MLB Player News

Gamel seemed like a decent bet to claim the roster spot on the Braves opened up by the Jurickson Profar suspension after he homered in four of his first six games this spring, but he’s 0-for-10 with seven strikeouts in his last three appearances. That’s good news for Dominic Smith, who would seem to be the alternative to open up as a DH against righties. Of course, the Braves still could pick up a bat at the end of the spring and render the current competition moot.

Beavers makes his first start of the season after taking a seat in favor of veteran Tyler O’Neill, who is on the bench in this one with Samuel Basallo at DH, during Thursday’s opener. The 24-year-old top prospect dealt with knee soreness at the conclusion of spring training, so it’s an encouraging sign that he’s ready to go without needing a trip to the injured list.

Caglianone came off the bench during Thursday’s season opener against the Braves with veteran southpaw Chris Sale on the mound. The 23-year-old former top prospect was one of the more popular middle-round fantasy sleepers in drafts this spring but he’s probably going to keep sitting against tougher left-handed starters. The other notable change for Kansas City is Carter Jensen moving up to the fifth spot after hitting eighth on Opening Day.

It’ll go down as a moderate oblique strain for Morel, who suffered the injury at some point prior to Friday’s season opener against the Rockies, and will likely be out until at least early May. The 26-year-old was expected to open the year as Miami’s starting first baseman after signing a one-year deal in the offseason. It’ll be a combination of Connor Norby and Deyvison De Los Santos splitting time at the cold corner during his absence.

Norby draws another start at first base with slugging prospect Deyvison De Los Santos on the bench after Christopher Morel (oblique) hit the injured list. The other notable development for the Marlins is Jakob Marsee shifting back to his typical spot atop Miami’s lineup after lefty-masher Austin Slater got the nod to face Rockies southpaw Kyle Freeland on Opening Day earlier this week.

DeGrom added that he woke up with neck stiffness and underwent treatment in an effort to start on Saturday against the Phillies before the decision was made to not to take any risks by pushing it. It certainly sounds like things are trending towards the 37-year-old veteran fantasy ace making his season debut during a three-game road series against the Orioles, which gets underway on Monday at Camden Yards. Fantasy managers should keep a close eye on the situation but initial reports seem to indicate that this isn’t a potential injured list situation. There should be some additional clarity on his status at some point later this weekend.

Wheeler is scheduled to throw roughly 45 pitches in his first rehab outing to be followed by two additional tune-up starts before the Phillies make a determination on his status. That rough timeline puts him on track to potentially make his season debut by the end of April or early May, barring any complications.

Gasser produced 18 whiffs on 44 swings and finished with a 37% CSW against a fine Norfolk lineup that had Jackson Holliday batting second. He was in the running for a spot in Milwaukee’s rotation until the end of the spring, and there’s the chance we’ll see him soon, though that also probably depends on how Logan Henderson performs and whether Quinn Priester is able to pull off a quick return from the IL.

The switch-hitting Trimble is probably day-to-day. He’s the Orioles’ lone minor league position player who is on the 40-man roster, which will help his chances of seeing time in the majors this year.

Eldridge had a couple of strong games in exhibitions after the Giants sent him down and reaching four times in his first Triple-A contest is another good sign. His hit was a 103-mph line drive. He did strike out in his remaining at-bat. The Giants aren’t going to want to bring up Eldridge as a savior while being this ice cold at the plate, but it’s hard not see him as an upgrade over Casey Schmitt against right-handers.

He also had a 103-mph lineout to the outfield. Song was limited to eight games this spring by an oblique strain. The Padres could option him to Triple-A once his IL stint is over, but giving him the roster spot currently occupied by Nick Castellanos also seems like a possibility.