MLB Player News

Varsho usually hit in the bottom half of the Blue Jays lineup last year, but he’s making a strong case to take over the second spot in between George Springer and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. this season. He’s hitting .452/.485/.935 with just one strikeout in 33 plate appearances this spring.

Seabold heads to Detroit as additional long relief depth shortly after being cut loose by the Blue Jays earlier this week. The 30-year-old swingman holds an inflated 7.79 ERA and 96/44 K/BB ratio across 119 innings over 40 appearances (19 starts) in the big leagues since 2021.

Brieske will be on the shelf until at least late May after suffering a groin injury earlier this week. The 27-year-old righty holds a pedestrian 4.14 ERA (4.33 xERA), 1.29 ERA and 170/79 K/BB ratio across 206 1/3 innings over 108 appearances in the big leagues since 2022.

Wheeler will open the season on the injured list to continue building up his pitch count and stamina in advance of his season debut, which is likely to come before the end of April.
The 35-year-old veteran fantasy ace will likely require a handful of rehab outings before he’s ready to rejoin Philadelphia’s rotation. He’s a top 25-30 range fantasy starter in remaining drafts this spring. His absence gives top prospect Andrew Painter some additional runway to prove he belongs at the highest level following a strong performance in spring training.

Estrada was granted his release to pursue opportunities elsewhere after opting out of his minor league deal with the Orioles. The 30-year-old veteran was limited to just 39 games with the Rockies last year due to injury. There was a chance for him to make the club’s season-opening roster with both Jackson Holliday (wrist) and Jordan Westburg (elbow) getting hurt during spring training.

Olson took Carson Fulmer and Mike Clevinger deep today. He typically hit second or fourth for the Braves last year, but he’s poised to occupy the third spot behind Ronald Acuña Jr. and Drake Baldwin this year. He seems like a good bet to finish with 30 homers and 100 RBI for the fourth time in his career, but he’s fallen just short the last two years (29 HR, 98 RBI in 2024 & 29 HR, 95 RBI in 2025).

It’s the first run he’s allowed in 13 1/3 innings this spring. Fuentes probably ought to be the Braves’ No. 2 starter with Spencer Strider out, but at least before the game, the team maintained that he’d open the season in the bullpen, with the plan being to send him to the minors to start in a few weeks. And given that the 20-year-old Fuentes threw just 70 innings last year, that would be the sensible plan if the Braves could afford to do without him. It just seems like that might be difficult right now.

The Pirates are going to be starting four pure left-handed hitters against righties: Oneil Cruz, Spencer Horwitz, Lowe and Ryan O’Hearn. Their OBPs over the last two years are .311 for Cruz, .355 for Horwitz, .309 for Lowe and .351 for O’Hearn. So, guess which two Don Kelly seems to prefer batting first and second in his lineup? Well, it was Cruz first, Lowe second, O’Hearn fifth and Horwitz seventh today. Lowe was dropped to fifth a couple of times during the middle of the month, but he’s only hit second recently. It’s not a disaster or anything, but Lowe’s typical line is that of a good No. 5 hitter, and it seems like he’s mostly hitting second because, well, he’s a second baseman and that’s what second basemen did back in Kelly’s day.

It’s official. Wetherholt will make his highly-anticipated big-league debut against the Rays on Thursday at Busch Stadium. The 23-year-old top prospect will open the regular season as the Cardinals starting second baseman and figures to bat near the top of the lineup. He projects as an immediate five-category impact fantasy contributor after batting .306/.421/.510 with 17 homers and 23 steals in 109 games in the upper minors last season.

Woodruff gets the ball for Milwaukee’s fifth game of the regular season to open a three-game series against Tampa Bay at American Family Field. There were some questions earlier this spring whether the veteran fantasy stalwart would be ready for Opening Day coming off a lat strain. The 33-year-old appears ready to roll and will pitch at the back-end of the Brewers’ rotation.

Rocker gets the nod to open the season in Texas’ rotation with Jacob Latz heading to the bullpen. It qualifies as a bit of a surprise considering how inconsistent the former top prospect was in his opportunities with the Rangers last year. The 26-year-old has turned in an impressive spring with a 4.26 ERA and 14/3 K/BB ratio across 12 2/3 innings of work. He’s talented enough to make a fantasy impact, especially in deeper mixed leagues, but there’s enough evidence to suggest a wait-and-see approach in shallower formats.