MLB Player News

Stanton had a routine day off on Wednesday. The 36-year-old will frequently get day games off to rest his ailing body, but he has been hot at the plate this season, going 10-for-20 with one home run and four RBI. It wouldn’t surprise us if he sits out Sunday’s day game, but he should be fired up in all lineups.

DeLauter had an RBI single in the fifth and a two-run homer in the seventh. That’s five homers in just 27 plate appearances for DeLauter, who left Tuesday’s game with a foot contusion and didn’t play Wednesday. The rest of the Guardians have combined to hit just three in eight games.

Cantillo allowed four hits, walked two and struck out six before being pulled at 82 pitches. He’s going to need better command and an ability to work deeper into games if he’s ever going to be particularly relevant in fantasy leagues. Alternatively, maybe Stephen Vogt could be convinced to use an opener in front of him. The ERA is there, but the wins need to follow on occasion. He’s due to face the Royals next week.

He allowed a single with one out in the ninth. Smith is 2-for-3 saving games with a 7.20 ERA through five innings.

Swanson got off to a fast start this spring, but he cooled as March went along and has gotten even worse of late; he’s 3-for-21 with no extra-base hits through seven games. He did fire off his hardest swing of the year today, but all that got him was a 132-foot popup. His early bat speed numbers are down from last year, and he’d already lost some ground there from 2024 to 2025.

Stephenson’s first homer was 382-footer to right-center that Statcast says would have left seven ballparks. Fortunately, Globe Life Field was one of them. He also had a single in the contest, and he’s now 3-for-17 in six appearances.

The Rangers were all over Singer today; their average EV on the 16 balls in play against him was 100.4 mph. Still, the four hardest of those all turned into outs and none became homers. Singer will take a 5.00 ERA into his third outing of the year next week in Miami.

Pagán got the bottom of the order today after retired Evan Carter and Danny Jansen before striking out leadoff man Brandon Nimmo. This makes him 2-for-3 saving games amidst a rough start overall (5 ER, 2 HR in 4 1/3 IP).

Gore gave up two homers today after allowing none in five spring outings and his first start against the Phillies last week. We still like how he’s throwing to start the year, especially with the 16 strikeouts in 11 1/3 innings. He’ll take on Seattle next.

The Rangers already have to be regretting not making a real investment in their pen during the offseason. The 39-year-old Martin, who said last season was likely to be his last, will probably bounce back after giving up four earned runs over 2 2/3 innings in his first four appearances, but he’ll also probably get hurt at some point. The Rangers really need a youngster or two from the group including Emiliano Teodo, Marc Church and Luis Curvelo to step it up and emerge as contributors.

Steer homered off left-hander MacKenzie Gore and doubled ahead of Tyler Stephenson’s tiebreaking homer in the ninth. Based on his performance the last couple of years, Steer wouldn’t seem to belong in the Reds’ primary lineup against right-handers, but it’s been awfully hard convincing Terry Francona of that, even though he has more options at his disposal than usual right now. If Steer remains an everyday guy, he could offer a little mixed league value, mostly because he’s in one of the league’s best situations for hitters.