MLB Player News

That had been a foregone conclusion for a while now, but is now official. The bigger question will be whether he or Taijuan Walker gets bumped once Zack Wheeler (shoulder) is ready to return. Cristopher Sanchez will work on Opening Day for the Phillies and will be followed by Aaron Nola. Jesus Luzardo, Walker and Painter in that order.

Freeland scattered four hits with one walk and a pair of strikeouts. He ends his Cactus League season with a 1.00 ERA, which is impressive even when acknowledging the lack of stakes. It’s not impressive enough to make him worthy of fantasy consideration, but good for Freeland.

Bleday’s option is a little surprising, as it appeared he was on his way to being on the strong side of a platoon in left. It appears this opens a spot Nathaniel Lowe on the bench to open 2026. There’s a very good chance he’ll be the first name up when Cincinnati needs a replacement, but obviously Bleday is nathnot someone who needs to be on fantasy rosters right now. Hinds and Maxwell are just organizatonal depth, even with Hinds’ possessing impressive power.

Saggese, who missed time playing for Team Italy in the WBC, made his fifth outfield start today. With JJ Wetherholt overtaking him and Ramón Urías getting brought in as a utilityman, Saggese has played the infield just twice (both times at shortstop) this spring. He’s now played left field three times and center twice. Given that, it seems like he’s batting Nathan Church for the last spot on the Cardinals bench, which is a spot that figures to go away if Lars Nootbaar can return in mid-April. He’s batting .316/.381/.526 in 21 plate appearances.

We’d really like to know what Braxton Garrett looked like outside of his two official spring appearances — when he showed the best velocity of his career and posted a 64% groundball rate while giving up four runs in four innings — and a decent March 3 outing against Team Israel to result in him losing a rotation spot to Junk, who has now finished the spring 0-3 with a 10.13 ERA. Junk did solid enough work last year, and his spring ERA doesn’t really matter much at all. However, he’s probably best utilized going once around a lineup in middle relief.

He’s hitting .310/.326/.476 in 43 plate appearances. Since the Marlins seem to have big plans for Graham Pauley for some reason, Norby started in left field for the second time today. He’s also played first base twice. We’re not sure Norby is really cut out to be a regular third baseman, either, but moving him further down the defensive spectrum only makes it less likely that he’ll be helpful. Assuming that Pauley is healthy — forearm tightness has limited him to DH duties thus far but he’s expected to play third base on Sunday — the two might just wind up platooning initially, with Pauley facing righties and Norby starting against lefties.

That according to manager Craig Albernaz. Akin is projected to be a big part of the Baltimore bullpen, but a trip to the injured list to open 2026 can’t be ruled out. This also could be precautionary with camp ending soon, but the left-hander’s status should be updated shortly regardless.

Tauchman, 35, will undergo an MRI on the knee according to Mets manager Carlos Mendoza. The outfielder is in camp on a non-roster invite, and is attempting to win a spot on the bench for New York. His status should be updated after the results of the imaging are announced.

Seabold was signed to a non-roster deal, and he opted out of his minor league contract when he was informed he wouldn’t make the roster. Estrada will be a potential option for Toronto at some point in 2026 in relief.

The 344-foot shot down the right field line bounced back into play and was initially ruled a double, but replay showed it was over the yellow line. Simpson has one homer in 1,636 professional plate appearances, that being an inside-the-parker in Double-A in 2024. It’s not strictly an exit velocity matter for him — he exceeded 100 mph on seven of his balls in play in the majors last year — but most of his hardest contact comes on grounders. With a .370/.393/.481 line in 30 plate appearances, Simpson has had a nice spring despite missing a little time with a hamstring issue. He’ll almost certainly be the Rays’ primary left fielder against righties, and he’ll be worth playing in fantasy leagues as long as he continues to start most of the time.

Ryan’s velocity is still down about two mph after he missed time with back tightness. He has a 1.50 ERA through three outings anyway, but he’s struck out only eight, and he surrendered 11 hard-hit balls to the 18 batters he faced today. He’ll probably be one of the AL’s better pitchers in the long run, but it shouldn’t be surprising he struggles a little bit out of the gate. He’ll face the Orioles on Opening Day.