MLB Player News

Carter’s first-inning blast against Angels starter Victor Mederos traveled 385 feet with a 108.3 mph exit velocity. The talent has never been in dispute — the bat speed, the athleticism, the power/speed blend all remain intact. The complication has been availability, as back, quad and wrist injuries have limited the 23-year-old former top prospect to just 108 combined games over the past two seasons. When he’s on the field, the skill set still hints at something dynamic. The question isn’t ability; it’s continuity. That tension keeps him in late-round flyer territory this spring — the kind of pick that can quietly outperform cost if the body finally cooperates.

The Cubs haven’t confirmed Carlson is on the team like they did Michael Conforto, but it still seems to be the likely outcome at this point. Carlson has hit .341/.460/.463 in 50 plate appearances this month. But then he hit .321/.500/.571 for the Orioles last spring and didn’t follow that with much of anything.

The Cubs have avoided rotation injuries this spring, so it looks like Rea will open up in middle relief. He ends the spring with a 3.10 ERA, even though he’s given up five homers (but just seven earned runs) in 20 1/3 innings.

Kirby was feeling it in the Arizona heat tonight, touching 99.7 mph and averaging 97.4 mph with his fastball. His spring average coming into this one was 96.3 mph, which was essentially a match for his mark of 96.2 mph last year. Kirby doesn’t necessarily need the extra velocity to be an excellent fantasy starter, but it sure wouldn’t hurt. Kirby is lined up to be slotted in between Logan Gilbert and Bryan Woo in the rotation and to make his season debut Friday against the Guardians.

The move makes room for Ryan Borucki on the 40-man. Birdsong is set for Tommy John surgery and will likely be sidelined into the 2027 season.

McCoy will probably be the first person bumped from the Padres’ 40-man when they need another spot. Jacob, who has a 4.06 ERA in 51 innings as a major leaguer, had a chance of winning a bullpen spot, but he probably didn’t help his chances by playing for Team Italy. He’ll likely get a look soon enough anyway.

There’s nothing unexpected here, but Schnell did make a sneaky run at the bench spot that’s probably going to Bryce Johnson. McKenzie was a mess in camp, but he was a mess throwing about three mph harder than he did in his one really good year with Cleveland. If he finds some command in the minors, he might prove helpful at some point.

Teel also told reporters that he feels “no pain or stretch” when he’s catching, which is good news as well. The 24-year-old was diagnosed with a Grade 2 hamstring strain in the middle of March, and he’s expected to miss 4-6 weeks with the injury. Teel will likely begin the season on the injured list, but should be back as the backstop for the White Sox by the end of April or beginning of May.

The final spot on the Dodgers looks like it’s coming down to Freeland and Hyeseong Kim, who had an RBI single in four at-bats today. Kim has been quite a bit more productive this spring (.967 OPS to .519), but if the Dodgers were sold on him, this wouldn’t even be a contest. The winner figures to share time at second base with Miguel Rojas and Santiago Espinal until Tommy Edman returns.

He deserved considerably worse. Lopez began the game with a walk, a double and a walk and then apparently walked in a run, only to have the call overturned because his pitch clipped the corner. He left with two outs and the bases loaded and all three runners were stranded. Lopez returned for the second and allowed two to reach before escaping. In the third, he retired just one of five batters he faced before again leaving with the bases loaded. Justin Sterner replaced him and retired back-to-back hitters to ensure that there was no further damage. We assumed Lopez had the fifth spot in the Athletics’ rotation pretty well locked up coming into this one, but we’ll have to see if that’s changed. At least he did throw 73 pitches to get his six outs, so pitch count isn’t going to be an issue.

Harris walked one and gave up a two-run homer to Alex Freeland. He’s now allowed three runs in 8 1/3 innings and posted an 11/4 K/BB this spring. He’s one of the favorites for saves in the Athletics’ bullpen, but since he’s the club’s top lefty, he’ll also probably be used earlier in games on occasion.