MLB Player News

Gott, Lipscomb, and Mervis all have prior MLB experience but were unable to win an Opening Day job with the Nationals. As a 33-year-old veteran, Gott has no more minor league options remaining, so it remains to be seen where he goes from here. Seaver King is the Nationals’ 5th-ranked prospect and is coming off a strong Arizona Fall League season. He was 6-for-16 in MLB spring training with five singles and a stolen base, and he will now either head to Double-A or Triple-A to try and continue his strong run of production.

Pfaadt worked two clean innings, retiring his first seven batters, before falling apart in the third. The Tigers tagged him for five runs on six hits before he could escape the frame. Pfaadt bounced back with three more scoreless innings, giving up just one more walk. It seems to be the typical Pfaadt experience as he struggles to avoid the blowup inning. The 27-year-old right-hander will take the mound against the Braves in Atlanta on Sunday. His spot in the rotation could be in jeopardy once Merrill Kelly (back) is ready to return from the injured list.

Mize was working around baserunners through his first three innings of work. He escaped a bases-loaded jam in the third before giving up his first run on a solo homer by Jose Fernandez in the fourth. Mize settled in to complete two more clean frames, completing six innings. The splitter was a real neutralizer for him, inducing nine of his 15 whiffs to collect nine strikeouts. It was an impressive first start for the 28-year-old right-hander. Mize will take on the Twins in Minnesota on Monday.

Rice was not retired once in this one, reaching in all four plate appearances. He started with a double in the first to drive in the game’s first run, then drew a pair of walks before knocking a base hit in the eighth. The 27-year-old slugger has reached base eight times through 17 plate appearances while starting at first base in all four games against right-handed pitching, sitting for one start against a left-hander.

Bellinger knocked a base hit in the first inning and scored the first run of the game on a double by Ben Rice. After drawing a walk in the third, he singled, stole second, and scored again in the sixth. It was the first stolen base of the season for the 30-year-old outfielder. He’s 6-for-18 at the dish so far with a 3/3 K/BB ratio.

Fried was dominant yet again on Tuesday, holding the Mariners off the board over seven frames to extend his scoreless streak to 13 1/3 innings across his first two starts. He scattered three hits and one walk while collecting six strikeouts. The 32-year-old left-hander has a chance to continue his excellent start when he takes on the Marlins in New York on Sunday.

Gilbert recorded two quick outs before the Yankees strung together three straight hits to plate two runs in the opening frame. He settled in to keep New York off the board until running into more trouble in the sixth. Three hits and a walk plated two more runs, knocking Gilbert from the game at 95 pitches. One inherited runner would come in to score, charging Gilbert with five runs on the day. He struck out six on 14 whiffs but threw just 54 strikes. The struggles to complete six frames go back to last season, when he did it just eight times in 25 starts. The 28-year-old right-hander will look to bounce back when he takes on the Rangers in Texas next Monday.

With the Red Sox looking at 21 called strikes, Brown needed just 78 pitches to get 18 outs tonight. He has 17 strikeouts while allowing just one run in 10 2/3 innings to date, and now he gets to face the Rockies next time out. It is at Coors Field, but that’s usually not the same kind of issue in April as it might be in July.

That’s the good. The bad is that, because he threw 50 pitches, he’ll probably be swapped out for a fresh arm prior to Wednesday’s game. Bolton, who signed a minor league deal in January, was just added to Houston’s roster before the game. He had a 5.79 ERA in 34 career appearances with the Pirates, Mariners and Guardians coming into tonight.

The one encouraging thing about Bello’s outing tonight was that his cutter performed incredibly well; he threw it 21 times for seven whiffs, five called strikes and three instances of soft contact, though two of those turned into hits. Nothing else stood out, and he just didn’t have an answer for Yordan Alvarez, who homered and doubled off him. He’s not a mixed-league quality starter right now, but he’ll probably be adequate for Boston if the Red Sox choose to start hitting at some point. He’ll face the Brewers next.

The double was a 418-foot blast to center off Brayan Bello in the first. It would have been gone in 26 ballparks, according to Statcast, but Ceddanne Rafaela nearly turned it into an out before coming up just short at the wall. Alvarez didn’t leave it to chance in the fifth, delivering a 399-foot blast far over the wall in right. He’s looked fantastic so far, and he could easily have five homers, rather than three, through his first six games. It’s understandable to worry about durability, especially since he’s going to be asked to play a fair amount of left field, but he’s one of the handful of players with a real shot at winning AL MVP honors.