fantasy regular, but there’s streaming potential here; particularly against the weaker lineups in the AL.

Brubaker allowed a solo shot to Gabriel Moreno in the first, but kept the D-backs from putting any more runs across. The 32-year-old has an outside chance of being the fifth starter for San Francisco in 2026, but more than likely, he’ll be a multi-inning bullpen arm for the Giants to begin the campaign.

The game was scoreless through five before Italy broke through. Canzone’s four balls in play today were all hit at least 103 mph, with his 114-mph lineout rating as the game’s hardest-hit ball. Italy also got two homers from Dante Nori. Jon Berti went 3-for-4 with two doubles and two runs scored.

Because he chose to pitch in the WBC, Aldegheri has already been sent down by the Angels this spring. It seems like it was worth it, though, based on his outing today. He could get another start if Italy advances, which would almost certainly require beating either Team USA or Mexico. Italy already has an advantage if all three teams end up 3-1. That tiebreaker is based on runs allowed, and Italy was able to shut out Brazil after the U.S. gave up five runs to the team last night.

That’s half as many homers as he hit in 125 games last year. Nori, the Phillies’ first-round pick two years ago, hit .261/.361/.372 with 52 steals in a 2025 spent mostly in Low-A ball. He’s a legitimate center fielder, so he won’t need to be a special hitter to turn into a useful major leaguer.

Hence is not long removed from being an upper-echelon prospect, but he was limited to just 21 innings due to injury in 2025. Bernal is one of the top catching prospects in baseball but likely is a couple years away from making his debut.