MLB Player News

Bassitt was unusually wild in his Orioles debut, but his worst throw came when he tried to retire Brandon Nimmo at home on a comebacker in the first and spiked the ball past Adley Rutschman behind the plate. At least his velocity was good, and instances like this of him of struggling to find the strike zone should be few and far between. He’s just an AL-only guy at this point, but he does have a nice matchup coming up against the Pirates.

Arias was lifted for a pinch-runner following a fifth-inning double where he appeared to suffer some sort of left leg injury. The 26-year-old infielder was 1-for-2 prior to exiting and was replaced by Daniel Schneemann at shortstop. There should be an update on his status following the contest.

Scherzer’s fastball velocity was down significantly and he departed after just 36 pitches over two innings during Monday’s highly-anticipated rematch of last year’s Fall Classic. There should be an update on the 41-year-old future Hall of Famer’s status shortly.

Ross cleared waivers over the weekend and will head out onto the open market to pursue opportunities elsewhere rather than stick around at Triple-A Reno. The 32-year-old reliever was lit up for eight runs over 3 2/3 innings across three appearances for Arizona prior to being designated for assignment last Friday.

Gipson-Long will remain stationed at Triple-A Toledo as organizational depth after concluding a rehab assignment. The 28-year-old hit the shelf with an oblique injury at the end of spring training. He holds a pedestrian 5.44 ERA across 51 1/3 innings over 12 appearances for the Tigers since 2023.

The Athletics have decided to jettison Morales to the minors for some additional seasoning after being torched for 10 runs on 13 hits with an abysmal 5/8 K/BB ratio across 7 1/3 innings over two starts to open the season. The hard-throwing 23-year-old pitching prospect will get an opportunity to reset back at the Triple-A level. It’ll presumably be J.T. Ginn taking his spot in the rotation when it comes up on Friday against the Mets.

Caminero’s third-inning blast against Cubs starter Jameson Taillon electrified a packed Tropicana Field during the Rays return to the iconic dome for the first time since the 2024 campaign. The -year-old slugger’s second big fly of the season was a no-doubter to left field, traveling a whopping 401 feet, per Statcast, and doubled Tampa Bay’s early lead at the time. It’s been a bit of a slow start at the dish for Caminero this season, hitting .256 (10-for-39) with two homers and three RBI through 10 games, but it’s starting to feel like he’s coming alive recently.

It would be unfair to label Shaw’s second round-tripper of the season as a garbage time dinger, but it came with two outs in the ninth inning of a three-run ballgame. The 24-year-old former top prospect took Rays stopper Bryan Baker deep with a fly ball down the left-field line that traveled just 366 feet. He figures to transition to a bench role once Seiya Suzuki (knee) returns from the injured list later this week.

Simpson has gotten off to an excellent start this season supplying his usual blend of batting average and stolen bases, hitting .395 (15-for-38) with one extra-base hit and four steals through 10 games. The 25-year-old speedster hasn’t run as often as expected in the early stage of the year, but we’re anticipating an uptick shortly.

Baker got the call to protect a three-run lead in the final frame after Kevin Kelly, who picked up a save in extra-innings on Sunday against the Twins, tossed a scoreless fifth inning to pick up a win in relief. The 31-year-old veteran has clearly earned the trust of Rays manager Kevin Cash to pitch in high-leverage spots and figures to be in the mix to close games as Tampa Bay continues rolling with a closer-by-committee approach.

It had to be an emotional moment for McClanahan, taking the mound at Tropicana Field for the first time since July 22, 2023. The 28-year-old southpaw averaged 94.3 mph on his four-seam fastball and generated just six swinging strikes, needing 69 pitches (35 strikes) to complete four frames. He battled some serious control issues in this outing, handing out a whopping four free passes, but still managed to limit Chicago’s formidable lineup to just one hit. He’ll close out a two-start week with a home matchup against the division-rival Yankees on Sunday.